Sultan — Restaurant in Madison

South Asians or anyone who has actually had good Pakistani or Indian food should never go here. Last night, I went to Sultan for their tasting menu. It was our first time here and my friend's birthday so we were very excited for this special occasion. In short, every single dish was a letdown. While the plating was beautiful, the dishes were either completely bland and flavorless or so off-putting that they were inedible. In addition, it was outrageously overpriced and the service was extremely lacking. The tasting menu honestly felt like a scam. I will go course by course to detail how we were disappointed.

Aloo channa: This was the one of the more acceptable dishes as the potato was actually quite nice. However it was still very bland and flavorless. The spices and flavoring were basically only from the faint smears of chutneys on the bowl. Anyone who knows south Asian food knows that it's unacceptable to be bland.

Kashmiri kaddu pulao: The rice was undercooked which is insane from any south asian restaurant or any restaurant period. To call it a pulao is inaccurate. It was flavorless and tasted more like dessert than any pulao. The squash was an interesting choice but poorly executed as the flavors don't work together at all.

Purple potato kadhi: This was the WORST one. We both took one bite, puckered our faces immediately because it was so bitter, and pushed the plate away. This was just gross. The yogurt "curry" was so bizarre, soupy, and had such an intense and unpleasant flavor. The potato pakora inside was not even crispy. Terrible idea and execution.

Tandoori murgh malai tikka: this was one of the more acceptable dishes but only because it was edible and simple. It was still extremely lacking in flavoring and spices. They may as well have put four small pieces of completely unseasoned chicken breast on a smear of yogurt. They served it with a Thai chilli black pepper bechamel but it had no spice. It was also served with a whipped cucumber yogurt that was unnecessary.

Matar keema golash: they were nice to sub the beef keema with mushrooms for me, but that didn't make up for the quality of the dish. This dish was fine but the phyllo layers added nothing and the sauce of the keema tasted like regular chicken tikka or something but with no heat. The "punjabi chili oil" on top tasted just like plain oil. Idk what makes it Punjabi or chili.

Paneer rangeela: this one was absolutely insane. Two tiny blocks of completely unseasoned, flavorless paneer on top of some smears of mint chutney, tamarind/sweet chutney, and some sort of tomato sauce (probably the same one from the previous dish). Anyone who has made paneer before knows that it must be seasoned. This was gross. We did not eat it.

Cardamom turmeric pumpkin bread: this dessert was actually quite nice, at least in comparison to the other courses. The playing was bizarre as they crumbled the bread into a very narrow plate that made it difficult to each. They also added some sort of rose syrup that was definitely made from rooh afza and made the dish excessively sweet.

In addition to all of this terrible food, the service was not good either. For the outrageous amount of money that we paid for this meal ($160), we at least expect good service. They did not clear the dishes as they served the next course and let them pile up on our table. They were stingy with napkins and did not replace a utensil after we dropped it. It is standard at restaurant for them to ask how the food is, but they never did so I never got the opportunity to let them know how disappointing the experience was.

The ambiance was off as well. It felt like a more casual restaurant that they forced "fine dining" food into just to charge people fine dining prices. From the lighting to the furniture and the table setting, everything was off. It's wrong of them to charge $160 when every basic area of the experience was sorely lacking. It was a scam and honestly I feel duped. Do...

At first glance, Sultan’s renovations reinforce their position as a refined, modern dining experience. Warm hardwoods fill the space, inviting guests to step further inside to take a seat and admire their beautiful tableware and ceramic dining sets, but there is little else to catch the eye as they continue work on decorations. Blank, open walls make up much of the interior, so I hope the location leans on the thriving local art community to fill out the empty space and create a finished interior in the near future.

Diner’s attention will head towards the menu next, and I do encourage guests to be aware that Sultan practices a no tip policy, guaranteeing their staff a full living wage. When accounting for a standard gratuity included into the costs of these dishes (which would amount for $2-4 an item at other locations), I found all prices to be fair save for their house cocktails, which carried a hefty markup ($15-22).

I stuck to the Kodak Chai ($5) for my beverage instead. The warm and floral cardamom tea was promptly delivered by my server, who was more than happy to walk me through Sultan's small plates concept and menu. Expect to order 2 to 3 dishes per person here, alongside multiple sides of naan to scarf them down with. There’s a decent variety of both meat and vegetable centric offerings, but vegetarian guests will find themselves lacking more substantial dishes here.

Upon review, I found myself drawn to the Maash Ki Daal ($14) and the Nihari ($18), accompanied by the highlight of any good meal, Garlic Naan ($2). Each came out shortly after the next at a decent pace, leaving me just enough time to savor one dish before moving on to the next. The daal was well cooked and struck a level balance between the heat of fresh chilis and the cooling refreshingness of the cucumber raita dolloped on top. While the spice level was high enough to keep things interesting, the dish began an unfortunate trend that would continue across the rest of my time at Sultan.

The course lacked salt, and it left me wishing for an extra element that could add complexity to the dish. Either the incorporation of an additional texture through a crispy, fried pakora or a contrasting flavor profile with an acidic, pickled achaar would elevate this dish to becoming something stand-out. For now though, it came off a bit mundane, and lacking in comparison to other small plates restaurants across Madison.

This theme of over simplicity would carry itself throughout the rest of my dining experience. The nihari was rich and velvety, putting the tender beef at the forefront of the dish. Spiced with hints of ginger and cilantro, it did a good job at showcasing the quality ingredients that Sultan has put time into sourcing. Like before however, I found this plate a bit undersalted, and without the light and crispy naan bread breaking up the homogeneity of the dish, would have found it monotonous to eat by itself.

Saving the best for last, I finished my visit with their Shahi Tukray ($11), a sticky bread pudding packed with cardamom in every bite. The almonds and pistachios provided a welcome crunch to the plate, and I was happy to finish the entire generous portion. It accompanied the remnants of my chai well, leaving my evening on a high note as I cleaned my final plate.

As I find it, Sultan is still settling into itself, and has a lot of potential to become Madison’s next go-to date night destination. Today though, little stands out as notable, with their culinary offerings being good, but far from memorable. Many dishes can come off as one note, and they lack the creative spark that a small plates venue typically thrives on. Sultan has prided itself in investing in local farmers, so if it can find new, inventive ways to marry authentic Pakistani cuisine with freshly harvested and foraged ingredients, it could very well come to find a home at the forefront of the Madison...

We had the most fabulous meal at Sultan recently. We love Indian and Middle Eastern food. Sultan delivers on a unique dining experience with small shareable plates of exquisitely delicious uniquely flavored foods. The distinctive Punjabi background with a combination of a variety of other cuisines. We started out with the watercress soup which we were a warned was spicy. It was indeed spicy but balanced it had a lovely soft poached egg that added creaminess to the heat multiple layers of other spices made it deeply satisfying. We split the bowl between four of us which was good because some of us couldn't handle the spiciness and could only take a few spoonfuls and some of us slurped up the rest but all of us enjoyed it thoroughly. The tandoori scallops are not to be missed the caramelized onion and seared scallops with the tandoori flavors were absolutely satisfying. We had several other dishes and every one of them were wonderfully complex with layers of flavor, there was not a single mediocre dish in the whole meal. We enjoyed some delicious cocktails before dinner with a unique take on the old fashioned called a Desi old fashioned, absolutely fabulous. Our server Erika was delightful and efficient she did a wonderful description of the food which helped us make selections although my guess is everything on the menu is fabulously delicious. We did have the fresh baked naan that they make in a oven on site which was remarkable! The evening was topped off with a dessert that was a bread pudding that was caramelized on the bottom and had an exquisite sauce on it, with I believe raisins and almonds it was rich and satisfying. Chef Sultan came out and checked on us to make sure we were enjoying our meal, we were! It was a wonderful experience. My only complaint and it's a problem in all older buildings is that in Wisconsin Winters it's very difficult to deal with the blast of cold air as people enter and leave the restaurant. I highly recommend draping your coat over your knees for the meal. I hope Sultan has great success and that you will try it soon absolutely beyond expectations a fabulous...