Imagine owning a restaurant that’s older than our Independence Day celebration. Impossible for most of us to grasp, but restaurants that have stood the test of time are lessons in excellence and entertainment. This collection of Top 100 Independents pays tribute to some of the industry’s oldest and most esteemed operations, including more than half of which have operated for 100 years or more. History always comes with its share of skeletons in the pantry, ghosts returning to haunt, and colorful stories—so to some extent there are restaurants among the group that are thriving on their own reputations.
Check out the Top 100 Independent Restaurants from the 1600s and 1700s.
Check out the Top 100 Independent Restaurants from the 1800s.
The younger “oldies,” those that are 35 to 50 years old, are equally interesting because they’ve managed to succeed across decades without the benefit of historical precedence. Many of these independents have transitioned across multiple generations as well as through shifts in ownership and catastrophic events. Following the profile on Commander’s Palace, our Top 100 is presented from oldest to youngest, including some of the highest-grossing restaurants in the industry and others with modest, but sustained, performance.
1900s
20th Century Indies Making History

St. Elmo Steak House is a place to be seen in Indianapolis. It’s a favorite of celebrities, athletes, and locals alike.
St. Elmo Steak House
Indianapolis
Year opened: 1902
Owners: Steve and Craig Huse
Cuisine: Classic Steakhouse
Annual Sales: $19.4 million
Average check: $147.87
Named after the patron saint of sailors, St. Elmo has 14 people who have been on staff for more than 20 years. The Wall of Fame features everyone from rock stars to social leaders to professional athletes.
Columbia Restaurant
Tampa, Florida
Year opened: 1905
Owners: Richard and Casey Gonzmart
Cuisine: Spanish/Cuban
Essential item: The Original “1905” Salad and a Cuban sandwich press.
Owned and operated by five generations of the same family for more than 100 years, this is Florida’s oldest restaurant (it’s even trademarked). Founded in 1905 by Cuban immigrant Casimiro Hernandez Sr., the Columbia now has locations in Sarasota, St. Augustine, Clearwater Beach, and Orlando.
Barbetta
New York City
Year opened: 1906
Owner: Laura Maioglio
Cuisine: Italian
Average check: $70 prix fixe, $82 à la carte
Decorated with 18th century Italian antiques, the restaurant claims to be the first in the U.S. to serve white truffles. At one time, it even had truffle hounds.
The Monte Carlo
Minneapolis
Year opened: 1906
Owner: John Rimarczeck
Cuisine: Steaks and Seafood
A large patio and private dining rooms augment the intimate main dining area.
Gargiulo’s
Brooklyn, New York
Year opened: 1907
Owners: Nino, Louis, Rachel, Michael, and Anthony Russo
Cuisine: Southern Neapolitan
Average check: $125 per couple
The family-owned operation caters to parties and social gatherings of 40 to 400 people, and has become a legendary wedding destination.
Cole’s
Los Angeles
Year opened: 1908
Owner: 213 Hospitality
Cuisine: Classic American
Sales: $2.6 million
Average check: $28.73
Cole’s, the oldest operating public house in L.A., is known as the inventor of the French Dip Sandwich.
John’s Grill
San Francisco
Year opened: 1908
Owner: John Konstin
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Sales: $7 million
Average check: $30 to $40
It was a setting in Dashiell Hammett’s classic novel The Maltese Falcon, and guests have included Hilary Clinton, Francis Ford Coppola, Bill Gates, and Alfred Hitchcock.
J.J. Foley’s Café
Boston
Year opened: 1909
Owner: Jerry Foley
Cuisine: Irish-American
Average check: $36 E
In addition to Irish-American fare and beverages, Foley’s has a late-night menu, a brunch menu, and specialty desserts like the Banoffi Pie—a homemade biscuit base smothered in soft toffee and topped with fresh bananas and whipped cream.
Cattlemen’s Steakhouse
Oklahoma City
Year opened: 1910
Owner: Dick Stubbs
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Annual Sales: $10 million
Average check: $19
Essential items: Lamb fries (fried lamb testicles), signature salad dressing, and steaks.
The dining room walls host drawings of famous diners, including Gene Autry, John Wayne, Ronald Reagan, Reba McEntire, and George H. W. Bush.
Balboa Cafe
San Francisco
Year opened: 1913
Owner: PlumpJack Group
Cuisine: American
Average check: $49 E
What started as a butcher shop transitioned into a fine-dining respite. The elegant setting remains relatively unchanged from its early years, and a second Balboa Cafe opened just north of San Francisco in Mill Valley.
Grand Central Oyster Bar
New York City
Year opened: 1913
Owner: Employees via a Stock Ownership Plan
Cuisine: Seafood
Sales: $17 million
Average check: $45
Essential item: Chef Sanford Ingber says the Mandoline or the Japanese chef knife.
For almost six decades Grand Central Oyster Bar was a landmark restaurant—due more to its location than its food. With the decline of train passengers, the restaurant closed for two years, until the Metropolitan Transportation Authority persuaded restaurateur Jerome Brody to reinvent the space.

Joe’s Stone Crab is one of the highest-grossing restaurants in the country despite closing from early August to mid-October each year.
Joe’s Stone Crab
Miami Beach, Florida
Year opened: 1913
Owners: Stephen Sawitz and his mother, Jo Ann Bass
Cuisine: Seafood
Sales: $36 million
Average check: $80
When Joe Weiss opened up a small lunch counter on Miami Beach in 1913, he didn’t envision he would serve stone crab.
The indigenous crustacean wasn’t viewed as a culinary delicacy until a Harvard ichthyologist came to do research at a local aquarium. The researcher met Joe—who was serving crawfish and other seafood—and asked if he would serve them. “Nobody will eat them,” Joe reportedly told the researcher, who brought a burlap sack to the restaurant full of the crabs.
Legend has it that Joe threw the stone crabs in boiling water, serving the claws chilled and cracked, with hash brown potatoes, coleslaw, and mayonnaise. It was an instant success.
And a sustainable success at that: Despite closing from early August to mid-October each year (the off-season for stone crabs), Joe’s Stone Crab consistently remains among the highest-grossing restaurants in the country, reportedly topping $36 million in sales last year.
The restaurant has thrived through four generations of family ownership, and employees have also stuck with the business, some for as long as 50 years. Guests have included Amelia Earhart, J. Edgar Hoover, Al Capone, and Will Rogers.
Joe’s serves an average of more than 1,500 guests per day, and sells between 1,000 and 1,500 pounds of claws. The brand’s approach to its signature dish has also led to a sustainable supply, as Florida law requires stone crabs be returned to the water after a claw is harvested. A crab can regenerate claws three to four times.

Arnaud’s is currently being operated by a fourth generation of owners.
Arnaud’s
New Orleans
Year opened: 1918
Owner: The Casbarian Family
Cuisine: Classic Creole
Average check: $50
Owned and operated for 30 years by Arnaud Cazenave and then another 30 years by his daughter, Germaine C. Wells, the restaurant was acquired in 1978 by Archie Casbarian. His wife, Jane, along with their two children, Katy and Archie Jr., continue to run the restaurant.
The Arcade Restaurant
Memphis, Tennessee
Year opened: 1919
Owner: Harry Zepatos Jr. along with his sons, Jeff and Michael Zepatos
Cuisine: Southern
Average check: $10
Essential item: Sweet potato pancakes
Built in 1919, the restaurant was founded by Greek immigrant Speros Zepatos. The original business burned in the early 1950s but was rebuilt, capturing the feel of a ’50s-style Americana diner. The booth dedicated to Elvis Presley is the most-requested seat in the restaurant. Guests come from all over the world to sit there and feast on one of Elvis’ favorite combinations: the peanut butter and banana sandwich. The Arcade has been a setting for many movies and television shows, including “Great Balls of Fire!,” “The Firm,” and “Memphis Beat.”
Beaumont Inn
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Year opened: 1919
Owners: Chuck, Helen, and Dixon Dedman
Cuisine: Traditional Kentucky Fare
Sales: $1.25 million
Average check: $25 to $35
Recipient of the James Beard: America’s Classics award in 2015, the restaurant still serves some items that were on the menu when it opened nearly 100 years ago. It’s also an official stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.

Atkins Park claims to be the oldest continuously licensed tavern in Atlanta.
Atkins Park
Atlanta
Year opened: 1922
Owner: Sandra Spoon
Cuisine: New Southern American
Sales: $1.5 to $2 million
Average check: $25
With claims as the oldest continuously licensed tavern in Atlanta, the restaurant focuses on fresh by partnering with local farmers in the spring and summer to source its produce.
Carolina Coffee Shop
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Year opened: 1922
Owner: Gary Monroe
Cuisine: Traditional American
Sales: $370,000 to $420,000
Average check: $11.50
Essential item: The classic breakfast menu.
Before becoming a popular dining spot for students and alumni of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the space was a bookstore and the school’s student post office.
Jeveli’s
East Boston
Year opened: 1924
Owner: The Jeveli family
Cuisine: Italian, American, and Seafood
Average check: $29 E
Run for 93 years by the same family, whose name was inadvertently changed from Ievoli to Jeveli when Pasquale Ievoli arrived at Ellis Island in 1899. The restaurant serves some 250,000 people a year, mostly “diehard regulars.”

Palace Diner is one of only two operating Pollard diners in the U.S.
Palace Diner
Biddeford, Maine
Year opened: 1927
Owners: Greg Mitchell and Chad Conley
Cuisine: Classic American Diner serving breakfast and lunch
Sales: Less than $500,000
Average check: $11 to $15
The diner car was originally built in Lowell, Massachusetts, by the Pollard Company and is one of only two operating Pollard diners left in the country.

Ruth’s Diner says it is the second oldest restaurant in Utah.
Ruth’s Diner
Salt Lake City, Utah
Year opened: 1930
Owners: Erik and Tracy Nelson
Cuisine: American
Sales: +$3 million
Average check: $14 (breakfast, lunch); $18 (dinner)
The original proprietor, who lived to be 94, brought a sassy personality to her eponymous diner and left a litany of colorful stories in her wake: Ruth was a cabaret singer until 1916, reportedly designated a single bar stool as the “no smoking section” in the diner, and pretty much did as she pleased in both business and pleasure, from carrying a loaded gun at age 90 to keeping her angry Chihuahuas at the restaurant (even though they had a tendency to bite customers). She sold the restaurant in 1977, but lived out her life in a duplex behind the diner.
Peacock Alley American Grill & Bar
Bismarck, North Dakota
Year opened: 1933
Owners: Dale and Melodie Zimmerman
Cuisine: Classic American Steakhouse
Sales: +$2 million
Average check: $28
The oldest restaurant in the state, it’s also among the most prestigious and was named the Beef Innovator of the Year in 2012 by The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
Lloyd’s
Birmingham, Alabama
Year opened: 1937
Owner: Eli Stevens
Cuisine: Southern
Average check: $20 to $25 E
Tailgating orders and catering services are as much a part of the culture as in-house dining.
Weber’s Restaurant
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Year opened: 1937
Owner: The Weber Family
Cuisine: American
Sales: $7.3 million
Average check: $35
Added a hotel in 1970, but has the “attitude” of being a restaurant first—albeit one with late-evening meals and dancing. Founded in 1937 by Herman Weber and his older brother Rheinhold, the name changed two years later from Hi-Speed Inn to Weber’s. After 20 years of success, the business faced two potentially devastating circumstances: an encroaching interstate system and “dry” laws. Herman decided to move inside the “wet” city limits, and this location opened in 1963. Herman died in 2014, soon after his 100th birthday, but the restaurant continues to be led by his son and grandsons.
Ox Yoke Inn
Amana, Iowa
Year opened: 1940
Owner: Bill Leichsenring
Cuisine: German-American
Sales: $3 million
Average check: $19
Five generations of the Leichsenring family have worked at the Ox Yoke Inn, which serves traditional German fare and Old World favorites in a family-style gathering.
Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room
Savannah, Georgia
Year opened: 1943
Owners: Marcia and Ronnie Thompson
Cuisine: Southern
Sales: $700,000 to $1 million
Average check: $22
On a street shaded by live oaks thick with Spanish moss, Mrs. Wilkes Dining Room could pass for a private residence—except for the long line of hopeful diners that is often snaking around the corner.
“We have lines about half of the year,” says Ryon Thompson, who runs the restaurant along with his parents, Marcia and Ronnie Thompson. He estimates around 90 percent of business comes from out-of-towners, including well-known figures like then-President Obama, Walter Cronkite, and the cast of “Magic Mike XXL.”
Florida Avenue Grill
Washington, D.C.
Year opened: 1944
Owner: Imar Hutchins
Cuisine: Soul Food
Average check: $15 E
Established by Lacey C. Wilson Sr. to create a place where African Americans and whites could exist in harmony. Money was so short when he opened that his wife would buy just two chickens at a time. When those sold, she’d go back and buy two more.
Mary Mac’s Tea Room
Midtown Atlanta
Year opened: 1945
Owner: John Ferrell
Cuisine: Classic Southern
Sales: $8 to $9 million
Average check: $15 to $20
Essential items: A veteran staff, some having been at the restaurant more than 40 years, plus decades-old recipes.
In March 2011, the Georgia House of Representatives created a resolution declaring Mary Mac’s to be “Atlanta’s dining room.”

Brennan’s is credited with creating the Banana’s Foster Dessert.
Brennan’s
New Orleans
Year opened: 1946
Owners: Terry White and Ralph Brennan
Cuisine: Creole and Contemporary NOLA
Average check: $50
Essential item: French Quarter Courtyard
An $18 million renovation in 2014 returned the culinary icon to its original glory. Best known for its “Breakfast at Brennan’s” and for creating the signature Banana’s Foster Dessert, the original restaurant was opened by Owen Brennan, the proprietor of the Old Absinthe House. The restaurant moved from Bourbon Street to its current location a decade later. The 1795-built building once served as a private residence frequented by President Andrew Jackson.
Helena’s Hawaiian Food
Honolulu
Year opened: 1946
Owner: Craig Katsuyoshi
Cuisine: Hawaiian
Average check: $15 to $20
Chef Craig is the grandson of Helen Chock, who opened the restaurant in 1946. In 2000, Helena’s won the James Beard Regional Classic Award.
Pheasant Restaurant and Lounge
Brookings, South Dakota
Year opened: 1949
Owners: Ronald and Georgiana Olson
Cuisine: Classic and New American
Sales: $1.2 million
Average check: $40
In 1968, the Olsons added Brookings’ first public bar. The city once said liquor would never be sold in Brookings because parents would not let their kids come to college there and women would be afraid to come into town to shop. Head chef and general manager Michael Johnson is the grandson of the owners.
Canlis
Seattle
Year opened: 1950
Owners: Mark and Brian Canlis
Cuisine: Fine dining
Average check: $200 per person
It’s a third-generation, family-owned and -operated restaurant that recently won the 2017 James Beard Award for Outstanding Wine Program.
Joe’s Inn
Richmond, Virginia
Year opened: 1952
Owner: Mary Miles
Cuisine: Classic Italian and Breakfast
Average check: $20 to $30 E
Opens at 8 a.m. daily, with breakfast served any time and an Italian menu that keeps diners lined up for seats.
Bern’s Steak House
Tampa, Florida
Year opened: 1956
Owner: David Laxer
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Average check: $50 to $75
Essential kitchen item: The restaurant’s famed dry-aging room.
The largest private wine collection for a restaurant in the world, with more than 6,800 selections and more than half a million bottles, Bern’s was the winner of the 2016 James Beard Award: Outstanding Wine Program. All Strips, Delmonicos, Porterhouses, and T-Bones are U.S. Prime and aged five to eight weeks.
Golden Steer Steakhouse
Las Vegas
Year opened: 1958
Owner: Dr. Michael J. Signorelli
Cuisine: Classic Steakhouse
Average check: $70 E
Guests have included the Rat Packers—Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr.—as well as Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali. Some staff members have been here more than 40 years.
Angus Barn
Raleigh, North Carolina
Year opened: 1960
Owner: Van Eure
Cuisine: Classic Steakhouse
Sales: +$15 million
Average check: $60
Owner Van Eure swears by the legend that her father, Thad Eure Jr. and his partner, Charles Winston—the two founders of the restaurant—flipped a coin to see who’d keep Angus Barn and who’d start a different a concept. Her dad won the toss, and Big Red has been part of the Eure family for 57 years and counting.
Sylvia’s
Harlem, New York
Year opened: 1962
Owner: The Woods Family
Cuisine: Southern/Soul
Average check: $39 E
The restaurant sells cookbooks, prepared foods, skincare items, and a children’s book written by founder Sylvia Woods.

17Hundred90 is purported to be haunted, like many things in Savannah.
17Hundred90
Savannah, Georgia
Year opened: 1968
Owner: Patrick Godley
Cuisine: American with French and Southern influences
Sales: $1.5 to $2 million
Average check: $30 to $40
Essential item: Local favorite Leopold’s Ice Cream created the Kahlua and Coffee flavor exclusively for 17Hundred90.
The original structure was built in 1790, then rebuilt in 1821 after burning the previous year. To this day, the restaurant/inn is purported to be haunted.
Fred’s Hickory Inn
Bentonville, Arkansas
Year opened: 1970
Owners: Local investors including Randy Lawson and Dick Mahan
Cuisine: Fine Dining and Smoked Meats
Sales: +$1 million
A fire in October 2014 forced the restaurant to close for a few months, but it reopened to celebrate original owner “Lou” Gaye’s 100th birthday in 2015. She had sold the restaurant in 2005 following the death of her husband and co-owner, Fred.
Chez Panisse
Berkeley, California
Year opened: 1971
Owner: Alice Waters
Cuisine: Seasonal, Local, and Organic
Average check: $100
Named after a character from Marcel Pagnol’s 1930 movie trilogy about Marseille. The restaurant opened an upstairs café in 1980, with a more moderately priced menu.
R.J. Grunts
Chicago
Year opened: 1971
Owner: Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (leye)
Cuisine: American
Average check: $14.50 lunch, $18 dinner
R.J. Grunts is the first Lettuce Entertain You restaurant and claims to be home to the world’s first salad bar. Black and white photos lining the walls are of former and current servers, dating as far back as 1971.
Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge
Las Vegas
Year opened: 1972
Owner: Lorenzo Doumani
Cuisine: American
Average check: $41 E
Featured in music videos as well as in “CSI: Miami” and Seinfeld’s “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” Its 24-hour Fireside Lounge boasts an engaging fire pit.
City Tavern
Philadelphia
Year opened: 1975
Owner: Walter Staib
Cuisine: Classic American
Sales: $3.8 million
Average check: $35
The original City Tavern opened in 1773 and was an integral part of history, including visits by Paul Revere and many of the founding fathers from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson. Chef Staib, the owner since 1994, hosts the PBS show “A Taste of History.”
Harvest
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Year opened: 1975
Owner: Chris Himmel, Himmel Hospitality Group
Cuisine: Contemporary New England
Average check: $72 E
The Sunday brunch has become a Harvard Square classic with starters like Carrot Ginger Soup or Strawberry Fritters, followed by entrées that include a Goat Cheese Omelette, Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict, and Buttermilk Biscuits with Chorizo Gravy. The go-to dessert is Pecan Doughnuts with a bourbon milkshake.
Irregardless Café
Raleigh, North Carolina
Year opened: 1975
Owner: Arthur Gordon
Cuisine: Farm Fresh and Contemporary
Average check: $50 to $65 E
The market’s first vegetarian restaurant and a supporter of sustainable practices long before they were mainstream, Irregardless also became the first restaurant in the “tobacco state” to declare itself a totally nonsmoking setting—that was in 1985, 25 years before smoking was banned in all restaurants. In 1994, a fire forced the restaurant to close for 11 months, but Gordon continued to pay his long-term employees in exchange for them volunteering in local charitable organizations.
Jeffrey’s
Austin, Texas
Year opened: 1975
Owners: Larry McGuire and Tom Moorman
Cuisine: French American
Sales: +$4 million
Average check: $100 to $125
Chef/owners Larry McGuire and Tom Moorman acquired Jeffrey’s in 2013, and that same year opened the more modestly priced Josephine House in the adjoining cottage.
L’Etoile
Madison, Wisconsin
Year opened: 1976
Owners: Chef Tory Miller and his sister, Traci Miller, and Krys Wachowiak
Cuisine: Global and Seasonal
Sales: $1 to $2 million
Average check: $150
An à la carte menu features multiple options and a seven-course prix fixe menu is priced $125, with wine pairings for $65.

Poogan’s Porch is one of Charleston’s oldest independent restaurants.
Poogan’s Porch
Charleston, South Carolina
Year opened: 1976
Owner: The Ball Family
Cuisine: Contemporary Southern
The famous buttermilk biscuits come from a recipe that has been passed down for generations.
Chris Madrid’s
San Antonio, Texas
Year opened: 1977
Owner: The Madrid Family
Cuisine: Tacos and Burgers
Average check: $15 to $20 E
In 1988, Chris Madrid’s was selected to participate at the Kumamoto, Japan–San Antonio, Sister City Fair, which won the restaurant some Japanese fans.
The Inn at Little Washington
Washington, Virginia
Year opened: 1978
Owner: Patrick O’Connell
Cuisine: Classic French, with a modern twist
Average check: Tasting menu is $218
Awarded two Michelin stars, the restaurant has received five James Beard awards and a AAA rating of five diamonds. Proprietor Patrick O’Connell is a self-taught chef whose alliance with local farmers and artisanal producers began more than 30 years ago, before that was the norm.
Refectory
Columbus, Ohio
Year opened: 1980
Owner: Kamel Boulos
Cuisine: Classic French and Contemporary American
Sales: $3 million
Average check: $60
For its first 100 years the building served as a church, circa 1842. When it was sold in 1971, a clause in the deed said it could never again be a church. That was the beginning of its life as a restaurant, and in 1980 it became the Refectory.

Elizabeth on 37th has a staff of chefs who haven’t been professionally trained.
Elizabeth on 37th
Savannah, Georgia
Year opened: 1981
Owners: Greg and Gary Butch
Cuisine: Coastal New Southern
Sales: $1 to $2 million
Average check: $75
No chef at the restaurant has ever been to culinary school or been professionally taught how to cook—including cofounder and James Beard Award winner Elizabeth Terry. Heritage Organic Farm in nearby Guyton grows produce solely for the restaurant, and its octogenarian proprietor Shirley Daughtry still works in the gardens.
Raintree Restaurant
St. Augustine, Florida
Year opened: 1981
Owner: Lorna MacDonald
Cuisine: Intercontinental
Average check: $40 to $60
Frustrated by high taxes, the MacDonald family boarded a 45-foot yacht, Intsholo III, and shipped off from England in March 1979. Tristan and Alex, along with their son, Gaere, and daughter, Lorna, sold everything—business, house, cars, and furniture—and headed for the U.S. Seventeen days and six hours later, they anchored at Bridgetown, Barbados. Next stop: St. Augustine, the nation’s oldest city. The family found the Raintree’s location in November 1980. They spent 10 months renovating and restoring the Victorian house at 102 San Marco Avenue. The kitchen’s three chefs (Matt Berg, Jeff Keane, and Lorna’s husband, Chris Cantabene), have more than 44 combined years of working at the Raintree.
Crook’s Corner
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Year opened: 1982
Owner: Gene Hamer
Cuisine: Southern
Average check: $25
A pioneering restaurant for elevated Southern cuisine thanks to founding chef Bill Neal and current chef Bill Smith. The menu includes iconic dishes like shrimp and grits, honeysuckle sorbet, green Tabasco chicken, and Southern steak frites with Jerusalem artichoke relish.
Highlands Bar and Grill
Birmingham, Alabama
Year opened: 1982
Owners: Frank and Pardis Stitt
Cuisine: French-inspired Southern
Sales: +$3 million
Average check: $65 to $75
Stitt Restaurant Group also owns Bottega Restaurant and Chez Fon Fon, and Chef Frank was inducted into the James Beard “Who’s Who of Food and Beverage” in 2011.

Madison’s menu is continually revised and reflects seasonal availability.
Madison’s Café
Jefferson City, Missouri
Year opened: 1982
Owner: Rob Agee
Cuisine: Steaks, Seafood, and Italian
Average check: $20 to $30
The scratch-made biscotti is a family recipe passed down for over 100 years. Each year, the month of August features a “school daze” special where children 13 and under eat for free at lunch and dinner. Madison’s menu is continually revised and reflects seasonal availability and the restaurant’s long-established relationships with local growers and farmers, partnerships that have been nurtured in the past 34 years. The restaurant also grows and uses herbs from its own garden. Madison’s has been voted Best Restaurant by the Jefferson City Magazine for the past six years, and Most Romantic Restaurant by the Jefferson City News Tribune’s Readers’ Choice Poll for more than a decade.