Madiba Restaurant

It makes me sad to give a bad review to a place I used to love going to. I started eating at Madiba 6 years ago, and ate there often enough til recently. Servers were nice, food great. The last few times I've gone, it has been mediocre: food is good on a good day, fine on a typical day, and the service is generally poor. But this time was the last time for us. We never received either our appetizers or side dish, despite asking twice about them. The table next to us never got their desserts, and the table in front of us was asking repeatedly for drinks they'd ordered a while before. The waitress is ridiculously bad, but the manager/ host is worse: smarmy and obsequious, he is ultimately ineffective, even rude. The entrees were fine, but really not worth the hassle of waiting for them. Madiba is OK if you live nearby, but I would not suggest going out of your way for this place. It has gone from a reliably good place to eat and hang out to an unpleasant experience.

Overall I enjoyed Madiba and the food was good. But they seem to be going for a rep of being a chic place to eat before going to BAM, and the food wasn't worth the price. I should say though that they make the best tartar sauce I've ever had.

Along with five friends, I ate with five others at Madiba during Brooklyn restaurant week. The atmosphere is really cool- exposed brick, African-themed paintings and art, and African music being played live by two men. We were seated at 8:30 and didn't get our bill until 11:30- this was not because we were lingering, this was because the service was perhaps the poorest I have ever experienced. Our first drinks took almost 30 minutes (apparently they had to bottle the Red Stripes we ordered). We all did the prix fix menu, which had 3 courses. The salad didn't come for an hour and a half after we ordered it. Our waitress rarely checked in on us, so we would have to wait about 20 minutes to get a new drink after finishing one. This, combined with the fact that the owners of the restaurant have tried to fit as many tables as humanly possible, so you literally bump into people at other tables anytime you turn around, because your seat backs are pretty much touching. A 20% gratuity was added to our bill, on a party of 6, and this was not noted anywhere on the menu. No wonder our waitress was so subpar. We also had to get a new check, as $30 in charges were on the bill for drinks we did not order. Utterly ridiculous. Overall, the food was extremely good, but I will never return to Madiba.

we ate at madiba for restaurant week. the food was great! very flavorful and the drinks were pretty good, too. we will definitely go back. the owner was a great host and added to the warm feeling of the restaurant.

I am giving high reviews: cuz it deserves it! :) We have been meaning to come here for a long while and finally we did - and guess what: we will be back! Let's start with ambience: amazing high ceilings, casual atmosphere with a touch of formal dining (love the cloth napkins and the mason jar glasses) It was late, so we didn't eat too much - but we ate was aaamazing. beautifully plated - we were the last call before kitchen closes - but you could never tell by the food served to us. the herb crusted salmon special - which was served in a bed of green string beans with bananas! it was absolutely delicous. The beet salad, so simple yet so flavourful with onions and mint. Our server was nice, and on our way out we spoke with Dennis who introduced himself to us - and I think he is the owner, he was very cool - and very neighbourly...my only surprise was that they only had amstel light and corona as choices as beers...ick. Heard brunch is awesome and hard to get a table: going to make a point of coming early!

If they ever fix the G train, I'll take my dinners at Madiba every night. Excellent fun yet tasteful decor, food presentation was quite nice, generous portions, very friendly and efficient service. We went out as a party of four and everyone greatly enjoyed their meals--with no previous experience of South African cuisine. Highly recommended.

Coming from California, I'm not used to African cuisine, but a friend insisted that I try it. The weather was wonderful, so we ate outside (crowded, but comfortable). The chicken livers were seasoned well, moist. The spare ribs with plum sauce was tangy yet smooth. The Greek salad was fresh. Now on to the cocktails. The Nectar Rum Punch packed a wallop of alcohol, but it went down smooth. The Cosmos and Vodka Martinis were also tasty.