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| - Very pleased with Nostrano and would place it among Sardine, Forequarter, and Pig in a Fur Coat as top spots for special occasion dinners. The service is attentive without being overbearing (four stars to our server Tiffany!), the menu covers a lot of bases, and the food delivers. We had the focaccia and olives to start, followed by risotto and quail, with baked ganache and bombolini/affogato for dessert. All the flavors were great and matched excellently. The wine and cocktail lists were some of the best for comparable restaurants in Madison: a range of options and prices, and not too long and overwhelming. The desserts were large, to my delight and satisfaction. (Doughnut lovers: go for the affogato. If the espresso will keep you up, get ready to pop a sleeping pill. It's worth it.) Nothing occasioned one of those revelatory moments where you want to drop to your knees and bow to the dish, but everything was tasty. My only real qualm is that the 90s alt/grunge playlist brings me back to my college dorm, which isn't what I want when I'm dropping some hard earned dollars at a fine restaurant. The casual decor is a nice break from restaurants that take themselves too seriously, but it verges on feeling TOO casual. In other words, not the place for dudes looking to make a dramatic wedding proposal to pop the question.
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