The Turn Key

My husband, new baby, and I dined at The Turn Key on a hopping Friday evening. We haven’t gotten out much since our new baby’s arrival and all of the staff at The Turn Key really made our experience wonderful and special. From the warm and friendly greeting upon arrival to the incredible service shown by every staff person we encountered, The Turn Key staff are top notch!
Now let’s talk about the food… AMAZING! We started with the carrots, which were out of this world. We were told that the vegetable changes depending on availability and what’s in season. I’m so glad we were able to try this creative dish, but it leaves me wanting to come back and try whatever the chef comes up with next! For main entrees, we had the curry gnocchi and the steak. Both dishes were excellent. We finished the meal with the very unique (& highly recommended) corn pudding pie. I would go back just for another piece of that delectable dessert!
The Turn Key is a fabulous new addition to the Madison dining scene and has certainly earned a spot on my “Madison favorites” list!

Been to the Turn Key twice so far. During our first visit, every dish was on point: fries were well-done and crispy outside, and the corn pudding pie was HEAVEN! We decided to go again tonight, and ordered the same fries and pie. Unfortunately this time the fries were under done (no fluffy interior, kinda grainy, and soggy outside), and this time we felt the pie crust had way too much salt! We hope the quality of the food can be more consistent because we really like this spot.
We also ordered the pork chop and mushroom toast this time. Both were delicious!

So I recently discovered this kitschy restaurant and that quickly turned into going once a week since.. from the unique menus, to imaginative cocktails, to apples harvested by the hostess’s grandpa, this eatery has really taken Wisconsin & supper club style fare to the next level. The menu rotates with the seasons, and the nightly specials are worth going multiple times in the same week (don’t worry, I tested this personally). If you want a no reservations, no boring drinks, and no judgement place to enjoy local cuisine, Turnkey is the place to be!

We got the gnocchi and the whitefish entrees, and started with curd puppies. The curd puppies are the same as what you get at Settle Down Tavern, a different take on cheese curds. The gnocchi was good, but didn’t blow us away and was pretty small. The whitefish entree was the most disappointing thing we got, it was on a small plate that was the same size as what you’d get for the green beans, and I thought I was missing something… it was just a thin piece of fish on a bed of red peppers. It was cooked well, but it was very small/really not filling, especially for $24. Some kind of starch along with it or even a salad would’ve gone a long way to make it feel a bit more complete. Our friend also got the steak for $29 and was happy with the taste but had similar feelings about the amount of food. Nice vibe inside but will probably stick to visiting for drinks rather than food.

Wow. This will be your new favorite spot. The food was perfection. I don't typically order 'just' a potato dish but the smashed and fried on the menu were a perfect pair with the gyro tartare. Cocktails were some of the most inventive I have had in a while, the Reverse Manhattan paired perfectly with the steak. And to top it off dessert was very unique, corn pie and mint ice cream with Oreo and chocolate shell. If that wasn't enough the service was phenomenal, everyone was super friendly and shout-out to Amy who had spot on food and drink recommendations throughout the meal along with making sure we had an amazing evening