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| - I've been to Sardine a few times for brunch and if I were to review just that I'd probably give it four stars, (five stars -1 for price.) My wife and I have heard nothing but great things about their dinner and last week she chose to go here for her birthday.
First off, I have to say the ambiance and overall feel of the place is amazing. One of, if not, the best dining rooms in Madison. The service was good, not overly friendly but overall efficient. Although, I think she forgot to put our entree's in until well after our appetizer arrived. The table next to us ordered at the same time we did and they were on dessert by the time our entrees came.
The food was, well...disappointing! We started with the grilled shrimp, polenta, and pancetta app. Easily the highlight of the meal, the shrimp was well cooked and the creamy polenta was absolutely perfect. Our only complaint here being; for $13 we thought they could have served up more than two shrimp on the dish. I made a joke that they needed to change the name on the menu to creamy parmesan polenta with shrimp. I mean, what's the food cost on that plate for polenta? About .40 cents?
For Entree's my wife ordered the Pan Fried Chicken Paillard. I had the Pan Roasted White Fish and a side of Frites. My wife's chicken was cooked well and perfectly crispy, but otherwise flavorless. She said the ratatouille was the highlight of the dish because it actually had some flavor. I ran into the same problem with my white fish, it was virtually flavorless as were the fava beans it laid on, and the garlic bread crumbs were almost non existent on the dish. My dish was lacking so much in flavor that it forced me to keep salting and peppering until i went too far and over salted. The frites were cooked well and seasoned properly, but...seriously!?!? Where's the aioli? They serve their frites with, what tastes like, straight out of the jar mayonnaise. I don't mind mayo with my frites but for a "French" restaurant, serving frites with a side of Hellmans, I have to say, "FAIL!" They seemed pretty popular too, as three of the tables around us had ordered them. An aioli seems like a simple improvement. The portion sizes are nothing spectacular, either. My wife and I shared the frites and were both glad I ordered them. I think we would have left hungry without them. My wife was also quick to point out that half of their entrees are ripped straight out of an Eric Ripert cookbook. She proved this to me when we got home.
Overall, Sardine, we still love your brunch and will be back, but for a nice dinner at your price point...you will not be our first choice, or second, or third. This decision is based solely on the food. Perhaps I should just learn my lesson and avoid seafood all together in the mid-west, or maybe I went into this place with too high of expectations.
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