Prohibition Rooftop Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Madison

Let me start with the good. I have visited this establishment on 2 other occasions and had an enjoyable experience. The first time, I sat downstairs at the bar and was served by Jordan, who was very knowledgeable about the drinks and the food menu and was just all-around great. On his recommendation, I ordered the Pork Belly & Cauliflower Bowl, and it was incredible. The second time, I didn't eat or drink but joined my uncle, who did. My uncle enjoyed his food and drinks, and I can't recall the names of the bartenders (downstairs bar), but they were very attentive and personable.

The most recent time I visited was not my favorite experience. Since I'd only been downstairs before, I opted to sit in the bar area upstairs and enjoy the open-air, especially because the weather was so nice. Though it wasn't busy, it took a while for anyone to acknowledge my presence. When my server did come around, she was pleasant and helped me with some questions I had regarding what she would recommend. I decided on an item new to the menu:

PastaLaya: Smoked Chicken, Conecuh Sausage, Spicy Creole Cream Sauce, Pasta, Parmesan, Garlic Bread.

A short time after ordering, it was delivered to my table. After about two bites, I realized that there was no smoked chicken. It took about 10 or 15 minutes before the server circled around to ask me how things were. I responded by asking if I might have misunderstood that there should have been smoked chicken in the dish and was told, "No. It's in there. It's just shredded." I prodded the plate and asked if she could see any chicken in the dish -- "hmm, that's weird."

There wasn't a single sign of a single shred of chicken.

"Well, do you want me to see if they can bring you some out?"

I just wanted to dish as it was meant to be served. Another 10-15 minutes passed before a very small Ramakin of pulled chicken was brought out. I was told, "Sorry about that, the sauce is pre-made, so sometimes the chicken isn't in all of the sauce." I thought that a weird explanation considering this was a dish that has been on the menu "2 or 3 days" and it's coming out without the very first ingredient listed in the description. Nonetheless, I dumped the chicken into the dish, which had, at that point, been sitting in front of me (untouched) for roughly 30 minutes. Cold noodles. Not appetizing.

In their defense, a manager did come out to apologize and let me know, "it's a new item so the kitchen is still working everything out"...again, we're not talking about missing a topping like Parmesan...chicken is a main component of the dish. The manager asked me if I was okay with it, and at that point, I was over the experience and said, "it's fine." I suppose I could have spelled out that warm chicken over cold noodles wasn't a win, but attention to these kinds of details, without having to be told, is what sets the great restaurants apart from the mediocre. That, along with quality assurance to avoid these types of mishaps to begin with.

I had a total of about 3 bites of the dish. I sat another 15 or 20 minutes before the server circled around again so I could ask for the check. I didn't especially love that instead of being presented with a paper check, I was just verbally told the total. I handed over my card, and the server processed the ticket at the table, including turning the device around to me while turning her head in the opposite direction while I selected the tip...it made me feel a bit pressed to decide on the tip right then and there.

Despite only having had 3 bites, I paid for the meal in full and left a tip, but I will most likely not be back. My advice to anyone considering going is, if you're going to eat, be sure to sit at the bar downstairs and don't order any new menu items. Just wait until they get the dish down to a science.

I do still recommend the Pork Belly & Cauliflower Bowl. Steer clear of the...

I've been very curious about Prohibition ever since they opened, but only recently got the chance to come and give them a try. Overall, I was very pleased with the food, menu, and environment!

The location in the same shopping center as a Five Guys and Super Chix kind of downplays how nice and semi-upscale this restaurant is. Mind you, not knocking either FG or SC -- they're both among my favorite fast casual concepts -- just that the vibes at Prohibition are quite different.

Of course, the draw here is at least partially the rooftop bar...but I was too hot to sit outside so I just hung out on the first floor. Since they weren't busy during my late lunchtime visit, I was allowed to pick my own table. The interior is nicely decorated and the bar is beautiful! A visit to the restroom revealed it was quite clean, too.

The one thing that was a little shaky about this experience was the service. It was mostly good and my waitress was very sweet when we interacted, but I waited a super long time in between receiving the drink I ordered and getting to place an order for food, and it wasn't because they were busy, either; the staff were all mostly seated at some of the booths chatting, getting up from time to time to deliver food as it came out of the kitchen.

I don't inherently have a problem with this behavior because it's exhausting standing all the time and there's not much point if there's no one to serve, but I was pretty hungry and felt for a time like I was getting the cold shoulder, especially once I'd obviously finished my drink.

That small detail aside, though, the rest of my experience was excellent, and the highlight was definitely the food. Prohibition has a very creative menu that's still highly approachable. Their creativity extends from food to drinks; not only is their cocktail list extensive, they have a dedicated mocktail menu, too! I love this thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

On this visit, I had the blueberry faux-jito and the chicken sandwich with Parmesan sidewinder fries. For me, the faux-jito was a tiny bit heavy on the mint, but the blueberry notes were so tasty and it was a beautiful looking, very refreshing mocktail!

The fries were very yummy and a nice balance of crispy edges and soft potato centers.

The star of the show was the chicken sandwich, though...DANG! It was delicious. Chicken was tender, the bun was soft and buttery, almost perfectly cooked smoky applewood bacon (one tiny slightly rubbery piece but nbd), paired with melty Gouda cheese, sweet and sour pickled onions, and the most delightful sauce combination (ranch, garlic butter, and secret sauce)...whew. As much as I'd really want to keep exploring their menu, I'll be hard-pressed to order anything else when I return. Food was probably a 4.5/5 for me.

Looking forward to re-visiting, hopefully with friends, to enjoy the rooftop bar and try many...

Took Valentines Day off so I could spend time with the wife. We went to Prohibition because I've gone before on business and it seemed like a great setting with decent food. We went for a late lunch, around 1:30pm. The rooftop deck was enclosed with screens and they had heaters, so it was a decent temperature so we sat there.

We ordered off their lunch menu, which honestly is a great price. The amount of food served corresponds to the low price, so I ordered two entrees like a fatty. I ordered the 5 smoked wings with the Progibition Secret Sauce, and the pick two combo with the half turkey sandwich and a bowl of chili. The wife ordered the pork bao buns with salad pick two combo.

Gonna be honest, the service this visit was subpar. They had a photographer taking pictures of drinks and associates which is cool, but it definitely impacted how much attention guests got. Wings came out without the carrots and I had to ask about them, took about 10 minutes to get another beer even though I was sitting 5 feet from the bar, wife ordered her salad with honey mustard and it came with ranch, had to ask the waiter to get the right one etc. Staff definitely seemed more concerned with hanging out then providing outstanding service which is cool for employee retention but not great formcustomer satisfaction or speedy service.

Food tasted great! Just a little small on portion size. Bao buns had one small strip of pork, wings are 5 and some with carrots but no celery for $10, etc. The wings were well cooked and the sauce was a little sweet for my taste but overall very good. Wife loved the flavor and presentation on thr bao buns and liked her salad dressing a lot. My turkey sandwich was good and so was the chili. Adding fried to lunch options and raising prices a tad would probably help with being satiated.

Will give this place another shot - you should too, just don't be afraid of QCing...