Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse

We visited on a Friday night at six, and the lot was fairly empty. We were seated immediately. Our server was very attentive and answered all of our questions.
Skip the appetizer and enjoy the complementary warm bread. It’s divine! The salad is very good — love the croutons!
I ordered the Heart of Italy which was a serving of chicken parmesan, a serving of fettuccini, and a parmesan crusted steak. I didn’t care for the red sauce on the chicken, but the pasta was great and that steak was incredible! I want everything I eat to come with that parmesan crust now! It was super tasty.
My husband ordered seafood ravioli and my little boy got chicken strips and they both were very happy with their meals.
It’s a beautiful restaurant. The tables are pretty big so it’s hard to hear those sitting across from you.
Overall we had a great time and we’d definitely come back next time we’re in the area.

Good portions, food tasted OK. I was satisfied but wasn’t impressed.

We came here to celebrate my parents anniversary.
Pros: Attentive and friendly service, extensive menu with lots of options for steaks, seafood and pasta, reasonable prices given the classy atmosphere. Everyone enjoyed their meals.
Cons: It was surprisingly noisy, which wasn’t so good for a special occasion and our table was so close to the next table I was afraid of bumping elbows with the person behind me. I also didn’t like all of the water spots on the wine glasses.
Overall a nice experience, but the little things stood out.

The wife and I went here on a Tuesday for lunch while doing some shopping nearby. Wow was this place a (Grand Slam) had to use a baseball term now the season has begun. Amazing from start til the end. We came in around 1:30pm and we’re sat in the bar in a nice booth. Greeted promptly by our waiter and told specials. He suggested a few things to us which was nice because we had never been there before.
We both orderd a different micro beer they had on tap. They had a nice selection to chose from. We then decided to start out with an appitizer. We decided to try the sausage stuffed mushrooms. We were taking to flavor town and back. So much going on with the sausage and then topped with a fresh cheese. Amazing! Try them and you may not even order dinner just more of these…
My wife orderd thier specialty Lobster Mac-​N-​cheese… Fresh lobster, flavor baked into pasta, large lobster chuncks. Nailed it on this one. I went with the Monte Christo sandwich which is a Ham, Turkey, Swiss, and American cheese sandwich dipped into an egg wash and batter fried. Sounds wired but it gets better yet. They sprinkle powdered sugar over the top and serve with a raspberry dipping sauce. Home Run! If we would have been in the area later into the evening, we would have pulled a double header and done dinner here as well. That’s how good this place is. We will be back. I know you liked that double header comment baseball fans… Try this place for yourself. Very clean, more upscale look and feel, prices very reasonable $ 10– $ 25, friendly staff, and most of all mouth watering food. You pay for quality, and I felt like we ripped them off.

I wanted to like this place. We were a party of 9, family in town for the holiday. We were seated on time in the back at a long table in room we had all to ourselves. Our waitress was very nice, there were a couple of things she couldn’t answer, but went and found out for us. The problem was not with the front of house staff, it was the kitchen. I cannot say if it was cheap ingredients, or lack of experience with the chef or both, but either way none of us will return. There were a few highlights, but most of our meals ranged from underwhelming to in-​edible.
Ratings for The Apps: Buffalo Mozzerella Caprese (⁴⁄₅): Those who shared it enjoyed it. Crab Cake (⁵⁄₅): It was excellent, Stuffed Mushrooms (⁵⁄₅): The in-​house sausage had a wonderful flavor, and these were great. Calamari (¹⁄₅): These were tiny, it was mostly breading and the breading wasn’t seasoned. One person barely ate any, the other shared them round the table to try to get rid of them.
Main Course: 3 ordered the daily special, Tilapia over zucchini noodles (¹⁄₅): One person found it in-​edible and sent it back, not opting to order something else, the others found it bland, underseasoned, boring, not worth the price, no one finished it. Bone in Ribeye (¹⁄₅): «The toughest ribeye I have ever had» he couldn’t even cut it with his knife, and the gorgonzola that he paid extra for, was one little piece not even the size of a dime. It was his first meal of the day after a 13 hr work shift, he was starving, but didn’t even eat half. Veal (²⁄₅: Bland, underwhelming, he didn’t finish it. Stuffed Shrimp (2.5÷5): 5 small shrimp, they tasted good, but not much food. Paperdelle with scallops (¹⁄₅): There was about 3 cups of arugla on top to make it look like a large meal, most of it I pushed aside it was overkill. The scallops were cooked correctly, but the were gritty and sandy, and they failed to remove the tough abductor muscle. Sorry but scallops should be CLEAN when you serve them, and I can accept the abductor muscle at a place that charges less, but a steakhouse that is charging what they charge should have kitchen staff that can properly clean a scallop. The lemon butter sauce they served with it, didn’t taste much like real butter. And it was small, hardly any pasta in the bowl, and pasta is cheap!
Dessert: (yes even after this some ordered dessert, they were still hungry). Limoncello (¹⁄₅) was found inedible by the person who ordered it. Turtle Cheesecake (⁴⁄₅) «The best thing I had here, they probably buy it in» Lava Cake (⁵⁄₅): Heavenly, delicious, chocolate wonderful. Cinnamon Ice cream (⁴⁄₅) Good.
While there were a few highlights, most of the food was mediocre or worse, not worth the price when there are so many places to choose from in the Madison Area that charge the same or less for a great dinner. The waitress was great and split our checks, but our meal for two came to $ 110 with tip (1 soda, 1 milk, no bar drinks). I could have paid half that much for a great meal down the street. That is a crazy price to pay for dirty scallops, and a ribeye you can’t even cut. We all agreed that it was not a place we want to experience again.

First time here, tired traveler and this was next door. Perfect and the staff were awesome, attentive and friendly!

I’ve visited Johnny’s on multiple occasions while in town for business. The food is okay. Certainly not bad, but not really remarkable either. Given that, I do find it to be overpriced. The Parmesan crusted steak is unique and good, but again, not something that will stand out as a must have again.

This restaurant is contracted with the Hilton Garden Inn as their dinner room service. I had their salmon, spinach, artichoke pasta for dinner and it was great. It came w a side salad and a baked potato. There was enough food for leftovers the next day. They charge a $ 1 delivery fee + an automatic 18% gratuity. So worth it! Definitely a better option than what the downstairs kitchen has to offer.

I first visited here during restaurant week. The service is very good. And I enjoyed the three-​course meal a lot.
The Parmesan crust steak is very special. And the starters were very good as well.
Then, I took a second visit at their Sunday brunch. It includes prime rib, omelettes, waffles, and other food and sweets. The prime rib was good, and all the other food were very tasty. They also had pasta and teriyaki salmon rice which turned out to be my favorite! The all-​you-​can-​eat brunch is $ 15 per person. And not to mention their endless mimosas for only $ 5.5!

I ate here for restaurant week. The food and service were top notch. My cocktails were amazing! Everything was great! My steak was cooked perfectly medium rare. I will definitely be returning!

Im excited to have found a place that will actually cook a rare steak ! Ive had their steak cooked plain and with horseradish and I prefer it plain. The horseradish they cook with it is bland. I highly recommend the mixed grilled vegetables as a side item. I would give them a five star but the quality of the meat could be better.

Food 4 star, ambiance 3 star, service 1 star. The good-​our steaks were very tender and cooked exactly as we ordered. Restaurant ambiance is typical for steakhouse. The bad– our server Jennifer looked and spoke like she is annoyed and she’d rather be somewhere else. I expect better service if my bill before tax was $ 225 for 4 diners before tax and tip. I would not recommend.

Hmm, well this was an ok experience. For all of the hype and reputation, I probably will not be back. The service was really slow. I was seated almost ten minutes before I was asked what I would like for a drink. I ordered the steak skewers (a special) for appetizer. They were small, burnt, unimpressive. At every point during this meal, I could have said «meh.»
I had a steak and mashed potato dinner. The weird thing? No veggies. I know that was not in the description but I literally got a plate with steak and potatoes. And it was ok. There was nothing of merit to describe the food. Honestly, I am just going to end this review because it was a whole lot of «meh.»

When I go to a steakhouse, I expect them to know how to cook a medium piece of meat. BEWARE: if you are ordering a 6oz filet mignon (2 people in my party ordered this size), medium will look like WELL.
However the 2 people in my party that ordered 10oz pieces of meat medium was perfect. So just be aware on the smaller cuts.
Let me start by saying that it was a Saturday night at 8pm when my party of 4 arrived. It was dead and we had reservations. We were seated in a crescent shaped booth in the bar area.
Restaurant was very nice looking outside, and inside had an old steakhouse, nice feel. Service was average, and we were there for several hours.
Had lots of drinks and all got steak dinners.
The calamari appetizer was very salty, would not recommend. The sausage bread was decent.
Salad was family style unless you order individually. Came with a house balsamic and a ranch. Focaccia bread was very good.
Asparagus was excellent, as was garlic mashed potatoes. Crab stuffed shrimp was weird texture, would not recommend. High hopes for the parmesan crusted filet. It had nice tenderness but as I said, overcooked.
It was OK but for a $ 350 meal, I would not go back.

Went here for our first anniversary and I don’t regret it for a second. Made a reservation for 6:45, but went early to sit and get a drink at the bar. I loved their expansive bar list, especially the martinis! Hint– get the pomegranate martini if you want your taste-​buds to explode! One downside to the martinis (other than them sneaking up on you) is that they were pricier than Johnny Black Label on the rocks.
When we were ready to be seated, the hostess sat us immediately, even though it was before our reservation. The waitress we had was attentive, but not overly so and super friendly. We were wanting to order slowly and enjoy our meal and she understood that.
As an appetizer, we ordered the fried ravioli (good and large portions!) and we were also given bread that had olive oil and Parmesan to dip into. The bread was fresh, warm and divine. I wanted an entire loaf for myself.
For my entrée, I ordered filet oscar (has a crab cake on top of the steak). I got it medium rare, which it definitely was, thank you very much chef. The crab-​cake was okay, got a little mushy with the cream sauce. The asparagus was okay, not a lot of flavor. However, the steak itself and potatoes made up for it all! Husband got the Parmesan crusted steak, but wasn’t a big fan of the Parmesan crusting.
Was very tempted for dessert (crème brûlée! mounds bar! roasted banana cheesecake!) but just didn’t have the room. Plans are already being made to go back for more martini’s and dessert!

Went for lunch and as usual was delicious. I had the Italian beef sandwich and my friend had the reuban. I had half of his and he had half of mine. They both were very good. Service was perfect. Prices reasonable. You get what you pay for + more! I love this place. It reminds me of the old supper clubs. Only wish they’d build one by the new theater in sun prairie. I would definitely eat there more often. Love the booths but the tables are comfortable too. The staff aims to please.

Johnny’s is your best bet for a good meal when staying at the Hilton Garden Inn in Middleton if you don’t have a car. Biggest plus is that they offer room service to the hotel, which is great especially when the weather is bad. Note that there is an additional fee for room service so if you’re up for walking about a few hundred feet I suggest just going to the restaurant if you want to save some dollars.
They have a good variety of steak, salad, and Italian dishes on their menu. I’ve ate there various times and haven’t had a bad meal. Some standouts were:
The spinach salad– you pay $ 3.50 to upgrade your side salad to this. It’s pretty huge for a side salad I was barely hungry after eating it. It comes with thick strips of bacon and a delicious bacon dressing. The dressing was so good I wanted some to go.
The Parmesan crusted sirloin w stuffed shrimp– this was really good. I usually don’t go for sirloin at steakhouses because it’s often not that tender. This was the exception it was very tender and cooked perfectly. I got the mushrooms as a topper, I thought it’d be a couple of sliced mushrooms but it was a plateful of flavor infused baby Bella’s. This was an excellent and indulgent meal.
The salmon and shrimp on the salad– I ordered a Waldorf salad with salmon, instead they delivered a shrimp frangelico salad w salmon. It was late in the night and I didn’t feel like calling them out on it and the salad looked great. The salmon and shrimp were delicious, but I didn’t care for the hazelnuts and dried apricots (which is why I ordered the Waldorf).

While staying at the nearby hotel for work trips, I often walked to Johnny’s for dinner. The interior is nice– dark and relaxing. The bartender is great! Super friendly and easygoing. they also have decent local brews on tap– love the Hopilicious from Asylum Ale!
Now for the food: the steaks are great. I ordered the filet most nights with steamed broccoli and salad. I can’t complain. They can cook steaks the way you want, which in my case is rare. I hate it when steak houses can’t cook a decent rare steak! Also, Johnny’s offers several steak toppers, like a horseradish crust. I tried many out and they were all good.
The best dish they offer is the goat cheese salad. Yum! It took me a few tries before discovering it and it’s truly delicious and makes for a perfect accompaniment to a steak dinner.
This place’s weak spot is absolutely desserts. Man, they are just not good. Huge portions, first off, and they LOOK great. However, every dessert I tried was just not very good– dry/​stale and bland overall. They are simply not worth the calories and I tried all of them over time.
Anyway, for a steakhouse right in front of a hotel, it’s a decent spot with a lot of pretty good fare. I would definitely go here again if I return for work.

I’ve been coming here about once a month for the last 5 months. When I first came here, I thought the place was amazing. But I also feel like I watched it go down hill since. The food quality has suffered a little, but it is still good food. However, the service continues to deteriorate on each visit.
The bad service starts with the greeting at the front door. I’ve always made reservations because they acted really bothered if you don’t. However, apparently they are no long using OpenTable, so a quick reservation is no longer an option.
I dislike sitting in bar areas of a restaurant, they are just loud, and I prefer to eat in a quieter environment. They always want you to sit in the bar area. When you asked to sit in the dining area, the host gives you a giant sigh and acts like you’ve asked for a private dining room.
Too bad… this could be the best place in Middleton… but the attitude of the staff just ruins it!

We made reservations for for two on my birthday for 5:15pm on a Thursday. We we got there, the place was pretty empty but by the time we left, business picked up pretty well and fast. I would recommend making RSVP regardless of the day and time. Now on to the important stuff.
Johnny’s was by far the best restaurant I’ve eaten at in Wisconsin along with Flemings Steak House. I know they are competitors but these places are just top of the line.
I ordered the steak and shrimp stuffed with crab and garlic mash potatoes. The serving sizes are awesome! For $ 30, you get a great deal of food including bottomless salad which was excellent and fresh bread with olive oil. I do not know what kind of dressing they used for the salad but it was excellent and didn’t overwhelm the salad. The croutons also taste homemade which is an extra plus.
I am not a fan of crab and didn’t want the stuff shrimp with crab but I am so happy I ordered it. The crab was fresh and cooked perfectly. They were basically mini crab cakes stuffed in between the shrimp and the tail. It complimented the steak very well which was crusted itself.
I cannot say enough good things about Johnny’s. The kiwi martini was made to perfection, the music playing in background was soothing and it’s a great spot for couples. Do not take children. It’s meant for adults 18+.
Service was great. Host was great. Martini was great! Plus I got a free ice cream for my birthday! I will be back here.
Highly recommended. Come we extra money however. For me and my boyfriend, we spent $ 75 without tip but it was worth every penny.