Talula
Update 6/10/12: Talula is closing.
In a word: There is less in this than meets the eye.
The specs: #0648
Address, hours & details via Isthmus; reviews at Madison Fish Fry, Ruppert Food Blog, Yellow Pages, The Fabulous Critic, Central Madison Living, Yelp, EatDrinkMadison, Madison Hot Bite, 77 Square; official web site, Twitter, 
Latest Talula news and reviews
JM and Nichole ate the wings, nachos, and cheesecake, with a beer and a lemonade.
The bill was $29, or $14.50/person, plus tip, minus Groupon.
JM and Nichole gave Talula a B- (see our grading rubric).
Talula's striking pink presence in the middle of a purely-driven-slush kind of day had the desired effect of waking us up. Inside has been funkified from faux medieval, though the dark booths and wagon-wheel light fixture were still there. We liked the Jumex c(art)ons, which may or may not have been, along with the paint job, another leftover from Mexicali Rose's brief stint in the castle.
A cockup on the scheduling front (we thought Talula's oft-praised brunch was available on Saturdays; turns out it was just Sundays) put us in the enviable position of cramming in a midafternoon snack before a tapas dinner, which we made by the skin of our teeth. So naturally we went for something light, like nachos, wings and cheesecake.
The chips were of the tri-color, bagged variety with carnival-style cheez with pepper bits, OK guacamole, nice fresh pico, and good shredded chicken seasoned with chili powder.
The breaded, hot buffalo wings were not actually hot, they just had an overwhelming vinegar tang - but better strongly wrong than weakly right, as they say. The bleu cheese dip was nice, probably housemade, with a hint of fresh herbs. The celery was a like a lifeboat and we deployed it freely. The cheesecake was a generous slice with a thin, tart strawberry sauce.
Talula is close to the bike path, which puts it on the map for summer patio rest stops. But the food ends up being semi-meretricious and semi-delicious. They offer 12 beers on tap (as many as Graze) and 9 vodka bottle designs, but the sandwich-heavy menu is disappointingly middle-of-the-road. If all the prices were lowered by a buck, or if there were a signature item like Mickey's sexy fries, it would approach "A" territory. Otherwise it's in the average range for an average meal like a cola... and burger.
We went there right after it first opened and it was actually pretty good. We returned sometime this past December (thanks to Groupon) and were pretty underwhelmed....
Posted by: catwoman5 | March 30, 2011 at 05:16 PM
I would definitely suggest at least having a burger or one of the entrees before forming a complete opinion of the place.
The burger's at Talula are my favorite on the Eastside and possibly in all of Madison. The entrees are good too (even if a few of them are somewhat overpriced...).
Posted by: spiffy | August 26, 2011 at 02:55 PM
I'm pretty sure Talula is closed. There's a "for lease" mini billboard out front. Plus, see http://m.yelp.com/biz/talula-madison.
Posted by: thenetflick | October 28, 2012 at 06:45 AM