Paulius Musteikis
The grilled octopus has a bit of crunch, with shallots and pea vine.
Rob Grisham, chef at the new Hamilton’s on the Square, may be familiar to Madison diners from his run as the original chef at Brasserie V. His stint there ended when he had emergency open heart surgery in 2013. After an interlude cooking in Portland, Ore., Grisham returned to Madison.
Hamilton’s fills the space vacated in June by the Blue Marlin. There’s plenty of blond wood and exposed stone. The mid-19th-century building retains its grotto-like feel, even though there are more windows now, and more light.
I used to say that there was no restaurant I trusted more to cook a burger to a very pink medium than Grisham’s Brasserie V. There’s no burger on the menu at Hamilton’s, but the lamb chops will serve as an object lesson. The warm, ruby-red centers of the three frenched chops were “medium rare,” which is how the kitchen cooks them by default. They’re both delicious and tender enough to submit to the standard butter knife.
There are some modernist touches here that present a new side of Grisham. The minted yogurt on the lamb chops is served as a powder, and brown butter on supremely tender and rich ricotta gnudi is presented as a streusel-like crumble. But the gnudi (cheese dumplings) with barely there skin sit in a shallow pool of thick SarVecchio broth — a presentation straight out of Grisham’s old comfort zone.
Grisham has a deft hand with light and fresh flavors. The clean, bright sweet corn succotash accompanying the halibut is concentrated summer. Subtler components of the dish might not stand up, but between the sweet corn and the browned edges of the fish, there’s plenty of flavor.
Best in show goes to the grilled octopus, which has been on the menu since day one. The host who seated us during my first visit recommended it as the best in Madison, and he could well be right. Two tentacles, tender from an hour-long braise before grilling, share a little crunch with crispy shallots. Fresh pea vine and a creamy potato salad bridge all the disparate elements.
Pine nuts and sherry vinegar are nicely balanced in a warm salad of smoked mushrooms and beluga lentils. And an unlikely version of fried cauliflower is served with caramelized onions and cheddar. Pretty? Not particularly, but it wielded such a potent umami that we almost ordered another right away.
There’s a level of richness in some of these dishes that’ll put you into a food coma to rival Thanksgiving afternoon. The SarVecchio broth, for example, is more like gravy. The shredded duck confit sandwich and the late-night menu’s duck French dip are heady and heavy, too.
On the late-night menu, grilled maple bacon on a stick (with pork from Dan Fox’s Heritage Tavern) stars fatty, salty, lightly sweet bacon. An order of spiced peanuts (with brown sugar, a little chili de árbol and a lot of salt) could be a respectable dessert alternative. Actual desserts might include a chocolate ganache cake with house-made Jim Beam caramel — moist without being excessively dense or fudgy.
The booze in that caramel sauce signals the no-fuss cocktail aesthetic. My Manhattan was strong, the rum sour was exactly as you’d expect from the name, and the Peter Rabbit delivered a refreshing balance of Pimm’s No. 1 botanicals and fresh muddled basil, with a cute carrot and basil leaf garnish.
Hamilton’s service is chummy, and the mood in the room is always friendly. Later at night, as the music gets louder, it’s a raucous hangout. An all-day charmer is the kind of restaurant Grisham knows how to run.
Hamilton’s on the Square
101 N. Hamilton St., Madison, 608-665-3387, hamiltonsonthesquare.com,
11 am-1 am Mon.-Thurs., 5 pm-1 am Fri.-Sat., 4 pm-1 am Sun., $3-$22
