The Downtowner

If you find yourself in Madison. Give this place a try. It is located downtown and only a block or so away from the Courthouse. Food is good and service at lunch is quick. What more could you ask for?

This cute cafe is right in the middle of Downtown Madison as the name suggests. There's plenty of free street parking outside. They have lots of sandwiches to choose from, in addition to pizzas, soups, and salads. I had the spinach chicken wrap. Everything tasted fresh, which is why I was so surprised it was served with a bag of chips. It was still good though. My mom had the potato soup and loved it. The staff were friendly and we got our food quickly.

Food first, the potato soup was really good. The potato salad had no flavor. Salad was bigger than expected.There is a lot of seating. Nothing fancy just a casual place to have a casual lunch or dinner. The service was slow but they are low staffed. We waited at least 20 minutes for them to take our order.Would likely try a different spot while in Madison next time, but, that soup- YUM!

The locals recommended Downtowner for a casual lunch and it was a great choice. There is a nice selection of sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, pizzas and don't miss dessert. We had the chicken salad with the side of red potato salad and the Italian turkey pesto on focaccia. Best sandwich I've had in awhile. Portions are large so you won't leave hungry. Checkout the oversized cookies they are worth it. Our server Chelsea was excellent!

Perfect spot in historic downtown Madison with dining spots on the sidewalk to dine with the dogs. Shade side of street and staff offer up dog waters. Wish I had taken pics of how BIG our sandwiches were. Our three cheese sandwich with ham was huge and delicious; the homemade chicken salad with whole grapes was hands down the winner for lunch. So tasty with a buttery toasted sour dough bread, bag of chips and a dill sliver. Great lunch spot and seems many knew this. YUM!

I visited The Downtowner for lunch during a recent day trip to Madison. As it was my first time in Madison, I relied on recommendations from friends who had been there before, and The Downtowner came solidly recommended. My experience could have been better. Here is why:1. While there are quite a few vegetarian menu options (parmesan pesto grill, black bean & cheddar ciabatta, extra cheesy grilled cheese, Greek pizza, garden, pasta, and potato salads) there are no vegan selections. While not surprising, it is disappointing.2. As there were no vegan choices, I opted to create my own sandwich, which should have been a roaring success, as I was the one creating it. I ordered a veggie sandwich on rye, grilled, with sauerkraut and "all the vegetables," which were reported to be: lettuce, tomato, peppers, green and black olives, mushrooms, cucumber, and spinach. My sandwich arrived after all my other dining companions', and rather than having "all the vegetables," had lettuce, a tomato slice, 4 mushroom pieces, 1 sliver of pepper, and 3 green olive slices. More concerningly, it was sprinkled liberally with cheese, which not only covered the top of the sandwich, also spilled over onto the plate. When I pointed this out to our server, she took the sandwich back to the kitchen and returned very quickly with the same sandwich, slightly altered, on the same cheese-sprinkled plate. The top of the sandwich had been replaced with un-grilled bread, which resulted in half my sandwich being grilled and the other cold, with small bits of cheese sneaking in.3. I did not receive a check. My three dining companions did.4. As I try to be ethical, I pointed out the lack of check to the server who did then print a check, however I had substituted a side salad instead of chips, and was charged for the salad. When I pointed this out, the server was not sure how to correct the issue; after consulting a colleague it was resolved, but this compounded an already less-than-par experience.

Pesto Chicken Alfredo Sandwich!!! This is hands down the best chicken sandwich I have ever eaten. The grilled cheese is almost as good as mine, according to my daughter. Wonderful, friendly staff and great atmosphere. Do not visit Madison without checking it out.

A Madison staple!! The Downtown is a classic Madison experience for lunch! Friendly staff and service. I crave the loaded potato soup and grilled cheese and when I'm back in my hometown it's a must stop! So yum! Also save room for dessert and get a cookie or slice of cake. Parking is always free and lots of adorable shopping in the area!

I had the grilled cheese which was delicious and my husband had the hot brown. Both were delicious. I did think the price was a high considering plates and utensils were plastic or throwaway. Napkins were paper towels. Chips were a Ruffles bag. Homemade Cookies ended the meal and were fantastic and a steal price wise. I would go back though.

Yummy food. Great place to visit when we're in Madison. Always great sandwiches and soup