Ocean Grill

The hostess had her nose so far in the air, it should have had snowcaps. Talk about snooty. We made a reservation over the phone, got a babysitter (for the very first time), and dressed up for our big night out — only to find they had «lost» our reservation when we arrived. The restaurant was nearly empty, but she gave us all this crap about «we’ll see if we can squeeze you in.» Yeah, cause people are really beating down your doors here?
We were finally seated at a tiny table in the very center of the restaurant, elbow-​to-​elbow with one of the only other couples there. The waitress was nice enough, but the food was just ok and very overpriced. Guess they have to pay that Capitol Square rent somehow.
We wouldn’t go back and would not recommend it. If you want a really romantic seafood dinner, try Mariner’s Inn.

Great seafood right off the square. Innovative menu. Try the small plates. I had the shrimp skewers. Nice wine list. Entrees pricey.

took my wife here for a nice seafood dinner. we shared the mussel plate, it was very nice. She had a mixed seafood entrée and I had scallops. The food was generally good though, not exceptional. We were excited to be at a nice seafood place and just had higher expectations than what was delivered. We’ll give it a second try and see how things go. The service was very good.

The first experience we had here was amazing. Had a follow up trip for V-​day and I was really unimpressed. All 4 courses that night really failed to impress

Went here for breakfest during the ironman race. Not sure if they regularrly serve breakfest here or not but the breakfest during the ironman was disgusting to say the least. My sister ordered French Toast and it looked like a plate of snot. The batter was runnie and quite obviously under cooked. My dad had the ironman skillet which was so small it wouldn’t even make the childrens menu in chicago. The tomato juice wasn’t tomato juice but a bar mixer used to make bloody mary’s. All and all a big disappointment for breakfest, maybe the dinners are better but the breakfest was just aweful.

I have only eaten one meal at this restaurant but the experience was worthy of the four stars I have given it. I came upon this place by invitation from a work colleague for a celebration of sorts. The restaurant cheerfully received about 20 of us in the dining room and were incredibly accommodating. The atmosphere is cozy but very sophisticated; white linens and preset dinner place settings with wine glasses. A fisherman’s ward feel accented the place with chalkboards that displayed the day’s specials above the center full bar and along the back dining wall.
Our party ordered a number of appetizers including the bruschetta, calamari, jumbo lump crab cake and the cheese plate with fruit. all of which were tastier than most, particularly the crab cake and bruschetta. the calamari was fried and not necessarily spectacular.
for an entrée i selected the prosciutto wrapped tuna with sweet corn polenta. wow. i was really impressed with the tuna. a wonderful medium rare and the flavor from the prosciutto gave it that salty/​savory taste. the polenta was also very nice. right between creamy and firm, with good flavor.
atmosphere is great and the server was extremely accommodating to our large party. i was however surprised that we only had a single server for a party that covered two tables. other than that, this is a place i’ll visit again in madison.

So, I had heard great things about Ocean Grill. I go to Madison for business quite a bit and have heard it is a great place to take clients. Anyway, I was actually in Madison with friends and we didn’t know where to go and saw Ocean Grill and I said I heard it was good. We should have been tipped off by the fact that it was empty. Every other restaurant was packed. Not a good sign.
Being from Chicago, I am used to paying a decent amount for dinner, but I thought for the price, this place was sooooo not worth it! We had 2 of the small plates, which we very good. Maybe we should have just stuck with those?
I thought the menu was boring and very limited. I ordered the Mahi Mahi special. It was good and all, but just nothing amazing for the $ 30 price. They also pour small glasses of wine.
I just was not impressed at all, although I did like their cucumber water:)

This place is great for happy hour. As one review noted, the staff is very friendly, and if it’s a little past 6:30, they’ll let you squeeze one more drink in! Appetizers are so-​so, small portions, but cheap during happy hour, so why not!
Great for a get-​together. Great service. Good happy hour menu. I’ve never tried dinner here, and never really thought to!

We to’ dat place up.
A bunch of friends and I went there for Happy Hour (4:30−6:30) on Monday evening. Appetizers were pretty much half off and there are drink specials on martinis (menu’s online). Loved the beer battered tilapia. The fried calamari was plentiful but some pcs were kinda soggy. Sun dried tomato bruschetta was good but small portion (3 pcs for $ 4-​the same amt for a plateful of fried calamari). Our waiter was super cool and pretty laid back, allowing us to place our last orders for more food after the cut off time for happy hour.

It’s a favorite! If you don’t mind splurging a bit, go here whenever you can. One of my top recommendations for a special night. My love affair started with my college graduation dinner and continued when I frequented here up to 2 times a week while working a block away.
Located right off of the capitol square (the place you wanna be in Madison for anything and everything) this is an upscale place that does not disappoint. Go for lunch if you want to do an affordable test run before that important date or meeting. Most of the items are exactly the same as for dinner, just half the price.
For a lighter simple meal, go for their «simply grilled» choices where you pick a type of fish, how you want it prepared, and finally a sauce. Served simply with their vegetable of the day, yum.
For a heavy and oh-​so-​tempting option, seafood enchiladas!!! Or, get their soups, all are divine.
Ambiance: very chic and modern, bar is in the middle with some neat glass hanging from the ceiling, lighting is romantic at night. During lunch, you might eavesdrop on some businessmen and whether their sons are going to Harvard or Yale for law school, or you might spy some state/​city officials schmoozing with a counterpart. In the warmer months, sit outside under their big umbrellas and take it all in.
Staff: Above par people who are not snobby or full of themselves. I had an ongoing rapport with one of the managers (I think named Holly?)
Tidbit: They have TASTY take-​out sandwiches/​wraps you can get to go from the bar, no waiting. The homemade chips that come with them are heaven with ketchup.

I’ve hosted a business dinner here in the past. It was really good, so when my wife and I decided we’d spend our anniversary weekend in Madison, I suggested Ocean Grill. She looked at the menu online and immediately agreed. We had a great experience.
To start, we debated — wine or cocktail? They have some interesting looking cocktails. But we finally were swayed by their wine flight option. For $ 20, you get four 2-​ounce servings of wine — your choice of any of their wines by the glass — plus an appetizer from the menu. It was a fun way to sample several of the nice variety of wines that they have on the menu.
For our starters, my wife had the scallops with summer succotash and bacon vinaigrette. She loved it. I had seafood ceviche, and it also was wonderful.
For our entrees, my wife ordered one of the nightly specials — Chilean sea bass. It was an excellent choice. I ordered the California sea bass from the menu. It was wrapped in thin-​sliced potatoes and served with asparagus and a Bearnaise sauce. Mine was good, but hers was really much better.
Besides the creative option of wine flights, Ocean Grill also has an option of ordering three of their appetizer/​small plates as a dinner. Charge is $ 25 and the selection is great.
So what really impressed me was the creativity of the menu and the quality of the food. Service was friendly. Ambiance was comfortable, but nothing extraordinary.

I went here the other night with 3 friends and it was really great! We had a fantastic server who was funny and charismatic and really attentive. I started with the Grape Goose martini and it was delicious, as was the cucumber water. We began with the oysters appetizer and the calamari, both were really good and I especially enjoyed sampling oysters from both the east and west coast. I had the scallops and ahi roll for dinner and while I loved the scallops, I wasn’t as crazy about the ahi in terms of flavor. The rest of the table had shrimp, tuna, and fresh fish and there were no complaints! We split two desserts, chocolate molten cake and crème brûlée and both were wonderful. The atmosphere was great, the service was quick, and the food was wonderful, I would certainly go again!

So, my husband and I went to this restaurant after reading the reviews in Unilocal.We got there at 6:30 pm to avoid the Friday night rush. I was immediately impressed by the cucumber in my water, it actually tasted much fresher and totally different from lemon water you normally get at restaurants.
So. we ordered the half a pound clams in white wine sauce, small plate trio, and king crab legs. The clams were relatively small, but they tasted amazing. The trio, which consisted of crab guacamole (so so), seafood enchiladas (very rich and creamy, quite unique), and wasabi scallop (a must try! it was superb!). Finallyd, the kingcrab legs came with some cooked brussel sprouts. The crab were tasted so good and fresh esp. for Madison area.
Overall, it was a very satisfying seafood meal, one of the best we ever had in Madison. However, the downsides were: too expensive for the small portions they serve, no carbs in most of the entrees (we were still hungry after my main course, that we decided to order the molten lava cake and the french cake for desert (amazing taste, btw).
Conclusion: Will I go back? Yes, but not in the near future (small portions for relatively pricey meals).

Hmmmmm, what a yummy night! To celebrate my fathers birthday myself and my wife, along with my sister and her family took dad and mom to Ocean Grill. I will truly say that I had a great time and some great food.
I have never been to Ocean Grill and when I walked in I was a bit taken back on how small it was but I liked it. My whole party was already seated as I parked the car in the lot where Ocean Grill customers were validated. Being downtown madison… parking sucks and the lot is close and nice to have.
My seafood chowder was delicious and a great way to start my meal. Along with my chowder the table got a calamari appetizer that was good but served with a peanut sauce that just was… well, I do not like peanuts of peanut butter so… i did not like it.
For my meal, instead of ordering an entrée, did the three «small» plates to make a meal. I loved this feature as I could sample a variety of things and choose what I wanted. Now, being a scallop fan I got the prosciutto wrapped scallops, the wasabi scallops, and the seafood enchiladas. All three were amazing, cooked well, and the plate was cleaned quickly!
The rest of my party shared the same sentiments that I did about their meals and overall we had a great night.
Was it the best seafood I have had… nope, not even close but then again we are in Madison. For Madison, the Ocean Grill was great! I also loved that they were good with the infant in our group and had flipper on the TV… LOL.

Cucumbers in my water! Oh yeh! One of my fav’s! Thanks for that!
I had the special of the evening which was the Ahi Tuna Steak. Who ever cooked it did excellent! The fish was very fresh and raw in the middle and was lightly seared on the outside perfectly (how good Ahi Tuna is made). Not over cooked one bit! Props to the Chef!
Price was fair and not over priced one bit.
Only thing I could kinda complain about was the couple of guys next to us. the one dude had to be the loudest person in the whole place. Pretty entertaining, yet too loud. We were happy to see them leave. That was not Ocean Grills fault. Choose your seating carefully! On the wall with all chairs and tables and no booths… its pretty close quarters.
GO there… its good! Highly recommend! YUM!

I had a good Ahi Tuna steak here. I was pleased that they actually serve it rare like it’s supposed to be! Too many places serve it medium-​rare even when I specify that I want it rare. The beer-​battered tilapia appetizer and chocolate cake dessert were good too.
People complain that Ocean Grill is too expensive, but I’m used to Chicago prices so I didn’t look twice at the cost of my food.

I ate here with a friend for lunch this week as part of the winter Restaurant Week, hoping to try a good mix of the menu. We sat at the bar, which was nearly empty, so I expected to easily get in and out during my one-​hour lunch… an hour and 45 minutes later, we finally desperately paid the bill.
Our appetizers were fine– clam chowder and calamari– but certainly not worth the normal $ 10+ price. When we reached the entrees, though, I was astounded– my seafood enchiladas were soggy and boring, but delicious compared to the completely tasteless horseradish grouper that my friend received. We each ate about half of our meals before giving up (I am a strong advocate of cleaning my plate usually) and then finished with what seemed like grocery-​store sorbet and a cold crème brûlée… thank goodness I didn’t have to spend more than $ 15!
I’ve always been a fan of the variety that Food Fight Inc. offers, but between the terrible service, disgusting food, and airport restaurant-​esque atmosphere, I think Food Fight is ruining its reputation by continuing to support this restaurant.

We went here for my birthday this year. I was really craving seafood especially Scallops and Shrimp. We lucked out because Concerts on the Square was postponed that night due to rain in the forecast. (it didn’t rain of course). First, the place is styling — very nice design and very impressive. It is small — but not tiny and it is fancy — but we felt OK in dress casual. They serve these pea pods while you wait for your food and they were very interesting and quite fun to eat. We both tried the crabcakes and they were good. Not quite what I expected, but good. Our dinners were good too — just didn’t blow our socks off. They did bring me an unbelievable dessert for my birthday. That was very impressive.
I was «in-​between» three and four stars just because I hadn’t decided yet on this place. It was good enough to try again — but not so outstanding that I want to go this week.

After a day of sitting in meetings– a great seafood dinner within walking distance of my hotel seemed like a perfect way to end my day. So after debating between a couple of choices– we chose to go to the Ocean Grill– a sleek contemporary restaurant that was voted the best seafood restaurant in Madison in 2006.
Too bad the weather didn’t cooperate as I would have liked to have sit outside on their patio area. Oh well– we did get a nice table by the windows to enjoy our dinner.
This restaurant prides itself on its 26 varieties of sparking wine which makes them Madison’s première champagne bar. Not in the mood for champagne? They have a great wine list with over 25 wines available by the glass.
We started with fresh oysters (2 varieties), fried calamari with a peanut sauce and an interesting goat cheese coated with nuts and honey and served with fruit. All were delicious– a perfect way to start our evening.
The entrees were where it fell apart a little for me. While the grouper sounded wonderful– coated with horseradish and served with wasabi mashed potatoes and stir fried vegetables– in reality, the fish was bland and over cooked and the vegetables were almost greasy. The other entrée was a grilled swordfish which was good but unremarkable.
They did redeem themselves with the desserts. We tried two– the molton chocolate cake and the poundcake with crème fraîche and berries. While the chocolate cake was the winner– both were very good.
Service was attentive and they did take one of the grouper entrees off the bill as it was basically untouched. The manager also came over to apologize saying that she «wanted us to love it».
All in all– a solid choice for seafood in Madison. Just stick to the simpler things on the menu and you will be fine. Maybe we were just «bad orderers» tonight!

MAKE SURE THE HEAD CHEF IS THERE. Last time I went, he was sick, and whoever was filling in blew it. But even that being said, the food I did have, was really tasty. Hey — that was years ago, so I am willing to bet this is no longer an issue.
You know, I cannot give a recent review, since I ate there back in 2005. But I do remember this — the appetizers were awesome, possibly exceeding the quality of the entrees, but a place like this can only get better over time, like that bottle of Silver Oak Cabernet your uncle has in his cellar. Nice ambiance, big, bright room, and all the dinner knives are shaped like fish — something you KNOW I would love to have at home. Again, if you are craving seafood, this place is ½ block off the Square. Same company that owns this place owns a bunch of other places in town too, just check out the website