Webster Groves has become the hot spot in the St. Louis dining scene and Madrina is a good addition. This upscale, Italian restaurant has elevated the corner of Lockwood and Gore. The build out is beautiful. It is an elegant ambiance. The wine list is approachable and has a great variety of options. The cocktail menu is also excellent. With Alicia Blackwell-Calvert heading it up--I'd expect nothing less. The food was outstanding. We had the whipped ricotta to start. It was creamy, just enough sweetness and was delicious. I enjoyed the scallops and my husband had the hangar steak--both amazing. We also had the beets as a side. With all of these praises, you may wonder why only 4 stars. Simple--the service was approaching mediocre at best. Our server seemed pre-occupied and was often just missing. Maybe he was having an off night, maybe this isn't the job for him. Either way, it was poor. Hopefully Madrina will get wait staff up to par and be worthy of that 5th star. read more

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My friends and I had the best meal and experience last week at Madrina! We made a reservation ahead of time just to make sure we would have a confirmed table for our dinner. When I arrived, the rest of my group was not there yet, so I checked in with the hostess and then made my way to the bar to order a cocktail. The bartender greeted me promptly and provided me their cocktail menu. After reviewing it for a few minutes, I decided on the Meet me in Amolfi which is Italian vodka, limoncello, fig syrup and ginger beer, it was really tasty and very refreshing! Once I had my drink and paid my bar tab, the rest of the girls arrived and we made our way to the dining room to be seated at our table. Once we were seated, we did have someone come by with water to fill our glasses, but it must have been about 10 minutes before our server came over to greet us. Not sure what that was about, but throughout the experience he made it up to us with his fun personality and great recommendations from the menu. We started with wine for the table and we ordered a few small plates to share; the panzella capers and the whipped ricotta were both perfect sharing sizes and when the food items arrived, they looked so colorful and plated very well. The whipped ricotta had a nice drizzle of honey which gave it a hint of sweetness and the caprese was fresh and had amazing flavors. We would order both of these items again. Jordy was our server and when he made some recommendations for our meals, I knew that as soon as he mentioned a pasta dish with clams, I had to have it! I ordered the linguini con vongole and could not wait to give it a try! Others at the table ordered scallops, the pollo marsala, and the raviolo along with some fingerling potatoes and some Brussels sprouts. When the food arrived, everything was fresh and the flavors were good. While I liked the linguini with clams, I think it needed a little more flavor. Not sure if it needed something to give it a kick or something on the lemon tart side, but I do think it was just kind of bland - but it was good and I did eat it all! Others said that their meals were also really good and we did not have much leftover. Jordy came by to check on us a few times and offered us samples of wine before we ordered the glass of wine which was helpful since we were debating between 2 different kinds. The samples helped us make a decision. For dessert, we ordered some tiramisu and the cannolis. Again, enough for the table to share. Desserts were so good and very filling. I love a good cannoli and this one was really well done. The ricotta filling was very creamy and delicious and went nicely with the crunch of the pastry shell. Definitely recommend desserts here! Overall, this was a great meal from start to finish and I am already planning on taking my mom when she is in town next month. I expect their menu will only continue to get better as they stay open longer. read more

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Stopped in during the Webster Christmas Walk. Sat at the bar and split a pizza and had the Holiday cocktail. Both were very good. Bartender was super friendly and attentive. Sadly, she upped her tip on my cc charge so kind of soured the experience. read more

Excellent service, nice atmosphere. It was nice spring night and the doors and windows were open to the street. The apps were very good. Really liked the fried calamari and the mussels in marinara. For sides I tried some mushrooms and creamed spinach - both very good. I had the veal parm. This is the only criticism of the night. 2 veal pieces were good sizes but should have been pounded out thinner. And the melted cheese on top a little sparse and came off when cutting the meat. Lacked a little flavor due to the plating. Came with crushed potatoes and arugula. The potato's seemed out of place - maybe just the way they do it here. That said, my friends who got the pasta dishes seemed happy and I would get a pasta dish if I ever came back. read more

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Madrina was good! I made reservations here a couple weeks ago for a girls dinner. My friend was visiting from out of town and we wanted to go somewhere special. I made a reservation which was easy, so when we arrived at 645, our table was ready to go. The interior is nice and upper-scale. Low lighting with an intimate feel, table cloths, and decorative lighting. We were sat in a booth and had waters poured and ready for us. We ordered drinks and appetizers first. I had a limoncello spritz which was tasty and strong. Our appetizers included the whipped ricotta and burrata. The whipped ricotta was served super aesthetically- I would have preferred a bit more flavor to the dish. The burrata was amazing, blistered tomatoes with some olive oil and balsamic (I think). Highly recommend that. For my entree I ordered the amatriciana pasta. The sauce was delicious and had a nice kick. Pasta was cooked al Dante and had a good subtle flavor. I do wish they had a bit more chicken options on the menu, but I do understand the beauty of simplicity. We had cannolis for dessert and they were delicious. The pastry crust was fabulous. Our server was great and attentive. I believe he was tending bar and taking care of our table so props to him. My friend let him know she wanted to order some wine, and we ended up having a sommelier at our table side to help her which was an awesome touch. I've never been to a place where one was available so easily. read more

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We had come here when it first opened and at that time flavor had not been let in the building. We live 2 blocks away and walked down to try their happy hour and give it another try....FLAVOR FLAVE IS IN THE HOUSE!!!! We got a honey drizzled pizza that might be the best I have had in years. Way to turn it around!!! Meatball app was nothing special or this would have been 5 stars. Bartender was delightful. read more

Excellent menu choices--it was hard to make up my mind. Service was excellent throughout the evening. Love the decor--not too noisy and a very cool "Rat Pack" vibe. read more

We went for Easter Brunch today! Was wonderful! We loved every detail! Thank you to the team that all worked together to execute! We will be back! Can't wait! read more

Madrina - Italian Near Me - Webster Groves, Missouri

It was my first time trying Madrinas and I've seen a lot about them on instagram so I was excited to try. We got sat at the "godfather" table since there was 6 of us and I loved the ambiance of the big booth and being right next to the bar. The drink menu has lots of options and a few not the menu we tried. I got the chai espresso martini which was delicious! The drinks are on the pricier side being $15 but they were good. We got the ricotta and grilled bread and it was a showstopper. Perfectly salty with so much flavor. The dinner is where I was a bit disappointed. First of all, there isn't any options for vegetarians. Typically there is one pasta that will have no meat or seafood but all pastas had seafood or meat which I have an allergy to shellfish and don't really eat meat so that kind of sucked. I opted for one with meat that I scraped away but the flavor of it ruined the pasta for me. The service was wonderful. Our serve was super attentive, gave reccomdations and popped in frequently to check in. I think if I were to come again, I'd come to that ricotta and drinks! read more

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We were excited to try Madrina and we left there unimpressed. While the restaurant is gorgeous, the food unfortunately didn't measure up. All four entrees (2 pastas, Denver steak and duck risotto special) lacked flavor and tasted like no salt, pepper or other spices were even used. Risotto was completely bland. The whipped ricotta, oysters and Mayfair salad were just ok. Our server was terrific which is the only reason for the 2 star review. She was the bright light in an otherwise dull dinner. read more

Food. Lobster bisque. Lots of lobster. NOT HOT. Tepid at best. No excuse for not hot. Linguine with clams. NO FLAVOR. Should reek of garlic. Bland to the nth. Service. No bread served. When asked, served with no butter. No grated cheese offered for linguine. When asked, not grated at table. Ambiance. Wonderful. Just the food that sucks. Third and last time we ate there. read more

This venue was a Sports Bar for years, a fixture in downtown Webster. I could not recognize anything inside. It has a beautiful new decor fitting for an upscale Italian restaurant. We had a table for 4 adults and two early grade school children. The manager referred to it as the "Godfather booth" which certainly is appropriate. We ordered pizza, mussels and steak for the children before we placed orders for the adults. That was a mistake on our part. The pizza and mussels were a big hit! There were enough for everyone at the table to sample. We all agreed that the mussels were tender and delicious. I used bread to sop up as much of the broth as I could, it had just the right amount of garlic and butter. After that we had to wait for the adult meals. The children quickly tired of the wait. We adults were surprised when the Caprese salads we had ordered arrived at table. The salad is dominated by large cubes of bread! Bread was mentioned on the menu but it was quite surprising to see that it dominated the tomatoes and cheese. The entrees finally arrived. The shrimp dish was great. The skirt steak was good too. The chicken Marsala was prepared bone in. It's difficult to eat a Chicken Leg dripping a sauce. I was able to cut off pieces of breast meat without getting too much of the sauce on my shirt. The Marsala sauce was salty and buttery. I make better dry and sweet Marsala sauce myself. I will return one more time to try some other salads and entrees. I hope for better outcomes. read more

Madrina - The Caprese salad - Italian Near Me - Webster Groves, Missouri

Staff experience not congruent with price point. Food wasn't either. Beautiful location.

21 people Wednesday night, the food, drink and service were a 10!!!! Ericka was unbelievable. She was prompt, intelligent, engaging, and overwhelmingly service oriented read more

Have been here a few times and always enjoy the ambiance. This last time, I went specifically for the scallops as they were amazing. Unfortunately they did not have them on the menu anymore. I settled for the monk fish which I did not like at all. It was very tough and not flavorful. I did enjoy the arancini appetizer (a special), and the salads. I will go back and order something other than the monk fish! Hoping to see the scallops back on the menu soon! read more

Had dinner here on Friday night. New to the Webster area it is the former CJ Muggs. It has been reborn as an Italian eatery. If you've been to the former restaurant, you'll recognize the interior. It has been redecorated and now has a more upscale feel. It's a dark, sexy kind of romantic feel with soft lamps at each table. Beautiful maroon banquettes, it's a very classy feel. I really couldn't take many pictures because people were already seated and I am not comfortable doing that. Service here is good. Our waiter was prompt and was very knowledgeable about everything on the menu. For a starter we ordered Calabrian oysters. Don't expect large oysters. These are small. You'll get around eight. Lots of heat. My mate had a pasta with clams. I had raviolo. It's a large ravioli with a duck egg yolk inside. The pasta in both dishes was excellent. The clams were a bit chewy but he still loved the dish. Best part of the meal for me was the Mayfair salad. I love the dressing. It's delicious. They have a good menu and a really nice wine list. The Sauvignon Blanc is delicious so if you are a white wine drinker try it. We had the tiramisu for dessert. It was good but I thought it was missing the coffee and rum flavors. It's okay because you aren't there for the dessert. I loved dining here. It's a beautiful place with exemplary service. read more

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Revisited this place a year later and it's still pretty good! Made reservations on Open Table. The vibe is nice. Great, moody ambiance - good date place. Was bummed that I didn't see the whipped ricotta on the menu. To this day, I still think about it every few weeks. Anyways, recent experience was different and better. Their sommelier actually waited on us with a trainee. It was nice to see that interaction. We mostly ordered different things this time around and brought our own bottle of wine that I've been meaning to pop open - a special Zinfandel blend from an old Paso Robles project - Downstream 2018. While they do have a solid wine list, I appreciate that there is corkage here. We did order a glass of a local Riesling to go with the calamari, which was stellar - loved the inclusion of artichokes in it. We also tried the crab pasta, branzino and T-bone. All delicious. We were too stuffed for dessert. read more

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I was so excited to try this place and so glad we went! All of the appetizers looked so good, I couldn't decide on which one to order so went with the mussels which was amazing. We then got a pasta and the pollo marsala to share and the portions of both were so big we had so much to take home. We got a side of the Brussels sprouts which were cooked to perfection - perfectly crisp. Prices I found were reasonable, ambiance was romantic and fancy, and it was a good crowd overall- enough people to keep the night busy but not overwhelmingly so. Would love to come back and try out more dishes especially the oysters and the tuna appetizer! The spaghetti also looks great! read more

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Not sure why it has only 3.5 stars. We had a great experience, from the service to the dessert. Everything we had was good, starting with a Hugo, shared with my wife the mussels, the sorbet (which was really good) the raviolo, hanger steak and the cannoli, all very tasty! I also had the Mayfair salad, really good. Had a couple of things from the per glass wine menu and they seem to have excellent options. Edi, our server, was very attentive and his recommendations were accurate and good! As I said, great dinner experience. read more

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Last night my little Girl Dinner squad did family style chefs choice dining at Madrina in Webster Groves and it was such a treat. Course 1: Crispy Calamari and Artichokes with a heavenly Lemon Garlic Aoili. We also had Arincini (Cheese Stuffed Risotto Bites) in a rich Pomodoro Sauce. Course 2: A ridiculously delicious simple salad of little gem lettuce, Pecorino, prosciutto, croutons, and Mayfair dressing which is like Caesar but with fennel and was actually invented at The Mayfair hotel in STL. We also had Panzanella, their house made focaccia, tomato, basil, red wine vinegar, fresh handmade burrata. It was so refreshing. Course 3: GAMBERETTO ALLA MOSTARDA Linguini, gulf shrimp, artichokes, mustard, cream.. we had mixed reviews about this at first and the heavy fennel flavor slowly won us over and it's like the best pasta ever. Course 4: we were stuffed already. This is was more than we normally eat. We had Veal Parmigiana that was the tastiest veal I've ever had. Confit roasted potatoes and a light arugula salad. We all brought ours home! Course 5: we split the world's most amazing tiramisu. read more

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Loved this place! Food was fantastic, great service! We went for our son's college graduation from Webster University.

My friends and I do a monthly supper club, this month there were 9 of us, and we chose Madrina last night. We had a DELIGHTFUL experience. The ambiance is dark, cozy, romantic if you're doing date night, and the lights on the table are adjustable to set the mood exactly how you'd like it (a touch that I especially loved.) It just looks really posh inside. The service was impeccable- never an empty glass on the table, very appreciated. I'm assuming, the GM, checked on us throughout our meal, joked with us, and was extremely welcoming. Now for the food- delicious. The table had the whipped ricotta, which actually was a very large portion, and the special- beef speidini. I personally had the Mayfair salad, which I thought was fantastic. Then I had the spinach manicotti, which was filling, cheesy, and flavorful. Highlights from the others were: the hangar steak with I believe the peppercorn sauce (we literally passed it around the table and dipped everything in it, it was so good,) the large portion or mussels, and the spaghetti dish. Such a pleasurable experience! read more

I really enjoyed my time here for a birthday dinner. The atmosphere was lively with great service by staff. As well as the food being delicious. The appetizer was a light starter, compared to the cheesy manicotti pasta. My friends had positive reviews of the linguini and salad. I would recommend this establishment but note it can be on the pricier side for multiple people. read more

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The music was jammin. Get the house-made bread; it's excellent. We had the arancini; didn't love it, but we love to eat these in Sicily so this may be an unfair dislike. Crepe Manicotti was delicious. Bolognese was ok. The trota was excellent. I'll get this again there. Polllo piccata was really good. Apple crostata was ok. We added gelato to it. Didn't love the gelato. The service was excellent from beginning to end and not just by our server and asst server. Every person we encountered working there was excellent. The ambiance is great for all occasions. read more

My wife and I live in Webster and have frequented Madrina multiple times. The menu and ambiance is not your typical "St Louis Italian" experience. But if you visit with an open mind and a desire to "try something new" I am confident your experience will be worthy of a follow up visit! Beef speidini was a fantastic starter. Lobster Raviloli and Veal Parm were great choices for our entrees and they paired beautifully with our 2011 Super Tuscan #Mangía #MoriartyParty read more

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The only reason that I'm giving three stars is because of the service and the beef carpaccio. Our server was very good and attentive. The food was mediocre and expensive. If you're looking for à la cart then I guess this place is for you if you want to spend a small fortune. I ordered the halibut and it was very dry, it had a good sauce but not enough of it to cover the dryness. My husband ordered the scallops and they were undercooked. If you're looking for sides, don't let them fool you with a shareable size because the dishes are tiny. We were excited when we heard an Italian restaurant was moving into the neighborhood and, being the foodies that we are, we definitely wanted to try it. We did, but I can't say that we will go back. read more

First of all, BEAUTIFUL restaurant. Such a cool design and a perfect location in Webster. Next, let's talk about my dream come true. The Raviolo. What's better than the most perfect food in the world, ravioli? A GIANT RAVIOLO, the size of your plate, with mascarpone, and a duck egg in the center to burst open into a delectable sauce. Wow. The desserts were unreal, the Mayfair is a legendary salad. The cocktails were perfect, and let's face it, this place knows wine, so the selection is perfect and they recommend great bottles to compliment your order. This place is for sure a regular destination, go as soon as possible. read more

My friend and I got a late reservation and walking into the beautiful space, transformed from the previous CJ Muggs was lovely and intimate. I ordered some well-seasoned oysters and paired it with some refreshing rosè recommended by Alisha Blackwell-Calvert the advanced sommelier with Madrina. I finished with the tiramisu cake, a sweet treat perfect for sharing. I'm definitely going to make it a point to come back and explore more of the menu. read more

Madrina - Oysters - Italian Near Me - Webster Groves, Missouri

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Everything was excellent. The staff was very attentive. We love the food. I am looking forward to the next visit.

The service at this restaurant is horrible. The waitress we had is the absolutely worst waitress I have ever had in my life at any restaurant. We brought our son here for his birthday meal and we totally regret that decision. The prices for everything are completely over priced. Do not come this restaurant. read more

Seriously....whats all the complaining about? Was excited to finally get to Madrina, as it's been on my bucket list since it opened. I had only heard good things, so I'm further confused by the people leaving negative review. The space is beautiful. Date night vibes for sure with the low lighting, the red button back seats, and the mirrors. Madrina oozes charm, and screams upscale without being pretentious. The restaurant was busy but not packed on a Thursday night at 7, and there was a good buzz of conversation in the air that was the perfect decibel level. Let's start with the service. We were greeted by what I'd guess was a sommelier who asked if help was needed with the wine list. Shortly after we were greeted by our server Semso, who was an absolute delight and very attentive the duration of our night. We started with the mussels. How has no one mentioned these yet? These are the biggest mussels I've had, possibly anywhere. Definitely in St Louis. Fresh, tasty, and the broth creamy and absolutely amazing. My one gripe here is that there should have been more broth served with them, and a spoon to help portion it out. Will most definitely go back for the mussels alone! I had the spaghetti chitarra carbonara for my main dish and it was delightful as well. Creamy, peppery, and the guanciale perfectly crispy but not overdone. I wish I had saved room for tiramisu, but that on top of how great my first visit to Madrina was give me plenty of reason to get back soon! read more

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I was not totally impressed with this place. I was so excited to try it. Nothing was bad, it was just ok. We did not think the whipped ricotta was flavorful at all. We barely ate any of it, although the presentation was beautiful. My salad was ok; I'd heard about their Mayfair so I wanted to try it. My halibut was a good sized piece of fish. A few capers on it; sauce was good. The calamari & shrimp appetizer was very tasty: The last disappointment was the dessert. You could choose from a cannoli or tiramisu. I was surprised that was all they had. We didn't get any dessert; my favorite part of the meal! Our service was good; Scott took care of us. It was very bright in there I feel like the mood was lost. And bare walls. Cpuld be really cozy and has potential. I would definitely give it some more time and try again. We went on NYE. I'm glad I tried it. read more

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Great food, service and ambiance. Webster needs to hold onto this little Italian gem.

This is a great destination for that special dinner. The wine service and selection are fantastic. Alisha is a star for all of St Louis, and matched with Stanley's wine knowledge, a very potent combination. The food is fantastic and they have so many dishes that are exceptional. Highly recommend. The ambiance is old world hip and cool, but also has elegance and style. read more

Madrina - Italian Near Me - Webster Groves, Missouri

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I want to preface this, I had extremely high hopes with a new restaurant opening in the neighborhood and I will start with the pros. The ambience was great, although empty. The wine was also good but it almost ends there. For starters, the bathroom was dirty. The bathroom had toilet paper and paper towels on the floor, and I expect better from a restaurant holding itself to this caliber. When we were seated, we decided to order glasses of wine instead of bottles and the glasses on our table were left there until we were ordering our second glass, leaving our table cluttered and an oversight on the servers side. Overall, service was extremely slow and our server was very awkward. We ordered our starters and it took nearly 30-40 minutes to receive them. After waiting we placed our order for our entrees and we're told we had to place our entire order at once. Although someone who had been seated 20 minutes after us had received their starters before us, although placing them after us. Drink orders (a glass of wine and gin and tonic) took over 20 minutes to receive. Often frustrated that our server wasn't attentive, servers were seen hanging out at the bar, leading to long wait times (hence the long drink wait times). The only stand out was the whipped ricotta, which I would order again but didn't wouldn't come back just for one dish. When we finally received our entree, our Manicotti and pizza were almost inedible. The Manicotti tasted like iron and the pizza was much more of a flatbread than a pizza, along with extremely bready dough. We didn't have more than 5 bites. As a matter of fact, the steak was the best thing we had but if we wanted steak, we'd go elsewhere. Overall, I could go to a handful of other restaurants for better Italian food, let alone pasta. This place won't survive long - after a nearly $400 bill later there are so many other restaurants I'd go to, such as Olive and Oak down the street. read more

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A nice place for old style Italian food in an atmosphere a bit more elevated than typical. Our server said they go for a steakhouse vibe, which is fine, but we were there for Italian. Not a negative, but basically irrelevant to us. Bread service is not included gratis, which we were told first thing. An option under antipasti was recommended if we wanted it, which was whipped ricotta with grilled bread. Appetizers are always overpriced in my opinion, so $12 for bread and whipped soft cheese seemed a bit much. However, it was a ton of whipped ricotta, and the server said she would bring more bread when we wanted it - which she did. Ricotta was drizzled with honey and flower petals - both visually appealing and tasty (the ricotta and honey, petals had no flavor to me). Bread was lightly buttered and grilled focaccia and sourdough. A good choice to start. The wife's salad, House on the Hill, was just pretty standard. My mushroom soup was quite good. A variety of fresh mushrooms in a thicker sauce/soup. I was afraid it would be too rich, but it was just right. It was quite heavy on the mushroom vs. soup ratio, which I quite enjoyed. The wife's manicotti was also good, but pretty typical for decent Italian joint. My chicken marsala was an entire half chicken with the breast deboned, but the leg bone in. Chicken breast was flavorful and tender. The attached wing was bone in, and I quickly decided it was going to be decoration only - too difficult to get much meat with the marsala sauce on it. All that ricotta and soup left me too full to eat the leg, so that came home for leftovers. However, I suspect it would have been a bit of work to remove the meat with knife and fork. Sauce was darker and thicker than I'm used to, with a lot of mushrooms. Had an earthier flavor than I prefer too. It was okay, but I've preferred the dish more from more laid back places. read more

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Very tasty. Went with friends and shared a 20oz t bone, a pasta, and some appetizers. It was good but steak was not worth the price. I would go back to try other dishes tho! read more

Highly recommend! Good food, great service! I had the hangar steak, beets and polenta. It was an amazing combination. My dining companion ordered the scallops which looked equally tasty. The Mayfair salad alone is worth a return. Prices are reasonable. My only criticism is I would like to see a wider selection of red wines by the glass. read more

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This is my second visit to this restaurant. Want to keep giving it a chance since it's near me so allowing time for them to workout the typical challenges owners face as things settle in with kitchen and staff. As always, I love the ambiance... great lighting etc. I sat at the bar for dinner both visits. The wait staff is pleasant, I'd appreciate a little more engagement from them but again, they may be turning over staff at this time and still getting acquainted with things. Had the Mayfair salad, and that was full of flavor and I would get this again. We also had clam pasta. This lacked some flavor, I noticed another patron asking for salt and pepper to add more interest to it. The clams were good, the pasta was cooked fine. I had a mushroom spinach tortellini. That was a fun dish as far as appearance. It was filling so a good value. Flavor was a bit lacking for me. Will keep trying this restaurant and hoping things evolve as new restaurants typically do. read more

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We went to Madrina to celebrate my birthday, and what a night it was! We were greeted with a birthday wish, the service was excellent, the drinks were great and the food was also delicious. I was given a complementary desert for my birthday, it was yummy and made me feel very special on my birthday. Absolutely would return to Madrina for a great meal and a yummy cocktail! read more