Restauracja La Maddalena — Restaurant in Wrocław

Arrived just before 8 pm. Was given the choice to sit in the restaurant or outside; as I felt the inside to be rather stuffy I hesitantly said out (thinking it meant sitting on the sidewalk) and was pleasantly surprised to find myself redirected to an inner courtyard instead.

The service then turned abysmal; I was left with the menus for what I felt to be an unreasonably long time. There was no offer of water, or even basic table setting with cutlery, just me becoming increasingly impatient as I looked around at the patrons at other tables having a delightful time. There was a waitress that would go around and seemingly ignoring me on purpose, by avoiding looking at my direction every single time I tried to make eye contact. I won't lie that I had briefly entertained the thought to find a different place for dinner, but only the smell of delicious food around me kept me on.

After what felt like fifteen minutes, a new waitress came for my order. She was uncomfortably expressionless, and indeed rather slow with bringing the bread basket.

The sourdough itself I have no complains about. It served wonderfully with the fig butter that accompanied it. What made me raise an eyebrow was rather the amount I was given, versus other patrons that also dined singularly. I had four slices, which was more than enough, however the other single diners had a heaping basket and several butters. (Keep in mind when I came they had already finished their starter or main!) Nor did my water have a lemon slice. Some may find me unreasonably picky, but I tend to notice tiny details and deviation of them (especially concerning my person) makes me wonder why.

Was it racism, perhaps? Or just a coolness towards tourists? I was the only person of color, appeared to be at an age I could not afford much, and clearly was not Polish. That was what I thought at first, yet as the night went on I could see that new diners that the same waitress was server for were treated the same way.

The mild annoyance was entirely forgotten when my main came (skipped starter as the only one I wanted wasn't available). I ordered the beef steak. Everything was placed carefully so it looked like an artistic creation from every angle. The accompanying potato gratin was buttery yet light, the asparagus fresh, and the salad delicious with its mild honey mustard dressing. The steak (and star of the plate) was indescribably perfect. Brown with a slice of rose pink throughout, combining a melt in the mouth centre with perfectly charred sides. The first bite I took I instinctively closed my eyes in delight. The sauce was so good I used the remaining bread to mop up every last drop (and was tempted to scrap the plate with my knife). And the carrot... this may sound extremely weird, but I would rate the carrot almost equal to the steak. I'm not entirely sure what magic was done because I can easily say that never had I eaten such delicious vegetables before. Like I said, (unexpected but very welcome) weird.

The main was such a delight I knew that I had to try a dessert, despite feeling rather full. Plus on the bright side, the waitress finally moved her face of stone and gave me a slight smile when I said the food was perfect.

Again, the dessert was beautifully plated. Very deconstructed, if that's your thing; I generally prefer mine to be in the centre. Spent a few minutes bemusedly scooping around the plate with a spoon.

The price for the quantity and quality of the food is entirely worth the prices they charge. If this restaurant was in the city I live in, the bill would reach double.

Someone who thought that this was a place for a quick dinner or accustomed to fast service would undoubtedly be disappointed. In total, my two course dinner took more than an hour. But the food and prices are so good it's worth coming here to rewind, and have a relaxing time. I know that I'll come here again before leaving Wroclaw, eating in the courtyard with a book of love poetry. Lazy chatter around me softly bubbling towards the...

Overall a really good meal, one of the best i have had for a fair few months. The waiter was efficient, knowledgeable and very conciencious. He is training as a sommelier so his wine knowledge was really impressive. There was no pressure to upsell which is good. The wine we choose was the Rioja which was a nice weight and not dusty as some reservas can be, it was a good match to the food bar pudding but you cant be every wine to every dish.

The food I had beef tartare. Well cut nice gerkins etc a yolk all good and very tasty. Amy had gnocchi which was very cloud like. I had halibut which as they had run out of muscles only came with 2. It was very honest if the waiter to warn us. It was melt in the mouth and overall lively. It came with celeriac which was super tasty as it can often be bland. Amy had a steak which was seared medium rare and really well done.

I had a chocolate fondant which was really melty and had a lovely cherry compote. To much for me but i easily found a volunteer to finish it.

I was worried that the menu looked fiddly but it all worked well and was sooooo tasty. It came to just over a 1000z for 4 people which is great value for the quality or the food and wine.

If younfancy a treat then i would...

Horrible behavior. It was my girlfriend's birthday. I book a table and I said that we will come at 9. The girl at the phone says "okay but we close at 10". I agree that in one hour we will enjoy a meal but when we arrived the man at the door refuses to let us enter saying that the kitchen is already closed. When I asked some explanations, he replied that his girlfriend said that they will close at 10 but their kitchen will close at 9. She didn't mention this at the phone, and why we would have booked a table at 9 if we couldn't eat? To watch their walls? Not even one "sorry" from the owner, we just had to go to another place. What a shame. If you claim to be "close to Michelin star", well, it's not just about your food (that we couldn't try, and be sure I won't step anymore in your "restaurant") but obviously if you do this as a business and not as a hobby, you should learn to treat people with respect. I hope the same will happen to you and your girlfriend, so maybe you will learn how we were treated tonight. A horrible experience, really. For me, this place deserves less than one star, honestly one of the worst places I...