Maldaner's Restaurant — Restaurant in Springfield

We may have just come at a bad time, because there were a lot of hiccups from the start, but there were definitely a couple of redeeming qualities for this local legend...and I'd be willing to come back & give them another try under different circumstances for sure. The architecture of the building itself & surrounding buildings was pretty grand and glorious to look at as we chose to sit on the patio. The Maldaner decal on the window to the main entrance was peeling a bit, but the golden accent art deco style lines around the windows and the protruding awning with little edison bulbs made it feel like at one time, this was a really fancy and elegant place to dine. But the traffic was loud and fast nearby and the dead plants left potted in cheap plastic pots left a lot to be desired for ambiance. The flustered hostess had to bus & set our table and the table for the party waiting before us, so that was a bit awkward adding an extra 15 minutes to our wait time to be seated (even with a reservation). There was another 15 minutes of waiting at the table (a flimsy card table with a linen tablecloth over it) with no menus, no water, no bread, and not even an acknowledgement from a server. We decided to check out the menu online and took the first chance we had to put our entire order in as soon as the server acknowledged us. We had 45 minutes to be leaving for the show down the block at this point, and it was looking like it still wouldn't be enough time for the way this night was going. But 20 minutes later when a confused bus boy brought two glasses of water with a chunk of e coli infused lemon dunked each and a few pieces of warm bread wrapped in a thick linen napkin...we were so grateful I think we would've eaten literally anything and gladly paid for it with the promise of our first born child. By the time our appetizer--the pork belly wraps came out, we were ready to mortgage our house and sell our souls for a real drink menu. The pork belly wraps were freaken amazing though as was the duchess moscato the server brought out only moments after I ordered it (good choice pushing that through, buddy) but forgot Allen's Pepsi he settled for since they didn't have coke products :/ohh well, he tried. Everything else was either late, undercooked, cold, or just "ok" for the fine dining price we paid. It was so late we actually ended up missing the show altogether, but we're cool people and didn't throw a fit about it..just enjoyed the rest of the evening walking around downtown and laughing about how that's just our luck these days. I ordered the beef Wellington and Allen ordered the ribeye both medium well and the both came out medium rare. I should've tried the scallops or the duck. It was all rather disappointing in the end, but this is a pandemic though, and those people are just doing the best they can under the circumstances. We'll give you another shot some day, Maldaners. Keep going guys, we...

Worst experience I have ever had at any restaurant, save the server…poor guy. First of all made a reservation on Resy on the 16th. In the reservation I made them aware we had a birthday, and needed a high chair. Neither was acknowledged. Reservation was for 5pm. When we walked in the vestibule was full, and 10 minutes later we were told they were having a meeting and we would be seated when they were finished. That turned out to be 5:15, we were told to pick a spot and we moved tables by ourselves. Not a great start, but we’re easy. Bartender didn’t know how to make drinks, she told us she was new. She didn’t know what Aperol was, or Amaro… so no PaperPlane. She was irritated and we could hear her talking about the lady (me) wanting a “fancy” drink. We settled for Negroni’s. server was friendly and told us of the Shortrib special over polenta, no mention of it being covered in mushrooms, which my son is not a fan of . It came out over iridescent white instant mashed potatoes. The frozen vegetables, green beans and carrots were not just cool, literally were cold as if put on a plate on accident with out being cooked. The medium rare prime rib special was served raw and could barely be cut with a steak knife. Sea bass broth with a sauce and mussels was cold as well. The beef Wellington was warm on the outside but turned out to be ok. Appetizers ok as well. Server tried very hard to accomodate, but he told us the kitchen had “gaslighted” him and they were blaming him. Obvious a kitchen on its worst day:/. We returned the short rib and Seabass, and he brought new vegetables for the Primerib… which were completely different types of vegetables! SHITSHOW. The owner, Michael Higgins came out and took absolutely no responsibility and tried to throw the server under the bus! Fact of note, he couldn’t even recognise the Prime-rib plate, had to ask what it was. He was rude and not at all professional. In the end we paid for the cocktails we had, and left our server a substantial gratuity, given the situation, which was a complete kitchen fiasco and not his fault. We have been to this restaurant over 20 times in the last couple years, and consistency has been a problem, but we love this place, loved, this place. Having been in the service industry for over 35 years I was embarrassed for the chef and owner. From beginning to end this was a complete and total mess. I can’t say don’t try it, but if it’s terrible don’t expect any consideration. You...

I just had dinner at Maldaner’s this evening while in Springfield visiting from out of town. The reviews and website were all very promising, however the actual experience did not come close to the fine dining experience promised. Our server was unable to get the drink orders correct and later became very unpleasant after some complaints about the quality of the food. I was served beef Wellington (the house speciality per the menu) in which the beef was not rested and overcooked, the pastry crust was wet and gummy, and the vegetable and mashed potatoes tasted as if they had no seasoning whatsoever. I was actually told by the manager that “we don’t season our mashed potatoes.” (!) I ate maybe 3 bites of this dish and when our server finally came by at least 10-15 minutes later, I told her of the poor quality and asked that it be taken back. I did not want another dish as the rest of the party was nearly done by this point. When the check came, $15 of the $45+ had been subtracted from the bill. I asked the server to do something more given that I barely ate any of it and the quality was so poor; she brusquely told me the manager would have to take care of it. The manager was very short with our table in handling and grudgingly agreed to remove the full price of the dish. Overall it seemed as though the staff did not care at all that someone had such an unpleasant experience in their restaurant, and I would encourage anyone in search of a good meal in Springfield to...