Ru Yi Hand Pulled Noodle opened in mid-January on the 300 block of State Street to eager, high-energy crowds. Within two months, everything changed due to COVID-19. The noodle shop carried on with carryout and delivery. Dine-in is offered at a limited capacity, usually one or two tables, said Melody Lin, whose parents own the restaurant.
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14 best-reviewed restaurants of 2020: All diminished, but still killing it
Many Madison-area restaurants close each year even without a pandemic.
But COVID-19 has dealt a sucker punch to the restaurant industry. "Many have called this an extinction event,” Simon Majumdar, Food Network personality and restaurant critic for Time Out Los Angeles, told Forbes magazine.
Restaurant suffering in 2020 exceeds past years, but of the 14 best restaurants I reviewed this year all are still open.
The State Journal didn't run reviews for three months when lockdown measures were first put in place. But in late June, the paper started a carryout-only column called "Curbside."
First up was Ancho & Agave in Middleton. It was the last place I'd visited just as the virus started to spread. So, once restrictions eased a bit and carryout food proved to be low risk, I went back to the Greenway Station restaurant for takeout. And, like many places with the means to do it, Ancho & Agave made a seamless transition to online ordering and curbside carryout.
Here are 14 restaurants that got the best reviews in 2020, curbside or otherwise.
Tokyo Sushi
Tokyo Sushi opened Dec. 10, 2019 on Williamson Street, and is surviving on carryout, co-owner Wenxin Chen said. "Not so many people dining in," he said. "I hope that coronavirus is over very soon."
Lorraine's
Ken Kopp IV renovated his former New Orleans Take-Out location on Monroe Street in one month and turned it into Lorraine's Cafe, which opened in late January. "It’s going OK around here," said Kopp, who isn't offering dine-in now. He's not doing delivery, either. "The online orders off my website for curbside have been great," he said.
Everyday Kitchen
Everyday Kitchen is part of a coworking space called Lodgic Everyday Community. The restaurant, bar and cafe opened in June 2020 on Marshall Court, and is visible from University Avenue. General manager Bobby Frizzell said the restaurant is open for delivery and curbside carryout only. "We have not yet determined a hard date for reopening the dining room, but we can’t wait to welcome everyone back!" he said in a text.
Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant
Garibaldi Mexican Restaurant opened June 1 on Butler Street, close to the Capitol Square. Erik Francisco Doroteo, whose father, Felipe Francisco Juan, owns the restaurant, said business has been OK. "We have more new customers coming in, some coming in once a week," he said. "We have some slow days, but more people are getting to know us." Erik said the restaurant is seating inside at 25% capacity with tables spaced six feet apart. Garibaldi also offers delivery.
Kosharie
Kosharie, which opened in late 2019 on Regent Street, is owned by Fawzy Mohamed, whose impressive restaurant resume includes 13 years as executive chef at Smoky’s Club and three years as a sous chef at the Madison Club. Kosharie's namesake Egyptian national dish, above, combines spaghetti, elbow macaroni, rice, lentils and chickpeas. Mohamed said the restaurant is "doing very well for corona time." He's offering takeout and delivery and is able to seat customers at two tables under dine-in restrictions. He plans to open a restaurant next door on Jan. 15 called Mafia for Pizza.
Skal Public House
Brian and Kim LaDow opened Skal Public House in May 2018 on Mount Horeb's Main Street in what was best known as Sole Sapori for 11 years. Brian LaDow said that business is going as well as possible. "Not great, but could be worse," he said. The restaurant is doing carryout, including curbside, dine-in and local delivery.
FEAST Artisan Dumpling and Tea House
Williamson Street's new upscale dumpling restaurant, FEAST Artisan Dumpling and Tea House, serves dumplings so good, they don't need dipping sauce. Mike Wang, who opened the restaurant this summer with his wife, Judy Zhu, said business is going OK and that the restaurant is open for dine-in, carry out and delivery.
Ragin Cajun Seafood
Ragin Cajun Seafood, in the works for about a year, was delayed by the pandemic, and opened July 10 in the former Ginza of Tokyo on the Far East Side. The restaurant’s basic seafood boil is one of the best splurges a person can make after months of quarantine. Jordan Zhou, the nephew of owner Ting Cai Zhou, said "everything is going well." The restaurant is doing dine-in, carryout and delivery.
Ahan
Jamie Hoang opened Ahan -- “food” in Lao -- inside The Bur Oak this summer after other kitchens didn't work out at the East Side music venue. Hoang said business has been "staying steady and busy with delivery and carryout." Deliveries make up about one-third of Ahan's business, Hoang said. She's not offering dine-in.
Finca Coffee
Todd Allbaugh and Marleni Valle opened Finca Coffee in August 2019 in a modern building on Rimrock Road owned by the Alexander Company, which Allbaugh said has been great to them during the pandemic. Finca's tacos are among the best tacos you'll find in Madison. The coffee's hard to beat, too. The shop offers limited indoor seating and curbside carryout.
Royal Indian Cuisine
Royal Indian Cuisine opened in September 2019 on the Far West Side in the days when lunch buffets could be found in every Indian restaurant in town. Now they're prohibited. At Royal Indian, co-owner Inderjit Kaur is offering carryout and delivery. No dine-in.
Settle Down Tavern
Sam Parker, Ryan Huber and Brian Bartels opened The Settle Down Tavern in the middle of a pandemic and serve a mean burger. Parker said the bar is doing takeout and delivery, and can seat customers in the tavern and in the attached atrium under its glass ceiling. "It’s the next best thing to being outside without being outside," Parker said. The tavern is also expanding into the space next door that used to be the men's clothing store Context.
Ru Yi Hand Pulled Noodle
Sunny Pho
Sunny Pho owner Kim Khouch cooks a wide variety of Asian dishes and does them all well. The restaurant isn't offering dine-in for now and is concentrating on carryout and delivery.
Samara Kalk Derby | Wisconsin State Journal
Wisconsin State Journal feature writer Samara Kalk Derby writes about the arts and brings you the latest news on the Madison area's eclectic restaurant scene. She can be reached at skalk@madison.com or 608-252-6439.
The Near East Side now has easy access to Paul's Pel'meni and the types of sandwiches and coffee drinks served at Oasis Cafe in Fitchburg.
This new West Side restaurant is as much a bubble tea shop, and sticks to Vietnamese staples pho and banh mi.
Seizing on the popularity of chicken sandwiches from chains like Popeyes and Chick-fil-A, Madison's Nitty Gritty has developed its own line of chicken sandwiches that it's selling as Cluck, an online offshoot of the restaurant.
Now that's Italian! This family-run restaurant has a wide menu with enough good choices to keep you coming back regularly.
As it has been for most restaurant owners, 2020 was devastating for longtime restaurateur Christopher Berge.
Dane County health department files 119-count complaint against studio over 'Nutcracker' performance
Each of the counts is punishable by a $200 fine, plus court costs.
Greg Frankov, who owns four of the seven Monk's Bar & Grill locations, said he and his partners liked the name Wiscow for the new concept because it's kid-friendly.
Dinner plates elevate Enrique's Grill above the usual taqueria fare.
Wonderstate Coffee has an exceptional food menu, and the coffee's not bad either.
Brian Hamilton, who has a long and distinguished restaurant resume, is opening his own place on Monroe Street after running a successful meal-kit program and camper-rental business during the past year.
Chef Tory Miller's new meat and three restaurant takes a casual concept and spruces it up.
Kevin Cruz, City Barbeque's regional marketing manager, said the restaurant smokes its meats on site for 14 to 16 hours a day with hickory-smoked wood.
Owners Nabil Elghadban and Mari Nikoyan are asking $60,000 for the business, but are willing to negotiate. The sale would include all the equipment and the continuity of relationships with suppliers.
When Himal Chuli opened on State Street in 1986, it was the the first Nepali restaurant in the nation.
The food sold from this refurbished bus on the East Side takes the MELTED sandwiches we all know and love and greatly expands on them.
Having the same head chef for 29 years has ensured consistency, and Louisianne's excellent Cajun/Creole food has won over many fans.
The Sow's Ear, a hybrid yarn store and cafe, has benefitted from an increased interest in knitting during the pandemic. It also has a good selection of food.
Fin Sushi offers friendly, affordable sushi on the Far West Side.
The owner of Beef Butter BBQ is planning to open Camp Beef Butter BBQ, a place where people can eat his barbecue on picnic tables overlooking more than 40 acres of wetlands.
Don't overlook this favorite Italian joint that's doing only curbside carryout during the pandemic.
J-Petal on State Street provides a lively twist on savory and dessert crêpes.
Jet's makes excellent Detroit-style pizza and does sandwiches, wings and salads well, too.
Villa Tap is the place to be for Friday fish, just get your order in early.