Matilda Restaurant — Restaurant in Chicago

While the food and atmosphere were great, the service was horrible. Specifically from our server.

While I can’t recall his name, he was a tall, muscular, dark haired man with tattoos on his arms.

Let me start by saying within his section, there were only three tables, all with 3 customers or less. (At my table it was myself and one other person).

When placing our order for appetizers, he told us that there was no more guacamole. However, there was a table of two that came in 30 minutes later that was served guacamole, despite him previously telling us that there was none available.

For my main dish I ordered the Paella. When it was served there was chorizo on top (which the menu does not state). Due to dietary restrictions I was unable to eat the dish & had to send it back. However, we had to track down another waiter to actually remove the dish because once our server took our orders, he never came back to the table to check on us. The other server happily took my dish and gave me a fresh dish with no chorizo, however, our original server NEVER came back to the table to check on us, so he had no idea/ didn’t care about the discrepancy with my order. Then we waited for about 30 minutes before having to track down another server to request boxes and the check. Mind you our server had walked by our table several times and saw that we were finished eating however, he never came back to acknowledge us or ask us if we wanted boxes.

When the other server brought us our boxes, we asked to speak to a manager, and he asked why? We told him that we were unhappy with the service. It was only then that our original server came back to the table, and at that point, he was not apologetic however he told us he was “doing the best that he could”, despite there being low traffic in his section and in the restaurant. He then brought us a “free dessert” however that doesn’t compensate for his horrible service and...

I visited Matilda with high expectations, and I booked a table a week in advance. In many respects, the meal lived up to its promise. The food is exceptional: creative, authentic, and beautifully executed. I would have given five stars, but a few service issues cost one.

Highlights • The Conchas starter impressed me: its inventive presentation and sparklingly fresh seafood brought back the bright, citrusy flavors of the ceviche I tasted in Lima. • The tacos were both familiar and novel, authentic flavors with a thoughtful twist in texture. • The paella, while a bit more moist than traditional Spanish style, benefited from that moisture: it deepened the flavor, and the mix of seafood and vegetables created a joyful explosion of taste with every bite.

Service & Experience • Despite my reservation, we were seated at a very small tea-table. For a dinner meant for catching up, it felt cramped from the start. • When I asked for a few more minutes to order, the waiter’s curt “okay” felt more dismissive than accommodating. • Before we’d finished the starter, both mains arrived, crowding the small table without serving spoons and nearly displacing my plate. • Our waiter never checked in; I had to signal him to share feedback.

The shift manager, however, responded graciously and promptly. From that point on, the service improved dramatically.

Overall

Matilda is a rising star in Chicago’s dining scene. Its cuisine combines authentic recipes with creativity, balancing flavor, presentation, and texture—a rare and valuable three-dimensional approach. With improved staff training and service consistency, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Matilda earn exceptional recognition...

Mixed experience at Matilda. Sat at the bar and ordered Guacamole and Cheek Birria Guiso. The presentations are very impressive. Guac comes as whole charred avocado that you cut up and mix with sauce in the bowl, but taste was unimpressive. Somewhat bitter, perhaps due to the charring, and with none of the typical guac ingredients - garlic/cilantro/tomato/onion - it was just a somewhat bland avocado in a citrus sauce. Chips were served as full fried tortillas, but fried earlier in the day and a little stale. Guiso was better. Slow cooked beef with fresh corn tortillas, black beans, and a few spicy sauces on the side. It was good, but to be honest I stopped by a food truck on way home to grab a Quesabirria and enjoyed that more.

Service mixed. I was on my own for the evening and at the bar, but its a small bar with three servers, and I had to wave down for service. No one asked for drink orders. No one cleaned up my dishes for around 10 minutes until I piled them up and pushed them to the side. On the other hand everyone very friendly and they didn't rush me out the door when I was done, so more like non-service than bad service.

Not a bad experience, and its full and lively and great people watching, but food...