Stillwaters Restaurant and Pub has versatility.
By day it’s a casual lunch and dinner restaurant that serves a diverse crowd of students and Madison residents. By night it becomes what has been labeled an “East Coast Bar.”
The transformation from day to night seems pretty grand, but Stillwaters, at 250 State St. (also known as Stills), offers decent food in the afternoon and a great nightlife in the evening.
The decor is like a dark wine cellar with wooden beams and barrels nestled between them. The restaurant gives off a woodsy, lodge-like feel. Wooden tables and booths are a plenty. There is enough seating for large parties and even small two-person booths for intimate meals.
The menu falls under the American cuisine category with a few scattered Mexican dishes. For starters, the Hummus Dip ($4.45) sounded good. The dip is served with whole-wheat pita bread and is garnished with celery, Kalamata olives, and tomatoes. The Buffalo wings were tasty and are available as either regular or hot. The wings are deep fried and served with Ranch or Bleu Cheese dressing and celery. Order five ($3.75) if you are not that hungry or ten ($6.45) if you want a meal.
The Taco Salad with marinated grilled chicken ($6.95) is filling. The crisp tortilla shell is filled with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, onions, black beans, jalapeno peppers, and shredded cheeses. The peppers give the salad a nice kick, but are not too spicy. The only shortcoming of the salad is that there are too many toppings and not enough lettuce.
I caught a glimpse of the Caesar Salad ($6.45) and it looked delicious. Chopped romaine with Stillwaters special creamy dressing is served with ripe cherry tomatoes, marinated mushrooms, croutons and parmesan cheese. If you want to add marinated grilled chicken or seared yellow fin tuna, it’s going to cost you an extra dollar.
The impressive sandwich section of the menu offers 21 different sandwiches all served with pasta salad or fries. From Veggie and Tortilla Wraps ($6.45) to the Stillwaters signature ($7.45), a yellow fin tuna steak lightly marinated in sesame oil and served on a Kaiser roll with dill mayo, the choices are wide and varied. The grilled chicken sandwich ($6.45) was well prepared. The five ounce chicken breast was served on a lightly toasted Kaiser roll. Although the roll looked really big in comparison to the chicken, my friend said the sandwich was really good and there was “just enough chicken.” The mayo was excessive, so I would recommend asking for it on the side.
Stillwaters recently added four new sandwiches to their menu as well as a new burger. New items include a turkey sandwich ($5.45), ham and Swiss ($6.45), pork chop ($6.45), and a teriyaki chicken sandwich ($6.45). The latter appealed to me most. A grilled and marinated five ounce chicken breast is served with a side of pineapple salsa.
The newest burger is the Buffalo Burger ($6.95), but there are plenty of others and diners have the option of building their own. A variety of cheeses and extras are available for a small charge per item requested.
Nightly drink and entrée specials can be found at www.stillwatersonstate.com. Six beers are always on tap along with a large selection of bottled and malt beers. I was surprised that Stills had a martini list. The rugged atmosphere and classic chic martini do not seem to complement each other but regardless, Stills offers twelve martinis ranging from sweet to sour.
My meal at Stillwaters was pretty average, but the restaurant was packed on Saturday afternoon and patrons seemed to be enjoying themselves. The large windows looking out to State Street is a really nice touch if you like to people watch, especially when the sun is shining into the dark restaurant. During spring and summer, outside seating is available.
I would give Stillwaters another try, but don’t have high expectations.
Grade: B
