Grampa’s Pizzeria

Ok, wow. First, I am confused that I have never written a review for Grampa’s — I can’t begin to figure out how many times I’ve eaten here! It’s definitely in my top 5 of Madison restaurants. The pizza is incredible, the cocktails are delightful, and they have really tasty gluten free pizza crust.
BUT — now they’ve gone and upped the ante by offering BRUNCH. Madison, I love you, but your brunch game is «off point». (Is that a thing? It should be). Just about every weekend that I’m in town, we have an endless discussion called «where can we get breakfast?». We first went to brunch at Grampa’s for Mother’s Day — and not only was there NO WAIT, the food was amazingly amazing. I had the butcher’s breakfast, which had perfectly cooked beef tenderloin, among many other lovely things. I had a cocktail that was wine and coffee together, that I didn’t love but my mom really liked, so I’ll still say it was great, just not to my taste. It was a pretty good brunch.
We came back this past Sunday, and WOW. As good as it was six weeks ago, they are hitting their stride now. My mom had the eggs benedict with pork confit, and could not stop talking about how it was made of «all the best parts of the pork roast». I had a bunch of sides as a meal. The bacon, Nueske’s, was thick cut and incredible, melt in your mouth fantastic. The best bacon I have ever eaten, ever — and it’s an incredibly generous portion, enough to share. I also had the pommes Anna, which is about 30,000 paper thin potato layers, slathered in butter and topped with parmesan cheese. Incredible. Somehow they take everything that is excellent about potatoes, butter, and cheese and amplify it.
I love this place, and it never fails to please, hence the 5 stars. However, in the spirit of constructive feedback, here are a few missteps from this weekend —
1) Our waitress was a little bit difficult to track down — we had to ask the hostess for water, and to go find the server when we needed a new drink order.
2) The Bloody Mary was too spicy to drink, and we heard another table say the same thing — my mom said it tasted like straight sriracha (and we love spicy).
3) Though there were corn tortillas on the menu, I was told that the chilaquiles, which come with flour tortillas, could not be subbed for corn because they were «all premade already». Grampa’s doesn’t strike me as a «premade» sort of spot, so this confused me, hence the meal of sides. It was no big deal, but sort of surprising as they are always super accommodating of all the things.
We love you! We’ll be back!

We finally made it to Grampa’s Pizzeria. Previous attempts have been thwarted with long waits as this is a popular place with excellent food and service! We went early expecting a wait but fortunately were able to be seated right away in a small room with only two tables. We choose the «Spread the Love» pizza and it did not disappoint. The kids had basic pies (ones with pepperoni) and they appreciated the thin crust. Excellent beer and wine selection. Loved the infused water and the kids even enjoyed it (surprisingly). The waiter was attentive but not overbearing. Wish I would have saved room for the ginger cake. Will have to visit again soon for that!

I suppose since it was a beginning of a lazy summer’s eve where memories should be made, we went out into the wild yonder for supper. Having skimmed though an ample amount of reviews of our chosen destination, we were intrigued to find out if it’s really worth the hype. It was a new place downtown, presenting itself as upscale and elegant. It was indeed upscale, and it was elegant. After we sat down, our waiter came over and poured us some waters from an unlabeled green wine bottle. As we acclimated, we attempted to read the menus, but it was so dim this wasn’t really a possibility. Mind you, not that this a huge turn off, except when your food and company is already forfeited to shadowy depths of what some would say is ambience. This is when we began to feel uncomfortable. Unsure how desirous we were of furthering this seriously cash sinking experience to be, we silently escaped outside to abandoned construction on the square.
We were ready to eat and eat soon, so in the stillness we quickly discussed our next maneuver. There was another place on our list and it was Grampa’s Pizzeria. So we went. We found a couple seats at bar as it was fairly full. The bartender was cool too, engaging but not nosey or pushy.
We started with Olives, which we found to be a bit bitter, and could have had more variety as each and every one was green. Kalamatas, for example are common place, but crowd pleasers nonetheless… It was fine.
And then the Panzanella appeared. It was a sight to behold. The bread had just moments ago been introduced to the extra virgin olive oil dressing, soaking in all the deliciousness from heirloom tomatoes, oregano and and other spices. There were whole cloves of roasted garlic, mild and buttery, and there was a bit of toastiness to them. All the senses activated. It was marvelous, and I can’t remember when the last time a dish took me out of the moment.
Our final course was a Finocchio pizza, it was pretty good certainly better than most. I prefer a drier pizza, and to me pizza is like a large snack. I don’t deduce any points for their pizza. We were both happy with the experience, and when we settled up, they give you cookies to go in a smallish paper bag with their logo. My companion liked this idea a lot. We will be back, and even if just to try that dessert that everyone’s mentioning on here…
— Late Bloomer

**All my reviews rate my experience AS A VEGAN eating at local Madison venues.**
I’ve eaten at Grampa’s two times with a friend of mine. Both times have been for a the Tuesday night date menu. The Tuesday night date menu consists of a bottle of wine, a soup or salad, a pizza, and a dessert for a reasonable price. My date is an omnivore and I’m a vegan, and we love eating out together. With this menu, we split the wine, I get the salad, we make a half vegan/​half non-​vegan pizza request, and he gets the dessert since there are no vegan dessert options anyway.
The first time we ate at Grampa’s I loved the atmosphere right off the bat. It’s dim, cozy, and intimate in there, but not so tight that you feel like your neighbors are over hearing your conversation. On our first visit the waiter was easy-​going enough about our odd request to split the pizza. The wine was delicious. The market salad was easy to make vegan (just hold the yogurt balls) and was absolutely stunning in both flavor, textures, and presentation. The pizza was yummy and filling. I just got the Finnochio, hold the cheese, and add some extra veggies that I saw elsewhere on the menu. Like I said, my date got all of the desert… the ginger cake, and he loved it! i do wish that there was a vegan option for us to share.
The next time we tried to go the wait was 90 minutes to two hours. Yikes! We were too hungry for that kind of wait so we had a delicious dinner across the street. A similar wait time awaited us on our next visit, but we were prepared and happy to sit at the bar and eat there. This time, our server seemed kind of irritated at our request to split and veganize the pizza. I get it… it’s ordering off the menu which is never a favorite. But, I hate to feel like an annoyance when I go to eat, and I want to give my service to local places with a great atmosphere and delicious food, AND staff that are prepared to handle odd requests with a good attitude. We finally worked it out and the food was again DELICIOUS. We both feel satisfied, full, and wine-​happy when we leave.
Overall, we love this place. The idea of Tuesday date night is fun and gives us something to look forward to midweek. The wait time keeps us from going every Tuesday. There are easier places to get vegan pizza and there are not vegan dessert options. In the end though, you’re going to be happy with the quality of the food. So if you’re vegan take that all into consideration and remember that the staff might or might not know what to do with your vegan requests.

Nice place. Food was great and service as just as good. Place is little small, so seating is troublesome. Pizzas are creative, favorable, and fresh tasting. Being small, table are very close and making the atmosphere a little loud. It is a little pricy, but it is down town madison.

What can I say? AWESOME! Best pizza in Madison! You have to make this a must! We are here every other week!

We came here for Mothers Day and were quite pleased with our meal! The food all came out promptly and the chef was able to meet the accommodations our group requested (olives on the side, chiles on half). We had 3 pizzas for a group of 5, which was just enough. We also ordered the mozzarella appetizer which I liked, but was not as big of a hit for others in our group. Good drink selection, and the coke bottles were adorable (perfect for Mother’s Day!) service was efficient, knowledgeable, and kind!
The only thing keeping Grampas from 5 stars was it was a little tough to go to with a large group. While my husband and I are pretty adventurous, the group we were with really likes their SMO pizza and garlic bread. While the unique ingredients on the pizza is something I love about the place, it was hard to sell it to the rest of our party. All the food ended up being delicious, but it was a bit awkward choosing what to order when your party is used to traditional pizza joints. We will be back!

We ran across this place after leaving our original place due to a long wait time and I’m so glad that we did! The restaurant is set up in an old house, with seating area in the living room part. The whole set up is pretty cute. And there’s a nice little garden outside with a few plots and string lights. The overall seating area is pretty small but doesn’t feel too cramped.
All of their pizzas are thin-​crust. I got the Goomba (garlic cream sauce, mushrooms, herbs) and absolutely loved it. My friend got the Jabroni (tomato sauce, basil) and liked it, but she said that she would probably order mine instead if she came here again. I think the mushrooms made it heartier. Plus I enjoyed mind more because I had a sore throat and the Jabroni had just a tiny bit of a kick — enough to somewhat bother a sore throat. In the end, they gave us some complimentary meringues (I think that’s what they were) so that was a nice little surprise!

Great place. First time we were here for a private event and got to taste a bunch of stuff, loved it and made a point to try and get back. We tried and tried and tried but couldn’t get in … until the other night!
What impressed the S.U. and I the first time was meeting Gill and Marissa, who run a fantastic operation, and the unique small plates. Try them! The pizzas are really good but, IMHO the small plates are where Gill shines so, this time we went all small plates and salads.
We ordered a handful and a glass of Cava to start. Our server handled the delivery sequence to match our wine choices so we sat back and let it come. They had a fresh grilled ramps dish with fried anchovies, lemony vinaigrette topped with a fried egg. Great start! Next, meat-​filled dumplings (4) topped with foie gras in a tasty broth followed by the beet salad. Not a bad bite yet.
Take a breath, shift to the house red, (Hedges CMS, a hometown favorite) and bring on the Pork Confit and Stuffed Calamari. This is the «one bite, one sip» stage of the dinner. Slow down, savor, enjoy. Grampa’s version of Pork Confit is served with ground mustard and giardiniera… dee-​lish. The spicy sausage (‘nduja) stuffed calamari was a forceful match to the Confit.
Talent and skill in the kitchen, great service on the floor. A wonderful dinner out!

Most definitely one of the top 3 restaurants in Madison. The chef-​owner, Gil, is truly gifted and you should try his small plates. His dishes are conceived with taste and freshness and beauty in mind.
The seasonal «Charred ramps» was FANTASTIC. (Ramps are wild spring onions.) Ramps with slight char, served on a board with fried anchovies, a fried egg and a few cherry tomatoes. It was sort of like a deconstructed Caesar salad, but made with sweet charred onions. Amazing.
The beet salad — well-​described in other reviews was stunning and Delish.
The dumplings, stuffed with chicken, were topped with a round of fois gras! Served with a light broth and a sprinkle of watercress. Oh yum.
The pork confit was served in a smokin’ hot cast-​iron skillet, so that the roasted pork got slightly crispy on the bottom. This came with stone-​ground mustard, crusty bread and a jalapeño pickle salad. Heaven.
The chocolate mousse, with coffee and cardamom was the lightest I have had in many years.
Served with caramel tuilles — a gorgeous presentation.
They have a great wine list– too — with CMS as their house wine.
You could go here for beer and pizza — but why?
The service was perfect. Serious, well-​timed and impeccable.
Grampa’s is very small. Therefore, you have to go early to get a table or be prepared to wait next door at Gib’s (the house bar next door).

Hands down my favorite pizzeria in Madison, probably the country. The ambiance is so nice and they do a great job at making you feel comfortable and not too close to the other tables. The pizza is amazing, I can’t even say my favorite because it changes every time I go, which is at least every other week.
Not only are the pizzas great, but so are the apps. Burrata, octopus, scallops, are just a few examples that change all the time. And you cannot go wrong with any of them.
If you have the time (since there’s usually a wait), you definitely should check this out! Even if you have to wait, you can head over to gibs next door for a drink and they’ll call you over when a table is available.

Grampa’s has been one of my go-to’s for the last 9 months. There is almost always a 20 – 30 minute wait, but you can go to Gib’s next door while you wait and grab a drink from the bar. It’s a small 15 seat, dimly light venue with a nice garden out back (unfortunately, no outdoor seating).
The cheese board is a consistent crowd pleaser, with regularly rotating local cheeses, honeys and jams.
Our favorite pizzas have been the Finochio and the Barberini. The Finochio is a spicy, red sauce pizza with Italian sausage, and green peppers. It can be a bit greasy at times, but it hasn’t detoured us from getting it time and time again. The Barberini is a red sauce pizza, with chunks of ricotta, red chile peppers, watercress, arugula, and a honey drizzle. It can be a bit spicy as well but has been loved by everyone I’ve gone to Grampa’s with.
Grampa’s is a true staple of Willy Street.

I am in love. This place smells freaking amazing from the second you walk in, the food is delicious, the service is great, what more do you demanding, picky people need?!?
It is also just so charming, so east side Madison. We went for the first time tonight and didn’t have to wait at all at 6:30 on a Thursday. The dumplings were fragrant and lovely, the Pinnochio pizza was super tasty (if you don’t eat sausage what the heck is wrong with you? This sausage was insanely flavorful), and the DESSERT. Omg the dessert. We shared the sticky ginger cake which was topped with an enormous lovely mound of lemon cream, cinnamon & candied pistachios. We would’ve licked the plate if we coulda.
The service was also stellar (though slightly disturbing that all of the waitresses look like thin, long-​haired brunette clones of each other).
It’s small and cozy, so I bet there’s frequently a wait. Well worth it. We can’t wait to go back.

Finally I had the chance to come and try the famous Grampa’s pizza at the end of willy St. Just like the neighbour, Grampa’s is also set up in a residential house turned into a business. It’s very romantic, cozy and hip.
I was slightly surprised about the lack of a cocktail menu but they do have a good selections of wine.
Other than just pizza, they already have a number of small plates that are available and I went with the classic: olives (not on pizza though!). They came in a good portion and are pretty tasty!
The two of us decided to share a pizza as entrée. They serve what I call European style pizza, thin and crispy, my favorite. They have a few vegetarian options and a few with classic meat toppings.
We went with one that was really unique, which has ricotta, tomato sauce, peppers, watercress and honey. It was very very well done. The crust was very thin and crispy while the ingredients are fresh and make a very good flavor profile. I would love to come back and try their other selections, but sadly it might be my last memorable pizza I had in Madison!

I came on a tuesday at 6pm. There was a 20 minute wait for a table, but the bar was empty so i sat there.
This is my 4^th time at Grampas. Theyre the best pizza I’ve had in Madison so far.
I always start off my meal with the beet salad. I think their beet salad is heavenly. They follow the common base formula of cooled roasted beets, chevre (soft goat cheese), and pistachio, but I think they do it the best. The pistachios are pureed, the beets are diced on top of the purée, the goat cheese has truffle added before being dispersed in small lumps throughout the plate, and it’s topped with pea shoots. Seriously, this thing is a masterpiece. The pistachio purée is creamy, smoky, and salty. The beets are cool, sweet, soft, and slightly chocolatey in my opinion. The chevre is tangy with an earthy, oily flavor (probably the truffle?). The pea shoots are like watercress that taste like pea pods with a certain crunchy sweetness. Get all of this in one bite for a flavor experience!
This time around, i ordered the Brassacre and the Jabroni.
The Brassacre is my favorite. Thick cube-​like chunks of smoky bacon and hard italian cheese go over individual brussel sprout leaves with a drizzle of olive oil. The olive oil seems to carry the sweet flavor of the brussel sprout leaves throughout the pizza. Since the brussel sprouts are separated into individual leaves, you get some crispy burnt ones (my favorite) and some thin cabbage-​like ones. These different textures really go well with the thick chunks of chewy bacon. I really cant describe why all these flavors work well together, but they do. Give it a try! I think the end pieces are the best for this one since the olive oil tastes better on the crunchy part of the crust.
The Jabroni is also great. Freshly sliced basil is the first thing you taste. Its bright, volatile flavor quickly descends into a dark, mysterious flavor coming from the sauce’s mixture of pesto and tomato sauce with a peppery kick at the end. For this one, i like the middle pieces the best since the soft crust seamlessly matches the texture of the sauce.
I’m from Chicago, so I will always love Lou Malnati’s the best, but this is excellent pizza too. Their flavors are so thought-​provoking!

Tuesday night is Date Night at Granpa’s. I went with 3 wonderful women and had a great time. So we paired up to accommodate the special… $ 40 for an app or salad, a pizza, dessert and a bottle of wine. Plenty of food for two and everything was spectacular. Started with calamari, Brassacre pizza (Brussels sprouts and Nueske’s bacon) and chocolate mousse. A lovely medium bodied red wine rounded it out. The other couple had the always beautiful and tasty market salad, the Finnochio pizza, and the mousse. Their meal also won rave reviews. Service was excellent.
Grandpa’s is reliable. The quality of the ingredients shines through and the preparations respect the ingredients but stretch your imagination.
5 stars for sure.

Finally! After weeks of trying to eat here, I was able to grab a table for three on a Tuesday night, after only about a half hour wait. The previous two attempts had an estimated wait of 2 hours. The space is small, the place is popular, and they don’t take reservations.
I came with two lovely ladies for Tuesday’s date night, which started off grumpy because of rush hour traffic, a rain storm catching me sans umbrella, and difficulty/​stress finding parking. But the experience at Grampa’s made it all worth it.
The inside was cozy, with attention to details that add to its romance, like the yellowed books and fresh flowers at the window sills. As a party of three, we added a second pizza to the date night special, which includes a bottle of red or white, 1 app, 1 pizza, and 1 dessert to share for $ 40. Strangely the special didn’t seem to be listed on their website or anywhere else; we heard through word of mouth, showed up, and it turned out to be true.
These are not your average pizzas. The bacon was meaty and smoky. The flavors contrasting, with bitter, floral, sweet, tart, savory, and the different textures of creamy and crispy. We chose the white that night, which turned out to be a new Sauvignon Blanc I hadn’t tried, and paired perfectly with our meal. We didn’t have room for the ginger cake at the end, but we devoured it anyway, along with the surprise macarons at the end.
Despite all it took to get here, this place was definitely worth the attempts. The servers are knowledgeable and you don’t feel rushed (which is probably why the wait tends to be long). Cheers to you if you can can grab a table, and bad luck if it takes you multiple tries like me, but in the end it was a pursuit worth making.

The folks at Grampa’s do an outstanding job of creating amazing flavors for pizza and other menu items. I have visited a few times, all for special events, and the food was incredible each time.
During my most recent visits, they hosted a tap takeover by Broadway Brewery in Columbia, Missouri the Thursday before Great Taste of the Midwest for a dinner event and again the Sunday after Great Taste for a special brunch. The Brewery staff also brought a lot of produce from their Missouri farm, which was incorporated into the menus.
Full disclosure, we are good friends with the Broadway Brewery Brewmaster and know the team there and their tastes and concepts, which we love, and we were so excited when we learned of their collaboration with Grampa’s for these two events. They could not have had better partners.
The pizza at Grampa’s is great. Let yourself sit back and enjoy their many offerings, including a pizza where brussel sprouts are a key ingredient. I’ve had the pleasure of tasting nearly all their typical pizza offerings, and you really cannot go wrong. The crust is thin, not quite a cracker crust, but thin enough to be an appropriate vehicle for the excellent ingredients on top and not drown out their flavor. Some pizza joints have such poor ingredients, you need the crust to make up for what lacks in topping flavor. Grampa’s is far above this.
While the pizza is outstanding, I encourage patrons to try other menu options. their salads and risottos are also rich and flavorful, and unlike any other I have found in Madison.
While you wait, walk next door to Gib’s bar (same owners) and enjoy a cocktail whilst lounging in one of their cozy spaces. The hostess at Grampa’s will call you when your table is ready.

Delicious thin crust pizza with very good small plate appetizers. Be prepared for a long wait during dinner hours, but it’s so worth it to dine in at this very cozy place.
The staff are so nice!
They will give you a brief introduction of each small plate, and also recommend you a few of their favorites.
We tried the calamari, which was very special. It had meat within, and roasted with tomato sauce. I also like the pork confit, which came with bread, pickled jalapeños and a special mustard.

If you write reviews on the reg, nothing is more embarrassing/​eye-​opening/​confusing/​shocking/​/​baffling/​complexing/​_​_​_​_​_​[fill in the blank] ing than stumbling across a business you love on Unilocal that you thought you wrote a review for, only to notice you never actually sang its praises! Color me eye-​opened! This review is WAY overdue.
I’ve been to Grampa’s at least a dozen times, and the thing that keeps me going back for more is the fact that every single time I order a pizza there, and every single time I say, «no cheese,» every single server says, «Ok!»
Not, «Let me check if we can do that.»
Not, «That won’t taste good.»
Not, «Are you sure?»
And every time I’ve been in a group and we’ve shared pizza and we’ve asked for half no cheese, it’s the same response! It sounds so silly, but the stellar staff at Grampa’s are among the few at pizza places in America’s Dairy Land that don’t look at me like I have three heads for living a life without lactose. And the fact that every pie I’ve eaten there blows me away (the Brassacre being my fave) means that these bad boys pack some serious flavor sans cheese, and that rocks.
The pork confit is a must and the beet salad is an awesome second course if you’re with a few folks and want to share several dishes. The nightly special (usually posted to their Facebook Page) is always outstanding when I get it, and I appreciate that it’s always an extension of the food philosophy of the restaurant, but rarely a specialty ‘za. Did someone say fried chicken and waffles? Yeah, man! They did. They said it, they made it, and Madison devoured it.
Not much to say about dessert because 1. I don’t have a huge sweet tooth and 2. After so many stellar savories I don’t have room. The complimentary macaroon, though, is lovely, and I enjoy that the flavors rotate frequently. They do a bang up job on holidays with coursed out menus that look marvelous, and while I haven’t tried it yet, I dig that they don’t scoff at carryout.