My wife and I are about to move away from Madison so we're revisiting all our favorite spots.  Last night was our 5th trip to Sardines.\n\nGreat atmosphere, especially if it's a nice day and you can sit on the deck outside looking out over the water.  Remarkably this is one of the very few places in Madison to do this, and is probably the best.  \n\nBetter than average wine list, for Madison that is.\n\nEvery day they have a different fried mixto platter that is pretty much a lock to be delicious.  Some weird fried things to try on it as well, such as orange peels and fennel.\n\nEntrees are very creative and made with quality ingredients but I have to hold back from giving these 5 stars.  A little too reliant on oil and butter, but then again this is a French style American restaurant.  Seriously though - enough with the beurre blanc already.\n\nWe had the Grouper last night which was oiled up and cooked a bit beyond the point where you could savor the true grouper taste.  On the other hand, it snuggled nicely among fried polenta, shitake mushrooms, and roasted asparagus that were all top notch.\n\nIn my opinion, this is a must try if you frequent the top restaurants in Madison.  The atmosphere may still make this your favorite place if your entr\u00e9e comes up a wee bit short.