Rare Steakhouse

Always a treat to return to Rare! Decided to treat the kid & his girlfriend for his birthday. The surrounding are best described as "early Scorsese" or dark lighting with burgundy leather banquet seating. Cool vibes. Waitstaff, mostly college age, all in formal attire. Classy. Y'know?Greeted warmly & professionally by our server, Ashton, who informed us about the foie gras special & took our drink orders. My shaken Hendricks martini with a twist was delivered shortly thereafter & scratched the itch!Ashton then took our order of sweet chili shrimp with lime, the foie gras special with roasted apple, Caesar salad, bone in ribeye, New York strip, brussel sprouts and creamed spinach. The ribeye was cooked perfectly & tender. The NY strip was medium (mid rare was the target temp) and was swiftly refired and served. Shockingly fast too! Delicious. The sides were excellent as well. Somehow he had room for dessert. He ordered the bananas foster (made table side & always a fun show) & the espresso creme brûlée. Ashton kindly served a super smooth chocolate mouse cake square with graham crust topped with whipped cream and a candle. Nice. Just a lovely night all around. If you're craving steak & professional service in an old school setting...I suggest a reservation at Rare!

You will not be disappointed if you order the Manhattan to accompany the charcuterie and tuna tartare boards and jumbo shrimp cocktail. Next order a cab to compliment your medium rare capitol cut with a side of mushrooms. Drool over your dinner companions menu choices of scallops and halibut and make a note to order those next time. The private dining room and exceptional service topped off the wonderful meal.

We are not steakhouse people but Rare has one great happy hour. This review is about their happy hour since we are very unlikely to dine here given the price of their steaks are $50 to $190!!! We'd need a lobbyist's expense account to afford dinner here...The happy hour is weekdays 4-6pm. We arrived on a Tuesday during the holidays and grabbed seats at the bar. Within 30 mins the bar area was pretty full. Many others taking advantage of the deals. They have a selection of mixed drinks and wine at half price. Their old fashioned was well made and worth it for $6.They have a number of appetizers that looked tempting but we opted for their steak frites and their burger for our happy hour dinner. Both items were in the $12-$13 range and included fries. The serving of steak frites was small but at 1/2 price not bad. It was very good - medium rate plus. My burger, medium rare, was excellent and leaned a bit more rare than medium rare which they cautioned us about - it was perhaps the best burger I have had in town. With the fries a bargain these days.We will definitely be back for happy hour!

What an excellent dining experience. I'll keep this review straight and to the point:The waitstaff are very kind and knowledgeable, I was amazed that they knew every step in the cooking process that takes place from where the cattle is raised to how it is prepared. I thought I could stump my server with my questions but I was wrong!The ambiance of the steakhouse is very clean and sleek. You can tell a lot of care went in to craft an excellent environment for dining.The food!! Everything on the menu is of the highest quality and cooked to perfection. I ordered a porterhouse steak (bone in steak with a new york strip on one side and a fillet mignon on the other) and I have never had a fillet tase as tender, cooked perfectly and flavorful. Appetizers were also such high quality. Example: we ordered a charcuterie board and I thought I would be able to find a sour/bad grape but every single one was fresh and delicious. If you are looking for a high quality dining experience, this is the place in Madison.

I visited Rare Steakhouse for a work dinner. The food is expensive but absolutely delicious. The service was excellent, we had a pleasant waiter that was knowledgeable about the menu. I appreciated the ambiance and lighting. They were able to accommodate our party of about ten. Really nice place, right on the square.

This place is absolutely delicious! I loved everything I consumed, the service was top notch, and it's a nice relaxing setting! My favorite thing was by far the tableside made bananas foster with a little "history" lesson of the dish! I highly recommend checking this place out especially during their weeknight happy hour 4-6 for half off quite a few menu items! I believe I served was Damian, he was incredible and very attentive! 10/10 will be back!

Went during their happy hour. Service was quick and polite. Happy hour deals are great, but don't get the steak--it's a tiny, tiny little thing. It's a bit dark inside the restaurant, but there are nice candles that add a flair to the environment. Overall, good happy hour spot.

We decided to dine at Rare Steakhouse for our wedding anniversary, and we couldn't have been happier with our choice. We arrived to our 7:30PM Saturday reservation 20 minutes earlier. We were greeted enthusiastically by three staff members at the host table, and were seated immediately, along with greetings of "Happy Anniversary!" We were seated in a cozy and large booth, and were served complimentary champagne to celebrate. The restaurant was darkly lit, which we loved, and each individual table had its own candle. The dining room gave off a sophisticated and cozy ambiance. Luciana was the most attentive and kind waiter. Before we ordered, Lucy made sure to go over the menu highlights in great detail, and shared the daily specials with us. At one point in the evening when she was making a banana foster for a nearby table, she made sure to send over another waitstaff to check on us and deliver the dessert menu. She also warmly wished us a happy anniversary throughout the evening. Luciana helped us decide on our steak order: two 8oz rib caps, and they were cooked perfectly to our medium request. I asked for additional au jus on the side, but the steak was already so juicy, I barely touched the saucière. The mashed potatoes (with the cooked skin included) were the best restaurant potatoes I've ever had! They melted in your mouth, and were light enough not to dominate the steak. My only food critique is the complimentary bread basket with honey butter that's served at the beginning of the dining experience. The bread was extremely tough and chewy, and did not taste fresh. We had some of the best food and the most incredible service in Madison at Rare Steakhouse, and we're excited to dine with the staff again. All the little details and warm hospitality made our visit perfect. Thank you for making our wedding anniversary so special!

The atmosphere is beautiful. The wait staff is very accommodating. Our waitress wore a mask and I'm not sure if it was for our protection or hers, but it was very hard to hear the specials or anything She had to say because it was so muffled. That was very annoying.$309.00 bill for two is ridiculous. They have waaaay too many staff. Two People check you in, to bring soup, clear the table, wrap up take home is nuts. Cut the staff and lower the price. An 8 Oz. Filet should not be $60.00. $22.00 for a glass of wine is robbery. $12.00 for a small serving of soup is mind blowing.Soup was warm. Steak enhancements and potatoes were cold. I don't care how much money I have....this place is Not worth the price.

This restaurant is beautiful and serves delicious food. Our waiter was amazing and gave great recommendations for dinner and drink options. My husband's filet was perfectly grilled to medium rare, his fries were delicious and my salmon and Caesar salad were spot on delicious as well. The rolls were warm and melted in our mouths with honey butter.