Madre Osteria & Bar — Restaurant in Milton

This place is great for so many reasons but here is what I've learned from spending multiple evenings dining here with multiple different groups.

*This place is great for medium to small size parties. I'm aware you can rent it for big parties (dreamy) but I haven't done that yet. I've hosted celebration dinners there and ladies nights ranging for 6 to 18 people. The staff works together and are super helpful and friendly and you can tell them enjoy their job. One of the parties I hosted was a surprise and it was so fun to feel like the manager and staff were equally excited to pull off a surprise party with me.

*The food is delicious but I'm a huge fan of the apps. The portions are fair for the price and you can tell the details they put into planning the menu. It has lots of choices but even some of the more simple choices are so good (I'm obsessed with their ceaser salad, their fried polenta with honey, and their burrata app).

*Dollar oysters monday-friday at the bar! Did anyone else see rainbows and unicorns when they read that? Because is there anything more amazing than dollar oysters this close to the city without the parking hassle (free parking here), without traffic and every week day! We often make reservations for a time then go an hour early to enjoy a cocktail and a few dozen oysters prior to moving to a table for our date night.

*Noise level. One of my favorite things about this place is they have quiet music playing on the background but it's low enough to easily be able to hear your other table guests. Most restaurants around can get loud which is fun but I really enjoy ones that are mellow enough to carry a conversation without struggle.

*The staff is fun! If you start a conversation with them and show some kindness, it comes back ten folds. Most staff in the industry are pretty friendly as it's the nature of the industry but here I appreciate that the staff enjoys getting to know people, including regulars, and when you return, don't be surprise if they remember you.

*The manager Emanuella(sorry if I spelt it wrong) is part of the magic of this place. She has a great personality and you can feel her investment in wanting to ensure every guest leaves wanting to return soon. The second time I was there she recognized me and welcomed me back and made me and my group feel so welcomed.

The view in the summer is so pretty and the decor inside is cozy in the winter. In the summer it's fun to order lunch and drinks on the patio and there is a sandbox about 50ft from the patio for kids to play in while parents actually get to finish their meal. Wear be bug spray as being on the Neponset River sets you up for a peaceful and pretty fire but can sometimes attract mosquitos. (Bug spray is an easy solution).

*The place is always clean! As someone who worked in the industry for many years, THIS is something I always look for a notice. Even the bathrooms are always clean.

If you have friends or family with mobility issues, there is an easy place to drop them off prior to parking as parking is about 100 to150ft away.

*Mike the bartender makes an excellent martini! Highly recommend. All of the bartenders are excellent but he puts a little extra love into it and you can taste it.

*I love that you can go here in a suit, in jeans, with co-workers, with friends, with kids, etc. I really appreciate places that are versatile.

*Last summer there is a farmers market on the grass just feet from the entrance and on Thursdays (Farmers Market day) they made a special dish each week that was created from things purchased from the market. Their investment to support our local farmers and their creativity with these specials made it fun to try new foods.

*My last note is the menu. The staff is open to feedback and they have adjusted their menu a few times because I feel like they really value...

When hosting clients providing a quality experience is a must. Word of mouth and reputation is one of the most important aspects and unfortunately we weren’t given any reasons to pass on positive reviews. This was a bad experience starting with the manager, as he was borderline offensive and made no effort to correct his mistakes, stating he simply forgot to make notes in the reservation book the multiple times we spoke about our preferences as we were bringing the restaurant 20 guests. He simply shrugged off the fact that we weren’t set up for the right amount of people or in the section of the restaurant we asked for 3 weeks ago. He never visited our table or offered any apologies after we spoke. Additionally, the older blonde woman present in the bar area (we assume management?) repeatedly rolled her eyes and smirked at our group as she passed by, which confused us as we all ordered quality drinks and entrees and spent a lot of money in the restaurant. Was she annoyed by the fact that a large section of our party was Spanish speaking? We can’t think of anything else, as no tastelessness was shown on our side and the entirety of our group consisted of young, wealthy professionals. Finally, our waitress seemed to be annoyed at the fact that she was there serving our party. We were consistently pushed to order before the entire party had arrived because the restaurant was closing in 2 hours. She even told some of the guests to order from the host, which is certainly not...

I had high hopes coming here because I love Italian food and the restaurant is so warm and nicely decorated. The food is good too and our server was lovely and friendly, but I have some criticisms:

They not only gave us an outdated menu, but when we ordered a bottle of wine that was NO LONGER OFFERED, instead of coming back to inform us and correcting the error, we were instead presented with a DIFFERENT wine that was HALF the cost of the original wine! Then when the manager tried to explain, we were told because we “pointed to the wine at the bottom of the list” that’s what they brought out… but that wasn’t true either!! The wine that was offered was halfway up the list!

One of my kids ordered Angel Hair pasta, but when the dish was served, it CLEARLY was NOT Angel Hair and my kid was very disappointed because he had never seen Angel hair pasta before. The explanation given was they ran out of angel hair pasta so it was substituted with spaghetti without informing us.

We could see the manager eating and drinking at the bar during prime dinner time which is unprofessional in my opinion.

Finally, we were about to order dessert and this time was told that pretty much half their desserts were sold out. By that point, we didn’t want dessert anymore and promptly asked for the check.

This is very unfortunate because while the food was good, the service and experience is...