Heritage Tavern

I went last Wednesday. I’m shocked the chef was nominated for a James beard award. We had some nice food but overall the experience left me disappointed. Too many wrong things …
My drink was weak — $ 11 for a weak drink? The server said it was a balanced cocktail — is that code for pouring weak drinks?
My sisters entrée was so salty she sent it back
My soup was supposed to have butter poached lobster — not!

Great date spot. Cool bar. Bartender was passionate and knowledgable. Manager came by a few times. Chef stopped by. Had a great sample of the menu and everything was unique and delicious. Serving size was small, but it allowed us to enjoy a variety of items.

Our first experience at Heritage was on New Years Eve with a group of our friends. While our group loves a good meal we value craft cocktails more. The cocktail menu was better than your average non-​undergraduate upscale bar but nothing extremely impressive although it did give us confidence that the bartenders were well trained. This confidence was further promoted when we met Clint, who turned out to be the bar manager and our new favorite Madison bartender. It was very apparent that Clint and his bar staff enjoyed experimenting with new cocktails and had no issue making off menu drinks catering to our specific tastes. Most of our cocktails were off menu and non-​ordinary but all were amazing. We especially liked their use of vermouth and house made bitters in many of their drinks which a lot of other local places are hesitant to use. I highly recommend getting a drink with their tobacco fig bitters! We are now regulars at the bar and although Clint isn’t always there his staff is very experienced and make it a fun enjoyable atmosphere. We also really enjoy that there isn’t blaring music like many other places nearby.
I have brought my fiancée there for dinner several times. We’ve eaten both at the bar and in the fine dining area. The bar food is surprisingly good, especially their take on deviled eggs which were amazing. The bar food and drinks are higher priced than many local bars but the quality in my opinion is well worth it.
The fine dining experience was also positive. We went to Heritage for date night and made sure to make a reservation which is highly recommend. We started out with their bacon wrapped cheese curds. This appetizer was not my favorite, the batter wasn’t typical and the cheese was more solid than melted but I can see how many would like if. In all fairness our server did a perfect job of describing the appetizer before we ordered it. I’m a sucker for trying new takes on cheese curds, especially when bacon is added!
We then had their Tomahawk Steak for two. This was one of their nightly specials which we were warned took about 45 minutes to make. I’m one that typically thinks you can only make standard dishes like steak amazing to a certain point before it can’t get any better. I thought I’d already experienced the best but I was wrong. The steak was season with something I can only describe as magical as well as grilled bone-​in which is the only way one should grill a steak. It was then sliced and artfully stacked on a serving plate. We both left highly satisfied already planning on returning in the near future.
We love the downtown life and I’m glad to have found Heritage. It’s now one of our new favorite spots.

2^nd review to say that if you get the chance, sit at the end of the bar and watch the bartender make drinks. It’s quite the show!

Came here for Valentines day, and was highly impressed! The atmosphere was really pretty, and service was also great. They had a special Valentines menu, and the food was beautifully presented and tasted absolutely amazing. I don’t usually drink, but their cocktail menu was so tempting that I couldn’t resist — can’t remember the names of the drinks, plus the menu has already changed.
Strongly recommend this place!

We went here on suggestion from friends. Having few occasions to spend money on nice meals, I was scared after looking at the menu that I would be disappointed, but I was so wrong.
The owner has a heritage pig farm and raises all the pork products. They also do their own pickling. They frequent the markets for ingredients as well. When you consider all this, their menu has fair pricing.
Bloody marys are house-​made and just the right thickness for me. SO good. We also tried the market champagne cocktail, which this week was a pear, absinthe, pickled grape perfection.
I had the breakfast sandwich add ham (which was more like bacon). The complexity of all the different flavors made this remarkable. Perfect bun that was a vehicle for the sandwich but didn’t over power it. Fried green tomato, perfect sunny-​side up egg, salty «ham», pickled veggies, greens and stone ground mustard with aioli. SO GOOD.
My husband tried the Heritage Tavern Benedict and we were super enticed and excited by the fried poached eggs — fried yet creamy yolk! Again an excellent plate.
Would have loved to dip into the sweet side of the menu but we were too full. Excellent service at the Bar from Clint. Overall an amazing experience and worth every penny.

3.5 Stars.
Well, It’s winter and I need something to do… as I am not into «winter» sports. I just can’t believe in freezing my tush off outdoors for fun. I just … can’t. What the hey, let’s do something crazy, like drive the 20 min, into downtown, pay for parking, on Wednesday, for date night! GREAT idea (even thought we’re still «outside» walking around.)
We landed at Heritage — I’ve been meaning to come here. Menu looks good.
Ambiance — chic, fun bar, GREAT lighting. Well, I like to see my food, so I loved the lighting. Everything is cream color and clean lines. Look for the little pigs and foxes. I really appreciated this space.
Food — Dietary limited me to small plates, but there were plenty for me to try.
Deviled Eggs — we got the ½ order = 6. Very fun. Sure it’s $ 9 for 6 eggs but they put some thought into it, and fresh raw tuna into 2 of ‘em! This was our favorite plate. 2 were fried eggs (with a faint sweetness in the breading), 2 were soy soaked with a hint of soy/​salt in the yolk, and the last 2 had a «tuna salad» where the yolk is (nice mix with scallions and wasabi «chip»). Great starter. ⁵⁄₅
Lamb Crepinette — well, descriptions can be deceiving. We were expecting lamb in a crêpe, or some version. What we got was shredded lamb meat encased in a gelatinous wiggly, weird mucous casing that looks like a burger patty (but moved like jello), slopped onto this liquid explosion. We were… taken aback. I don’t really do red meat. But I figured «it’s lamb, this place knows what their doing.» So I looked away, prodded through the membrane, then tentatively tried the meat. It’s good. It’s like beef, but not as «meaty.» It had a nice flavor, warmed me up. The sparse veggies: spinach and carrots were cooked fine, but not really needed. The white onion sauce under the lamb had a milk base so I had to ignore it, but I did try one smear — it went well with the lamb. (Unfortunately didn’t get a pic.) So, the look of this dish is 1/​5, but the taste is ⁴⁄₅. Overall this dish gets a ³⁄₅.
Mushroom Gnocchi — Ummmm. This is GOOD. G-​OO-​D good. Like Guuud. Maybe I just haven’t been eating the right gnocchi (chances are high), but I finally understand why they are «little pillows.» «Those aren’t pillows!» These are so light and squishy. Amazingly though, this dish is actually upstaged by the mushrooms. Maybe they aren’t anything funky or new, but they are very rich: in texture and flavor. No puny little button ‘shrooms here. These are portobello, shiitake, oyster, and enoki. They have a madeira wine sauce mixed in. Great sauce. (Comes with brie, unknown form, but I had them remove it for my tummy). ⁵⁄₅
Salmon Char Siu — ok ok ok. I know I always say «I never get it because it COULD be fishy.» Well, I didn’t listen to my own advice. Damn you Google! Google shows these really great char siu pics = BBQ glaze. I was drooling. But this dish is mostly raw salmon with a smidge of mango salsa under it (I didn’t feel any Habanero). I didn’t taste any sweetness (char siu = honey, rice wine, soy, sugar) on the salmon itself. I only tasted the black vein «fishy.» There was some interference from the veggies and pork belly. The veggies didn’t do anything, and the pork was actually a bad idea for this dish. The Salmon is family line-​caught and flown in from Sitka, AK. I wanted to like it, but I just couldn’t. The Other, however, did. We both woulda liked more sauce on it. OR maybe just the Char Siu flavor? If you like Salmon, you’ll probably like this. Split decision = ²⁄₅
Service — Friendly, but too Laissez-​faire for me. Made some lactose exceptions, but didn’t completely follow through on all of it. Ex: Me — «I can’t have milk, cream, cheese, lactose.» Her — «Is it an allergy or you just intolerant?» Me (thinking) — That’s like «will you DIE? or do you just wanna FEEL like you wanna die for the next 6 hours?» Me — «um intolerant.» Her — «well, I don’t think this one has anything in it.» Me — «ok ok, can you check?» Her — just brings out the food then «oh, yeah, there’s some right there. Just try to avoid that area.» Ok, I have to start being a bitch again. ²⁄₅
Overall, I like this place. They have put great thought into some bites and overdid some others, but at least they are trying some inventive ideas. I will come back, BUT I will have to be more strict about my lactose, and I will have to ask for full descriptions from a more experienced waitress or manager.

This restaurant is beautiful and I really like the location near the Bartel Theatre.
My first stop here was for a very late brunch. I really enjoyed my egg benedict dish. The server and host were awesome to seat me so late into the afternoon.
I really look forward to exploring the menu more.
Only thing that knocked a star off was the beer list was not up to date. It took several trips from my server to find something on tap that was not off the menu.

Sometimes you have those meals that make your toes curl in deliciousness. This was one of those experiences!
I am so happy that we tried this for Restaurant Week. We just had the best time, the best food, and cannot wait to go back.
The atmosphere was cozy and comfortable. The staff were friendly, answered our questions, and our water glasses were never empty.
The food … oh, the food! My entrée will be in my dreams tonight — grilled beef sirloin and tamarind glazed ox-​tail with sweet potato-​coconut purée, charred brussels sprouts, tomatillo chimichurri sauce, crushed peanut. To. Die. For.
The bathrooms are a one person room, so if you push on the door, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t budge. I few of the fixtures were unique, but overall it is nothing to go out of your way for.

Was happily surprised dining hear for brunch as a gluten free non meat eater, but the staff were really accommodating and very nice!
I knew BF would love the meat selection, and he stated these were the best steak and eggs he has had in MSN! The eggs were almost soft boiled and fried?! Crispy exterior which he raved about.
I had a bloody to drink which was crafted well and was unique compared to most I have had in MSN.
The market vegetable omelet with zucchini carrot and cauliflower did not disappoint. Not your typical omelet vegetables but it was AmAZING! All the vegetables were seasoned to perfection and the goat cheese added a nice creamy contrast! Also, let me add that the portions were great. Will definitely be brunching again!

Looking for a delicious and unique meal in Madison? Heritage Tavern is pretty darn good with a cool & trendy, but slightly upscale atmosphere, wonderful service (our server was pretty aloof but the rest of the staff was phenomenal and on point) and some good local beer selections.
We started with their half dozen deviled eggs ($ 9) and they were so uncommon that that made half the fun of eating them. One was a fried rice deviled egg soaked in soy sauce and topped with what you guess it would be. Another was pork rillette. breaded on the outside and full of piggy goodness on the inside. Finally, there was a miso egg all Japanese out and wonderful! These deviled egg flavors change from time to time but we sure hit some winners! As a deviled egg connoisseur, I approve.
Our other eatings of the evening —
Head Cheese & Escargot over creamed grits ($ 12) — heh. Head cheese. heh. My buddies loved this dish but sadly I could not partake due to the shellfish. Stupid late in life food allergies. I know your delectable taste but never again will your sea-​ness caress my lips.
Tempura Bacon Wrapped Cheese Curds ($ 12) — I loved this take on cheese curds! The homies and I had this pact to get cheese curds at each food spot we hit up in The Land of Cheeseheads. Not only were these overindulgent cheese curds wrapped in bacon to make them more beastly, but they came with three different sauces to dip them into. I love having options so enjoyed that. Plus this dish came with deep fried tempura sweet potato, too, to semi balance out the unhealthiness going on.
Mushroom Gnocci — ($ 15) — One of their rotating pasta dishes and man was this creamy, full of fresh veggies and just downright delightful.
Aside from the great food, Heritage Tavern had a full beer & wine menu, as well as some tasty sounding cocktails. I had a couple beers that were slightly over priced but one came out in a kick@$$ holder for the glass which gave me pseudo good feelings of being cool.
Ending 2015 on a high note with a road trip to Madison was fun and ending Unilocal 2015 with a five star review leaves me happy! Yay Heritage Tavern!

What a great restaurant!
Have you had tempura cheese curds wrapped in bacon? Yep… Not kidding. They have it here. What a great and innovative creation. Being here for the first time and in Madison, this place is a great choice. Had foie gras here as well served with pork belly. What a great combo! It’s like the chef can read my mind.
Had lamb for dinner as well echo have was superb. Also tried their Malbec and Cab Sauv and both were good. Our server was very nice as well and provided really great suggestions for food choices and places to visit around the area.
My coworker order the bouillabaisse and she said it was superb. She also ordered a bunch of different cocktails and they were all tasty.
I will definitely come back here again and try the meat head platter.

Have eaten here several times before, but were just here with a large group of 10 people. They asked us to reserve later on in the evening (8:30) and we were seated right away. Had some great drinks, any of their cocktails were a big hit. Someone had the deviled eggs and they were simply beautiful! Tasted great too. The star of the show was the family style heritage pork and blackfin tuna. You have to order in a group of 2 or more and it’s $ 30 per person; but easily worth it because you got quite a bit, even enough for leftovers. Nice hunk of pork shoulder — almost crispy on the outside but fall off the bone tender. Only a few pieces of the tuna, I’d say 4 small slices. Two big hunks of fried headcheese, on a bed of veggies. Highly recommend!

We have been to Madison a lot and tried a lot of different restaurants. Heritage is clearly one of the best. Not cheap, but you really feel like you get your money’s worth. Amazingly complex dishes. Sometimes when restaurants get this complex, you wonder if they are trying too
hard. Not here. It really works and they work for their money. I appreciate that in a restaurant. If you are in Madison and you have a special event, you can’t beat Heritage

YUMMY! Heritage is delicious, with great multi-​room décor as well. More casual bar/​table in room #1, more ‘fine dining but not pretentiously so’-type atmosphere in room #2. There might be more rooms, but I was so hungry and anticipating food that I forgot to take note, oops.
Appetizers, my friend Paul and I had a 3-​cheese plate that was solid. You can also get cured meats with this, but he wasn’t into them. For appetizers, we had delicious beat salad, and I had cheese curds, which were done super creatively. They use tempura-​style breading for them, and they tasted great with the three sauces provided (one a more traditional ranch-​style thing, one a kind of tangy «Asian fusion» fruity thing, and some other one I forgot because I was so into the other two.)
Actual meal, I had this red snapper special/​whitefish/​veggies/​rice/​lobster tail gargantuan plate that I finished all by myself. Rice had a nice cheesy (as in the food, not the pejorative) flavor to it, and the whole thing was delicious without being uncomfortably gut-​busting. I weigh ~140 on a good day and am 5’8″, so if I could handle these portions, those above my weight class should be, too. I’ll post pix later maybe.
Great spot. I’m definitely coming back. One of the best I’ve had in Madison. Super friendly wait staff.

Awesome cocktails and gourmet food! The bartenders were generous with the liquor, and it’s a wonderful experience just watching them preparing the cocktails. Had crispy pork belly, foie gras and black-​fin tuna. Super delicious! Foie gras was a little overcooked from my point of view as it’s not «melting» in my mouth, but still the combination of these three made it a outstanding dish. Ordered the bacon-​wrapped cheese curds out of curiosity. The sauces were tasty, though I still prefer the original cheese curds… A little pricey for «tavern», but the food and drink worth every penny.
Adding pics…

I went for restaurant week and sat at the bar since I was just one person dining. The bar was only staffed with one person (at 6:15p on a Monday) while I was here, so there was a bit of a wait for me to get menus when I first sat down. Other guests experienced this as well as they arrived at the bar. The bartender was nice, just (truly) very busy.
For my starter I ordered the fried beef & pork meatballs. They were really good. I liked the heirloom tomato olive sauce poured over them. They were set onto a small salad, but since the meatballs were hot the salad got a bit wilted. The few veggies on the plate though were good.
For my main I got the tilapia dish. It was served in a curry sauce which in and of itself was fascinating — somehow it was served bubbly/​foamy. I didn’t particularly care for the taste of the curry, perhaps a bit of orange flavor existed… The dish also fell between a soup and a dry dish and in-​between is never a good place for anything to be. Instead of there being a broth, the ingredients, especially the rice, took on more of a soggy texture.
Dessert was Rhubarb Sorbet & Lavender Champagne. The champagne was served in a shot glass for you to self-​pour on the sorbet. The flavor was fine to me without the champagne. All the champagne did in my opinion was add a bit of carbonation texture to the dessert, which didn’t add or subtract to the value for me.
All in all the bartender being so busy took away a bit from the experience I expect to have when I sit alone at a bar. Also, being a bit rushed, he was making mistakes. He almost served me the wrong dessert. As he cleared my main he told me some other dessert would be right out — I corrected him and he had to go back into the kitchen to change it. A really cool atmosphere, but between the main and the bartender I was disappointed.

Heritage, you did not disappoint, but there are just a few things that hold you back from perfection. I have had the benefit of getting to know you after two visits now. Both times away you left me satisfied and curious about what else you offer, wondering if it would be better than what I just put inside my body.
Upon entering Heritage, you are greeted by a very trendy décor. Heritage is slightly below ground level so it has a sort of old basement feel to it with the splash of exposed brickwork, along with the wood paneling. The furniture, lighting, bar, and chairs all match this feel perfectly. I love the small touches like the fox head cut into the back of all the chairs. For me, the restaurant was perfectly lit. It was dim enough for the atmosphere to be intimate, but it was bright enough to still have your food well lit.
Warning! Due to being underground, getting a cell signal can be dicey. Luckily, Heritage has free Wi-​Fi for you social media fiends. You may have to use Wi-​Fi to check in while inside.
I started with a glass of a Grenache blend wine, priced at $ 6. It was quite drinkable for the price, but it wasn’t amazingly complex (not expected at that range). I was originally looking at the beer selection but nothing really blew my socks off or seemed interesting. Wine seemed like it would pair better with the cuisine anyways. My wife ended up ordering a Sao Paulo Smash, one of the many craft cocktails. All of the cocktails at Heritage are made by a mixologist and well executed. While I did not appreciate the rose water in the cocktail, I can appreciate the proper execution of this drink.
We ended up starting with one of the charcuterie boards. When you order a charcuterie board you get to decide how many and which items you want on the board. We chose bacon wrapped dates and two cheeses. The board was very well assembled and came with three spreads and some toast. I appreciated the light snack before the main course. The three item board ran us $ 15.
On a separate visit I had an order of the deep fried cheese curds on my quest to find notable cheese curds in Madison. These cheese curds are NOT traditional in any sense, but they are incredibly well executed and pleasing to eat. The curds are wrapped in bacon and lightly fried in tempura. They are served with three dipping sauces, all of which are very interesting. Heritage has earned a well deserved place on my notable cheese curd list with this menu item! They are fantastic, but do not expect your typical pub curds!
For our entrée, we ordered «family style,» which is a menu option for 2+ parties. All of the food is on one massive plate, and you pass it around to share it like a family would at home. Cool concept! The typical family style meal includes braised pork, tuna sashimi, lettuce with Asian sauce, fried headcheese, pickled veggies, and something on special (in our case, porcetta). Ordering family style will run you $ 30 per head.
Every single individual component of our meal was well executed and enjoyable on its own. My main issue with Heritage is an issue of pairing. I didn’t really «get» why sashimi was being served on top of a roasted pork shoulder. Why? They didn’t really go together what so ever. While they were delicious on their own, they didn’t complement one another or really go. The entire meal (for the most part) was on a single plate as a mound of food. I do not think food should be served in a giant mound if it isn’t all meant to be consumed in a bite that contains all of the components on the dish.
The whole dessert menu was kind of pricey and there were some very interesting items on it (beet ice cream, anyone?). Between the price and the interesting culinary decisions, we were not feeling adventurous.
Our service was very attentive, and I really felt taken care of while at Heritage. I appreciate the well thought out dish descriptions and attentiveness to detail. Our server, Paige, always made sure that we had everything we needed and that our waters were topped off.
The décor, atmosphere, service, and food are all great at Heritage. The beer list definitely leaves me wanting more, but I am satisfied with the wine list. The cocktail list is well assembled and well executed. Unfortunately, the food just seems kind of thrown together and lacks cohesion. I can appreciate individual elements of a dish, but I just can’t love the whole package that Heritage offers. Heritage, we can be good friends, but I don’t think we’re besties yet.

I feel like I just accepted an award because experiencing this restaurant was such a reward and I have so many people to thank.
I’d like to thank Ashley for taking me here. Your beet salad was exceptional, and the dark chocolate made me feel like I was eating a healthy dessert for a meal. I’d like to thank Lucas, our considerate and efficient server who got us our drinks and gave us amazing suggestions. I look forward to sitting at the bar the next time so I could have him as our server again.
We sat at the bar, and we were immediately greeted and given drinks and a menu. Lucas was so attentive and checked up on us frequently, which was such a pleasure seeing how busy the place was. There weren’t many dairy free options, so I assumed I’d just have a drink (which was amazing. See attached photo). However, Lucas informed me that Dan Fox would be willing to cook me a special dairy free Wagyu burger (there’s cheese mixed into the meat). I was so happy with my burger, and I was even more happy with the experience. Seriously some of the best bar service I’ve seen.
We had the fries after with some various dips (one spicy, one savory). A bit salty for my taste, but still very delicious. I enjoyed this whole meal so much.
Yes yes yes, I will be coming back.

Wow… how have I not reviewed Heritage? I have been here a half dozen times for dinner and even more so for drinks and never go home disappointed.
Last night, my girlfriend and our friends brought me here to celebrate my birthday and what is present it was. This also happens to be restaurant week, here in Madison, and the 3 courses were outstanding. Our table ordered and shared the following:
First Course
Roasted Beet Salad
Lamb Tartare
Head Cheese & Escargot
All three were solid but I thought the head cheese was out of this world. Crispy headcheese goodness served over creamy grits. Unctuous and rich, the meat was balanced by fresh herb and lemon salad.
Second Course
Braised Pork Shoulder, Boudin Blanc & Crisp Pork Belly
Sturgeon seasoned with winter spices served with mussels, carrots, radishises, and kale chips with a beurre-​chestnut emulsion. (This was an add-​on from their RW menu)
A side of roasted brussel sprouts served with Humboldt Fog cheese
I am a sucker for all things pig related but the sturgeon took the prize on this one. It’s hard to describe the taste of sturgeon. It’s flesh is white but has a rich undertone that other white fleshed fish have. Normally priced at $ 32, I would get this every time I see it on the menu. It’s that good!
Third Course
Flourless chocolate cake with espresso-​cocoa nib ice cream
Warm Future Fruit Apple Strudel
Feel it was a toss up on these two desserts. Both were well prepared. The cake being a perfect mix of chocolate and coffee and the strudel enveloped in a flaky butter shell that made you believe you were back eating at Grandma’s house.
I am always a skeptic when dining during Restaurant Week. At times, I feel the restaurants «dumb down» their food to bring in new diners looking for a bargain. Not the case with Heritage. Top notch food, top notch drinks with a efficient wait staff. An excellent night.