SASS — Restaurant in Madison

I noticed the owner only replies to positive reviews.Restaurants on the Square have a reputation for having high-quality food. Don't get me wrong, the Old Fashioned vs Lucille vs Draper Brothers vs Graze vs Heritage Tavern vs Coopers Tavern vs Teddywedgers are different $$$ categories, but still the best in their own styles. We've experienced them all. Was excited to see a seafood/steak option next to Rare Stakehouse. Your website & online menu are attractive, so that's why we made reservations, thinking I'd be hard to get in on a Sat night.

I don't normally write reviews & I'm not sure if y'all were having a bad night by reading the other high feedback, but we recognize some commonality from the other low scores given to you & want to reach out. (BTW we've also worked in restaurants - so we're not just foodie snobs LOL.)

Honest observations: -It was a bit empty for the dinner hour, we thought that was odd for the restaurant's location; & my reservation was not asked for by hostess until I told her. -The wait time between being seated by hostess & when we were greeted by the server was 15 min. (which, if busy, is normally no biggie). -However, staff stood around talking (6 ppl!) before our drinks were made, & then drinks sat there while waiting to get delivered. -Between my 1st drink & second drink it tasted off; 2nd drink I could not taste the alcohol so...I dunno? -Spouse had a black spec of mystery on his tongue when he drank his soda, that was gross. -Food was brought out before we received our napkins & utensils and appetizer plates. -We were not offered salt/pepper or hot sauce - don't know if they existed?? -Crab cakes weren't cooked/mushy -Why were the lamb chops so gritty & hard to cut/chew? Came out cold. Was not a good experience compared to other places. The garlic mashed was cold & had no garlic but yummy all the same. My green beans were really hot so, confused.

-Your staff were friendly and our person was working for another table/ understanding all the timing of food coming out but, they grabbed the dinner plates to clear & blurted out "Do you want the check?" Um, ok I guess we're not being offered dessert choices tonight?! (We just let it go because by now we didn't want to eat anything else - we were so disappointed in the quality of food vs. the expected experience for the location of this place). Earlier we heard the table next to us- that waitress sold your cheesecakes like a pro so, we were disappointed ours didn't even ask us.

Decor: You have a great space but it's giving mixed messages.

Your tables are all sticky fyi! Is the paint reacting to your cleaner? Your dining plates & drinks say classy but you have canning jar water glasses. You have wooden, classy booths & modern chairs mixed in with metal picnic table styles? You have dollar store canvases up-front & tin animal decor in back - which btw, what is up with the gauntlet-style light bulb holders with no light bulbs in them? I'd take that down. I would not want to sit under it either. You have a gorgeous 4- framed out wall, but with a random Bucky pic in one of the frames? The seashell/ kindergarten necklace divider - switch out with actual macrame maybe? We also noticed the hanging curtains(?) trying to hide your back area, it's not hiding anything though... Lastly- again going back to the 'on the Square restaurant expectation' - why is your cook dinging a bell?? It was so distracting and weird for such a classy style place. Do you want to be a classy steak house or a beachy crab boil restaurant? There's industrial & ropes & metal all over the place, & the brick wall is gorgeous.

Suggestions: align your identity and decor to improve the atmosphere; advise staff to not stand around talking & to watch their timing on delivery for service; & source better food, or fix the cooking...something is off because the quality did not fit with being so overpriced! We'd consider giving a second try if these were addressed. You have a great concept and space, but compared to the restaurants around you, your service & food are...

Sass, what an experience. Not one you’d brag about to your friends and family but one that was surreal. We were sat by an extremely kind older gentleman at what I’d consider “fancy” back yard bbq chairs. The table was small, cheap, and plastic. After sitting for 20 minutes a server was asked to tend to us. It was then we requested water and cocktail menus. Shortly thereafter we received our water and placed our orders. We ordered 3 cocktails, 2 salads, deviled eggs and 4 ribs. We received our deviled eggs and salads fairly quickly and they were actually really well done. 10-15 minutes later still no water refills or cocktails. We peer to our right as the bartender is having an utter meltdown.. flailing his arms and yelling at our server. The bar is full, drinks are sitting on the end, and in comes a table of 20 for a reserved section. At this moment we realize we’re watching a complete disaster unfold. Another 10-15 minutes go by and we see a couple walk out, 1/20 party giving their server and absolute lashing about having no water on their table and the bartender seemingly storming off shift. At some point we were brought cheese curds… we didn’t order cheese curds. They sit for about 10 mins before we flag someone down. Our server walks them to the kitchen, walks them to the bar, then seemingly places the curds on the correct table. Gross… at that point you make a new order. Our food arrives eventually and fortunately the bartender didn’t walk of shift. Our food looks presentable but it is cold. After having a few bites out of shear hunger we ask for the bill and table to be cleared. 10 minutes later or so our drinks arrive. I ordered a Sass old fashioned which IMO was awful and poorly made. I’m not sure what they’re using but it tasted like BBQ Lays. The espresso martini and chocolate martinis were delightful. Anyways we slam our drinks and get the bill. $80… I have no problem paying that except the service was laughable. It’s almost as if we were on opening day for a Kitchen Nightmares restaurant. Spoke with the manger who was pleasant but to our dismay we were offered 10% off and a $25 gift card to return. I’ll be returning to redeem the GC most likely for drinks, but I hope they can figure it out soon.

TLDR: Slow to no service, Cold food, understaffed, unwilling to please customers...

Terrible experience. Food has zero flavor, no taste, plane. New cook needed for sure! We were ignored, no one greeted us for a long while. It was Friday night, and about 25% of the restaurant was occupied (while others had 30 min wait) - that should of been a sign. But we wanted to try new place. There was one lady sitting at the bar but she left shortly after. So, 3 young bartenders weren't busy at all! It's important because we NEVER received our drinks! Kitchen made our soup and salat, someone else brought it to us, not our server, we ate it, kitchen made our entry, someone brought it to us - still no drinks, no server. When she came I asked about our drinks, and ONLE THEN she said that bartender told her that they don't have bourbon. OK, why it took so long to communicate? No teamwork between server and bartenders. Server made excuses after excuses, did not apologies. She could of offer at least water. And our second drink was soda, she did not bring that at all - no excuses! They had that soda, she showed it to me when we were leaving.

Before us server had table with about 5-6 men, they were leaving when we came, and she was focusing on cleaning that table, instead of greeting us. Then 3 more men came - they got greeted and their drinks right away. I guess u need to be a man not a women with a child to get attention?

Overall disappointed. If you charge $22 for pasta with vegetables (not delicious) (calamari had no flavor as well), and you have market priced items, like scallops for $60 dish - you need to provide appropriate service! Manager came over and apologized explained that server was sort of new ... I mean we all been in this situation, BUT looks like restaurant opened only about 2 months ago, and you hire unexperienced stuff?! - not smart move. Sad, they took nice place by the Capitol. On the bright side - I liked the interior, host and manager...