The Top 7 Restaurants You Don’t Want to Miss While Visiting The University of Wisconsin Madison

 

When visiting a college campus you want to make the most out of your visit and see all of the places that best represent that campus. In a short weekend or quick visit It’s hard to know what places to visit if you’ve never been there before. The purpose of this list is to guide visitors so that they can experience Madison for what it truly is, an amazing campus with a unique and fun culture. These seven restaurants represent this culture well and are must-sees on the Madison campus.

1.  Ian’s Pizza is a campus-wide favorite. Open until 2:30 a.m. everyday, this restaurant is the place to be late at night. Ian’s is a college-kid favorite because of the tasty pizzas, cheap prices, and fun atmosphere. Ian’s is not your average pizza place. The main attraction of this restaurant is their one of a kind specialty pizza’s, the most popular being macaroni and cheese pizza. They offer a large variety of these creative pizzas, along with traditional pizzas like cheese and pepperoni. Some of the other specialty pizzas include: Smokey the Bandit (BBQ sauce, BBQ chicken, bacon, cheddar, ranch), The Lunch Lady (ground beef in a sloppy joe sauce with french fries & pickles), and Chicken Penne Alfredo. During the day or late at night Ian’s always has a great atmosphere, but late at night especially. The staff is very friendly and you are sure to find this hot spot packed with people after hockey and football games or late at night.  Another benefit of Ian’s is the convenient location on North Frances St, right by the southeast dorms, the Kohl Center, and State street. If that’s not close enough for you, they also have a restaurant on State Street and they deliver!

 

2.  Jin’s Chicken and Fish tops this list because of their delicious sandwiches. This food joint can’t really be called a restaurant because it is only a cart parked on a street, but they produce some of the best food in the city of Madison. Jin’s has breaded chicken and catfish sandwiches like you’ve never tasted before. You might wonder how a restaurant can be so good and only offer two options, well it sure works for them because they have absolutely perfected these sandwiches. Jin’s is a must-have in Madison because of its great tasting sandwiches and fun atmosphere of late night ordering out of a cart. You are likely to meet some pretty interesting people and have a good time even while waiting in line. Jin’s is a very unique part of Madison that you would not find on any other campus.

3.  Frida Mexican Grill is a really fun, high-energy restaurant with great tasting authentic Mexican food. It was voted Best food and ambience by Madison Magazine, and this is a claim I fully support! This restaurant makes you feel like you are in downtown Cancun, with every inch covered in fun colors and Mexican design and decorations. The two level seating and grand staircase also really add to the atmosphere. They have the best Mexican food around and are also well known for their variety of Margarita’s. Frida Mexican Grill is a perfect choice for a fun sit down dinner.

4.  Sunroom Café is a quaint little café that has the best breakfast around. Located on the second story of State Street, this tiny restaurant can be found with a line all the way down the stairs and onto the street on any given Saturday or Sunday morning. The Café is small and simple, but a campus favorite because of its breakfast food and fast service. It is fun to have a sit down breakfast in a unique little restaurant instead of your typical chain restaurant like Perkins or Denny’s.  Their chocolate chip pancakes are a popular dish and are a great treat at the end of a long weekend!

 

 

 

5.  Mia Za’s is unique for its quick and easy ordering system and their delicious Italian food. When you walk in the doors of this State Street restaurant you find a long row of paper slips and pencil, these ordering slips allow you to pick from a menu of pizzas, pastas, salads, sandwiches, soups, and panini’s or to create your own! The food tastes so good you would think you are out to an expensive Italian dinner, but this meal wont cost you more than $10 and is ready in less than 10 minutes. The food is so good and they have such a large variety that you are guaranteed to find something you love! The convenient location, low prices and fast service are just additional perks!

6.  The Nitty Gritty is an all–american bar and grill with a really fun atmosphere. The restaurant has a great ambience with upbeat music playing and pop culture pictures and decorations covering the walls. The Nitty Gritty has really good burgers, sandwiches, and appetizers, for example their very popular cheese curds, but what they specialize in is birthdays. If you celebrate your birthday here you will get wished a happy birthday over the loud speaker, sang to, and a mug (yours to keep!) with a balloon attached. You also get unlimited pop or beer for free the entire night. The best time to go to the Nitty Gritty is before or after a football game.

7.  Insomnia Cookies will melt your heart with their warm gooey cookies. Similar to Jin’s this isn’t quite a restaurant but is actually a parked cart. This cookie cart is complete with neon blue lights and pump up music, which helps to inspire the “all-nighters” that college students are so familiar with. He cookies are unbelievably good but the prices are great too! You can buy cookies individually for $1 each or get combo deals. They have a cookie called the “Ménage A Trois” made up of three different types of dough of your choice. In addition to their delicious cookies they also sell freshly baked brownies and tasty frozen treats. The icing on the cake… they even sell milk and chocolate milk!