Benvenuto's Italian Grill

Recently my son had his wedding rehearsal dinner at this restaurant. To say the least, there were 30 plus people in attendance, with two or three younger children included. The service was fast, efficient, and mostly I noticed a very pleasing attitude of the wait staff. They simply couldn't do enough to make sure everything was at best, 'excellent'. The drinks were also excellent. As for the children present, they all seemed to have ordered some sort of pasta and meatballs. I specifically noted my granddaughter's plate which was cleaned up at the end of the meal. Another little boy there seemed to have been equally pleased and certainly did not go hungry that night. My two other granddaughter's, although a little older, were also very pleased with their request for a vegetarian offerings. No problem! As for the quality of the food which was varied throughout the crowd, all I heard was compliments. Not one negative comment! I can now see why this place is so popular with Madison's diners and why it is favored by repeat patrons. I for one will certainly be visiting them again.

Posted 10/13/09 | Report Abuse

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My parents and my family went to eat at Benvenutos tonight. The restaurant was clean, slightly underlit, and cozy. Most of the food was pretty good, but in order to have a variety to eat one needs to order more than just an appetizer and an entree. Our steaks were good, but I could not taste a difference between my sirloin and my Mom's new york strip due to the pepper coating on both. My daughter's cheese pizza with extra cheese arrived with sauce dropping off the sides and just a handful of cheese in the very center. We wondered if they had doubled the sauce instead of the cheese. The sauce was so spicy she could not eat it. Knowing my daughter has a taste for pretty bland food I tried it, and I found it to be one of the most strongly spiced pizza sauces I've ever tried. Some adults probably like it that way, but it was not appropriate to be on the children's menu. For that matter, there wasn't anything on the kid's menu you can't find everywhere else (hot dog, spaghetti, grilled cheese, etc) and it was all offered with fries and nothing else. Wanting my daughter to eat better than that, we took her home and fed her supper there.

I suppose I would go back again if someone else was buying and try some of the other stuff on the menu, as there was quite a bit that caught my attention. However, I won't be back with my daughter for a looooooong time.

Posted 10/04/08 | Report Abuse

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