I've been a fan of Sardine for both brunch and dinner for awhile, and just ended up there twice in quick succession. One time out of the recent two, I needed a reservation for 12 that happened to change twice. Everyone I talked to was great, no problems with the changes, and the hostess set our table a bit apart from the Saturday night holiday madness. While I wouldn't say that the food tends to arrive quickly, I've always had good service (even with the group of 12), nice recommendations, and good advice on ingredients or substitutions when I've asked. I don't eat red meat, so that's always appreciated.\n\nWhile it gets loud at busy times (and it does get busy), I like the industrial/bistro atmosphere, and especially the view over the lake. Ask for a table near the lake windows (or, when it's warm, the outside tables!) for a bit more intimacy. There's a wide selection of beers and wines, including reasonably priced and quite good house wines, and some lovely specialty cocktails.\n\nFor appetizers, I've recently ordered the picollo fritto and the cheese plate. Recent unexpected favorites among the picollo fritto items have been fennel and lemon. The cheese plate had a nice variety of cheeses, many of them local -- cheddar, blue, chevre, etc -- as well as fruit and a unexpectedly delish vegan \""salami\"" made out of figs and nuts. I had salad and fish for dinner on both of my recent visits (the salmon once and the mahi mahi once), and both were fresh, grilled nicely, and clearly served quickly. Well marinated, hot, moist, and flaky. The lentils that came with the salmon were a bit on the salty side, but the bok choy & fennel with the mahi were a lovely sweet-and-sour complement. Yum. My husband is a fan of their cassoulet and their steak (although, warning, the steak does come with both frites and butter). Overall, their fish seems reliably great, but I haven't been thrilled with their pastas when I've tried them in the past. The orechiette sauce, for instance, is oily and a bit too heavy on the garlic and olives, which overwhelms the broccoli rabe and tomatoes. Sad, because I adore a good broccoli rabe. As far as desserts, I've tried a bunch of different items, all good. The chocolate cake and the sorbets (rotating, often in unusual flavors like olive oil or buttermilk) are favorites.\n\nSo: while I wouldn't say that everything is fabulous at Sardine (hence the 4 stars), there are a lot of very good options. It's a nice place with a good vibe, accommodating of large or small groups, and definitely on my Madison favorites list. It's worth the trip (or a few!).