Café Montmartre

Bar, Eatery

127 E Mifflin St
Madison, Wisconsin, 53703
United States

// CLOSED //
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.16
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
4
pDev:
12.66%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews.
Ratings by lowbrau:
Photo of lowbrau
Reviewed by lowbrau from Wisconsin

3.35/5  rDev +6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 2
I really like the setting and it's a great place to see a band, but it's not so good from a beer drinkers perspective. There are approx. 5-6 beers on tap, the best of which were Lake Louie porter and pale ale. I don't recall very much of the bottle selection, but I'm pretty sure it includes Fin du Monde, which is certainly a plus. This is very much a wine bar, not so much a beer place. Prices seemed a little steep, but not terrible, and the cover charge on show nights can be a bit high sometimes too.
Jun 23, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of dirtylou
Reviewed by dirtylou from Oklahoma

3.5/5  rDev +10.8%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3 | food: 4
Cafe Montmarte is an upscale wine bar. Its trendy but a dive at the same time.

The atmosphere can be terrific at times. They do have bands (independent) on the weekends which can have covers. Later in the evenings they typically have a DJ going. Its very dark inside and lit by candles. Interior is an old wood theme. Location is great, being on east mifflin a block off the capitol.

Beer selection is not anything terribly special. They only really had like 5 or 6 taps the other day (capital amber, spotted cow, furthermore fallen apple, sierra nevada pale, and a few others). They have maybe 30 in the bottles and i noticed bells third coast and a few others. I have consumed some two brothers, goose island, and others in the past from the bottle

As far as other alcohol goes, they do quite well. Lots of interesting wines with half price bottles on mondays. Specialty drinks are expensive but good. I find this place nice to kick back some scotch or whiskey on the rocks. Im not sure when it is (friday, saturday, or both) but they hand out free shots at midnight (1 specific shot for a night).

The menu is not very large and I find it quite overpriced, but quite good. The pizzas highlight the menu but they are thin crust and small, meant for an individual serving. There are lots of toppings you would expect to find at a place in Madison (funky veggies, cheeses, etc). I had a portobella sandwich the other night that was pretty solid.
Jan 07, 2007
Photo of DaPeculierDane
Reviewed by DaPeculierDane from Wisconsin

2.48/5  rDev -21.5%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3 | service: 1.5 | selection: 2 | food: 3
We call it cafe MoMoney. Sure they have Blatz in a can for the bargain price of like 3 bucks but come on. This is Wisconsin, just because garbage beers might be trendy at places like this in New York doesn't mean we should have to pay through the roof for them in the Brew State.

Montmartre really is a Wine Bar and they do have a great half-price special on all wine bottles every Monday.

There food is also quite good, especially the pizzas, but they are very small and very pricey.

As for beer, their selection is mediocre. They always have Guinness, Spotted Cow, something from Goose Island, and maybe something from Capitol on tap but that is standard in Madison.

Their bottle selection is negligible. The most exciting thing I ever got there in a bottle was a Pomegranate Wheat that was dated and skunked.

As for atmosphere, that's the one thing that Montemarte really has going for them. It's dark. The waitresses and waiters (if you're in to that kind of thing) are usually wearing something sexy. They throw cool underwear and I-pod parties. The bathrooms are painted cool colors and rocking good bands do play there on occasion.

Still, unless you are out to impress some pretentious, hipster or Coasty chica, stay away. It's not worth the money, the looong wait for your drinks, and the general "This bar is too cool for you" attitude of the place.

On the plus side, one of the guys from Garbage is like a 5% owner of the bar so the place occasionally has cool semi-celebs hanging about.
Aug 31, 2005
Photo of SCW
Reviewed by SCW from New York

3.31/5  rDev +4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 2.5 | selection: 3
Well, I definitely would not call this place a beer bar.... it's a WINE BAR. And, with many wine bars, you have the unfortunate reality of LOUSY SERVICE.

It's not that the service isn't timely. It's not that the services isn't punctual. It's the attitude. Although most of the servers here are college students or young adults, they sometimes have the attitude that they're doing you a favor by doing their job.

I don't let it get to me though.... this place has plenty of redeeming qualities. Take, for instance, it's atmosphere. Housed in a cavernous brick setting, this bar is somewhat subterranean .... it is built on the side of capital hill on a slope, so as you are walking down the street, half of the bar is above ground and the other half is not.

Also, this bar, although it is small, has been known to have pretty cool live music acts on a regular basis. They regularly book djs and independent musicians, and the scene is usually chill and laid-back.

As far as the beer goes, don't count on anything rare. Sure, you can get a pint of Guinness and maybe some Capital Brewery, but after that, it's the usual standbies.

Basically, I would recommend this place for a date. Maybe split a bottle of wine and do some dancing to some live music. However, if you're going here for a nice beer selection and some quality service, you might want to reconsider.
Dec 08, 2004
Café Montmartre in Madison, WI
Place rating: 3.16 out of 5 with 4 ratings