Maureen and I went to Sardine tonight, so I thought I'd post some pictures and my initial impressions for those who are looking for a bit more about Sardine. I have no experience writing about restaurants and my pictures were taken with a crappy camera, so that makes me The Definitive Source.

Update

Here is a discussion on the Isthmus forum that has more (informed) impressions of Sardine. For my impression, continue reading.

How to use this manual

I will arbitrarily rate things with a 5 star system. An asterisk is good, and a dash is bad. So 3 out of 5 stars looks like this: [***--].

The Interior

The interior of the restaurant is nice [****-]. It's in the Machinery Row building on the shore of Lake Monona, and tonight was a great night to sit outdoors and overlook the lake [*****], but we didn't [*----]. They have done a really nice job keeping with the style of the existing wood floors and exposed ceiling, but it also looks very fresh and new. There is a big, weird mirror [-----], but I can let that slide since they really nailed everything else.

The Food

The meal came with bread, and I think I overheard someone say it was made by Madison Sourdough Bread Co.. Very delicious [****-]. As an appetizer we got the steamed mussels and frites. The mussels were great and they came in a tasty, creamy broth [*****] that I tried to sip out of the mussel shells as if it was a spoon, but that became dirty, and I probably wont do it again. Sardine insists on calling the fries 'frites' which I guess is OK, assuming that a 'frite' is a wrinkly, soggy cousin of the fry [**---].

For the main course, Maureen had the salmon with portobello mushrooms. Based on my 2 bites, the mushrooms were great and the fish seemed pretty good, but lacking soul [***--]. I had the veal and gnocchi, despite the fact that I've always hated gnocchi. The veal was so-so [**---]. I'm not sure what I should be looking for in veal, since I've never had it, but it should be said that it was very tender. Something about the tomato sauce made it taste like pork though, and having one species of meat taste like another is a little unsettling. The gnocchi was bad, and thats my own fault [-----]. The cappuccino and a blackberry 'tartlet' that followed for desert were fine [***--].

The Staff

The staff was nice.

The Consensus

I liked Sardine, and would go back if we weren't moving in a couple of weeks. I have faith that their (short) menu has other good things to eat, and you can't go wrong with the space.

The Pictures

Table setting w/ nice paper menu

Main dining room

Waiters' island

Mussels and fries frites, w/ bread

Blackberry tartlet

Goodbye!