A Pig In a Fur Coat

Great cocktails, good food, very nice service. The best was the Foie Grass, complex and delicious and the Fries were awesome too. We tried two entrees, they were very good but not close to that beautiful Foie Grass. Shared tables are a hit, when food is good everybody is very friendly and eager to recommend what they just tried. So, if you are in town…

Excellent small plates. I enjoyed the poutine was a larger portion and very tasty. The octopus was good and very well balance with the sauce. There chocolate donut dessert is amazing. Restaruant is small but a fun atmosphere. Service was good.

I’ve been here twice, had two different menus both times, and loved it equally both time. Pig in a Fur Coat is a great choice for apps and drinks, or a larger meal.
The food is beautifully presented and well-​prepared, with all of the various components working very nicely together. There is definitely a lot going on in each of the dishes, but it never feels like too much. While everything is delicious, I highly recommend the ravioli, duck fat fries, and lamb carpaccio.
The ravioli is a magical, savory pocket of brussels sprouts, bacon, and cheese; for lack of a better descriptor, it tastes like spending a cold night nestled in a blanket fort with your best friend and your favorite movie… and bacon. The duck fat fries are crispy, delicious, and seasoned like a dream. My eating-​mates all agreed that they were «a fry revelation». PLUS you get a whole pile of aioli, which is much appreciated by enthusiastic over-​dippers like myself.
The plates are small enough to share, but rich enough that you really don’t need a bunch to fill up. I think a good estimate for 2 people would be 2 snacks + 2 – 3 small plates, or a snack + large plate. The big plates are really substantial. Great beer and wine list, though most beer selections are not on tap.
The atmosphere is great and very warm. I can’t speak to how crowded it gets on weekends, but on a Wednesday and Thursday evening, it is lively without being too crowded. The staff is friendly, attentive, and provide light recommendations for how to attack the dishes.

Best dining experience in Madison since I moved here a few months ago. Had the beets, duck fat fries, and foie gras mousse and a crazy delicious lavender cocktail. Wow! I’ve tried several other restaurants and none have paralleled my experience here.

5 stars because the food was plated for show, and the flavor backed it up. I can speak for the following.
Duck fat fries — some of the best fries I’ve ever had, period.
Octopus — a flavor experience well worth it
Lamb Carpaccio — so thinly sliced it melts in your mouth. Mix some yolk and corn shoot with it, spread on crostini and it works VERY well.
Just be aware, there are community tables.

Great find in Madison. Cute place, great theme and warm and inviting décor. Waitress was great. She really knew how to read her diners. Provided great explanation of the menu selection and really catered her suggestions to our desires. Presentation of the food was excellent. Portions were about ok. Ordered a pork belly app and only came as one serving.: (there was an interesting selection for dishes though. I think I would have to agree with one of the other reviews, some of the dishes looked as though they were «trying too hard».
All-​in-​all Pig in a Fur Coat is a Great place. And I would definitely suggest to others.
Ambience = ⁵⁄₅
Service = ⁵⁄₅
Food 3.75÷5
Price 3.75÷5

Wow, wow, wow, where do I even begin? From the beginning usually, right? Well, my party of 3 stopped in after work and we nearly had a pick of any seat in the house (it filled in much more the later we stayed). We ordered the large bottle of 3 Floyds Brewing Company’s Alpha Klaus, a delicious dark beer. I later ordered a glass of wine to go with my dinner.
Speaking of dinner, most of the meals were family style, but not like an Italian restaurant where the portions were so big you felt sick for eating so much. But plates that were meant to be shared (more than a tapas restaurant though). There were a ton of great options we wanted to try, like: pork belly, veal, rabbit, lamb, and even octopus. With so many options, we all three decided to go with 4 courses of chef’s choice.
Our waitress asked if we had allergies and what we liked. None and everything. I know, it was probably super helpful, haha. I can’t remember the proper terms for all of the dishes, mostly because it wasn’t directly on the menu, but the first plate was almost like a donut ball with porchetta and other deliciousness.
Next, it was Octopus on cooked plantains with (I think) pork belly. Third course was three different proteins: Mackerel, Veal Cheeks and something else veal (I know, I’m being super helpful). One had some bone marrow on top, all of it was delicious. Thinking back to the second and third courses, I really can’t pick a favorite.
Each course the chef came out and explained the dish very thoroughly, on the last dish he told us that we were his Guinea pigs on a hot to cold dessert dish he was trying. Warm sliced pears, room temperature white chocolate what was baked and caramelized, and fresh coconut ice cream! It was really interesting what he was able to do with that white chocolate!
Overall, if given the option to order off the menu or let the chef take you on his own adventure, you let the chef cook whatever he wants for you! Probably one of the best dinner experiences of 2015! Stop reading my review and go enjoy it for yourself.

Not that this place needs another great review, but I’ll put in my two cents.
The food here is awesome! Small menu, but they execute it so well! It is always changing.
The atmosphere is really neat. The only thing I’m not a huge fan of is how you are pretty much sitting on top of each other. I’m also not a fan of sitting at community tables. Regardless… That does not change how I feel about this place.
The staff is friendly and well informed. It makes for a nice experience.
Seriously though. Go spend some money here. Your stomach will thank you!

I want to use curse words here to describe how F*%&)*%)* great this place is.
It’s adventurous, inspired, completely unique, and just damn delicious food. You’ll talk about it for days.
Everything is not just good, but one of the best dishes you’ve ever had.
GO. GO AND EAT EVERYTHING.

They recently renovated pig in a fur coat, added a bar section, which is fantastic since there is almost always a wait!
The atmosphere didn’t change much though, it’s still casual, relaxing yet modern. There are a number of communal tables in case that’s an issue.
They are also a small plate/​big plate place where the idea is to share. Good portions when it comes to both the appetizers, small and big plates.
We tried the olives, which is a decent size. The ravioli is amazing, the duck yolk really adds texture and flavor to it. Also tried the foie gras mousse, it was creamy, not quite the same thing with actual foie gras, but it hits the spot. The main rabbit veal sausage big plate was an interesting combination especially the plating and the pairing vegetables. The orange sfingi was delicious, but slightly too filling after a big meal, so be aware of that!
If it wasn’t the fact that there is always a line, I would come back much more frequently! But again that always comes with a charming lil place!

Mediocre-​to-​average food dressed up with some great plate-​ing style. If you’re looking for fine dining in Madison, go elsewhere.
The space is cozy and inviting. The staff is great and very knowledgable. The concept it awesome: the menu is designed for sharing.
But the food just isn’t spectacular. Good concepts all around, but textures and flavors are predictable. Not bad. But not worth the fine-​dining price tag.
And the course categories are misleading. The snacks are served in bowls. With fries.
We were told the «small» plates would be a few bites each if we shared: they were full-​sized appetizers. The «large» plates are designed to share, and I started to worry we’d ordered too much food ’cause we ordered two. But we were fine. Husband ordered scallops and there were three. I ordered rabbit and it was a good portion size for one person. Kind of seemed like there was the same amount of food on each course, although the plates themselves were different sizes.

Excellent cuisine ! Cute «hipster» atmosphere
The foie gras mousse on home-​made profiteroles and a fig jam was delicious. It was very flavorful, very fresh testing. Highly recommend.
The 2^nd plate ordered was the grilled octopus. Excellent as well. Very fresh and tasty with a tick sauce that tested like «piment d’espelette». Delicious.
I have found a new gem in Madison !
The only negative: the bathroom. They need to be cleaner and with more personality.

Vogon Constructor Fleet rating: If the world were destroyed to make way for a galatic super highway, I simply wouldnt remember this place. I would remember Girl adn the Goat, and mourn it.
Service and noise level really made this experience a challenge. I wanted to give it four stars. Couldnt.
Get: The duck fat fries, figs and tomatoes and the steak. Vodka Collins
Dont Get: Duck egg dumpling, foi gras or the burrata. Their verison of the Dark and Stormy cocktail.
Service:
–We were ignored quite a bit. I suppose its a busy place with more diners, but water and soda refills are basic needs that we shouldn’t have to ask twice for.

I must admit, I am quick to give a 5 star review to small plate places.
If you like fat as a big flavor component, look no further. They do a great job balancing flavor with mouth-​coating fatty flavors and textures. The duck fat fries are really crispy with plenty of gaseous umami flavor. The ravioli is a sinful masterpiece with brown butter, runny egg yolk, and bacon leaving a slippery feeling on your lips. The foie gras is sweet and salty with a great fat/​acidity balance; it tiptoes the line between appetizer and dessert.
The atmosphere is pretty hip and trendy. They have a good beer selection with great prices. They have seating to accomodate a date or a large group.
Overall, I’d say that this is a must-​visit place for Madison foodies.

I realize yet another five star review for APIaFC might be piling on at this point, but man did these guys earn it! My wife and I went in for dinner on Monday night, which was our 7 year wedding anniversary. We’ve been wanting to go for months and I’m really glad we decided to finally do so.
Drinks —
Pinot Grigio for her (crisp, complex, very enjoyable), New Glarus Scream followed by Surly CynicAle for me. Loved the Scream, less so the CynicAle (little too sweet for this meal, but not bad).
Snacks —
Meatballs w/​onion and bone marrow: delicious! Tender, hugely flavorful, great taste and texture from the onions.
Dates w/​chorizo and peppers: fantastic!!! The piquillo pepper sauce is the stand out star of this dish. Spicy, fragrant, great mouth feel; I’d have eaten a whole bowl of just the sauce. That being said, the other elements of the dish contribute to making the whole greater than the sum of it’s parts. Fatty, smoky chorizo and sweet chewy dates work great together.
Small Plates —
Burrata: really nice. The very best bites were those with a bit of the onion, mostly because these brought in a touch of saltiness that the rest of the dish strongly benefited from.
Pork belly w/​shrimp: really nice! Perfect textures in this dish, and the shrimp head is the real star. The belly was cooked perfectly; tender but not at all chewy.
Octopus w/​testa and potatoes: PERFECT! The dish of the night by FAR! Better than any other surf and turf I’ve ever had. The testa (head cheese) comes as a thin slice fried to perfection. Rich, robust, and incredibly meaty with each small bite. The herb and citrus pair the potatoes to both the octopus and the testa immaculately. Every bite was better than the last, and the mole took the whole thing over the top. An absolute favorite!
Large Plate —
Scallops: great flavors. Loved the squash blossom pancakes each large scallop arrived on, and three scallops was a nice sized order at this point in the meal. The only minor complaint was that the scallops could have used a touch harder sear to both enhance their flavor and add a bit more texture. This dish would have benefited hugely from a bit of crunch.
Dessert —
Sfingi — excellent closer. The key to the whole dish is the fact that they’re not too sweet. Great balance of flavors (especially the rich chocolate cut slightly by citric acid from the orange), and a really fun way to close a great meal. They arrived piping hot, so be careful!
Ambiance was great, and service was attentive without being overbearing. Probably not in our price range for regular rotation, but will be tough to beat for ANY sort of celebration or special occasion. Thank you guys so much for a remarkably good meal!

Have you actually seen a pig in a fur coat?!? You won’t see one here but at least you can enjoy all the eccentric items on their menu!
Daniel L. took me out on a date night here for a 5PM reservation and surprisingly there were no other guests until we finished our meal.
We decided on three dishes:
Rabbit Rillette — $ 10 — rabbit meat, solidified oil and on the side sliced toast with pistachio and cherries. Sorry Bugs Bunny but this jarred dish was delicious! The meat is bottled with the rabbit meat topped with a thick gloss of oil. Take the toast and spread the meaty mixture on the bread and then top it off with the pistachio and cherry marmalade. If I were to order this again, I would scoop out the stiff oil and spread the meat directly to the toast. Great choice.
Lamb Carpaccio — $ 14 — corn shoots (made it extra sweet), egg yolk, salsa verde and thinly sliced lamb. We enjoyed this dish but there were only 3 slices of lamb and wasn’t enough to justify the $ 14 price.
Veal Neck — $ 21 miso, carrot, turnip, ramps, radish. This dish was the loser of the night. We didn’t enjoy it because it lacked flavor and ended up wasting it.
They have regular seating and a community table in the middle of the restaurant. If you come here, make sure you come early and get the attentive service we received. The server gave us recommendations and explained each dish spot on.
Even though we didn’t have any pig during this meal, this place deserves a visit because of their variety, presentation and ambiance.

Before going to A Pig in a Fur Coat I found myself looking at the giant pile of 5 star reviews on Unilocal and thought, «this place is too good to be true.» Boy, was I wrong!
A Pig in a Fur Coat served my party the best meal that I have had the experience of enjoying since moving to Madison, WI. You can stop reading the review here if you like. Trust me.
I see you’re still reading so I guess you want details, fine.
Our party of three arrived at the restaurant and were promptly seated at a table with two other parties, «strange I thought, but let’s go with it.» I was already getting a bit of a hipster, trendy vibe from the place. It was small, dimly lit, and had hilarious food puns and pig pictures scattered about. It was somewhat charming.
The server came by and explained the menu is for sharing, think Spanish Tapas style. We ordered a few glasses of wine, and we were off. I ended up with a glass of Rhone table wine for the evening, which came with an adorable personal decanter. I’ve never really seen anything like it.
At this point I realize, while the conversation of the other two parties at the shared table can be heard, we have plenty of space. The shared table is no longer much of a concern.
The first dish arrives, a charcuterie board that I don’t have a picture of because our bear pack was hungry and inhaled the various meats and cheeses. Pleasant, well done, and I’m thankful for the paired glass of wine at this point. The board included a liver pâté; I know, liver. The pâté was not grainy at all and well done. Surprisingly, I enjoyed it almost as much as I enjoyed the date jam on the board.
If there is one dish on the menu that you need to order, it’s the stuffed dates with chorizo and piquillo peppers and a spicy tomato sauce. The sweetness of the dates paired well with the spice of the chorizo and peppers. Perfection. Cut it into pieces to make it last longer!
Duck fat fries, yes that phrase is all over this Unilocal page so I am typing it again for emphasis. They were awesome and exactly what you would expect. Beware, you will have visions of a triple bypass 30 years from now while eating them.
Next up, duck egg and ricotta ravioli with asparagus and brown butter, this was the MVP of the meal. All of the ingredients meshed well together, from the sweet to the savory. Protip, dip your remaining duck fat fries in the brown butter, you will thank me latter.
At this point, we were stuffed. Our server, of course, persuaded us to get a dessert. We settled on sfingi with chocolate sauce, which is essentially chocolate donuts covered in a warm chocolate grenache. Warning! These are very hot and delicious. They are pleasantly sweet but not too sweet and not too dense.
After dinner wrapped up and the check was taken care of. I stepped away to use the restroom. I think my experience in the restroom is the only bad thing I can say about the establishment. The bathroom was incredibly dirty! It had one tiny trashcan (smaller than what you are imagining, think of a large coffee can for scale). That one tiny trash can was completely overflowing and had a mess of toilet paper, scraps, and general nastiness in a 2 foot radius around it. Considering, the amazing food, I am going to forgive the mess.
We enjoyed every single dish that A Pig in a Fur Coat threw at us. Very rarely do I walk away from a restaurant feeling so completely satisfied with every single menu item that was ordered, the service, the wine list, and the ambiance. I think I’m in love… with a restaurant?!
I imagine that this will not be our last trip to A Pig in a Fur Coat, and that we will be back alone and with visiting foodie friends who deserve to be wowed by top quality food and the relaxed, quaint atmosphere.
Pig, let’s be friends, with benefits.

I see 5 star reviews left and right for this place so we decided to go all out. The biggest thing for that disappointed me was lukewarm food. That being said, I could not find a justifiable reason to give this place less than five stars. Community style seating which is always fun. It seems this place is a big play off of the Purple Pig.
Easiest way to review this feast is to break it down by dish with accompanying pictures.
Drink of the night
~ Ancienne Sazerac made with Cognac. So flavorful and you can just feel the smoothness while drinking it. Great mixture of flavors. (5 stars)
The feast
~Dates with chorizo and piquillo peppers. Juicy and flavorful. I cant think of two better basic words to describe this dish. The chorizo had a small kick to it but the sweetness in the date evened it out. (5 stars)
~Charcuterie and Cheese Plate. Include Coppa, liver pâté, jamon serrano, wagyu bresaola, gruyère, cows milk blue cheese and duck egg.
The liver pâté was rich and lovely. You only need little bit to get that flavor, anything more feels like a sin. The cows milk blue cheese was astonishing. So creamy, so soft. Definitely not to be missed. (4 stars)
~Poutine with foie gras, cheese curds and poutine sauce. Ask any Canadian you see, we know poutine. This was up there. The only word of caution I share is watch out for the foie gras. It is packed with rich flavor. Cut it into pieces or the inside of your mouth with explode with a power punch of confusing and emotional flavors. (5 stars)
~Ravioli with duck egg, bacon, ricotta, morels, ramps, and brown butter. I was slightly disappointed with this dish. The ravioli did not have a good hold. The texture was mush. I don’t know if there was just too much going on with it or if it was the way it was cooked. The flavor was there, just not the texture or visual appeal. (3 stars)
~Octopus with testa, potato, mole and cilantro. Sadly the octopus was overcooked. It seems as though they chard the outside of it but did it a little to long. But what it lacked in toughness it made up for in flavor. (4 stars)
Dessert.
~Pandoro Bread Pudding with pecan, white chocolate and caramel. Hot, moist, mouth watering. The white chocolate shavings melt down to accompany the crunch of the pecan and the smoothness of the caramel to present a perfect pairing of palate pleasures. (10 stars… Can that be a thing)
~Panna Cotta with honey, fig, and nuts. Have you ever had flan? It kind of has the same texture but doesn’t. Add in a crunch of figs and nuts and you have a tantalizing texture. A slight hint of vanilla will make for the perfect end to a dinner. (5 stores)

Love it.
Dined here for my birthday dinner last week Saturday and I’m STILL thinking about how delicious our food tasted… and overall, how nice the experience was. Let’s break it down, shall we?
Communal seating in the middle, small cozy tables on the side. Simple décor — nothing fancy. People were in jeans, people were in suit coats… everything seems welcome and comfortable here. Eclectic crowd is always a good indicator for me. We popped in at 7:30 on Saturday and there was about an hour wait for two. Totally reasonable for a small and popular spot. No problem, anyway, because there’s a super yummy distillery a couple blocks away (Old Sugar) and the hostess recommended we check it out. We were happy to oblige — drank a cocktail and came right back to one of the two-​spots waiting for us.
Nice selection of beer and wine — I enjoyed a Tuscan blend with our meal that I really enjoyed. Instead of jumping in on the large plates, we split 4 small plates that caught our attention:
Meatballs/​bone marrow/​bread crumbs
Duck Fat Fries/​parmigiano reggiano/​garlic aioli
Ravioli/​duck egg/​bacon/​ricotta/​Brussels sprout/​brown butter
Elk Short Ribs (not listed online, but on our menu that night)
Plates come out as they’re ready, and our food and service was prompt. Every dish left us perfectly happy. The meatballs were tender and rich, the duck fat fries hot & crispy & addicting, the ravioli FREAKING INSANE WITH HOW GOOD IT WAS, and the short ribs beautiful and comforting. Everything was plated nicely, presented well, and seriously yummy. Isn’t that the best you could ask for?
We left a bit of room for dessert so went for the bread pudding (yum) topped with salted caramel gelato. We loved it but the piece was so big we couldn’t finish… no regrets.
If I had it my way, I’d eat that duck egg and bacon ravioli every day for the rest of my life. I probably can’t do that, however… I CAN return here, hopefully soon, to enjoy it again and try more of the delicious menu items. You should come here, too. I’m sure you’ll like it. If you don’t you probably also hate puppies, too… which is sad.
They’re closed for a bit in April 2015 to expand, so keep an eye out and check before you go (if it’s super soon, which it should be as soon as possible).

I came here for a birthday dinner. The restaurant is really small and intimate, and you may end up sharing a table with other diners. The menu is organized into snacks, small plates, and large plates which are entrée portioned. Everything comes up as it’s ready and you’re encouraged to share your food with others in your party. Thick wooden tables and water and coffee served in clear glass carafes defines the décor of this place.
Under snacks category, we order duck fat fries, dates, and rabbit rillette. Under the small plates category we ordered octopus, pork belly, and lamb carpaccio. Everything was very rich and filling. Our party of 3 came away feeling stuffed. I wasn’t such a fan of the duck fat fries. I didn’t taste the duck specifically, and mostly just tasted like well fried fries. I wouldn’t order it again. The dates were stuffed with chorizo and baked in a piquillo pepper sauce. So delicious. I wish it was just a touch more spicy but the dates were deliciously sweet and countered nicely with the chorizo. I also loved the rabbit rillette topped with pistachios and comes with some pickled cherries. Amazing even without the cherries. Ask for extra bread because there will be so much delicious rillette.
For the small plates, I found the octopus a bit tough but the flavor was good. The pork belly I would’ve preferred crispier, but the green apple slaw that it came with balanced so well with the pork belly. It elevated the dish. The lamb carpaccio came with a raw yolk on top and was a big hit with my fellow diners.
They don’t take reservations, but at 7pm on a Saturday night, we had no problem snagging a table.