A Voce Madison

Lunch at A Voce: Sleek, contemporary spaciousand lively, not stuffy. A Voce is has a light, airy feel to it...Many posts note the noise level which i agree is loud but not unbearable...Service is semi-formal, perfunctory and efficient but not indifferent or rude... Be aware the lunch menu is a bit more annotated than presented here with most of the the appetizers but only 4 pasta choices and about 6 main courses...If you are looking for dishes with red sauce, do not come here...However, if you are in the mood for a more sophisticated form of rustic italian food, A Voce fits the bill. For starters my fiancee` and i shared 3 appetizers in ascending order of excellence: Beet Mesclun Salad: Just what it is...Could've used a more flavorful dressing but was fresh. Tuna Tartare: Delicious and refreshing. Vegetable Antipasti: Star of the show: Superb...Consists of [mozzarella melts in your mouth]...Roasted Peppers [smoky, delicious]...Eggplant [divine]. We then followed up with the much heralded and anticipated Duck Meatballs...Definitely good but not all they're made out to be...The best part was the mustard cherry sauce. The little quackers are very rich but were a tad bit dry with a somewhat chewy texture...Dont expect your italian grandma's meatballs. Main Course: Marinated chicken with artichokes which was very tender and sweet in an earthy sauce. Perfect comfort food. For desert we had the chocolate tart which came with caramelized bananas and banana gelato. Delicious. Bread was a bit chewy but olive oil dip was excellent. All presentations were sophisticated and tasteful. Overall, I enjoyed A Voce and would return. I think the food is inventive with robust flavors and is prepared well by a chef who obviously is very talented.

Let me just say, the food was excellent. No arguements from me there, BUT the service was not good. Our server kept messing up the order of what was coming out and when, ex. he brought our two of our salads and then brought the other one 15 minutes later) and rude. And the crowd was a little bridge and tunnel for my tastes.

The host and slow service (they thought we were tourists!) were quickly forgotten once the food arrived. Arugula with duck bresaola, figs and asagio was perfectly balanced--salty, sweet, peppery and earthy. Sublime! Our waiter DID make up for the delay with complimentary proscuitto and figs, which were lovely. Seafood salad with citrus and melon was also wonderful. Main course selections of tomato crusted grouper- perfectly cooked (and surprisingly amusing in terms of flavor) and beefy breast of duck were delicious. The dessert menu was the only culinary hitch of the evening. Chocolate nero cake with cherries was dry and disappointing so we focused on the well equipped scotch and port selections instead.

my family and i ate here last night and everything, from the food to the service, was amazing. so amazing that i'm actually taking the time to write this review. we went to town and ordered a whole bunch of different things and there was not one complaint on any of the dishes..my favorites included the fresh ricotta on delicious garlic bread, duck meatballs, octopus, sweatbreads, risotto with morels, the pork tenderloin, sea bass...and all the desserts...just go and taste for yourself!

My husband and I decided to give A Voce a whirl after reading the review in the NY Times. We were not disappointed in anyway, shape or form. We were seated promptly and were served by a charming, gracious and knowledgeable waiteR. We both savored the duck meatballs to start and went on to gnuccis and the pork tenderloins -- fabulous! We had the broccoli rabe and potatoes as side and both were perfectly prepared. Before we had the out of the world donuts, we shared a cheese tatsing plate -- wonderful. Everything about this place was top notch and it deserved every star!

My wife and I had dinner at A Voce last week. We made reservations right after we read Frank Bruni's 3-star review in the NY Times. We were both disappointed. The food: We had Duck Meatballs Antipasto, Rigatoni Pugliese, Grilled Tonno Bianco, Grilled Pork Tenderloin, and the Tuscan doughnuts. Everything was good, but nothing was outstanding; no "yum" factor at all. In fact, if we were to go back (which we won't), we would not order any of the same items again. The atmosphere: Too noisy for a high end restaurant. Using the NY Times rating scale, I would give this place 2-stars at most.

After reading all the positive press, I was very excited to try A Voce. My expectations were further raised by my initial impressions. The place looked great, the service very attentive and professional, and the drinks were very generous. But then the food arrived, and I have to say I was very non-plussed. My duck and frois grass meatballs were overly sweet and not firm enough. My lamb-shank stuffed tortellini in a lemon cheese sauce was bitter tasting, almost to the point where it was sour. A tremendous disappointment given my high hopes for that dish. I returned with a friend just to have a drink at the bar and decided to give it one more shot, and boy am I glad I did. The truffled steak tartar with flakes of parmesan was fantastic, with the sharp taste of the cheese grounding the richness of the meat. Also quite good was the pasta carbonara dish, which came with thick slices of ham and green beans. It was not gooey or excessively creamy, with just the right amount of sauce coating the firm pasta. My companion’s fish dish, a grilled bianco, was tremendously fresh and clean tasting, with the natural sweetness of the fish coming through. The menu is a bit too uneven to earn given the high prices, but the hits are fantastic, and certainly worth trying, and the drinks are great too, as is the service.