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Madison's Grill
Rating Details »
Categories: Restaurants, Bars [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Southeast Portland, Central Eastside1109 SE Madison St
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 230-2471
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
Sat. 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m.
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street, Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good for:
- Dinner, Late Night
- Best Nights:
- Fri, Sat, Sun
- Happy Hour:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- Outdoor Area/ Patio Only
- Coat Check:
- No
17 reviews for Madison's Grill
Went to Madison's for brunch/lunch on a Sunday when family was visiting from out of town. I got their cheeseburger and it was wonderful and smokey! Loved it. The fries were pretty dang good too.
My boyfriend had breakfast and seemed to enjoy it as well. It looked very large. And neither of us ate much the rest of the day.
We were sitting upstairs since we had 6 people in our party. The service was a little slow, but I think that's because we were the only people up there. The only other downside was that the waiter said they weren't serving the Appetizers. Not sure why...
FYI-Free pool. There's also a big tv on the wall. Nice place. Good food. Parking lot (which is excellent in that area of town). I would definitely go back to check out their happy hour.
No.
No way.
This place went down hill for their happy hour. I've tried the sliders and it was just meh. There's no flavor to it and the meat tasted weird (that's what she said...). The 3-way hot wings was another meh. It was cold because the waiter/bartender took forever to bring our foo to us. The good news is, the french fries is still good.
I used to like this place for the happy hour. Now, I need to stay away from it. What a fail.
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***This Review is only for the block of hours I spend at Madison's on Saturdays. I fully admit that I have been going regularly for months and I don't know a damn thing about their food. Judging from the other reviews, oy vey!***
Madison's is my favorite fuzzy weekend morning stop. They have $7 all-you-can-drink mimosas and, in case you didn't know, I can drink a lot. Mimosa hours. Seriously, from 9-3 there are Mimosas sans bottom! Then what happens at 3? happy hour! I've never made it to happy hour...who am I kidding? I have like 2 or 3 mimosas and a nap. Le sigh...
The mimosa stop is nice because it gives me a place to plan the lazy weekend days with friends. The patio is good, relaxed and fairly private considering it technically sits in the parking lot.
The staff is lovely, they've treated my friends and I like regulars since the first time we sat down. For that, you'll always get some devotion from me.
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Wanna know where to go when you're hungry, thirsty, and in need of cheap food during happy hour? Well, unfortunately Madison's Grill isn't the place. I ordered the "Mound of Nachos", and a plate of fries, and she (Ollie) ordered the Sliders and 3-way Hot Wings. Combine that with a cold cola, and you're good to go, right? Wrong.
The Nacho's advertised black beans, cheese, some sort of pepper sour cream, jalepenos, and olives. Most of it was there, I suppose - except for the black beans and olives that is. Dry nachos, and slow service (we had to ask a random cook/waiter for refills), along with lame Happy Hour prices (not even half off anything, and the cokes were $2 each) made Jack a very dull boy.
The fries were oddly cooked; they seemed almost to be in a tempura-like batter, and just slightly undercooked. I ate them anyway, but I would not put them on the top of the "fry heap".
Long-story, only slightly shorter, I would recommend the Jolly Roger any day ahead of this place if you're in the inner SE hood.
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Props to this restaurant because they're all like, "Ahhhh yeah, it's bizniss time...we gonna serve healthy food!" I mean, according to their Web site at least.
When I got there, it was indeed business time, as we were starvacious and in need of adult beverages. All the servers seemed incredibly nice. Prices for small plates really couldn't be beat.
And then the rosé came. Rosé is a nice and light summer wine that I was recently re-turned on to, and I like that it's pink. I got their special, and I almost spit it out. It was potent and overbearing and gross. I think they switched their special with the jug of expired Carlo Rossi.
But then our Caesar salads came. And the rosé didn't seem so bad anymore. In fact, I downed it trying to stomach the salad. It had potential, but it was drowned out in goops of dressing. I love fatty dressings as much as the next person, but I don't want to have my lettuce so saturated in it that it's dripping off the leaf in gobs.
And then the legendary nacho. Which, for $6, was pretty enormous. But if you're skimping on the fixings in the name of healthy, that's just wrong! There was a little bit of overcooked cheese, some jalapeños, and a few olives. And a little bit of pico and some sort of chipotle sauce. Most of the chips were dry, and it just wasn't nacho-y.
I'll give them the benefit of the doubt--I bet a bunch of their other menu items were titillating and delicious, these simply were not.
I will give them credit for projecting some old Western movie high above our table (what was going on?!) and for having ample outdoor seating.
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If Madison really owns this grill, I hope she is:
- Terribly disappointed but not emotionally crippled by the fact that her blue-blood parents named her after a president and the capital of Wisconsin. She goes by Mad.
- A hibachi mistress, able to informatively argue the regional differences between grilling and barbequeing, but also just as ease in a kitchen while whipping up a meatloaf.
- Digs sports, especially baseball. Does not dig A-Rod.
- Drinks sparingly, but appreciates the time a local brewery takes to concoct the stuff.
That was my impression of this place - an unpretentious and relaxed place to eat and drink on a sunny afternoon. The beer selection could be bigger, although the $2.50 Full Sail special I had tasted much better than what I remembered. The food, steak with potatoes and beef brisket on my table, tasted great and was priced pretty reasonably for the dinner entrees. On the other hand, the burgers - the insanity of The Ridiculous aside - seemed a tad overpriced. The server was one of the friendliest I've met, an ease with talking to strangers that looked natural. I even drew a happy face on my tab for her. Spring fever, I swear.
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Blue cheese buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce? Wow. I was treated to a late night happy hour at Madison's last night, and I had an intensely blue cheesey experience. The wings are coated in a tangy sauce and there are chunks of blue cheese embedded in the wing batter.
Post-10pm on a Monday night is not a "happenin' time" at Madison's, but the bartender is nice, the happy hour menu is in effect, and I can get 2 beers and an appetizer for $10. A decently broad selection of beers, Kung-Fu Hustle playing on the big screen (pride fighting on the small screen), a seat at the bar... and those wings. MMMMM..... It's an intense experience. The sliders, however, are not really sliders. Don't make a long burger on a french roll, cut it into 4 pieces, and call it 4 sliders, please. That's not right. Still tasty though.
I probably won't find myself here on a regular basis. The pool is free upstairs, but the place has a bit too much of that classic 'bar and grill' feel that's just not my style. Still, with the friendliness of service, good prices, decent food, non-smoking-ness, and all around welcoming vibe, I gotta give this place 4 stars.
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I sure did enjoy eating here! I was so hungry and the service was soooo slow, BUT the waitress was really sweet and nice and the grub was great.
I had a fantastic burger with bacon, cheese, and jalapenos and it was cooked to perfection. The fries were the thick "steak cut" fries which were so damn good. My girlfriend had buffalo meatloaf with caramelized onions and a Cabernet reduction sauce (YUMMM!).
I didn't think I would like this place, it looked a little too clean and (dare I say) yuppie-ish for my standards, though I am going to go back again for their $17 burger which has everything in it plus the kitchen sink!
The food is a little spendy here, but it seems as if you get what you pay for, there is a full bar which is nice, and two small patios for those summer nights.
Shhhh. Don't tell anyone but the breakfast crowd is non existent. Their breakfast is not out of this world but it is good, especially if you are hung over. Blood Mary's are not great but they are good as well. But you can not beat being able to sit down and have your food in 20min on a Sat or Sun morning. There were even open tables on New Years Day which I haven't seen in a long time. Don't tell anyone.
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I like how the tv or whatever is projected onto the wall of the dining area. The upstairs seating is good for a group but only one group. I thought it would be bigger. but oh well. hooray for parking.
if you eat here you must eat the Ridiculous burger. A whole pound of meat! I thought they were a little skimy on the shrooms on the portobello burger tho. The spaghetti was nice, and you get 3 huge balls. (haha im going some emails for this one - i know it!)
the wings was nice, and spicy in a good way. but could be spicer!
i also noticed the meat here was a higher a quality compared to some places.
last but not least i had a few dirty martinis to wash it all down, because im so dirty! (yeah does that make you hot)
haha whew
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We just ate here over the weekend for the first time and it was pretty good. They don't have as large a local beer selection as I like, but they did have some good standards (Mac&Jack, Full Sail, something with "Orange" in the title...).
We were there for happy hour and ordered only from that menu. We got the hot wings, which have bleu cheese in the hot sauce they get cooked in. It was spicy, and when you got large chunks of bleu cheese, very tart. The wings were an interesting and enjoyable experience. The brie en croute was good, and I enjoyed the fish tacos. The potato soup, however, would have been better labeled "celery soup", as that's what the bulk of the chunks in the soup were. The celery taste was also kind of strong.
Our server was really nice and prompt, which is always a plus.
They have some kind of insane burger, which is actually called: "Ridiculous" that I may try next time:
"One pound of Cascade Natural grain fed beef, stuffed with proscuitto, salami, bleu cheese, roasted onion, mushroom and pepper mix. Topped with bacon, havarti, swiss and cheddar cheeses, jalapeos, pepperoncinis, portobello mushroom and dijonnaise. Bring your appetite and possibly a friend or two before taking on this one!" -- from their menu.
Stuffed burgers are da bomb.
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Craving MEAT ... we hit up Madison's Bar & Grill, and were fairly impressed.
Apparently they had recently gone through renovations and become a smoke free joint (which I approve of for sure), the service was decent, the food was good (local, organic - always a plus) and the atmosphere - while "bar and grill" wasn't over the top.
My burger wasn't great ... now granted I was craving BBQ ... so I had the beef burger with cheese and bbq sauce ... they definitely went light on the sauce. Hubby had the Garlic Roasted Chicken and was impressed.
Over all -- decent dining. They do need to move the "smoking" section which is now right outside the front door ... and those who don't smoke actually have to walk through it to get into the restaurant.
Otherwise -- I'd definitely go back.
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I have a big crowd of friends in Portland and they have breakfast here every Sunday morning without fail at 11:30. Many times, I join them. Steve (the owner and bartender) takes good care of us, as does the waitstaff.
The breakfast food is excellent; salmon hash is a favorite, their bacon is delicious, pancakes are fluffy and delicious, and nobody's ever complained about any of their egg preparations.
I think the restaurant's gone non-smoking now; I'm super-sensitive to smoke and I've never noticed any or the stale smell. The outside deck probably allows smoking but we hardly ever sit out there.
I would ding them half a star if I could for once in a while being swamped by huge parties upstairs and that making the food for people downstairs a litle slow. That's happened to me once in maybe fifteen visits, and I was enjoying my friends so it wasn't too big a hassle, but if it was just you and your partner or kids, you'd be pissed about the wait.
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Showed up here for a post-binge sunday brunch with friends and emerged unscathed but a little worse for wear.
I ordered a cheese-entombed bacon and toast combo which was delicious but I could feel my arteries squealing in horror as I ate. Most of my friends ordered cheeseburgers and rated them as mediocre. Fries were decent.
Some nitpicks. Waittress overcharged on the bill. Also, bar stools down stairs sit about 1 foot off the ground. I've never seen anythign like it. And the place feels like a chain. Like a RockBottom.. or similar.
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I eat there at least twice a week for about the last year and I have to say I actually like it. The menu is a little different, maybe a little more complicated than most bar and grill joints. I love the Salmon Caesar with a side of Caesar. Give it a try and say Hi to Nick the bartender or me. Great people and great food.
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the food was ok and it was pleasant. but there was nothing memorable about the place. if anything it felt like a sterilized applebees. if it was in a small town, this would be the place to take the relatives out to. but this is SE and there are 1 million other better restaurants around it.
So they have ok fish and chips, but the restaurant is usually smokey - even in the non-smoking section - which is always annoying. The clam chowder here wins the "Worst Clam Chowder In Portland" award by my boyfriend.
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