Madison's Restaurant — Restaurant in Highlands

Excellent dining experience! Every staff member was extremely friendly and helpful which helped set the tone for a very enjoyable evening of truly dining and not just eating a meal. We are guests at Half-Mile Farm, an Old Edwards property and rode the shuttle from the farm to Madison’s. We were contacted several times in advance to make certain our arrangements were suitable and to confirm a couple of days beforehand. The atmosphere of Madison’s is very warm and inviting with a nice fireplace on a chilly evening, a comfortable sitting area and a beautiful Christmas tree. We were offered drinks while we waited and escorted to our table a bit prior to our actual reservation. Wait staff was very prompt in bringing us a selection of waters and drink offerings along with menus and a recitation of evening specials. My wife opted for the flounder of the evening and a couple of sides while the trout dish was calling my name. Laila, our server, offered us a buttermilk lavosh and local pimento cheese that was scrumptious and in a few moments, our bread server brought a selection of various breads and a delicious side of butter. Our main courses arrived shortly afterwards and both were every bit as tasty as we anticipated. The fishes were prepared perfectly and the sides paired well. We ordered some decaffeinated coffee and split a banana pudding with ice cream dessert that was the die for! Laila paced our meal very well and Celine checked in a couple of times to make sure we were pleased. We enjoyed chatting with her about her home country of Germany and having visited the region where she lived, had a good conversation with her about her homeland. This is a truly delightful venue where you are treated like guests in someone’s home and at a very comfortable, leisurely pace which is in keeping with the overall ambiance. I highly...

Madison's provides one of the most beautiful dinners available in Western North Carolina. We had the pleasure of staying at the Old Edwards Inn for our Honeymoon and had a cocktail down in the exquisitely maintained wine garden. Even though you're right next to a road, you'd never know with the stunning water feature and well-manicured garden.

We walked up the stairs to Madison's from the garden to check in with the host stand who were lovely and very accommodating. We waited for a new minutes in the comfy lounge area and admired the furniture and art. We were seated at a table for two overlooking the waterfall and wine garden and we were even able to open the window to enjoy the summer breeze.

Our service team was impeccable, with our server able to eloquently describe every dish on the menu. She brought us over a few samples of her favorite glasses of white wine before sending Jarred, the sommelier, over. We ended up starting with the scallops and then getting the short rib and duck for our entrees. Jarred was a true rockstar. On a busy night, he took time to walk us through the menu and recommend a small format white burgundy to start with our scallops and then helped us decide on a bottle of red for dinner. His knowledge and kindness pairing as well as duck and a Bordeaux red. He spent time telling us about the specific region of Burgundy our wine was from and why it was so interesting from the terroir to the producer. It was also a wonderfully valued wine (

What a shame. We have been frequent customers of Old Edwards Inn for more than 10 years. This is the first year that I have ever been so horribly disappointed by the service and the attitude of the staff. It is so difficult to communicate with the staff, and they rarely get it right the first time. I called in for a spa reservation, they told me they would call back but never did. At Madison’s, after slow and inattentive service, the server lost my business credit card on the way to the cash register. I have called to follow up twice today and have been ignored, and was sarcastically told “cheerio” at the end of the last call, even though I was truly kind when I checked in.

The Williams’s business philosophy is that their people make all the difference. I am sure they are unaware and would be disgraced at how ungratefully and dismissively their employees are currently caring for this enterprise.

A five star experience demands more than a one star approach to staffing. During the past year, OEI has lost some of their longest standing and most wonderful employees that made the environment truly transcendent. Whoever replaced these precious gems is behaving as a sorry substitute, and I feel sadly disinclined to not return. I wish that as a company, they would do more to retain the employees that actually do their best.

The once lovely place seems to be overrun with staff that is pretentious, lazy, and borderline mean. Something seems strangely wrong.

Please make your staff accountable!

You just lost a...