Is L'Etoile in Madison still great?

My wife and I will be in Madison for college orientation and will treat ourselves (our son gets the dining hall ) if this is still the place it's always been touted to be.

Thanks,
Jonah

I was in Madison recently and I can vouch for the almond croissants at L'Etoile's next-door bakery, Cafe Soleil. Best, flakiest croissants I've had. Ever.

There are a few other helpful posts that might answer your questions (and more) here and here

TODG and I went to L'Etoile six months ago. We'd gone to Coquette in Milwaukee the night before.

We were underwhelmed in Madison. Nice room, good but not great food, but, worst of all, was the sort of self-pride, or, at least, self-satisfaction that seemed to be radiating outward from everyone on the staff. It really began to get to me, most especially by taking lots of the fun out of it.

The bill was too much for the bang generated by the food and the atmosphere.

Coquette, on the other hand, was worth more than the bill--their soups are incredibly satisfying, which, in a Wisconsin December is no small matter.

Your mileage may vary: our response was terribly personal, and may reflect the contrast of the two places rather than the performance of either.

Geo

Geo wrote:the sort of self-pride, or, at least, self-satisfaction that seemed to be radiating outward from everyone on the staff. It really began to get to me, most especially by taking lots of the fun out of it.

That's funny. I got that same vibe
at Restaurant Magnus; maybe
it's a "Madison Thing"?

They made it seem like we were
inconveniencing them, and
taking away from their social time
chit-chatting at the bar.

But I must say, that their seared
foie gras dish was so good,
we ordered another round
post-dessert. For that alone,
I'd probably go back.

Geo wrote:Coquette, on the other hand, was worth more than the bill--their soups are incredibly satisfying, which, in a Wisconsin December is no small matter.

Geo

I've been to Coquette a few times this year and have always enjoyed it. Top-notch bistro food fer sure (and I love their montly international experiments).