Fabiola's Spaghetti House & Deli

Had dinner at Fabiola’s the other night. I really dig the vibe in there. Sat at the bar and the bartender, Maya, was a pro. Started with the orange and fennel salad w watermelon radish and apricot dressing. Outstanding. Next, had the linguine vongole. Their Manila clams were next level. Amazing texture, sweetness, and a ton of them in the dish. If you haven’t gone, go check it out. This is an amazing addition to the Italian dining scene in Madison.

From all of the positive reviews, we were excited to try this place. Very disappointed. Our server was nice enough, but it didn’t make up for the horrid food. We ordered the bread appetizer, gnocchi, spaghetti and meatballs. All of it absolutely awful. The gnocchi was pasty and the sauce had zero Gorgonzola anything; just a bath of creamed Campbell’s tomato soup. The meatballs were spicy, and somewhat decent, but near zero sauce, uncooked garlic, and just plain bland. Both entrees came with asparagus that had no flavor. The food came fast. Microwave fast. They took forever to get our drinks saying they only had one bartender. It was 5:00 pm and very, VERY few people. We so wanted to love it, but will not be back.

I dined alone this time. The salmon was perfectly cooked, and the service was excellent. Thank you, Jolie! I never felt rushed. They even made coffee for me! I will definitely come back again.

I never write reviews (unless it’s really bad), but this place is an exception. It is a perfect 10 (or even 11!), in food, ambiance and service. I was visiting Madison, and saw this adorable restaurant on the outside. Then I walked inside. This restaurant belongs in a movie scene. Straight off of Friends. I’ve never seen a cuter restaurant. The food. One of the best Italian restaurants I’ve been too (and I live in Chicago). I got the Sunday pasta, fabulous! My friend got fettuccine. The vegetables is what made us sooo amazing for me. Love. Service is great. Servers only had a few tables which made it work very well. If you’re looking for an affordable, delicious, aesthetically pleasing dinner, I can’t recommend this place enough. If I am ever back in Madison I will be coming here again.

This is a wonderful Italian restaurant. The food is delicious. Staff are friendly and accommodating. I showed up with a group of 13 people (Their largest table seats 8). It was no problem. They combined tables and were able to seat all of us together in about 15 minutes. I had the pork chop. This is a large tomahawk style chop with a side of potato and roasted broccoli. Everything on my plate looked great and was delicious. Overall experience was excellent! Tip: There is a non-menue appetizer of fish fingers, shrimp, and calamari. All fried, but worth getting

This was our first time having dinner there and the experience was great. Fabiola's is attached to Leopold's bookstore and coffee bar. It has a smallish parking lot in front so be advised to look in the neighborhood for additional parking. The service is friendly and the overall energy of the place is youthful and positive They don't take reservations, but you can place your name and party size on their virtual waiting list and they will text you with estimated wait times and when your table is ready. In the meantime, there are books to browse and a full bar in Leopold's. They offer a decent variety of menu choices, including some rather large cuts of pork and steak. Two members of our party had vegetarian pasta courses, and two of us ordered spaghetti and meatballs, which we enjoyed. The meatballs are generous and comprised of beef, veal, and pork and seasoned well. The pasta was cooked perfectly and there were sauteed green beans (with flavor and snap) and glazed carrot slices served on the side (see photo). Though we did not try dessert, they offer cannoli and gelato. This is a great place for a date, and you can order dinner for two under $100 (we even shared a bottle of wine). But this place seems to be quite popular, so you may wish to arrive early.

The food and service are exceptional. The staff care about their customers & obviously want to make your experience a positive one. The ambiance varies, depending on the section in which you are seated. But it always has an authentic Italian energy. Desserts are yummy. You'll want to revisit Fabi's again & again in order to enjoy the whole menu.

The food here is closer to a 5 but there are a few drawbacks that make it more of a 4.6 but I cant give them that rating on google. This place is better than your average resturaunt & over all a solid choice to go to if you are craving home cooked italian. The atmosphere & decor are wonderful & attract you inside. The drinks are strong & they also have a very nice wine list. For dinner I got the Linguine Vongole for $27 which was a little salty but still delicous, it is a smaller serving than other dishesbut im ok with that, though o would have happily eaten more because it was so good. It also had a lot of sauce but no bread or anything to use for it. My SO got Spaghetti Puttanesca for $24 which was good, not wow but still good. We'd probably order something else next time but werent unhappy we did, if we were served it we would happily eat it again, and the vegetables were cooked perfect! )flavorful & not mushy). Dessert was a 3" canoli for $7, which was fine but not worth it imo. My biggest complaint was just our server, she appeared to be a college student who seemed to think it ok to make fun of customers names.

Had dinner at Fabiola's the other night. I really dig the vibe in there. Sat at the bar and the bartender, Maya, was a pro. Started with the orange and fennel salad w watermelon radish and apricot dressing. Outstanding. Next, had the linguine vongole. Their Manila clams were next level. Amazing texture, sweetness, and a ton of them in the dish. If you haven't gone, go check it out. This is an amazing addition to the Italian dining scene in Madison.

yummy food (a bit pricey) with a nice ambiance. staff were a bit pushy in having us leave (they didn't close for over 1.5 hours and the restaurant was not busy), but were otherwise nice. food isn't terribly salty. solid choice for a dinner date :-)

Wow.. I have been a big fan of this place, minus I few kitchen errors until now. Tonight I stopped in alone for one cocktail and some oysters. The place was pretty empty for a Thursday night. I sat at the bar and ordered a Lambrusco spritz and half a dozen oysters. The oysters had broken pieces of shell and grit. I told the bartender and she told me "it's supposed to be like that". I nicely told her "no, it's not". She brought my check - $50 for one drink and 6 sandy oysters. I'm very sad to say, never again.

I had a lovely experience at Fabiola's on a Thursday night. My drinks and food were delicious. Highlights of the menu for me were the ricotta gorgonzola gnocchi and the sunday salad. The bread basket was a nice addition, and I liked my sister's alfredo as well. Potatoes were good but needed a touch of salt. Highly recommend any of their spritzes!! Our server was so kind and knowledgeable too. Will definitely return.

The best Italian food in Madison, staff are nice ambiance is great, food is cheap for the quality of it, go visit it.

Oh my goodness...where do I begin?! This place is AMAZING! Except for the parking situation, that is. But the incredible service makes up for it, as well as the delicious food! My friend and I needed a night out, so we decided on Fabiola's Spaghetti House for dinner. To start, I ordered a Phony Negroni (pregnancy problems) and my friend ordered what I REALLY wanted - the Pistachio Cream Ale. For a NA drink, however, the Phony Negroni did hit the spot. For our entrees, I opted for the chicken parmesan, and my friend got the spicy penne alla vodka. I tried a bite of hers, and it was very tasty, and had a kick for sure! The chicken parm was incredible, and I could seriously eat nothing else for the rest of my life and be beyond content. Absolutely delicious! It was honestly perfect in every way. It was crispy fried, cheesy, with just the right amount of marinara sauce. The garlic flavors were present in every bite. I am a big fan of broccolini, so I was thrilled to see that was the seasonal vegetable. I definitely plan to return with my husband for date night.

This place had been on our list to try. We ventured there early on a Saturday evening since they don't take reservations (they do have a call ahead to get on a wait list). We were seated promptly in their relatively small dining area - it is tight and at times we had to make sure the waitstaff didn't clip our plates hanging over the edge of the table when they rushed by. Our server was very friendly and helpful. After we ordered some beer and wine we started with a basket of their bread which included a focaccia that appeared to have cheese and a red sauce embedded in it. It was super delicious while it was warm. The other bread was good for mopping up the red sauce in my main. I ordered the Chicken Parmesan which was on spaghetti- the serving was huge. We took half home and it provided another meal. I did ask for extra red sauce since I like it that way. The chicken was tender and moist. Very good. My wife got the eggplant parm which she normally doesn't order and it was disappointing. It was actually almost underdone and too al dente for her taste. She did mention it to the waitress who was ready to replace it with something else but we were almost done eating. She did offer a complimentary dessert and my wife opted for the tiramisu which was very good. We did appreciate the good customer service and most of the food was tasty. The prices were high but not unusual these days. Also we do like that the owner is keeping Regent Street alive with places like this and the Greenbush Bar that are not just college bars and high rise student housing.

I really enjoyed my visit to Fabiola's! We went on a Friday and were sat immediately, it was awesome. They kept our water topped up all night and it was honestly the best tap water from a restaurant I've ever had, so crisp and cold. The bread basket is a must, the focaccia was so good. Mushroom lovers definitely need to get the fettuccine, it was easily one of the best pasta dishes I've had in a long time. I did not like my Negroni sbagliato but they can be hit or miss for me. My friend got the chicken parm and the serving was ginormous. I lived the ambiance inside as well, felt like having dinner at Italian grandmother's house, a nice little nostalgic treat.

Tried it again for dinner. Service was good with waitress being attentive. Vesuvian chicken...sauce was flavorful. Potatoes mediocre. Broccolini undercooked and hard. Chicken was kind of a mess with skin on that wasn't really well rendered with texture akin to Asian chicken rice. The location is of course stellar with one of the prettiest interiors I've ever seen. But dinner food isn't really up to snuff.

Excellent everything. Happy people working at a great place. Drinks, food, atmosphere and decor are fantastic.

Huge Leopold's fan; finally had the chance to visit Fabiola's for dinner on a Friday night for a party of 2. Made the reservation a week in advance and had no issues getting a table. The venue is really rustic and cute and is right next door to Leopolds. We started off getting the bread basket which included a mix of tomato sauce on focaccia and French bread with parm and extra virgin olive oil to dip. The bread was good. For mains we got the chicken parm and the homemade meatballs. Both were awesome and exceeded my expectations. Each entree was around ~$24 which I thought was reasonably priced considering the portion sizes were so large. I am a huge fan of the meatballs and chicken parm they're dishing out. Will definitely be back!

Awesome expresso and pastries. Wide array of delicious sandwiches. Love the retro vibe of the dining room. Try the Sfogliatelle Italian pastry! This crisp, yet tender pastry is incredibly decedent and different. It is pronounced soy-ya-dell.

The food is good and the staff is wonderful. However, I have a problem with the owner and they way he manages his team. The bar manager -Alex- used to work there, he was fired because the owner decided to open for the 4th of July, at last minute, and refused to let him arranged his schedule. He just told him he was no longer part of the rotation. The owner, does not treat his employees as people, he is slimy and a horrible boss.

Second time eating at Fabiola's last night, and it was a delight again. We walked in and were seated as a party of three immediately. Pretty amazing for a Friday night, and we were appreciative. The atmosphere there is some of the best, with their cozy and comfy vibe. The lighting is low enough to create a feeling of warmth but bright enough to read their menu easily. Bonus points that the menus are printed on a paper that has a pearl finish, so it actually catches the available light for even easier reading. Attention to detail is definitely a big part of Fabiola's game plan. It carries through to the food itself. Our party had a plate of olives to start. Ours seemed to be a generous plate made up of castelvetranos in a delicious olive oil. We then had the rigatoni with Sunday gravy; the chicken Parmesan; and the eggplant Parmesan. All are very generous portions as well. The rigatoni has been consistently great; just as good as when we first had it. It will be a continual hit if they keep it up. The eggplant Parmesan was a heaping plate of perfectly al dente spaghetti with marinara and several pieces of delicious eggplant. I could not stop eating it until my entire plate was empty. The chicken Parmesan was a bit overcooked but flavorful, and the pasta aglio e olio was cooked to perfection. We were nearing the end of our meal when the manager came by to chat and ask us how everything was. He was so kind and courteous and truly interested in hearing our thoughts. When he heard that the chicken was slightly overcooked, he took the time to immediately go back to the kitchen to let them know. He then offered our table a complimentary dessert. In this day and age, this is something that I rarely see; but it just shows the caliber of establishment that is Fabiola's. They take care of you because they do care. Our desserts were a selection of the most delicious gelato, made right in Sheboygan, WI. Creamy but not heavy and bursting with flavor. Fabiola's is a must if you're looking for some consistently delicious Italian food in a lovely space with some of the most amazing staff and management you could ask for. You, your stomach, and your heart will feel good coming here!

I had an incredible experience here. Tonight was my boyfriend and I's anniversary. We didn't know where to go, but had seen this place before so decided to try it out. The food is INCREDIBLE. We loved it. We ordered the Italian sausage and peppers which was delish. I had the pork chop and my boyfriend got the rigatoni. We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and agreed that as far as date night meals go this might just beat out our favorite (Eno vino ). Our service was wonderful. We sincerely appreciated they brought us a little champagne to start our meal and a cannoli when we mentioned it was our anniversary. This little touch went a long way and is so rare nowadays, so was greatly appreciated. Our server was lovely and attentive! I also want to note the incredible NA drink selections! Usually when you go to a bar/restaurant it's the standard "Busch NA" or "Heineken 0" but they had multiple options to choose from. I tried two NA cocktails and my boyfriend was excited to get the NA Brooklyn IPA. We will be back! And back again. And again. And again.

My cousin and I love this place. We come here every so often but when we do, we have a fantastic time. It's been maybe a few weeks since we last went but before that had been a few months and then one of those days where you just have this craving for the best spaghetti and I know exactly where to go get it. I definitely recommend coming to this place With your friends and family to get the best spaghetti in Madison. The pan fried ricotta gnocchi is our favorite dish. We always order it together and for some reason we never order anything else. I think it's because it was the first meal we had here and were just blown away. . Sometimes she brings my niece , she also loves the spaghetti, but her favorite is the Eggplant Parm. Great for the family.

My second time visiting Fabiola's last Friday night was just as good as my first trip in. A friendly greeting from the host seating people, an amazing waitress with warmth and a great sense of humor, and most importantly, FANTASTIC food. I had the eggplant parmesan, and a perfectly mixed Wisconsin style old fashioned. HIGHLY recommended.

I've only ever eaten at the bar - every time I'm in town, after sitting at Leopold's for a couple hours with a book and a black walnut manhattan. The food is solid--I always get the spaghetti with marinara, classic and simple. But the ambiance is what makes this place a great choice. That, and Maya, the bartender, who is one of the most engaging, warm, and kind humans I know.

Excellent service, food and atmosphere. I brought a friend from out of town here and we had a wonderful time. I got the fettucini alfredo with wild mushrooms. It was creamy and rich and the mushrooms were delicious. I love that they add vegetables (carrots and green beans, on this day) to your plate. We shared a bread basket (so tasty) and even the olive oil to dip it in was good. My friend ordered the escarole & beans, which were perfectly garlicy and earthy. We'll be back & I'm telling friends to visit this place. It's the perfect mix of comfy, laid back and elegant with high quality food and service.

Restaurant connected to Leopold's. Nice ambiance. Live piano music was playing in the background. Attentive service by a couple of servers checking on our table. I ordered the Chicken Vesuvio because I was told this dish was the reason they decided to open this restaurant. It was good, but it did not knock my socks off. If I were to return, I would order something else.

Stopped by Fabiola's with my family while visiting home. The goods: I was instantly impressed with the family style Italian restaurant decor that transformed Rocky rococos. Service was prompt and lovely. Our family enjoyed drinks which came out quickly. Food was overall really solid. Would be back for the penne a la vodka The notes: we ran out of water rather quickly so I would recommend having extra water available on the table for us to refill our cups. Salad options were limited and i was surprised there was no Cesar salad on the menu at an Italian restaurant. Portion sizes are HUGE. Like massive. Like easily feeds 2 people. This wasn't obvious on the menu and I'm seriously concerned the owners are losing money on these portion sizes. My stepmom reported the meatball was too large and had more breadcrumb in it than it needed. Overall: so thankful regent street is getting cooler. Hope this place makes it with a few adjustments! Would be back!

Great service. food was amazing. gnocchi was perfectly cooked. Meatballs to die for. Sunday salad perfect and the steak was seasoned well and cooked right on! Will be back for sure. They do not have kids menus but they did have kids portions for some meals. Wonderful Ambience and overall experience.

Terrible experience. Long wait from seating to food (90 minutes). Waitress may have forgotten to place our order. Two of meals were not correct. Broccolini was far overcooked, pork very dry. Pastas were both very good. No communication during long delay. Asked about time expectation after 1 hour waiting, response from server was nice, owner was snobby. Avoided table once served. After mentioning mistake in order when given the bill, were asked about meal by owner. Shared that delay was disappointing and mistakes on order was frustrating. Owner said we were in the wrong. Then asked us to leave the restaurant. Would not recommend. Would give a zero if possible.

Unfortunately, not the amazing new place I expected it to be. Went with a friend and each ordered a cocktail and an entree. The cocktails were pretty good so we were off to a good start. The food was...not so good. I ordered the eggplant parmigiana and my friend ordered the meatballs. The eggplant was soggy and the flavor was pretty bland. I felt like I could have made it better at home to be honest. It was served with "seasonal vegetables" which were green beans and carrots. They were overcooked and drenched in butter. Didn't taste seasoned. For the quality of the food, the prices were outrageous. Way too expensive for what is being served. The vibe in the restaurant is REALLY cute and I will say the service was great. Our waitress was really lovely and attentive. Unfortunately it just did not deliver when it came to the food :(

This was my second time going, and I got the spicy vodka chicken parm sandwich and the duck fat matzo ball soup. The sandwich was really tasty, but not very spicy at all and needed more salt. The soup was delicious but again needed more salt. I was definitely more impressed this time around, and the service was good and I felt like it was reasonably priced. It's a cute spot for lunch, and the food is pretty solid - just think both items needed more salt.

My wife and I have eaten at Fabiola's many times over the last six months. Being a lifelong madisonian, I mourned the end of the authentic Italian spaghetti houses in the old Greenbush neighborhood. So when I read that Fabiola's had opened and saw the menu, I was thrilled, but not convinced. Of course, my first order was the gold standard for judging the quality....spaghetti and meatballs. Awesome. Pasta perfectly cooked, delightful balanced tomato sauce and a couple of enormous tender meatballs that launched me back to the days of Josie's at the corner of park and regent. Perfect. On subsequent occasions I had the eggplant Parmesan, pasta with Sunday Gravy (oh boy!)...and then I branched out into the whitefish (too good!) and the Airline Chicken.....superb enormous juicy delicious chicken breasts. The waitstaff all been delightful, the bartenders make superb cocktails and are very knowledgeable about wine pairings. And the owner Sam is a great guy, very real, very friendly and he keeps an eagle eye on the smooth operation and quality of the restaurant. This place is a home run!

Very average, over prices menu. Went there thinking this was an Italian restaurant, but it's not. In fact, only like four itlian dishes. The service was below average, food was overpriced and dishes were very bland and small. Ended up stopping on my way home for fast food because I was still hungry. Wouldn't go back or recommend. There's little about this place that screams Italian.

Recently opened, Fabiola's is off to a steady start. I stopped in recently on a Friday (12:30) and a little disappointed that two of their sandwiches weren't available. Did they have a huge rush or poor planning? Ill never know. I opted for the chicken parm sandwich with a cup of matzo ball soup. You order at the register and are given a number and seat yourself. While I am fine with that for lunch, I don't know how that will translate for dinner. Counter service for mid $20 pasta may not translate for some who are looking for a better dining experience. Back to lunch, it was decent. Solid portion size for the chicken parm but the spicy vodka sauce wasn't that spicy and lack seasoning. The same can be said about the soup. Just a little more salt would've made a difference. The interior is cute and cozy and I appreciate they kept the former Rocky Rococo tile work that was where the bar formerly was. Definitely worthy of a repeat visit. Hopefully their menu will be more complete by then.

I've been here 3 times for lunch and the food is just kind of disappointing. It's not BAD but I'm used to east coast Italian food so compared to the average food in NJ it's not great. Eggplant sandwich was cold and didn't taste like anything and the bagel was not good. They just opened though so I'll give em benefit of the doubt. Decor is good. Also I never went for dinner.

Stopped in for dinner with a group of runners. The staff were cool and kind with our sketchy looking crew. Fennel orange salad was refreshing and delicious

Took my daughter to dinner here as this looked like a cute place. We opted to sit outside along the building but my daughter made a mistake and looked up at the outdoor awning and there were SO many spiders in webs out there above our heads that we asked to move. We had to pay for our breadbasket and the bread was not good. One was a white with sesame seeds and the other a darker bread with a very different taste. We both ordered the gnocchi which was very bland in flavor and tasted like burnt broccoli (which was on the plate as well). Hopefully the owners can see this and make some changes as it is a cute place. The spider issue is gross.

Escarole and white beans to die for. White fish entree delicate and flavorful. Gorgonzola and bacon salad straight out of Sicily. Warm and attentive servers. Festive family atmosphere. This quality food for the price was astonishing. Would have been double in a major city. Will return!

My son worked at the location all through college when it was Rocky Rococo's, so it was really neat to see how they changed the location and still kept some of the bones. We entered our name on the online wait list so it helped us get a table within 15 minutes during a very busy dinner crowd. Our server was very friendly and did a nice job keeping up. My wife and I split the chicken parm and it was really good! We will have to go back and check out the book area as well next time. The only downside is finding a parking spot, but that is expected for the location. I recommend Fabiola's as a great place to enjoy a cozy Italian meal.

Boyfriend got the gnocchi and he said it was the best gnocchi he's ever had. I was convinced to get the Sunday Gravy Rigatoni. It was beyond mid. No where near worth its $27 price tag. There was a 1:1 ratio of onions to pasta. Wtf. Thankfully my boyfriend paid so I feel a little less sad. But I really don't need to ever go back.

Our service was fabulous the waiter was exceptional. Our food was wonderful and drinks were on point. Thank you for a great evening.

This was a real letdown given how excited we were to try it. The whitefish salad was dull. The bagels were a really weirdly dry texture. And the matzo ball soup was so salty we couldn't eat it. We asked to the server to try to the soup. He disappeared and never came back. We left our food mostly uneaten. Like the server, we won't be back.

Mixed feelings on menu. Sandwiches are unique and tasty but so many weren't available on my last visit. Probably the worst minestrone I've had at an Italian restaurant. Friendly staff and management. Love the connection with the neighborhood and the bookstore.

Nice place next to Leopolds--you can take your drinks with you. I didn't think I liked this style of Italian but the eggplant parmigiana was terrific and now I'm a convert. It's a little loud but isn't everyplace??

I wanted to like the place. I really did. I've been to Leopold's several times and enjoy the vibe. This is for lunch, not dinner. The parking lot was full, so came in to query on whether there were tables available, and the very young, nice 2 or 3 staff said there were plenty open. All good, went to get my wife and told them we'd be back in a minute. We came back, no one said anything. We assumed we sit down, so did. Nothing. After several minutes, my wife went up front and found out you order everything up front, including water; there's no tableside service. When we saw the menu, which averaged $15-16 sandwiches (standard fare, nothing extraordinary), we decided it's not for us. Maybe it's that we are former restaurant owners (Waterstone, Marquette, MI), but a modicum of graciousness and a reasonable marriage of prices to food delivered (OK - I was a French chef. We did haute cuisine, but also offered an entire menu, "Foods from the Hearth," good, home, authentic French regional cooking, with entrees averaging what Fab's is charging for a sandwich), doesn't insult the hell out of the customer. Dinner is in line with pretty stiff overcharging, in my opinion. $26 pork chop, $38 12 ounce, sirloin steak. IMO, ridiculous. For a $38 sirloin steak (sirloin, mind you - this isn't exactly the most awesome cut known to humankind), I have to wonder - do they offer tableside service here, at least? Calling itself a "Spaghetti House" and attempting to capture the vibe of Greenbush Italian-American culture is commendable. This is precious, and way, way off-mark.

Amazing how a spaghetti house can make an inedible bowl of spaghetti and marinara sauce. From the first bite, my tongue burned, I thought it was garlic but was informed by the server it was red pepper flakes. Two hours after leaving the restaurant my tongue is still burning. I was charged $24 for a small bowl of spaghetti and meatballs and because I can't eat dairy, wasn't able to have the meatballs. I will not be back to Fabiola's - ever!

The good. -Nice to have a fun place leapolds to get a drink while waiting. Service was very good. Polite, reasonable waits. Vodka pasta and sausage and peppers were very good. The average Bread plate was cold and not yummy. Olives were average. Rigatoni meat tastes like meat loaf- might be really good to some- not my taste. Eggplant parm was extremely oily and very meh. For the price, it didn't meet my expectations.

I just had lunch there. This was my second time out. The first time was a few weeks after they opened. I was very disappointed that they were not serving pasta for lunch but I was told then that they would start after they were opened for a while. Well I guess a while still hasn't come, still no pasta for lunch. The lunch menu was very limited, only a few different sandwiches and salads and a couple of soups. I had the meatball sandwich, not very impressive. Too much bread which was dry and not tasty. Not enough marinara sauce which might have saved the dry bread. The 4 golf-ball sized meatballs, which covered maybe 75% of the bread area, were just OK and not worth the $16+ I paid for the sandwich and the nasty bitter arugula that comes on the side. I certainly hope their dinner menu is better because I don't even know why they bother opening for lunch with this menu and pricing.

Best sauce and meatballs I've ever had. Everything so good. Great and friendly service. cCassic Italian restaurant ambiance. Highly recommend.

I've been there twice this week. The ambience in the evening is very charming. We had a lovely drink at the bar next door while we waited for a table to open up. It took 20 minutes on a Thursday evening and we loved the bustling vibe. My favorite menu item so far is the romaine "wedge" salad... the dressing is so good. Warm olives and warm bread basket hit the spot. After my delicious dirty martini, I ordered a tonic & bitters... a simple little mocktail, but it was the best I've ever had. I think they said they use Bitter Cube brand bitters and I the flavors were cherry and orange, I believe. My friends loved their pasta with vodka sauce. We'll be back again soon!

I never write reviews (unless it's really bad), but this place is an exception. It is a perfect 10 (or even 11!), in food, ambiance and service. I was visiting Madison, and saw this adorable restaurant on the outside. Then I walked inside. This restaurant belongs in a movie scene. Straight off of Friends. I've never seen a cuter restaurant. The food. One of the best Italian restaurants I've been too (and I live in Chicago). I got the Sunday pasta, fabulous! My friend got fettuccine. The vegetables is what made us sooo amazing for me. Love. Service is great. Servers only had a few tables which made it work very well. If you're looking for an affordable, delicious, aesthetically pleasing dinner, I can't recommend this place enough. If I am ever back in Madison I will be coming here again.

I'm 70 years old and it's the first time I've ever been kicked out of a restaurant. We were a party of 6. Yes, it was a busy Saturday night. Yes, we understand the kitchen can get behind. What we don't get, is why the communication was so bad. Instead of telling us what was going on, the server avoided us. After waiting 80 minutes after ordering, I flagged down the waitress to ask her to check on our food. She apologetically said it would be 5 more minutes, but it was over 15. We were just getting ready to leave without eating when the food arrived. We ate what we could, but the pork chop was so dry it wasn't edible, the 'child's' size pasta was not cooked to order (it was full of chili peppers and we were charged full price). At no point did anyone check back to see how we were doing. As we left, I met the owner on the way out and told him how disappointed we were with the experience. His response? "Get out. Right now!". When I asked why, he said I was very rude to his server. I felt bad and asked how I had been rude to her, but he got more and more defensive and just yelled "Get out!". Such a great ending to an 8 year old's birthday party. She left in tears.

Step one for anyone cooking pasta is to salt the boiling water when cooking the pasta. It is the first thing anyone learns in how to cook any type of pasta. The spaghetti in my entree was overcooked and unsalted. This was the start of the meal when it slides into inedible. My stomach is not happy, today. I had some trepidation. American Italian food is not exactly gourmet. But I was willing to give it a try. Sure, well-done retro could be good. Well, this was not well done and it was not good. It was a travesty and an insult to Italian Americans. I could have gone into that kitchen and cooked a better meal. I ordered the Pasta Puttanesca. I just couldn't eat it, no matter how hard I tried. The pasta was unsalted, and overcooked, as mentioned above. The anchovies were of inferior quality. The olives were of the canned Sysco variety. There was a strange mix of canned tomatoes and fresh cherry tomatoes. The garlic was not golden and sauteed. Everything tasted like it was boiled, like all the ingredients were dumped in the pan at the same time, and someone stood over and said, "Cook!" In addition, the sides were reprehensible. There were overcooked unseasoned green beans. Of course, if the pasta was overcooked, why wouldn't the sides? Then there were these brown round discs of an indeterminable vegetable. I couldn't tell what they were. I thought maybe sweet potato, because of the color. Nope - they were freaking carrots! Overcooked and boiled, of course! The wedge salad I had was delicious, and so was the $5 breadbasket, with mediocre olive oil on the side. The service was excellent. I think our wait person knew how our meal was going to go - and assured us that the lunch menu is nothing at all like the dinner menu. I will take that hint.

Loved this place. We had the Antipastio appetizer and it was excellent with interesting roasted veggies, meat and cheese. The Orange Fennel salad was to die for- I could eat it everyday. The Sausage and Peppers was excellent. We were a party of 4 and the only complaint was the Fettucini Alfredo could have used more garlic. And great service and ambiance.

Extremely disappointed. Based on some reviews, we went to Fabiola's to celebrate our granddaughter's birthday. Busy Saturday night. We were seated at 6:30. The server was kind, took our drink and appetizer orders, returning for main course order by about 6:40. The server gave us water, but seemed to avoid us when we had no meals or explanation an hour after ordering. My wife flagged her down and asked if she could check on our order. She sheepishly returned and said that it would be another 5 minutes. She did ask if she could do anything for us and had the owner bring us some bread. He said the food would be out in 4-5 minutes. When asked about the long wait, he didn't express any sympathy, only responded, "the kitchen has been behind all night." Fifteen minutes later, as we had decided to leave, the food arrived. The pasta and shrimp were good, but the pork chop was very dry and another order was wrong. No one returned to ask how the food was. We asked to have the wrong order removed from the bill, which the server did. However, when leaving, my wife told the owner that we were disappointed with our experience. His response was, "you were disrespectful to my server and you have to leave." My daughter asked how we were disrespectful. No answer, just, "you have to leave." Looking back at other reviews in more detail after our experience, we found several saying that the owner was unsympathetic, didn't respond sympathetically to questions, and didn't seem to care about his customers. Our experience would validate that. When dining in Madison, find someplace that wants you there, serves great food, and avoid Fabiola's.