Madeo Restaurant — Restaurant in West Hollywood

Went last night with a friend who hadn't been before. I haven't been in a little while, since last summer. Will never come back again. They charge for a "taste" of wine. I've never come across this at any fine establishment of any kind. The wine our server suggested wasn't what I liked. So a whole glass was wasted, but thankfully he said he "wanted to make us happy" so he got another different wine for me which was more to my liking. Our veal and tuna sauce appetizer was ok. The flavors and texture were nice but we both have never had anything like it, so we were open to trying. It was almost like contents of a sandwich. I was hoping they had more like a crudo or tartar of some sort but they didn't.

What the kicker was is we were very excited to try their sea urchin pasta. We get sea urchin/uni all the time and are very aware of what it looks and tastes like (thanks, SEBASTIAN). We got it and it tasted nothing of sea urchin. You also can't see the sea urchin. When you order sea urchin/uni anywhere, they make it a point that you SEE it, even little remnants of it. We gave it one bite and were just unhappy so we wanted to order something else. We asked for a manager, and the "manager" named SEBASTIAN came by. He said he was "kind of a manager" but more for back of house. When we NICELY told him we just weren't fans of it and would like to order something else, he actually had the audacity to tell us that it's strange and no one "ever" complains about it and they love it. They've been "doing this dish for 35+ years" and it's good and we should like it. I couldn't believe how he was talking to us and I even said 'Hey I'm being nice I don't know why you're talking to us like that. So instead of ordering something else we are going to leave so bring us the check please.' The fact that it offended him was beyond. Mind you service overall is very slow. App took a long time and a big gap until we got our pasta.

Back and forth took a lot of waiting and waiting, we had to ask multiple times what was going on. Had to flag people down multiple times. Where is the check? We were still hungry and wanted to leave to go somewhere else. We let our server SIMONE know he was great and the busser was too. It was just SEBASTIAN that was the issue.

Later on DARIO, the actual manager of the front of house came by and apologized. Even made a bad joke about SEBASTIAN being French and that's why his attitude was that way. He mentioned they "took care of the other glass of wine and pasta". Obviously you did because those were things not enjoyed so you're not doing us any favors. They really should have offered to do something else for us. We truly were not being difficult in any sort of way so it was incredibly shameful.

Will never come back or suggest Madeo to anyone because of SEBASTIAN. Who supposedly is their "sommelier"...we couldn't believe it. A guy with that kind of title talked very down to us and treated us like we didn't know what we were talking about. Incredible!

I couldn't believe the gaslighting and how he was trying to make it as if WE were the problem. He should have apologized to us. But all he did was leave our table in disgust and left us to have to ask for someone else to help us. Yet the rest of the staff and establishment had to deal with his ignorance and shameful behavior and apologize for HIM.

We went next door to Juniper and got the seared tuna and it was perfect and fantastic!

Madeo is a disgrace considering times now and how people are limiting themselves to dining out and where they spend their money. You need to get SEBASTIAN straight.

Edit - I attached previous diners photos of their sea urchin/uni pasta. This is what it should look like. I truly think they were trying to pull a fast one - look at our photos. NO SEA URCHIN/UNI, not even any tiny bits!!!!...

Having been fortunate enough to eat in some of the worlds finest Italian restaurants, I was very much looking forward to an anniversary evening with my wife, at the new(ish) Madeo on Sunset.

Having dined multiple times at Madeo's previous locations on Beverly and Camden, and thoroughly enjoyed every occasion, I can not believe how far the standards of Madeo have dropped, and am extremely sad to say I will not be returning again. Places like E-Baldi, Dolce Vita, Cipriani and Cecconis must be taking so much business from this place, because if you are not a "regular", you are treated like an absolute nobody, while being charged over $100 per head to eat there. Its a joke.

To start, the front desk were appalling. Our booking was at 8:00pm. We arrived at 8:00pm. Upon check-in, we were told our table was just paying the check, and should be ready in a moment. At 8:10pm and still not sat down, my wife went to the restroom. When she returned, she mentioned to the front desk that there was a booth available in the back room, and asked if we could sit there. We were told no, and that a larger booking had the table reserved.

At 8:20pm, I was doing my best not to get frustrated with the front desk, but went to speak with them. When a Manager came over to talk to us, the way he acted was if he couldn't give a sh*t. My wife asked him if he would like to get her a drink while we waited, rather than him use the initiative to offer her one. A glass of champagne was then brought over for her. We were finally sat down at 8:30pm, at which point both my wife and I were far from impressed, and were getting very hungry.

Having then been sat on our table for no more than 5 minutes, a party of 2 walked right by us, and sat down on the booth we had asked for 25 mins earlier, but been told was for a larger party. I was really annoyed. The front desk member caught my eye when sitting the guests down, and knew I had seen this, but chose not to come over and say anything, instead returning to the front desk. Both my wife and I were very upset with this, as it made us feel belittled, and totally irrelevant to the front desk staff at the restaurant. We are not precious, and don't ever expect special treatment beyond what you usually receive in a very expensive establishment.

Having attempted to put the situation behind us, we ordered our meal, which was enjoyable, but certainly not as good as I remember it being in the past. The vegetable sides that came with our mains were so overcooked, they turned into paste as soon as you tried to cut them, and the veal milanese was a lot smaller than it used to be. At $75 I would expect something more substantial.

At the end of dinner, I wanted to speak to the front desk to ask why the booth my wife had asked for was clearly given to a "regular" party of two. I tried to ask the team member who hadn't made eye contact with me, but the one who did, interrupted me non stop and was trying to make excuses for why we weren't given the table. She said she knew I was going to say something, but rather than use initiative to approach my table during dinner and make an excuse which I may have believed, and maybe send over a dessert as a sorry for making me feel a fool, she chose to say nothing, and "er and um" her way through our conversation at the door on the way out, and attempt to say the booking was originally for a table for 4.

All in all, a real disappointment from a restaurant I would have previously recommended to anyone and everyone. Thanks for...

Madeo isn't just a restaurant--it's a lineage. A love letter written in bold Tuscan strokes, passed through generations and poured into every plate.

The story begins with Madeo Vietina, an ambitious sailor who circled the globe not once, but twice in the late 1800s and early 1900s. A Navy man with wanderlust in his bones, he arrived in California in 1906 to assist after the great San Francisco earthquake. It was a brief but pivotal stop. He returned to Italy to marry Maitó, and together they raised their daughter, Bianca.

Madeo's adventures never left him. He shared stories of Los Angeles, of distant ports and cultural flavor, with Bianca--who, in turn, passed those tales and treasured family recipes to her son, Alfio. It was Alfio who brought the dream full circle. To honor his grandfather's legacy and his mother's cuisine, he opened Madeo in Los Angeles--a place where food is more than food, it's memory.

To this day, Alfio still opens the doors with a ritualistic "Buongiorno, Madeo!" And his sons, Gianni and Nicola, now stand beside him, preserving the family's heart while carving new paths--like opening Bianca in 2019, a modern nod to their roots.

But that's their story. Let me tell you mine.

This is the kind of spot where power players and icons dine in whispers. Statesmen, actors, musicians--you're bound to recognize someone if you're paying attention. It's where L.A. dresses up, slips into a booth, and orders elegance by the glass. Yes, the bill is steep--dinner for two with cocktails will flirt with $350. But you're not just paying for pasta. You're paying for legacy, for ambiance, for that gentle buzz of history echoing through the clink of cutlery.

I brought a gorgeous date here--one of those timeless evenings you want to press between the pages of a book. And then came the Old Man. Alfio himself. The founding father. A gentleman with charm like aged Chianti--deep, warm, and impossible to resist. He spoke in that velvety old-world accent, cracked a few jokes, and smiled us straight into ordering another round of wine we had no business affording. Even my date laughed and caught on to his gentle hustle. But I didn't mind. When you've got Alfio's attention, you lean in. You sip. You say yes.

I honestly can't remember what we ordered--but I remember how it made me feel. The food was perfect, every bite rich with intention. But it wasn't just the flavors that stayed with me. It was the glow of the candlelight, the way my date smiled over her glass, the way Alfio made her feel like Sophia Loren reincarnated. It was romance served with a side of nostalgia.

We left with hearts full.

Some places feed your appetite. Madeo...