Osteria Papavero — Restaurant in Madison

I ate here twice, dine-in and takeout.

1. The dine-in experience was wonderful. I first went outside and then came back inside to sit at the bar after watching the wind and rain take down the patio umbrellas. The host was absolutely delightful and attentive to begin with. Even though I sat at the bar (I entered the restaurant all by myself with no reservation), I didn't feel pressured to order a drink or anything. I ordered the Fettuccine con 'nduja and was presented with a small individual basket of house-made bread--a slice of sourdough, a sliver of focaccia, and one kind of ginormous piece of fried bread that was shaped like ravioli. This basket did take a while to come out. It was nice to have something to munch on while waiting for my entree. The sourdough was perfectly tangy and sour, the focaccia a bit too salty but still delightfully scented of all the right herbs and olive oil, and the giant ravioli bread(?) was also excellent because, well, fried anything is good. Then my pasta came out. The noodles were a bit too undercooked (I understand the concept of al dente very well, but these noodles still had so much shape to them that I could not gather the individual noodles and wrap them around my fork when I spun my fork around). Other than that, the flavor was excellent--the sausage had the perfect amount of spice, the choice of cheese sprinkled on top complemented the freshness of the herbs, tomatoes, and spice of the sausage very well without being too much, and the amount of sauce was perfect because I could eat every bite of noodles with the appropriate amount of sauce AND still have some left over at the end to eat with my bread. I licked my plate clean and went home with no leftovers, which was a great feeling.

2. The second time was takeout. I got the Cinghiale to-go after placing an order through their website. I opened up the small box when I got back home (15 minutes after pickup) and admittedly, it was a bit difficult to eat because the noodles had stuck to each other. The noodles on the bottom had also already soaked up all the sauce, which meant the noodles on top were a bit dry while the noodles on the bottom were very saucy. I did think that the ragu could have used more of the vibrant ingredients--the meat was hearty, and carried a lot of deep flavor, but I didn't really like the fact that the hearty, bulky flavor of meat was the main character in the sauce. Perhaps another sprig of basil or some more tomatoes? Anyway, I still finished it off (obviously), but I really do think you should dine in at this place and avoid getting takeout as much as possible if you want to get the full experience and just have a good...

Our first time here was several months ago, we loved the food then and raved about it to our friends, even got them a gift card to celebrate their engagement. The first time we visited it was much less crowded (I think it was mid-week?) and we got great food and service.

Our second time, we were left feeling very underwhelmed by the food, especially at the price point. The homemade pasta is delicious, but always feels like it could use an extra ingredient or two (some vegetables, or mushrooms -- so it's not just pasta and a thin sauce?) The trio dishes we had last time were divine -- that's what had us coming back -- but last night they were pretty average and felt extremely pricey for such small portions.

I also find it odd that the bread plate doesn't come with butter and that it's an extra charge if you want butter for your bread. (I've since been informed by the restaurant this is because it's "European style butter"). We also didn't realize the bread was extra so were disappointed to see that as an additional charge (the bread is incredibly tasty, don't get me wrong, but very expensive -- but I get it, if they didn't charge for it people would likely fill up on free, delicious bread so they've got to draw a line).

I'll also note that the rude, older woman that seems to be mentioned in a lot of reviews -- we encountered her too. We didn't have many interactions with her, but did notice her ice cold demeanor and tendency to pour water rather aggressively and without care. I assumed she was having an off night, but that appears to not be the case since she's mentioned in...

On a Saturday night, this cozy little place was packed. However, they still were able to get my boyfriend and in after only sitting at the bar for a few minutes.

The place is very small and intimate, but cool!

They offer half bottles of wine, which is great if you want to sample a few. We shared an awesome merlot with our dinner that was $19 for the half bottle. I thought that was reasonable for Madison.

They had so so many specials that night to choose from. This made it hard to order. It also even seemed difficult for our waitress to make suggestions based on how many there were. She was great, but when we asked questions she kept looking to their specials board on the wall for reference. I am a firm believer in getting suggestions from wait staff for the best items to try on the menu when trying somewhere new. I didn't feel completely confident in my order from reading the menu and her suggestions.

We shared a small meat board (tasty!) and the softshell crab special (superb!) as appetizers. I had a stuffed pasta with walnuts it was very good, but I think I would not order it again. My boyfriend got the mixed grill which was lamb, blood sausage, steak and something else I can't remember. He was very happy with his meal, the best meat being the steak and least favorite...The lamb.

For all of that, our bill totaled just around $100. Worth it for sure. I would come...