Steenbock's On Orchard — Restaurant in Madison

We stopped in during restaurant week to try some of their special offerings. It was $15 for a 3 course lunch and it was perfect for lunch. I started my meal with their Sweet Pea Panna Cotta. OMG! that was the best panna cotta I've had. The panna cotta was balanced nicely with the curry granola and veggies on top. Really nice panna cotta texture and flavor on its own too. Next, I had the salmon salad. It was good, but my salmon was a hint overcooked and the salad was not anything special. I feel as though I could get this salad at quite a few places in Madison any day of the week. Last, I ordered the Blueberry Chiffon Cake for dessert. This was ok and didn't have a lot of flavor to it, unfortunately. I love blueberry and didn't taste much blueberry flavor. And, it was a bit dry. So, the panna cotta gets 5 stars, the salad gets 3 stars and the chiffon cake a 1 star rating from me. The service was good for our table of 5 and they were able to split our checks for us pretty easily. The location is great for those in the area, but may be a bit tricky for those that need to find parking. I love the WID building and the restaurant is clean and nice inside. They have patio seating if you don't mind the traffic noise from Johnson Street.

Side note: While we were there eating for restaurant week, we were sat at a table that had visibility into the kitchen area through the floor to ceiling glass wall. There was an employee in the kitchen that was visibly upset (mad) and was causing a bit of a scene and definitely caught the attention of our table and a few other tables nearby. My table mates had very mixed feelings about the incident. I understand that people have bad moments during work and won't pass judgment on this situation, but not...

I went to Steenbock's with a friend during restaurant week. The service was wonderful--the hostess offered to hang our coats for us, very polite. The waiter was also very polite and was willing to offer useful suggestions on the menu. He and various assistants kept water glasses full and made sure we had more wine if we wanted it. He often managed to appear to clear our plates the moment I took my last bite. The next course always came out promptly.

The food itself was delicious. Amazing. She had the risotto app, I had the salad; the salad was a little underdressed, but the risotto was creamy and delicious. We both has the scallops. I haven't had properly cooked scallops at a restaurant in years! Melt in your mouth, amazing flavor, and the entire dish (parsnip puree, buerre blanc, pancetta) went together deliciously. I'm a huge creme brulee fan, and they did an excellent job with a crisp caramelized top and a rich custard.

The decor is a fairly standard nice restaurant, but with a few lab touches. For example, if you order wine by the glass, it comes out in a flask shaped pourer. The tableware and such were clean and in good condition. Not much more in the way of decorations, but this works for me.

I will...

The atmosphere of the place is fantastic. I read the menu, and was intrigued by the risotto. I told the server I was hungry, and specifically asked if I should get a burger or if the risotto would be enough food. After hearing an endorsement for the risotto, I agreed to it. It tottered on that precarious border of "al dente" and under-done (I got that starchy / gritty finish beyond the crunchy texture). The truffle oil added a great flavor (if a bit on the oily side). But the food portion was so incredibly meager, I was hungrier after my meal was complete! Further, the cost, as lunches go, was too steep. I can only blame myself for agreeing to pay $17 (counting tip) for a paltry serving of underdone rice. . . . (Edit: 10/17/18 I've eaten there a few other times (mostly because of proximity) and there's no more risotto, and while I stand by my original review, I've bumped up the 'star' rating and can report that most of their food is at least a 4, and often 5; my main critique (and philosophy) is that some places charge a premium, so should be judged...