Amy’s Cafe

A warm environment where you can draw on a bar napkin and they will hang your sketch on the mantle above the bar.
Great menu, drink specials and many town regulars make Amy’s a madison gem.
I had the Shirley cocktail!

Amy’s café. Its a bar with bar food. Nothing over the top amazing. We had some drinks and some food. I ordered a burger which was a standard bar burger. Wasn’t dry, came with all the fixings, just nothing blow your mind wow.
HOWEVER, what bumped this from 3 to 4 stars was the special. A chilli dog. Butterflied hot dog on a hogie bun with all the fixings. It was amazing. And waffle fries? I didn’t know you could find those at a bar! Boy was that dish good.
Try Amy’s if you are looking for a place to relax, have a beer and watch a football game,

Up until at least 1999 – 2000, Amy’s was Madison’s top hangout spot to see and be seen, with its’ eclectic coterie mix of fun-​loving and laid back college students, pseudo-​intellectuals, damsels, knaves and scallywags. A physical facelift and new ownership gives the iconic place a kindler, gentler unpretentious vibe. You want a Bacon Cheeseburger? — how you want it done? A shot of Jamo-​? — let’s do this! If you’re visiting Madison for a football or basketball game, or attending a graduation, round the corner of State Street and do drop in.

Amy’s has been around Madison since the early 80’s but it is still a classic through all the years and all the changes. The new owners, Rick and Gwen from Argus and The Paradise, bought this place in spring of 2011 and it’s been a great place to be ever since. Falafel platter, Asian Chicken Wrap/​Salad, The Badrider Burger, Meatball Sub and the Pot Roast sandwich stand out on this menu that is part Greek, but mostly American. The drink deals on Monday ($ 1.50 PBR Pints, $ 3 craft beer pints, $ 2 rail drinks and $ 6 PBR Pitchers are as good as they get in town. The service is incredible. The bartenders and servers are nice and very hospitable. Amy’s is the best place just off of State Street and never filled with annoying college kids.

Waffle fries. This is the only place in town I’ve seen Waffle fries. Thank you Unilocal!!!Awesome taste, great crisp. LOVE WAFFLE FRIES.
Yes, it looks like a dingy bar, but who cares when you can get waffle fries at lightning speed. I think the server, only one in the bar, gave us our fries within 5 minutes. And it was piping hot. LOVE!
Also tried the bbq chicken wings, reasonably good. very messy to eat. Some wings surprisingly had broken bones :(
Overall ⁵⁄₅ for waffle fries; 3.5÷5 for the rest

I love Amy’s. When my bf and I go downtown this is the first place we stop. Good prices and never crowded.

The staff here is awesome! Great bar just off of state street that always has great prices on food and drinks. If you want some good food without spending too much from a great staff this place is for sure worth a try.

I was so pleased going here! We were tired of the regular State street bars and restaurants and Amy’s was such a nice surprise. Super friendly staff and delicious food. I would have given this 5 stars for sure if the falafel balls weren’t a bit dry. Even crummy food would bring me back. Nice people at a nice price. Life is good. Oh and the mystery shots were fun, and deadly too. :)

Great food! Better prices.
I’ve been to Amy’s 10 plus times in the past 12 months. Great place to stop for appetizers and drinks before Badgers games at the Kohl Center.
Their Irish Nachos (waffle fries) are to die for! Their chicken sandwiches are great and burgers are good too. All at good «Catholic» prices.
In the summer months they have outdoor seating which is nice, but the inside of Amy’s isn’t much to see, as other reviewers have commented.

Looking at Amy’s it doesn’t seem that great. But then your friend takes you there for lunch. They have excellent sandwiches! They were also playing the soccer game when I was there so that’s a definite plus.

A friend from college once asked me, «Do you ever think about visiting Madison?» I replied, «No, but I do sometimes think about Amy’s roast beef sandwich.»
Now let us take a moment for the world’s greatest French dip sandwich.
Nice, light bread. Warm roast beef. Onions that don’t taste like onions but make the sandwich work. Au jus that makes you want to say AUUU YEAH!!!
They’re now under new ownership since I graduated (and let’s be honest, that might have happened quite a few times since I left xx years ago). I do have to commend all owners, past and present that they are dedicated to making this place as shitty as the previous owner. Crappy tables, a fly that is always buzzing around your food and drinks and an overall terrible seating arrangement.
But you, dear French dip. If you did not exist, there’s probably no way in hell I would go to Amy’s because the inside of the restaurant is yuck central.
100 stars for the French dip.

I have never had anything bad from Amy’s Café!!! We usually get delivery and just blindly order the soup of they day as no matter what it is it is delicious!!! Some of my favorites are the Greek salad with chicken, veggie wrap, cesear salad… basically everything!!!

Great chicken sandwiches and burgers — waffle fries are amazing. Reasonable price. The owners of Argus took over not too long ago and did a much-​needed facelift of the place, but kept the place relatively the same with its Greek restaurant roots.
It’s small, so gets a bit packed on Friday and Saturday evenings, but I don’t really go to Amy’s for a night out, rather a bite to eat for lunch or early dinner.

After reading other reviews, I guess I didn’t realize how cheap their drinks are… but Amy’s is still the most g-​e-​n-​e-​r-​i-​c place in Madison.
I try to avoid.

One of the best places to come in Madison when you’re looking for your typical American food, or if you want a Mediterranean twist on that same food. They’ve got everything from burgers to salads to falafel, and I find myself staring at the menu for ages every time I visit. This is an especially good place to bring a quarreling group because you’re sure to find something for everyone, including vegetarians. The burgers are pretty solid — I especially recommend their patty melts. Be sure to order the waffle fries to complement your food — they’re fried to a perfect crisp that makes them fluffy and crunchy at the same time.
While Amy’s makes for a great restaurant experience, it totally falls flat as a bar experience. The drink specials are lousy 90% of the time, and the interior setup is not at all conducive to a bar crowd. I avoid getting drinks here because they’re always expensive and the bartenders are pretty surly. And it’s tiny in there; I have enough trouble fitting in Amy’s without a line out the door.

Dollar rail drinks on Mondays! The outdoor patio area is usually a popular spot to hang out on a nice summer night. Bartenders are hit or miss. Some of the newer guys are completely incompetent and rude to boot.
Never been here for the food.

WOW! A great spot to grab a reasonable and tasty meal in Madison.
pros:
cheap drinks
cheap, good food (of a greek bent but more general grill)
friendly staff
quick service
cons:
none…
Wow, I can’t think of single thing wrong with this place, so long as you’re looking for counter service. It is perfectly executed quick, nutritious food that isn’t super healthy but doesn’t go out of its way to be bad for you.

I love Amy’s! Great, intimate atmosphere. Good food. Great specials.
Amy’s is my first stop on my night out. Half price drinks between 10 and 12 can’t be beat. I also like that it’s small and (usually) not very crowded so you can just hang out with some friends. It’s not a «seen-​and-​be-​seen» which is nice. I’ve shown up a couple times in sweatpants. The location is great, too, because it’s right in between State Street and University.
I also like the food. Spicey waffle fries are delicious as is the veggie wrap. I’ve also tried a couple of the wraps which are decent. It’s not the best food, but it’s pretty good when you’re in a pinch.
The only thing that could make Amy’s better is if they served the waffle fries all night long.

As possibly my favorite bar, discounting the fact that this place is pretty divey with its rope lights and not so posh tables and chairs, I have no choice but to give this place 5 stars.
Amy’s is underrated.
There is no deal that rivals half priced rail drinks between 10pm-​midnight every night! $ 2 a drink? That’s crazy cheap. Also, I just hit up their Thursday night $ 3.50 margarita/​daquiri special again last night and they don’t get any less tasty over time.
Amy’s gets crowded a bit on weekend nights like everywhere else, but on weeknights, there’s never a problem finding a table with your friends.
I actually hope Amy’s stays underrated so that I know in future years on trips back, then there will be a table ready for me. :-)

*Note 1: This review is for the food and restaurant only — haven’t experienced the bar*
*Note 2: This review is based on a horrifyingly memorable experience from 2005*
Winter, blustery, below 0. I wanted a bowl of piping hot soup, my friend lived in the apartment above Amy’s Café. We entered the establishment. Quiet, dirty, napkins on the floor, old food crusted on the tables. I ordered the broccoli cheese soup, they served me luke warm Velveeta with a handful of frozen broccoli and a rock hard «baguette.» Yuck. Inedible. Two stars simply because my friend finished her sandwich and I liked her pickle.