Main Street Cafe

I used to think this was one of the better places to eat in the area, but the last few times I ate there were not that great. I feel like I am eating reheated frozen food or something out of a can. There is no shortage of people going there, so someone must like it.

Quaint diner in Madison’s cute little «downtown». Dine inside or outside in good weather. The meatloaf with cheese and marinara was delicious. It came with sides of garlic mashed potatoes and perfectly seasoned green beans. My daughter loved the fettuccine Alfredo with grilled chicken. The portions are large without totally knocking you into a food coma, and decently priced. The sweet tea actually tastes like… tea. Yum. Real southern sweet tea where the real tea flavor and sugary goodness stands out. It’s harder to find than you might think. Well, you can find it here. Service was really friendly and relaxed and the drinks were refilled at the right moment without us having to slurp the bottom of the glasses.

My husband and I really enjoyed our time here. We love the atmosphere, historic, and of course mamma’s good cooking. We take our guests here too, for the unique dining experience.

I happened upon this place while working in Madison for the day and was very pleased. I ordered the chicken poulet with green beans and strawberry pretzel salad and it was great. I waited less 5 minutes for my food and it was delicious. I hope I get to work in this area again… will definitely be back.

Do not have the club sandwich. It was awful… slabs of tasteless ham on dry bread. Worst club sandwich I have ever had.

The south just does food differently than anywhere else. How could such deliciousness be priced so low. Paid $ 10 for a great t-​bone and the best green beans/​Mac I’ve ever had. The steak was very well seasoned and Not to be outdone by a terrific yeast roll. And to think I almost left because of a short wait. This was worth double the wait and triple the price! Down home cooking at its finest.

Last time I ate here, it sucked. It still sux. Food was awful. Bathroom looked ancient and not clean. Who ever decided women’s restroom location lacks any sense of privacy let alone smells observed after being seated next to the short wall divider. Not going back.

The location is neat, eating in a old jail but the food was nothing special. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here but if I was in the area I would consider it.

What a great place for a fresh and tasty lunch. Wish I had time for a shot at breakfast! The building at one time was a jail, and there are some architectural reminders. But the owners have done a remarkable job at creating a chic but comfortable atmosphere for a diverse dining crowd.
I loved the grilled salmon salad — cooked perfectly and all the elements were fresh. The hot spiced tea was out of this world — it had a buttery apple cider profile that wasn’t cloying but perfectly balanced — I had three mugs of it! And what a fun surprise when they served me my first piece ever of hummingbird cake. Great spice profile, tender crumb and the best icing, all served warmed! Couldn’t have asked for better. Make it a point to eat here when you’re in town!

Great place. Love the chicken Normandy and strawberry pretzel. Unique building was train station, post office and jail. Worth a visit. Great service and great patio.

Main Street Café is a nice lunch spot. This is where I took for Maid of Honor for lunch to give her a nice gift and say thank you for all the hard work that she put into my special day. The staff is very friendly and the food is good. We had Mint Tea to start off with to drink. I ordered the Poulet de Normandie and she ordered the Georgia Chicken. Both were really good. My meal could had used a tad bit more seasoning but overall it was good. The Pretzel Salad was also good. It was my first time trying it. Overall I would recommend stopping by Main Street Café for a nice lunch.

Very nice Valentines Dinner. Had Shrimp Trio with fried, coconut, and shrimp scampi (6 of each). Nice flavor and pineapple sauce was perfect with coconut shrimp. My wife had chicken breast stuffed with Brie and balsamic onions also delicious. Would recommend this to anyone. Wish they were open for dinner more often.

Great place for lunch, good food, good quite atmosphere reasonable prices
and nice customer service.
Located in historic downtown Madison, cute boutiques to check out also in the area.

Good place for a lunch that is not your usual «sandwich from a chain». Restaurant is located in the old civic hall and jail. At lunch time it has an English tea room feel to it, although a little noisier since the interior walls reflect sound.
Sandwiches are great. Huge. But great. The Reuben has an authentic flavor to it. The fries are solid and natural.
Service, which is fast and friendly at lunch, is a bonus.

Selected today by
as the best restaurant for a business lunch in Madison County! Just ahead of Commerce Kitchen, and 1892 East. With this new-​found fame, reservations are recommended for parties of five or more. (I don’t think they take reservations for groups less than five — so bring your friends!). They were already pretty busy, located in historic downtown Madison.
Our stuffed pork loin lunch today was very good. Don’t come here expecting haute cuisine. It’s more like Mom’s home cooking, but Madison folks like it pretty well.

I love Main Street and it isn’t just because I know the owners! I don’t get there as often as I’d like since I don’t get out for lunch a lot but everything I’ve had from Main Street is delicious. I could make a meal out of their squash casserole. Their meatloaf is delicious too! I’ve been watching what I eat so I haven’t had their fantastic desserts but it is hard not to order anything they have with chocolate in it! :)

Perhaps it was on off day in the kitchen, but my lunchtime experience was so disappointing! I chose the crab cakes and they tasted like fish-that’s been-​sitting-​around-​too-​long. The accompanying squash casserole lacked flavor, as did the strawberry pretzel salad, which was watery (?) the atmosphere is somewhat charming, but could use a good scrub-​down.

This is a popular lunch spot (in fact they are only open for lunch), with sort of a «ladies tea room» feel (quiches, soup and salad, chicken and tuna salads, etc.) but it’s good.
The restaurant has been there 12+ years and it would be nice to have the interior updated a little bit. I’ve probably eaten there 6 times and the service is always good, the food just fine, and the prices reasonable. I just prefer a more modern menu (maybe ahi tuna for an appetizer, or an ahi salad) or just change the menu every now and then and I think this restaurant would benefit from an interior «face lift.»
If you want to support a local restaurant (and yes the building was the city of Madison’s third town hall and housed two jail cells, which are IN this building, and yes, it’s located right by railroad tracks), especially for a fairly light «southern-​ish» lunch, try Main Street Café. I hope you enjoy it!

For not being a barbeque place (if you know me!), I’m surprised I liked this place so much! After hosting a geocaching flash mob in honor of Derby Day (believe it or not, NOT associated with Madison’s Derby Day festival that happened later), we wandered over here for lunch. Everyone was thoroughly pleased. Reservations had been made in advance and a large table was waiting for us upon arrival.
Staff was courteous and kind, and full of suggestions. Everyone was challenged by the nice selection on the menu (no one ordered of the daily since we couldn’t read from our table). I ordered the Crunchy Chicken Casserole. Wasn’t as crunchy as the name implies, but it did have almonds and celery so there was more crunch than in my own chicken casserole. Mighty yummy! Bread and green beans were good, too. I wouldn’t hesitiate to order it again next time. unless I actually read the daily offers!
Several bowls of bread pudding passed by as we were heading out the door… if only we had more time to spend here…
I’ll will be back… and suggested this to a group of firiends for their monthly luncheon!
p. s. Good value for the price! I got out for under $ 10. Quck enough service.

My wife and I love to eat here together for lunch. We’ve only had less than great service one time here, and the food is always great. The location is a bit strange, but it has great ambiance.
The only entrée I can say I absolutely love so far, though, is the red beans and rice. My basic advice is to stick with the daily specials, but the menu options are also good.
I have only had one or two of their desserts, but their strawberry pretzel salad is always a hit. I’m still hoping to try watermelon pie some day, but just can’t get over the strawberry pretzel salad enough to move on!