Cafe Allegre

I am fussy about restaurants. My wife complains about my dislikes. I look for great prompt service, tasty creative food and a affordable cost at the least. Most holidays I avoid restaurants because most cannot handle the rush.
Café Allegre satisfies all of my hot buttons. They set the bar for an enjoyable unforgettable meal every time I go there. Kudos Joe for a great Sunday.

Gluten free pasta was cooked perfectly. White Clam sauce was delicious. The other dish was a pasta dish w/​Fra Diavolo sauce which was also delicious. Portions were good size for lunch… salads were a little on the small side. Bartender /​server was friendly and professional, and the restaurant has a nice warm atmosphere.
Will definitely be back for lunch or dinner again.

Walking into this restaurant is like walking into my stuffy grandmother’s house. The décor is old, most of the staff is stiff and do not come across as friendly, and the food is alright. Although I have enjoyed a meal here the food is boring. Each entrée seems to have the same flavors and the same feel, there’s nothing interesting or unique about the food here. The food was like mass-​produced banquet food for the price of a five-​star meal

Excellent food… great servers and bartenders… right in the heart of Madison. I highly recommend this place. Pork Cutlet Milanese is my favorite dish here. Chef Silvio doesn’t disappoint…

It’s good to be the only game in town. If not for that, Café Allegre probably wouldn’t be open. The food isn’t horrible, maybe even mediocre. It’s the service that’s just appalling. Bar service is extremely slow, and again, mediocre in terms of what they serve you. Martini in a warm glass, cheap wine.
After waiting a while for service, the bartender turned away to help someone else mid-​sentence as I asked about the food. I later suggested that I was given the wrong salad dressing as it was white and creamy. I was told that’s how they make balsamic and the bartender promptly turned and walked away. It’s almost like they were paying me to be there.

Terrible service. Prejudice staff. Waited 20 minutes to be seated, while there were 10+ tables available. Then it took 20 minutes for drinks, and then the server disappeared for another 20 minutes. We walked out, unnoticed.

The food is ok, the service is good and on a busy night it feels like a factory. I had the lobster sauce with capellini and the lobster was not fresh, most likely frozen. My friend and I had an appetizer, entrees, wine and after dinner drinks. After we paid the bill, we had been there 2 hours, instead of the waitress asking us to give up the table… a large man was sent to our table asking us to leave. Not tasteful at all. Embarrassing and left with an even worst taste in my mouth than the lobster meat. This place used to be good. Sadly, not many restaurants in Madison for people to choose from.
10÷27÷15
Thank you Silvio for taking the time to read my review. I hope it helps and I wish you much success in your future.

What a delightful dining experience we had tonight at Café Allegre! Lots of choices we had, here in SE Conn, and Unilocal once again, came through.
It is a lovely spot on Madison’s main drag– beautiful setting, easy parking. The hostess stand is straight back through the bar– we were seated immediately in the dining room with a beachy vibe. Warmly welcomed yet again by the bus boy, one of a handsome, young duo keeping an eagle eye on the room. Steve was our server– he had excellent knowledge of the menu and specials and his suggestions were spot on.
Fresh french bread began the meal with a light EVOO — would have enjoyed some herbs! The salad had field greens with a
delicious house dressing. We ordered and shared the Pasta Prima Vera and the Chicken Marsala. The PV was the best we have ever had– flavorful without a huge puddle of butter and oil! The CM was good, well prepared with juicy chicken chicken but needed more flavor. Embarrassed to say I still use Carrabba’s as my benchmark for all things Marsala!
Topped it off with silky Crème Brûlée which hugged infused raspberries– Gran Marnier and Chambord– YUM!
All this, with wine, for a great price! We will probably never have the pleasure of visiting this charming town again, but if YOU do– be sure to include Café Allegre among your culinary choices!

This is one of the best restaurants I’ve been to. The mussels appetizer is SO GOOD. I could eat it every day. We also had the fried squash flowers and fig & prosciutto appetizers. All wonderful. I had Ossobucco which is a lamb shank over a risotto (a special they have every Thursday) and it was so tender it cut like butter with my fork. For dessert we got a cannoli and a lemon sorbetto. Both were delicious. I wish I could take up permanent residence at this place.

My wonderful Husband brought me here for my birthday. Lovely atmosphere. Great staff that are very knowledgable. Menu choices are diverse. The portions are perfect for me and a reasonable size for most though I imagine it’s not ideal for people who like very large portions. I had the filet mignon medallions with Gorgonzola and they were cooked to perfection and very tender. My Cosmo was perfectly balance. Not weak but not overly alcoholy tasting. The only thing holding back from a fifth star was the initial bread brought to the table was not warm. I will definitely be going back though.

Good food with a nice atmosphere. Staff should loosen up.

Had a great meal here, a little pricey but a nice night out.

We found this gem while visiting Madison for the first time. It far exceeded our expectations (we were there on an offseason, weeknight with no reservation). The food was fantastic, the service was outstanding, and the wine selection was great. We enjoyed our evening and will return on a future trip.

Quite frankly, I cant believe this place is still in business. I went back after to try it again after having not been in a while. Same tired staff, same very tired décor — think
early 80’s dead grand mother’s house. You get the feeling you’re walking into someone’s living room and you weren’t invited The food is ehhh at best. Pasta was overcooked, the «specials» were the same ones on the menu last time I was there,
and the veal I had was not particularly tender. Enough. (I think the owners are tired of running it and it shows…)

I don’t go here often but when I do I am always pleased by the food. I ordered the chicken siciliana and the pane cotto — both were delicious.

I know it’s not fair to judge Café Allegre to its precious entity as Café Lafayette but I can’t help it. So I’ll try to be genuine in my review. I have eaten hear several times and always had a good meal but always feel like a stranger.
The food is always good here but I just don’t love the experience. I feel almost like the waitstaff is cold. Definitely professional waitstaff, and I’m not a fan of those that try to be chummy — but it’s almost like the restaurant’s philosophy is to treat people like a guest. Some restaurants have the vibe they are happy you came, let’s face it you can cook at home or go to literally dozens of restaurants along the shoreline if not five right around the corner. Café Allegre seems to give me the feeling I am guest who is privileged to have Chef Silvo’s cooking.
My personal pet peeve is on Saturday nights you have to order your entire meal. So if you’re dining with 8 people and you’d like to get some starters on the table while you settle in and explore the menu better come on a Monday night.
It’s not that the staff is standoffish. It’s not that the treat you as if you’re lucky to get in. To me if seems to be the philosophy of the restaurant, to which it is entitled, that I’m lucky to be here and it doesn’t sit well with me. Even if the veal is delicious.
One thing I would add, it is a great place for a first date, or one of the first dates. The staff does not rush you, and the ambiance is quiet enough for conversation. You may find they closing up around you.

Delicious food with great service! Can’t wait to go back. Loved the calamari! Be sure to try the filet of sole.

This is our go-​to Italian Comfort Food restaurant. It is a big restaurant so week nights is the best chance of having Chef Silvio prepare your dish — you will notice the difference. The wait staff is one of the few professional staffs on the shoreline — it is a pleasure dining at Allegre.

in 2010 we had a graduation dinner celebration for 22 people at Allegre and it was the worst restaurant experience of my life.
The food took over 70 minutes to arrive and was cold and not very good. Service was horrible and the meal was very expensive.
Even worse, when I contacted the owner (still the current owner) to complain about the experience he was totally indifferent and did not address any of the issues.
I’ve waited 4 years before I relaized I could leave a Unilocal review, so perhaps it has improved, but as the owner remains the same person I expect it has not improved.

Came here for dinner with family and had a great time. We were early and enjoyed some drinks at the bar before being seated at our table. The bartender was very attentive.
It has a nice, cozy feeling inside here. We were a larger party, comfortably seated around a large circular table. Our waitress was good and let us know about the specials. The food arrived in a timely manner and everyone seemed to enjoy their orders. We had mentioned it was my mom’s birthday so they were kind enough to bring out a birthday dessert with candle, and a mini champagne bottle. This was a nice touch.
It was a little pricey, but we had a great time here!