la Madeleine — Restaurant in Alexandria

Simply horrible! This place is a joke. If I could give it a "zero" rating, I would.

We decided to walk around Old Town Alexandria, since it was a nice day/afternoon. My 85-year old mom was feeling like she need to stop and take a bit of a rest. We decided to stop of at La Madeleine to get a bite, since the other locations I have been to have been CLEAN and service very PROFESSIONAL and COURTEOUS. Did not get that feeling at this location!!

When we entered, I immediately realized that some of the tables were not clean and dishes left. We decided to order, and when we went up to the counter, the lady obviously had no customer service skills, or just decided not to employ them. One of our orders was a Egg and Cheese Croissant sandwich, but I wanted it with 7-seed bread. When I started ordering, she curtly ask how I wanted the eggs, so I asked what are my options? She looked like I asked a foreign question. One option was "white" eggs. I asked if she meant egg whites, and her response was "I would assume". Hmmmm.....I went the high road, and said OK, I will take the regular scrambled eggs, with 7-seed multigrain bread, my girlfriend ordered a salad, and my mom ordered what I ordered, on a croissant.

My girlfriends order comes first (after 10 minutes). The soup she got with her salad was a bit salty, but the salad (with chicken) looked/tasted good. That was all that ended up good...

My mom and I waited an additional 30 MINUTES for our sandwiches. They really need to get more help in the place. I asked one of the ladies about our order, and she said "go to the cashier to order". I told her we already ordered, so she when back to ask about it. When our order came, it was embarrassing. The bread was not toasted and not 7-seed (I asked for toasted) and looked like it was just pulled out of the bread bag, the bacon was soft and limp (asked for crispy), and the eggs were dry. At that point, I was upset because the food was horrible, and the service was ridiculous. I wanted to complain, but looking at that place, and attitude of the staff, I don't think it would have done any good. Simply ridiculous!!

If you are in the service industry, take some pride in what you serve, and how you treat people. If you don't like your job, LEAVE!!!

I could also see other folks complaining about their food, and the wait time. The cook seems to move at a turtles pace, and no one working there seemed to care.

If in Old Town, I recommend not stopping by...

We had brunch here on a Sunday. It was packed and alot of customers around us were getting highly irritated and some were requesting refunds and leaving. My husband and I are pretty laid back and realize good food takes some time...so we placed our order and waited while enjoying some complimentary bread and jellies. Our food came out at a normal amount of time and the manager brought it out and made us aware that they were out of the potato galettes. I was very disappointed because that was the main thing I wanted but he offered us other options so we each chose one. After receiving our alternates and thinking nothing more of it...I then kept seeing other waiters/waitresses bring out potato galettes for other customers...though I did not make anyone else aware but my husband of my frustrations...one older lady..I think she was possibly a table buser...noticed or overheard my irritation and confusion, a few minutes later with a smile on her face placed a potato galette right in front of my face! I was so happy for her thoughtfulness and consideration....she definitely made both of our days for showing such kindness. Its people like her that is keeping this world together. We came back later from the ATM to tip her $20 to thank her and tell her she made our day. I wish we could've given her more because she deserves it...God bless her. I would return based on her customer service alone. The food was good and the customer service there was fine...but if they all wanted to go above and beyond as she did...the place would be even better. I could tell she was simply a kind hearted woman and it overtook the whole experience in a...

We came here because it was the only sit down full breakfast restaurant open around 9am. We were hungry.

The other guests we met who sat down next to our table were also from out of town and they were very friendly! This is what made our experience a nice one here.

As one reviewer stated, this is like a French Panera Bread, which is a perfect description. It's not fancy, but the atmosphere is cute, quaint and cozy.

The staff was overwhelmed, but did their best. The phones were ringing, and the cashier who took our order gave us paper cups for our coffees, even though we ate inside the restaurant. I saw other folks getting ceramic coffee cups. I also saw the manager and chef working hard and they seemed overwhelmed too.

We ordered Croque Madame and two coffees. My husband who said these were NOT the typical Croque Madame at all, but we ate them. It was very rich and filling and I could only finish half. The salad that comes with it was nice. Next time I would order something much lighter.

Coffee is self serve at the drink counter. Easy! There was one homeless (?) woman who came in pestering folks getting coffee and yelling at them with her empty cup. She never poured herself a coffee, and as we left the restaurant, she was sitting in a chair near the entrance, talking to herself.

The bathrooms were clean! The loudspeaker inside the bathroom gave French lessons given by a woman with a Vietnamese accent! Haha!

If I am back in Old Town Alexandria, I might stop in again. I am grateful it was open early for us to have breakfast. Most restaurants along King Street were not open...