2 Restaurants Worth a Visit to Madison + a Vlog

Happy Wednesday, friends! I’m FINALLY here with my final video on my weekend trip to Madison, WI last December. If you missed it, my mom and I went to visit a relative who lives there and we decided to go in December so that we could see the State Christmas Tree, which we used to visit when I was younger. We had so much fun that we definitely want to go back to see more of what Madison has to offer and visit the city when it’s really at its peak: spring and summer. (We’ve been there during warmer months before, but it’s been awhile.)

Today I have two restaurants that you should totally go to Madison for, if all the cool stuff about the city doesn’t excite you. And I have a vlog from our trip. So, without further ado, here are the two restaurants.

IKE’S PIZZA ON STATE STREET

Macaroni and cheese pizza, need I say more? This restaurant is close to the capitol, right on State Street, so if you time it right you can grab lunch after you tour. I would anticipate the restaurant gets busy over typical lunch times, though. I mean, it was busy when we went and I think we were there after the typical lunch rush. You can buy pizza by the slice and one slice is definitely filling! My mom and I actually picked up two slices. One was a really tasty slice with mozzarella, spinach, and tomatoes. I think it was called the Venetian, or something like that. It was what was recommended when I asked if they had a tomato basil. We also had to try the Mac and Cheese pizza, which was SO much better than we anticipated! We cut each slice in half to make a whole for ourselves and it was definitely plenty of food! If pizza isn’t your thing, but you want to check out this cute joint (seriously, such a fun place to go to AND while we were there we got to listen to a random group of carolers sing) there’s also a salad bar.

HA LONG BAY

I heard this was voted one of the best restaurants in Madison, if not the best. As a bonus: it’s not located in the downtown area so it gets you out into a different part of Madison. (Also, there’s a chocolate shop nearby that apparently has the best chocolate. We didn’t stop. I have no explanation. Actually, I do. We passed it and didn’t go back later. I felt like maybe no explanation was better than that one. 😂) We ordered a bunch of appetizers (my favorites were the dumplings; get them for the dipping sauce alone! For our entrees we got the Pad Thai and the Vietnamese Rice Vermicelli Salad with Grilled Chicken. I think their Pad Thai is well-known, but my fave was definitely the salad. Be sure you pour the sauce over it, because it really brings everything together!

THE OLD FASHIONED

We got there before the usual dinner rush starts to try and get a table, but the wait was STILL too long and we ended up leaving, but I wanted to throw it in here anyway so that you can for me! (Just kidding, I definitely plan to check this place out and see if it’s as awesome as I think it will be in a future trip.) This restaurant serves Wisconsin faves. And it’s called Old Fashioned. How perfect is that?!? I was definitely planning to get an old fashioned at Old Fashioned and it would have been amazing. I think they have a fish fry on Friday nights. I’m usually not one for fish, but I do enjoy a good Friday night fish fry in Wisconsin with an old fashioned on the side. Also, it’s right across the street from the capitol and the capitol building at night is 😍.