Madeo

You know how you read about 5 star "...best in L.A." reviews from just about any restaurant only to find out you could have swung by Jack in the Box and gotten better service (and sometimes even food)?! Well THIS is definately NOT one of THOSE places. I was pleasantly surprised by the attentiveness of everyone at Madeo. From the hostess to the bus boy, every need and desire was quickly satisfied. The food is just excellent! My party had 3 different dishes, 2 different appetizers and ALL were jam packed with flavor! Their lemon drop martinis are amazing! Even the owner came out to offer his company and conversation. I look forward to visitting again!

We had an excellent experience at this resturant. Had heard that it was good. Everyone was very professional.... hostess, bartender,waiter, food...all made it a great experience. we'll definately go back the next time we are in LA.

Fantastic Italian food made even better by the great service, knowledgeable staff. I could have gone there several nights in a row!

great food, warm and friendly staff, lovely ambiance -- all in all a wonderful LA dining experience -- molto bene!

No kidding. The best friggin italian I've ever had. Spectacular bolognese spaghetti. House wine (the house wines!) were great - great sign. Service was super and attentive ... even the owner was friendly. And this on a very busy Saturday ... the ultimate test for a restaurant. Oh... they should bring back their meatball dish. they had to make it for us, but man ... we ordered 4 of those suckers. (it was goooood!)

One of the best dining experiences I have ever had. Amazing food, service, and an amazing LA scene.

for nearly 20 years, madeo has been my favorite LA restaurant, one of the few where service is sublime no matter your level of recognizability. the food is superb; as long as they serve sliced leg of veal with roasted potatoes and spinich, i'll continue to be there

i will recommend this restaurant to anyone!!!Fabulous

We had a reservation for 7:30pm. We had to take a cab from our hotel in Hollywood. With the traffic, we were concerned about being a little late. We arrived right at 7:30. We walked in and were greeted by the friendly hostess and told that our table was ready and waiting. We were seated right away, which was a pleasant surprise. Our waiter wasn't overly friendly, but very professional for such a classy establishment. We weren't rushed into ordering anything and overall, our waiter was very good. While we were looking over the menu, the owner of the restaurant came over and personally greeted us. We noticed that he did this whenever someone new was seated. We thought that was a very nice and personal touch. The dinner was great. I started with the Beef Carpaccio which was absolutely fantastic. I had the spinach and ricotta ravioli as my main course, which was just enough to be satisfied, but not overly full. At the end of the meal, I ordered a grappa. They did not have the specific kind that I wanted, but the waiter told me he would substitute one that was similar. He couldn’t have got it any closer as I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between the grappa that I requested and the one which he brought. Obviously, he knew his grappa, which is a rare thing for waiters to know these days. Another pleasant surprise! Overall, this was a great place. The service was great. The food was great. And even though the restaurant was obviously filled to capacity, we were not rushed through our meal. After we left, it was interesting to walk through the waiting paparazzi outside, who were actually very friendly and struck up a conversation with us while we waited for the valet to get us a cab. I would most certainly go back to this restaurant and I will recommend it to my friends who are in the area.

Awesome food and service!

Thank you for a perfect evening!

This is the best italian food I have eaten in California. Its like a New York City restaurant!

This was the best food I have ever had. The service was excellant. Luigi our waiter was so welcoming and made the experience even better. The best steak and ravioli ever. I would recommend Madeos to anyone who visits LA. Thank you for such an amazing evening.

Madeo continues to deliver! Another great meal with impeccable service. Delicious Pasta and Seafood, one of the best Italian Restaurants in LA. Fresh Pasta, wonderful sauces, excellent seafood, Bronzini is delicious! Great Wine list. Worth the visit!

We and our customers were satisfied with all in Madeo. Our customers have kept talking about MADEO after they came back to Japan. Thanks!

Authentic, down to earth, delicious food. I'm Italian and the pasta tasted EXACTLY like my grandmothers sauce. Comfort food, relaxed atmosphere but BUSY, so make a reservation.

Dinning at Madeo was a pretty good time. If you want a great selection of Italian wines and wines from any other country, its well worth a visit. The food was quite good as well, we chose some classics. Veal Milanese and Spaghetti Bolognase. The wait staff was prompt and polite. We got some complimentary Lemoncellos as well. The place is small, noisy, and a very mixed crowd, from families to business folks.

The pasta with eggplant and mozzarella was fabulous. It's the place to see the people who want to be scene. Fun

I never get tired of Madeo's. It's been here forever and for good reason. The food is excellent (especially the pizza) and the staff are great. It can get VERY busy though. And I had to wait 45 mins to be seated even with a reservation. Also it can get very loud. Great place for a big table of friends or family. Maybe not so much for a romantic dinner (my business partner and I had to keep asking each other to repeat what we said -- the acoustics here are not great). But the atmosphere and energy are always fun. Go but try and go a little early or a little late, avoid the crowds and the hustle and bustle and you'll be rewarded with great food!

If you are in the mood for fresh homemade melt-in-your mouth pasta, go to Madeo.

portions could be larger

Great place to have a romantic dinner!

Excellent food and service, would go back again, and would recommend to others

perfect

Good food and efficient staff. Noise was energetic.

Fabulous dinner, well worth the price!!!!

I went to this restaurant on July 13 for my birthday. Madeo was a great experience as far as the food, atmosphere and service was concerned. The reason I give them 3 stars is because there was an error on the bill and I was given the runaround which I don't appreciate from a 5-star restaurant. I did not notice the error until I got home but there was a $20 error in addition from the total amount and the tip. In my tipsiness I did not add correctly.

When trying to get the error fixed it was like a hamster on a wheel. I called first thing Monday morning only to be told the bookkeeper was not in. I called back later in the day only to be told the bookkeeper had already left for the day. I called back Tuesday and was told the bookkeeper was eating lunch and to call back in 30 min. When I FINALLY got thru to the bookkeeper she did not ask me my name or attempt to look up the receipt. She told me to fax over the copy of the receipt with an explanation of what happened. I did so and called back Wednesday morning only to be told the fax had not been received.

WTF?? This is supposee to be a 5-star restaurant! She told me to fax it over again but by this time I was so exasperated I decided to just go thru my bank. They credited me the $20 after hearing my story but Madeo still made extra money off me which I am not thrilled about. I would recommend this place if you want EXCELLENT Italian food and nice service but in this economy it seems like even the rich people can be thieves.

Not worth the money or time. Food was very average, I'd not below & we were there early! Don't waste your time.

Waste of time and the Italian food is just so so. The prices are somewhere off in outer space. I wished I would have liked it but I just couldn't. The interior design is something my grandparents would like and by the way the restaurant is in a basement of a building. Not much to say about this place but won't be back and even if invited to dine there....nope!

We were so excited to try it for the first time and I don't know if it was because we were two younger looking girls there alone or what. We were finally sat 45 minutes after our reservation. We brought our own wine and it took at least another 15-20 minutes for someone to come over to us with menus and to open our wine. Our waiter didn't seem into it at all. We ordered an appetizer and entrees which came out in a fair amount of time I guess, but he never checked back on us and after we were done eating it took at least 20 minutes for him or whoever to clear our table, etc. Dessert was out of the question since we had already been there for almost 3 hours. This is such a well known fancy place so I imagine service is not usually that horrible, but I wouldn't go back to find out or recommend it to a friend. It's expensive and I would expect to get the service I pay for. We probably shouldn't have left without saying something, but thank god we had good company in each other.

We were so excited to try it for the first time and I don't know if it was because we were two younger looking girls there alone or what. We were finally sat 45 minutes after our reservation. We brought our own wine and it took at least another 15-20 minutes for someone to come over to us with menus and to open our wine. Our waiter didn't seem into it at all. We ordered an appetizer and entrees which came out in a fair amount of time I guess, but he never checked back on us and after we were done eating it took at least 20 minutes for him or whoever to clear our table, etc. Dessert was out of the question since we had already been there for almost 3 hours. This is such a well known fancy place so I imagine service is not usually that horrible, but I wouldn't go back to find out or recommend it to a friend. It's expensive and I would expect to get the service I pay for. We probably shouldn't have left without saying something, but thank god we had good company in each other.