| rev:text
| - When I came to write this review, I was a bit taken aback by the nasty reviews already here. Zanders is one of my favorite Madison bars, and the only reason I can think of that people would give it such a poor review is because it just either wasn't the bar for them or because they weren't the right patron for this bar.
Very close to the Capitol in the spot where the horrid State Street Bar was, Zanders is a nice refresher to the college-kid bar scene. It's the place you go when your too old and too tired of the University Ave / early State Street scene. It's also the place that allows you to be in a good location so you can still take in the lively sights of Madison's downtown and festive nightlife. I think I'm probably at the ideal age for this bar; 26, as any younger and I'd think the drinks are too stiffly priced and the crowd not lively enough, and any older and I'd feel awkward around the youngins.
Furthermore, Zanders provides a classy take on the social bar. It's actually not much of a sports bar, so I'm not sure why people seem to mistake it for that. On the contrary, it's got a lounge feel, with a supposed $20,000 red leather couch on the second level which is a fantastic spot to go sink in with 5-10 friends of yours. Downstairs, they have an elegant bar which is usually worked by responsive bar tenders along with TVs which do have games on but at a reasonable volume so you can catch the scores when you need to.
Zanders also isn't a popular place, so don't come expecting a packed bar. On average, there's probably 15-20 people in the entire establishment on a given night (even weekends). Most would think this was a dive bar judging from that statement, but it's moreso because of Zanders distinct atmosphere. And this is precisely what I love about the place, because without all the extra fanfare I can talk with friends and meet just the right amount of people. In fact, many of the times I've been there, the next group to walk in is other friends of mine who I didn't expect.
Really, there are only two drawbacks as I see it. First, the prices are a bit much. If they want to stay in business on state street or attract more customers, that's going to have to change. Secondly, due to the relative lack of business, they seem almost destined to go out of business.
So if your too old for the state street bars but too young for the mom and pop crowd, take a chance on Zanders.
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