Modena Italian Eatery — Restaurant in Gauteng

I'm extremely disappointed with the service I received at Modena Italian Restaurant. While the food was delicious and our waitress, Queen, was attentive and managed our table of six well, the experience was marred by a disturbing incident.

When my sister received her main course, she noticed a hair in her food. We immediately brought it to the attention of our waitress, who apologised and took the dish back. However, the manager and owner's response was completely unacceptable.

Instead of apologising and taking responsibility, they questioned the authenticity of our claim, implying that the hair must have come from my sister. This was despite our waitress confirming that she had seen the hair. To make matters worse, the hair in question was significantly different from my sister's hair. The fact that the manager and owner even hinted at the possibility that the hair came from my sister was not only untrue but also insulting.

Their condescending tone and refusal to take responsibility made us feel uncomfortable and disrespected. What's even more surprising is that this establishment prides itself on being a high-end restaurant, but their response to a legitimate complaint was completely unprofessional.

The only reason I'm giving Modena Italian Restaurant 2 stars instead of 1 is because of our exceptional waitress, Queen. She was attentive, apologetic, and professional throughout the entire ordeal. Her service was a shining star in an otherwise disappointing experience.

As a paying customer, I expect a certain level of service, respect, and accountability, especially from a restaurant that claims to offer a premium dining experience. Unfortunately, Modena Italian Restaurant failed to deliver on this. While the food was good, the service and management's attitude were appalling. Unfortunately, we will not...

Such an amazing experience, the vibe and service here are just impeccable. I had the calamari for starters, and honestly, I’ve been so disappointed of most calamari around the world; the batter is too eggy, the batter doesn’t stick to the calamari, it’s not crispy… but Modena just really just nails this perfectly. It’s quite obvious that Modena is so confident in their calamari, that they don’t feel the necessity to hide it too much batter or too many sauces. They have just enough sauce to enrichen the experience, with the calamari itself still being the highlight of the dish. I’ve only had one better fried calamari in my life, where the batter was slightly lighter, but honestly having this as my second (after having been to Greece) is so amazing and I wish I could have it again.

For my main I had the octopus-crab spaghetti. This was also quite delightful, most of the things worked quite well but there was just something that didn’t really compose the meal well together as a whole. The crab was wonderful, the octopus was slightly dry…. but perhaps what unfortunately didn’t really do as well was the pasta. It was undersalted, and lacked some acidity or something that made it stand out for me. Salt can always be added of course, but there’s just something with pasta that’s cooked in perfect salinity that makes it taste so wonderful. If it hadn’t been because of this, this restaurant would definitely been a 5/5 for me, but since it marked itself as an Italian restaurant, I think it’s fair to peg it down a notch on its pasta. Having that said, I think four is still a wonderful review score and I highly recommend this restaurant among the ones in...

Dinner for 4, visiting from Australia recently. Booking made online by one of our friends. On arrival warmly welcomed by staff. Seated at our table and lovely server Laureen looked after us for the night.

The experience at this establishment was above and beyond! I was taken back by the level of service, the extraordinary quality of the food being served, and the attention to detail on the plate.

Firstly, coming from service, I was astonished and really taken back by Laureen!!! Her knowledge of the food menu, she knew exactly all the specials, what each menu item contained, any allergens present. She was able to understand the diners needs and wants, and provide that experience! This started off the remarkable evening we had, as it was Laureen that made this experince! She is an exceptional serve!!!

Ambience, was very nice, classy and elegant but yet casual enough for a family and friends dinner! The establishment created a warm and friendly atmosphere with a homely feel.

Food - What a night!! My love for seafood was definitely served. Fresh, delicious, cooked to perfection, seasoned to tantalize the taste buds. The portion size was just perfect, the serving of seafood was liberal and very good! I noted other tables with similar seafood dishes (it was the special for the night) and they looked so good!! Definitely returning back!!!

Modena you served an amazing experience and made a very happy customer, and a return customer the next time I am in Joburg!!! You have an amazing team of staff and a star apart of your team in Laureen who will go very far!!! I am very much looking forward to coming back to Modena....