Vin Santo — Restaurant in Middleton

The food was bland for Italian fare. My wife and I had the calamari appetizer, for $16. It was disappointing, especially for the price, and we were surprised it was neither fried nor cut. It looked like stuffed ravioli without the stuffing. The sauce was described as a spicy marinara, but it was not marinara. It was a dark sauce, that was more spicy then flavorful. For an entree, my wife had the spicy Italian lasagna. It was fine, nothing special, however it was $17 and extremely overpriced for the quality and ambiance. I had the shrimp ravioli, which was tasteless and overpriced as well, at $24. Additionally, we barely saw our waitress as she was very inattentive. When asked by both our waitress and the manager about out meal, we replied "it was okay." Both of which treated the reply as if the meal was a positive experience. For the price, the ambiance was less than to be desired. For example, we counted at least 6 different types of chairs. We had the pleasure of sitting in uncomfortable "fire hall" banquet chairs and luckily we got along great with the table next to us- as we were on top of them and ended up chatting throughout the meal, due to the layout of the restaurant- not something you' expect for a $100 meal (with Tip, tax, and a bottle of wine).

Worst of all, when approaching the manager/owner upon departure, we were told "it would be nice to know about this during your meal." Rather than apologizing, the owner took the low road and was defensive. We would not recommend this restaurant to anyone, nor will we...

Had dinner with two others. Service was good and attentive. Calamari appetizer was different (not breaded, and served in a slightly spicy tomato sauce). Entree's were generous, pasta cooked perfectly and ingredients fresh and continued the theme of a slight twist on old favorites (my spaghetti and sausage had fresh mozzarella added). House wine was very nice. Desert, a chocolate cheese cake variant, was very tasty and the portion was generous enough for three to share. I think this is one of the better Italian restaurants in the Madison area, and it compares well to the ones I have visited in Milwaukee. However, I do think it is a little on the pricey side for some menu items, and you should know that (at least from what I have tried) they do add a bit of a culinary twist on some of the standard Italian items (which I personally like, but may surprise those with a view based mostly on chain Italian). I have eaten here many times and never been dissatisfied. And while all meals have been good, I have had some that were truly excellent (a wild boar and pasta preparation). I recommend it to friend's, and the ambiance, makes it a nice setting for an imitate meal, particularity during the week when its quieter. Would give it 4.5 if that...

I was so excited to visit this restaurant because of the reviews. Having done so I was so disappointed I had to write a review of my own. Starting with the "homemade" mushroom soup @ $8 - I could not believe it when I bit into squeaky rubbery obviously canned mushrooms. The taste was exactly like Campbells Mushroom soup with an added can of rubber mushrooms. My Bloody Mary was absolutely tasteless and my water was without ice. My entree was a special with a fancy name - I called it Lobster/Shrimp/Scallops Ravioli from Sams Club with a tasty sauce and pine nuts/fresh basil sprinkled on top. While the sauce was nice and hot the raviolis were room temp. My partner had the lasagna special which came so overcooked that it was pure mush. Bottom was burnt black and the sauce was dry. The bread that accompanied the meal was very good but was not warmed (I am trying hard not to be picky here but we do like our bread on the warm side). For the $70 price we would never recommend this place to anyone or visit here again. So disappointed after waiting for months to...