Madre Stanford — Restaurant in Overstrand Local Municipality

We have been going to Madre for many years even before all her success.... brilliant service brilliant food... amazing venue.... the old one with their own garden and the children playing all over.....we taught that we would come and look at the new venue and although it's extremely posh and at the time we arrived I counted 6 open tables..... walking in and not even being attended to was quite a disappointment but then when we were eventually asked under what name our reservation was by and I don't want to sound rude here....one of the most obnoxious and stuck-up ladies I have ever met in my life....only to tell you that sorry we are fully booked even though they had 6 open tables at the time was really disappointing.....we did turn around and obviously left but you really got the feeling that you were not welcome because of who you are or how you look.... being looking down onto.... I met with a client today and told her about our experience and she had exactly the same experience and the time that they actually got a table she commented that they didn't enjoy the experience because of the high society vibes that was all over the place..... it's with extreme sadness that I most likely not dine at Madre again nor will I be promoting it again and that's sad.... because of where they came from.... humble beginnings to such high society..... thanks for the good old memories...

Last month, my mother and I decided to try Madre's for the first time for my birthday. We were disappointed with our experience as we had certain expectations considering the reviews we saw online giving such high praise. While the food wasn't the worst I've had, it certainly wasn't the best. The walls need repainting; it is peeling everywhere. We had to sit inside due to weather, and felt cramped, as we put in a little corner. The decor could be updated.

The cutlery was dirty, and not on a plate or wrapped in a serviette but brought by a man in his hands, who was wearing slip slops. We were served by three different people. No complimentary sides such as bread or breadsticks were brought.

I enjoyed my risotto starter, but my mother paid for the same price for butternut gnocchi which only had three pieces and was incredibly greasy. The gnocchi didn't hold their shape and were too mushy. We decided to share a main of linefish with caper sauce; it was underwhelming, tasteless, with a few thin slices of cob and had only 2 baby potatoes, 2 hard green beans and 1 hard stem of broccoli.

The quality of food, portion size, and lack of professionalism for a place considered fine dining didn't match up especially considering the expensive prices.

Unfortunately, we won't be...

We had a table outside on the patio, which was indefectible and tranquil. Soon, the calm atmosphere and our relaxed Sunday turned into a lurid experience when we were: (1) confronted with (what we regarded as rather unprofessional) comments from the front-of-house (Morne) when we started ordering our food (and did not order any alcoholic beverages). We had to listen to these throughout our visit. (2) the food was overloaded with salt to the extent that it was unpleasant to eat (some of us had upset digestive systems for a few days afterwards). (3) when we provided constructive feedback on the beyond-salty food to the front-of-house in a professional, calm and kind manner, he became defensive and made further (unprofessional) comments. At no point did he offer to call the chef (his wife, Madre) to address our concerns. (4) when it came to settling the bill (and we were still starstruct after all of the above), Morne swiftly chipped in and suggested what the total fee and tip should be – this is a BIG no-no!!! (5) The price of the food and the taste thereof were in direct contrast to one another. In short, the ambience was fine while the service/ front-of house and food were a complete disappointment. We will not give them our...