The Downtowner

Mediocre food served in a nonexistent décor. Staff is friendly enough, but cleanliness is not a priority with this restaurant. Both sandwiches (Union Jack ham and Little Italy sub) had way too much sauce and the bread was covered in a thick, overpowering layer of parmesan. Not particularly tasty. Better choices can be found elsewhere.

Great food! If you’re looking for a great sandwich, wrap, salad or soup then go to The Downtowner! The grilled cheese has Parmesan on the buttered outside and is sooo very good. The Hot Brown is also a delicious choice! Each soup I’ve had has been great but the loaded potato wins as favorite. And they have a great combo offer with ½ signature sandwich and a bowl of soup. The ½ sandwich is huge as is the cup of soup so it’s quite a filling meal. And definitely get several cookies before you leave or you’ll be really sorry. The cranberry white chocolate is amazing!

Small but nice. Outside seating available. Reasonably priced. Delicious food. I had the loaded potato soup and BLT. Both were wonderful.

The sandwiches here are amazing! I had their homemade chicken salad sandwich, which was terrific, and my husband had the Chicken Pesto Alfredo sandwich. I also ordered the Red Skin Potato and that was equally delicious. The environment is cozy and the service was quick and very friendly. If you’re ever in Madison, IN, I highly recommend The Downtowner.

Was in Madison for one meal and found this really good sandwich shop around dinnertime. The staff were friendly and attentive. I had a «duo» with a chicken salad sandwich and a side of potato salad. Also came with a bag of kettle chips.
The sandwich was excellent!!! 5 million stars for that chicken salad, which was creamy, nutty, and mildly sweet thanks to whole grapes mixed right in! The potato salad was good, too – a tad too creamy for my taste, but well-​seasoned and incredibly fresh-​tasting!
I am not generally big on sandwiches, but I would definitely return if I wasn’t just passing through.

Wow! The French Dip was a 10. A perfection of sliced meat on a toasted hoagie bun. Wow is all I can say. End that with a huge Peanut butter cookie and you will be in heaven… Ice tea was sweet as my woman’s kisses. Mwwaah !!

The Downtowner is a great place for lunch.
They have great sandwiches and sides.
The redskin potato salad is awesome. They also have very yummy Monster cookies.
I would highly suggest eating here!

Ate here because the desk clerk at Clifty Falls Lodge recommended it. We were greeted promptly when we entered. The menu had a nice selection. Sandwiches were about $ 8 – 9. Bread sticks were $ 5 for 4. Soup of the day was loaded potato. My daughter and I got it and agreed it was a bit bland. We (4) each got a different sandwich. They were all generously loaded and very good. The iced tea was smooth. They got very busy and service got a bit slow but it was understandable. Overall a very good experience and we would go back if in area again.

While taking a short trip to visit a relative in Hanover, In., we stopped at The Downtowner in Madison, In. for lunch.
There were 5 of us and I quizzed each one on their lunch. Each enjoyed what they had, and agreed it was well worth the stop.
My food was filling, tasty, hot, and reasonably priced. The menu has many offerings so everyone can find something to order.
I guess my only complaint would be, they were so busy, we couldn’t find a table to fit all 5 of us. So I sat off to the side at an adjacent table.
The restaurant must have a good rep, because when we left, they were still busy.

The Really Big Reuben is to die for. The redskin potato salad and tomato florentine soup are great as well.

The Downtowner is a solid option for a lunch or quick meal in downtown Madison.
A close friend who lives in the area recommended that we meet up for lunch here. Who am I to turn down a recommendation from a local?!?
The Downtowner is pretty basic on the inside. You will immediately recognize that it’s a quintessential, small-​downtown sandwich shop. No frills.
I ordered the grilled cheese and a cup of chicken noodle soup, following the advice of the server. Who am I to turn down a recommendation from a server?!?
And I was pleasantly impressed.
The bread on the grilled cheese was perfected grilled in butter and had a dusting of parmesan, I believe, on top. I want all of my grilled cheeses to have parmesan on them now.
And the chicken noodle soup was adequately chock full of noodles, some veggies and chunks of chicken. It hit that right balance between salty and bland.
These items were not gourmet or complicated — just nice comfort food.
Our meals came out quickly, and they were pretty cheap, from what I remember. What more can you ask for?
I would happily eat at The Downtowner again.

The sandwiches are sooooo good here. But the potato soup I think has changed, still tastes ok but wish they would change it back.
Lately they seem under staffed and need a few more servers. Love the downtowner though so we will keep coming back

Coffee is below average and some of their machines don’t even work. The whole look, food, and mood of the place would be average if the service actually served and would make sure their customers are served correctly. The cashier bar was empty when I went in and remained empty until I went to the back kitchen area to ask them some questions. Wish it could have been better. Has great potential.

We came here for lunch during the Chatauqua festival at around 2:30 in the afternoon. We were told the way would be 30 – 45 minutes. Went down the street to a store, came back 20 minutes later to find they had already called out name. Waited about 5 minutes and got a table. Waitress looked like she was hating life in general. We put in our orders (there were 4 of us) and we waited… And waited… And waited… And waited some more as we watched people who had ordered after us get their food, eat, and leave. Finally after about 50 minutes our good came out cold and soggy. Our waitress couldn’t have cared less. We spoke with the manager who comped all of or meals. Understand that this was a busy day, but came here about a year ago and it was even busier then, but food and service was way better. Will not be back.

Don’t get the grilled chicken salad. I think it came out of a salad bag. Dressing not fresh. Chicken was processed. Did not like.

Don’t know what the food tastes like as the service is terrible. My wife and I stopped in their for lunch on a Saturday and could not get waited on. We ended up walking out after about 15 minutes.

It feels like this place, locally owned and run, is just hell-​bent on serving up dishes that aren’t what people think they’re ordering…
For example: grilled cheese and soup ‘special’ (though it seems more of an ‘everyday’), neither involves grilling, actual cheese, or (even, unfortunately) soup.
My grilled cheese consisted of fairly fresh, thick-​sliced bread, coated in a yellowish fluid (wasn’t real butter – or even margarine, as it didn’t crisp, not even a little) seasoned with garlic and hard cheese shavings (which would have been awesome & creative & tasty, if they’d just have waited until it toasted) and an unholy amount of melted ‘cheese food’ in the middle, still in recognizable slices. It was definitely warmish, but not even remotely the toasty real dairy goodness implied by the phrase «grilled cheese» Wasn’t grilled. Wasn’t cheese. At best, was the equivalent of a college kid’s drunken attempt at microwaving freezer-​case garlic toast & 3 slices of processed cheese food. Yum???
‘Soup’ was a solid at room temperature. I don’t even want to know what makes that happen. I could have used it as spackle /​wall compound.
(Insert sad face)
Folks mentioning that they serve one weird reuben have lost the plot: lettuce, onion, tomato don’t add to a well-​made reuben. They distract from something inadequate. And in this case, they hide that the swiss isn’t, there’s (again) no grilling, and the dressing should go in the sauerkraut, not glopping up the bread.
Prices were fine, though I wish I’d known I was going to wind up with sacks of plain Lays. Wasn’t asked by the counter person — who was also not particularly helpful about the menu, aside from the few options written on the chalk board behind her — about sides. Ugh. Who wants plain lays? I’d rather pay an upcharge and get a palatable side that I can enjoy. But, apparently, who cares? Not them!
Well, that’s awesome.
Anyway — it’s not terrible, but there are better local options in Madison, for sure.
Location is pretty standard small town eatery. Nothing particularly notable.

I liked this place a lot. I was in Madison with some friends for the craft show thing. One friend had heard this was the place to go to get some good food that was great for your wallet. It definitely did not disappoint.
I was pleasantly surprise actually at how good it was. I opted for the soup and sandwich special. Which came with an over sized grilled cheese and loaded potato soup. Yum! It also came with chips which were not eaten because we were all so full from the actual meal.
Although we had to wait quite a while because they were so packed from the craft show, I would say it was worth the wait. I will for sure be back to try some more of there food when I am in town again. I have my eyes on their BLT the next time.
I’d say if you are looking for decent food that won’t break your budget, this is the place to go.

We ate here while in madison and really enjoyed it — its not much on atmosphere (the high ceilings and wood/​tile floors mean it can get LOUD), but the food was great and of a great value! I’d definitely go back.

From 12÷24÷12:
I got the Café Mocha, but I’d suggest skipping it. It tasted nothing like coffee, more like the most watered down hot cocoa I’ve ever had in my life.
There were wet, crumpled napkins all over the left side of the restaurant that you ended up stepping on, while seated.