The 100 block of State Street in downtown Madison recently got a major facelift after a multi-year redevelopment that began with a controversy. Developers Jerome Frautschi and Pleasant Rowland originally wanted to demolish a lot more of the block. After a community outcry, several historical landmark buildings were preserved rather than demolished. Two of these (the Stark and Schubert buildings) now house a single establishment (and the redevelopment’s first tenant): Cento, an Italian restaurant from the unstoppable Food Fight group. The location even inspired the restaurant’s name, which is pronounced chento and means “100” in Italian.
Cento’s entrance isn’t on State Street itself, but on the other side of the redevelopment, on the corner of Mifflin and Fairchild. The corner becomes quite dramatic at night, when it is lit up by the large neon sign in front of the Central Library and the lights shining through the large glass windows of Overture Center.
The decor inside the restaurant perfectly matches the swanky, metropolitan feel just outside its doors. Cento’s space is open, and its decor is minimal but luxe. At the front of the restaurant is the bar and lounge. Patrons in the main dining area are seated on chairs upholstered in white leather under a high ceiling with dramatic chandeliers. The sophisticated feel continues into a smaller dining room and bar off the main seating area, and keeps on going even in the bathrooms, where there are even chandelier-inspired light fixtures in the stalls.
The service at Cento is as sophisticated as the decor. Sit down on a white leather chair and peruse the wine list, and you’ll likely get a visit from the wine steward. Ask your server what the “crazy water” listed on the menu is, and you’ll get an in-depth, serious explanation (even if you were kind of hoping for a quick and snarky one).
According to Cento’s website, “Chef Michael Pruett brings his farm-to-table philosophy to Cento, combining Old World Italian traditions with modern techniques.” The menu is seasonal, so the plates change often. The dinner menu is grouped into courses in the traditional Italian way: pasta dishes (all made from scratch in Cento’s kitchen) are considered primi or “first course” and main dishes (usually fish or meat) are considered secondi or “second course.” Of course, there is also the spuntini (snacks), antipasti (appetizers), contorni (side dishes) and dolce (dessert).
Beyond the food itself, one of the “modern techniques” Cento’s kitchen boasts is the location and look of the kitchen itself. Instead of hiding its chefs away, Cento has an open kitchen, providing diners with a view of the chefs at work. It’s interesting to watch, even though most of the time the only food you’ll see is pizza dough being thrown up into the air, above the tall island that hides the plates the chefs are preparing from view.
Speaking of pizzas, they’re baked at Cento in a wood-burning oven, which is directly behind the chef line. The leaping flames inside the oven provide another dramatic scene, although it does make you feel a little bad for the chefs as they stand (and sweat) directly in front of the inferno.
Cento has several special accommodations for its different types of diners: For those who are eating before a show at Overture, there’s a pre-theater menu. For those who prefer to watch the show the chefs put on, there is a Chef’s Table situated directly next to the kitchen. For $85, you’ll get a seven-course meal–and, we hope, a peek at what the chefs are actually up to back there.
