La Madalena Guadalajara — Restaurant in Jalisco

Let me tell you a story about how I lost 3 hours of my life. Stay tuned you’re going to need this info if you plan to dine here.

Firstly, I must take personal responsibility. We arrived 10 minutes late to our reservation due to a situation with our Uber. When we arrived we were met with what appeared to be a bouncer (?) who told us we were late so we would have to wait for a table to become available. Poor procedure for people spending that much money, but that’s just my humble opinion. The bouncer promised us 25-30 min. (We learned later he was telling everybody that same time) 9:10pm turned to 10:10pm.. we asked multiple times what’s going on. We were standing there, no seating in the cold. Time keeps moving and all of sudden 10:50pm we are called to take a seat.

Look, no food - ever - is worth standing in one place for 2 hours. But we held on and waited it out. The restaurant was cute. Pretty much what you see on TikTok is what it is. (I’ll come back to that later)

We were sat and the overwhelming feeling of chaos took over us. All of the servers are running around like chickens with their heads cut off. Not welcoming.

Fast forward to 11:15pm, 25 short minutes after we were sat we were told to quickly order because the kitchen was closing. They wanted our main course and desert order to rush us out. Unbelievable.

Now let’s talk about the food. Let’s be very clear - this is NOT a chef curated restaurant. This food is mid, very quickly made, served room temperature if that. If there’s any reason to save your money, it’s that. Cocktails were surprisingly good, but the food wanted to be fancy so bad but was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Speaking of clothing, the dress code seemed to be sparkles and bbl lol, we felt super under dressed. Kind of like everybody had attended a gala that night. Could be why we were treated like we did.

Now back to the TikTok thing, this is for my fellow tourists who found out about this place scrolling through videos. You won’t get out of here spending less than ~$125 USD/person with that money you could enjoy authentic, tradicional and much better tasting food, not to mention support locals. But if you insist on going such as I, make a reservation and only order cocktails and maybe an appetizer.

This restaurant is in a plaza with Lululemon, Bentley, Ferragamo etc. and as I said you’re destined to spend some good money here. But just to be blatantly honest, if I am going to spend $xxx.xx USD/ $xxxx.xx MXP then I expect to be treated as if my time matters. People won’t come back for the nice screen on the ceiling, they’ll come back for good food and good service which this restaurant lacks. So I guess they should thank TikTok for their temporary time in the spotlight, but this restaurant likely will not last.

Lastly, as I’ve seen in other reviews, this is specifically for the floor manager Max. Max, your entitled, arrogant and poor attitude will run people off faster than you can find a new place of employment, remember how you treat people will always make a full circle. Let people tip what they want, save the ugly faces you make at people for the mirror when...

The worst food and service.

Uncomfortable Pressure After I ordered an entrée, drinks and two dishes, the staff kept pushing specific items, creating a pressuring atmosphere. I wanted something light, but it seemed they had certain dishes they were determined to sell, as they repeatedly recommended other items in an uncomfortable manner.

Salad The salad was made with old, mushy vegetables. The veggies were clumped together, and there were rotten cherry tomatoes in it. I’ve never encountered such a terrible salad anywhere before.

Order Error I ordered seafood risotto, but a completely different dish was served. The waiter and Alejandro, dressed in a black suit, looked down at us with an uncomfortable expression. There was not a single apology, and instead, they insisted that it was our mistake in ordering. How could my husband, who doesn't even like salmon, have ordered salmon pasta? It was unbelievable. Can you believe they tried to cover up their mistake by blaming us and created an atmosphere where we were expected to just eat it anyway?

Pasta Since it would take time to reorder, I decided to just eat the salmon pasta. However, the pasta wasn’t warm, and the noodles were soggy and overcooked. It felt like someone had left it behind and it was simply put into a new dish. The taste was disgusting. After the spoiled salad, I couldn’t believe such low-quality food was served again.

Unpleasant Attitude I couldn’t eat the pasta. Alejandro, dressed in black suit, looked down at us with an angry expression. The whole atmosphere felt extremely uncomfortable. Normally, in such situations, don’t they apologize and ask if they should remake the dish? Instead, he stormed off into the kitchen and came back, and suddenly, he aggressively started collecting the dishes in front of us, slamming them onto the table!!!!! It was ridiculous. I called the waiter over and asked, "Is Alejandro angry? His attitude is very unpleasant." The waiter agreed. Even others could clearly see that Alejandro was angry.

Unbelievable Service We just wanted to leave as soon as possible because of the awful service. When we asked for the bill, we overheard Alejandro asking, “Aren’t you ordering dessert?” 😠

What he should've said in that situation was, "I apologize for all the inconvenience." However, we never heard an apology, not even as we were leaving.

It seems that he is working in a position that is not suited to his abilities. He has no sense of service whatsoever.

His rude behavior ruined my dining experience. My stomach hurts because of the spoiled salad. I would never recommend this...

Review of Madalena Restaurant:

Despite arriving 15 minutes late to my birthday reservation, I understand the importance of punctuality and take full responsibility for the delay. However, the experience quickly soured as I found myself waiting for an hour to be seated, observing walk-ins being accommodated before me. This departure from the expected priority seating for reserved guests was disheartening, especially after noticing similar complaints in other reviews.

Upon finally being seated, my disappointment continued with the chicharrón de pulpo entree. The texture was unsatisfactory, resembling an over-fried dish that lacked warmth and freshness. Despite expressing my concerns to both the waiter and the manager, their responses were dismissive, leaving me feeling unheard and frustrated.

The chaotic atmosphere, characterized by rushed staff and pressure from floor managers to turnover tables quickly, further contributed to my discomfort and anxiety throughout the meal. Despite the occasion being my birthday, there was no acknowledgment or gesture from the restaurant, adding to the overall feeling of neglect.

To add insult to injury, not only did the restaurant fail to provide a birthday cake/dessert or any form of recognition, but they also proceeded to charge me for the disappointing entree. This blatant disregard for customer satisfaction and failure to uphold basic expectations left a sour taste in my mouth, overshadowing any positive aspects of the dining experience.

Furthermore, the floor manager's annoyed look when I expressed my concerns only exacerbated the sense of being unwelcome and undervalued as a customer.

While the ambiance may be conducive to capturing aesthetically pleasing photos, and the cocktails proved enjoyable, these positives were overshadowed by the lackluster service and subpar dining experience. I would caution others against patronizing Magdalena and recommend seeking out alternative establishments that prioritize customer satisfaction over profit margins. In hindsight, I regret relying on TikTok recommendations without thoroughly researching...