Cafe Soleil in Madison, WI

Fellow Lthers--

Just got back from a weekend trip to Madison and was pleased to discover the folks behind L'Etoile are now operating a cafe in the same building. Cafe Soleil is open Monday through Saturday from 7 am to 2:30 pm and features salads, sandwiches and soups created from local sources. The Cafe also has coffee, tea, and house-made baked goods.

I had the Classic Chevre salad, which contained mixed greens, cherry tomatoes and stravecchio cheese dressed with champagne vinaigrette, and served with warm Capiole goat cheese crostini on the side. Also a cup of chicken and wild rice soup. Both were excellent. The menu also had an intriguing sandwich list, including Artesian Farm trout salad, Summer Sausage sandwich, and a Cuban-style pork sandwich that sounded like an Americanized version of a cubano. Soups change daily. There is also a quiche of the day, and a daily cheese plate. Their potato chips are made in house--alas, I didn't see that notice until I had already ordered, so I can't vouch for them, but I'm willing to suggest that they are probably excellent!

I didn't have room for coffee or tea, but I noticed that the tea is served in pots (one of my pet peeves is tea steeped in a cup, so I am always pleased to see tea pots in use), and that the coffee menu noted that their flavor shots (chocolate, caramel and hazelnut) were house-made! Baked goods included croissants, brioche, and pain au chocolat, as well as various cookies.

The space was airy and pleasant, and service was good. My soup was served immediately, but my salad took a few minutes to arrive--when the server brought it, he apologized for the delay and offered me a free pain au chocolat, which, of course, I happily took, tho' I had not noticed the wait to be particularly long!

I suspect at lunch time the place is packed, particularly during the week, but I was there around 1:30 on Saturday and had the place almost to myself.

Oh--and their menu advertises that they have gougeres available on Market Saturdays! "Supplies are limited, so get here early!"

Cheers,

Lillafury

Cafe Soleil
25 North Pinckney St
608-251-0500

www.letoile-restaurant.com

Thanks for the report. I've had a few ncie meals here. I especially like the dry cured beef sammy.

Pics of the breakfast pastries can be found here.

I have yet to try the big place upstairs, but I hope to soon!

They have great carmelized onion and bacon (sliced, thick cut) croissants, too.

They have great carmelized onion and bacon (sliced, thick cut) croissants, too.

Here's a picture of the croissants from my visit to Cafe Soleil this past weekend:



Having heard good things about the Cafe, my boyfriend and I peeked in on Saturday. We decided, however, to save our appetites for our dinner upstairs at L'Etoile. (Dinner was only about two hours away from when we stopped into the cafe.) The next time I'm in Madison, I'd like to try one the onion and bacon croissants (I like that they're not too big) as well as a spice girl wheel and some of their chocolate sand cookies.

I can vouch for the chocolate sand cookies--really wonderful, rich chocolate flavor and not too sweet.