La Pollera Colombiana Restaurant — Restaurant in Madison

I was so excited to try a Colombian restaurant in Madison. What a disappointment. We waited for over 10 minutes before we were seated. We were placed in a booth that only had one side and had to face the wall. I asked to be moved to a nearby table and the waitress said the table was for a party of 4 ( we were two). There was a guy alone in a booth of 4 and the table she said was for 4 people, was later given to a couple of ladies. We waited 25 minutes to finally be helped and we ordered Rotisserie chicken and were informed they had no chicken. We ordered beef empanadas and she said there were no beef empanadas so we ordered two chicken empanadas and a plate of yuca. In the meantime, we asked three times for our dirty table to be cleaned. Finally they came and cleaned the table and we had to endured the smell of soap for awhile but better than the dirty table. The plates with appetizers came with zero presentation, they just dropped the plates on table and didn’t ask if we needed anything else. Workers seem confused and unhappy. The empanadas and yuca were good but not worth the wait. The entree prices are outrageous for the food they serve. The service is bad and slow. We ended up going to a Peruvian restaurant to eat rotisserie chicken. Remember Madison has many options to try. A new place needs to have great food and service to succeed . I hope this is just growing pains of a new place and that it improves and survives only if good food and good service...

This is just like your favorite bipolar aunt or a trip to the grocery store with your toddler…you just don’t know what you’re going to get. The first time we visited the chicken was velvety tender with the most awesome lemony creamy sauce with a hint of orange and served with rice and French fries, the steak although cut thin cut like butter and melted in my mouth, the fried plantains crisp with a firm butt smith sweat inside, the plates over flowing with food, the mixed drink leaving me wonder if I would be able to walk straight to the car or need to have my boyfriend escort me out like a 90 year old with dementia( the happy but confused kind), and the service top notch to the point a 50% tip was well deserved. The second time seemed odd maybe just a bad day, the real cooked called in? The food was different, not bad just different and the serving were considerably smaller… like half the size. We tried a third time and it was far the worst. The Lemmon chicken was slimy but chewy with a sauce that lasted like pine sol- the rice and fr lunch fries non existent- and the waitress never brought them, the steak thin but cut and tasted like shoe leather, the fried plantains slimy with a stale chemical flavor, the service horrible- no refills on drinks, no cu going back, we waited and waited and tour check wasn’t brought even after finally waving a waitress down. I would love to love this place but just can’t because of how incredibly inconsistent the food and...

Firstly I don't know how this place has a 4.5 star average. I don't mean to be cruel because the folks working there were very kind but this place has many issues.

I went there for lunch with a few guests. There was one other larger group of people there but it was not busy. We all got the roasted chicken.

Pro: -Very nice staff. I thought they were truly good people. -Nicely decorated. Seemed very clean. -Sauces on the table were excellent!!! -Fried plantain with avocado appetizer was very good.

Con: -No lunch menu and with the exception of the roasted chicken the prices for meals was WAY WAY WAY too high. Perhaps the portions are large but $20 for chicken breast, rice, fries and a salad is crazy. Especially for the location (not good area). -The roasted chicken, while flavorful and cooked well, was so salty it was nearly inedible. I add salt to most food I get at restaurants but we're talking deer salt lick salty. -Drinks weren't refilled once (including water, which was desperately needed because of the salt).

This place has potential. Maybe if they simplified their menu to focus on a few things (maybe rotating), reevaluated their pricing (maybe add lunch menu), and be a bit more careful brining their chicken this could turn into something good. As is I would be shocked if they last a year or two. As nice as the folks are, I won't be back and wouldn't...