The Madelyn NYC

The inside is warm and inviting — check out that fireplace! The colored lights are a bit tacky but I think the idea is to create an ambiance. The random stagecoach above the fireplace adds just that a hint of randomness.
When I saw the menu, I knew I had to get the burger. Inside this lounge-​like location, I didn’t know what to expect from a burger. I was tentatively hopeful but prepared for it to be as random as the stagecoach.
The Charcoal Grilled Burger was the perfect amount of random, by way of the Spicy Mayo. I got it with lettuce, tomato, onion, cheddar cheese and ketchup. The burger was AWESOME — very juicy and flavorful. I asked for it medium and it was cooked to temp! Love when that happens. The fries were very tasty and a portion that prevented me from overeating. Would I have eaten more? Um, of course.
I’ll have to come back during the weekend sometime. A Tuesday was especially dead and hard to establish the vibe.

The Madelyn was nice, but it’s always empty. Even on a Thursday at 9, it’s empty. Not sure how they make money. In fact, it’s kinda creepy. Maybe that was just winter.
I had a salad. Eh. Wine selection is ok, but not great. I sat at the bar, but there were a lot of cozy looking couches near the fire. Could be a good date spot.

Been here twice in one week! Great drinks, service and staff. Will definitely come back again. I recommend the fish tacos!

This place really is a life saver!
As a New Yorker you deal with some of the same things other New Yorkers hate. Tourists, Boston/​Philadelphia sports teams, Times Square and fascist mayors.
But the one thing all New Yorkers hate most of all, is being stuck underground in the subway system.
Last week I dealt with such a dilemma. An hour and half underground, on the 4 train, in between stations. Worst of all, I had to pick up my gear for a race I was running in over the weekend and then meet up with friends for dinner.
As I stood there on the train, letting my anxiety pass me by, I had to come up with a plan. I was not going to make the pre-​dinner drinks or our dinner reservation and I had to pick up my stuff quickly.
After the train went backwards (Thank you MTA) I hopped on the 2 train and made a mad dash to grab my race gear.
I called my friends who was in the West Village and I explained the situation. They weren’t upset but what to do now? We were suppose to have drinks and then go for dinner. I told them to head over to The Madelyn and that I would meet them there. Thank god for this place.
On a cold night I came in and found my friends sitting by the fireplace getting warm and toasty. I got some drinks and we began to laugh about my ordeal. We we’re having a great time.
As time and drinks passed we began to felt a bit hungry. We were about to get up an leave and the owner came in. As a regular to the joint he came over and said hello to me. He sat down and spoke to us for a bit and laughed about my story too.
We explained we were heading out. That we were going to have some Mexican that night but were going to find something in the neighborhood. He told us to sit back and relax. He ordered us some of the tacos! Phenomenal!
The shrimp tacos were really good, as were the fish but my absolute favorite were the short rib beef ones! Perfect. Not dry, amazing flavor. Hit the spot just right. All on the house. The owner really hooked it up.
I also ordered the duck fat fries, which I have gotten previously. Still just as good as last time! Another menu item I really recommend.
We ended up spending most of our time there and ended up having wonderful evening.
The Madelyn is a place where you’re treated like family!

Stopped by this place with my girlfriend for a few drinks and Tapas. First off, the décor is too notch, and it impressed my girlfriend so that set the mood for out night. It wasn’t that packed (a weds at 7:30) but comfortable and a good crowd. We had a few martinis, which were great. Ask for Devon for a great Martini.
We had the lamp chops, shrimp tacos, and a cob salad, which were all amazing. I would recommend all of them.
Service was great. We sat by the fireplace too, which was a nice touch. I will certainly be coming back here as much as possible.

Came here Saturday night for some drinks. Atmosphere was nice, music was great, but the ambiance was amazing. Had a drink with my girlfriend next to the fireplace, it was perfect. Drinks were priced right, service was on point, I would recommend this place to anyone going here for a date or even to hang out with some friends.

What a horribly disappointing experience here, which can all be blamed on service, and service only.
We went to The Madelyn for our first ladies’ dinner of 2014. Dinner reservation for 8 people at 7pm on a Wednesday night, and we were all there right about on time. We were also the only party dining in the whole place. We were seated, and we asked the waitress for details on the specials. Her response: «We don’t have specials.» Huh? Then why is there a board as you walk in advertising specials? The waitress went, and read the specials, and said, «Oh, I’ll go check with the chef and come back.» So away she went, back she came, and away she went again because she couldn’t remember what they were out of. After a couple minutes of ping-​ponging back and forth since she couldn’t seem to remember more then two sentences, we finally were able to get all the details on the specials and put in our order.
Two people ordered appetizers, while the rest of us only ordered main courses. An HOUR went by without even the starters appearing. When we told the waitress, she went to the kitchen and the magically, in 15 minutes, our appetizers appeared. Methinks she forgot to put our order in, since 15 minutes is approximately the length of time it takes to make starters. The mains came out shortly after that, so all in, it was about 90 minutes from the time we ordered to the time we got served. And we were hungry, because it was dinner time and people are hungry at dinner time. And of course, the waitress did not think to offer any type of compensation (complimentary glass of wine, complimentary shared dessert, etc.) as an apology for our extremely long wait time.
The check came, and not surprisingly, gratuity was included and was calculated at 20%. One friend didn’t drink, so we calculated her total separately, and the split the remainder down the middle. Unfortunately, we had to ask it to be split onto cards, and I know it’s annoying to have a lot of cards, BUT we tried to make it as easy as possible by writing the last four digits of each card, the last name on each card and the total to be charged to each card (which was really all the same, except for the friend who didn’t drink).
I would think everyone has a tendency to round up; if the split, hypothetically, comes to $ 29.10, most likely, everyone says to put $ 30 on the cards. So inevitably, the person’s whose card is run last normally always winds up with the lowest total, and it can be a much lower total.
I was clearly the person who had her card scanned last, so when she handed me my check, she said, «I could only run for your card for $ 34 instead of $ 46.» Fine, will pay the friends back later once I have cash. We all signed our checks and packed up and were walking out when she stopped me and said, «You still owe me $ 12.» I looked at her and said, «No, I don’t, and if you want $ 12 extra dollars, you should have run my card for $ 46 like I asked.» She tried to claim that she couldn’t because of my card. BUT my credit line is high enough where it definitely wasn’t a problem with my card, but with the fact that I simply paid the balance.
How unbelievably rude and unprofessional to demand that I owe you even more money than the total of the check, especially AFTER you were inattentive and uninformed.
The frustration with the service was compounded by the fact that food was FANTASTIC and the playlist was incredible. It was so disappointing that what would have been a great restaurant find was ruined by the service. The waitress was just so horrible that it gave me the impression that The Madelyn just doesn’t respect their customers enough to provide quality service and it turned me off from ever coming back here. What a shame.

I really hate to say this, but I will never eat here again. I had been at The Madelyn last year for my birthday on a Saturday night, and that experience was fun, with good drinks and good music. My boyfriend acknowledged the service was a little bad, but I was barely aware because I was having fun.
HOWEVER, my recent dinner there is another story. Not only did the waitress not know about the promotional special (buy a bottle of wine and get a dessert), she then declined it existed despite the marketing sign next to the menu. They said there was no manager on site for us to speak with. We ordered food and it took over an hour; we actually did not get food until we asked where it was. I ordered shrimp tacos — the entire plate was the size of my fork. The plate was the size of a utensil. I am a small girl, and this was fit for a 5 year old. But, it was very good, I’ll give them that. However, the service had been so bad that I did not want to order an additional salad — I ended up going home and eating a salad instead because I was still hungry.
Then the check came. Oy vey. Not only was the check illegible, like some printing error, where we could not tell if the total was accurate, but they added 20% gratuity (which I would not have given based on the service, delay, and poor attitude). They then mischarged every single credit card for an incorrect amount, and then demanded more money when we left. One of my friends got charged $ 298 in error. The charges also showed up as different companies on each one of our credit card bills. I was so disappointed with the experience, and I really didn’t want to be — I had been a fan of this place before, and thought it was a good, upscale addition to the West 3^rd Street typical college pub atmosphere. I was wrong. A good, upscale establishment knows how to treat its customers.
What is further unfortunate is that there was no manager for us to speak with. That is the purpose of a manager — to handle issues as they arise, and appease unhappy customers, as the waitstaff does not have the discretion to make certain changes or offers. Any business needs a supervisor on-​site, and I wish they had one for us to work with.

Salmon tartar is RIDIC. And by «RIDIC» I mean amazingly good. And the chips with it… Wtf…
I would come her every day for that one dish, but there’s more to stay for…
Like the staff! They’re so hospitable! They know what you’re drinking and they suggest things accordingly.
And the atmosphere is great. Lots if young people looking to have a great time.
Def a place I’ll frequent.
=)

Poor First Impression
I loved the old place (Vyne) and was excited to see it reopen. I attended a graduate school alumni event (last night) and the cardinal sin (imho) was performed.
A few friends and I were waiting on the bar for a drink… not for other patrons to get their drinks, but for the bartender to finish texting. He litereally was at the center of the bar, phone in full display, and didn’t look up for at least a few minutes. Wow…
Astar for the fireplace, however… can’t beat it.

Solid unlimited mimosa brunch for $ 25. The choice of unlimited mimosas or bloody Mary’s was only valid on «The Madelyn» which came with eggs, pancakes, home fries, fruit, bacon and sausage. It was too much food, but worth it for $ 25.

Came here with a groupon. The whole menu except one item was open to us. Our server was really nice and sweet.
Pros — the food was delicious. The short rib tacos were my favorite. The spinach salad was amazing. The sliders and garlic shrimp didn’t disappoint, either. The chocolate cake was superb. Big plus — they didn’t tack on the tip and tax, like many places do. I tipped on the full amount, but I like not being forced into it.
Cons — service was slow as molasses. It wasn’t busy when we got here. Between the time we ordered the salad and the time we got it? Thirty min. Our entres came two min later, so poor timing. The woman who poured our wine stopped coming over halfway trough the meal and sat at the bar, playing on her phone. We ordered our dessert when we sat down, yet it took about twenty min from when we said we were ready for it to when we got it. All it was was a piece of cake, so not sure what took forever. Also, out of the five red wines on the menu, only one was available.
All in all — extremely happy with the quality of the food, but wouldn’t come back bc we had to wait too long for the food.

Is this a restaurant? A bar? A club? A lounge? I’m so confused…
Once you walk in, no one greets you. You just have to loiter awkwardly in the front until you’re able to catch the waitress’s attention.
When you finally do, she will lead you to a table that’s really uncomfortable to sit at. The stools are a lot higher than the table and the booths so you’re not even eye level with the person you’re sitting across from.
The place looks nice and swanky but the music played (hip hop-​ish type stuff) didn’t seem to match the atmosphere. And it’s super loud in there. I mean LOUD. As in you will probably say ‘what??’ three times, still not hear the person, and just nod and smile politely and pretend you did. Probably not the ideal location for a date.
Onto the food:
Oysters — not the best but passable. They give you an orange instead of a lemon which was kind of weird.
Beef sliders — pretty good. They definitely did not skimp on the meat.
Short rib beef tacos — DRY, DRY, DRY.
Moules frites — pretty good but the mussels are super skinny.
Apple tart — we only opted for this because they were out of the gelato and sorbet (booo). Tasted like an apple turnover. The ice cream on top was definitely the icing on the cake (or should I say icing on the tart?)
Overall, it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Probably would not come back.

JUST STAY AWAY.
We booked a reservation and told them we were using a LivingSocial deal. The way the receptionist handled the call already hinted what the night ahead would lay for us. This place has a lounge/​bar vibe and is definitely not a place I would choose to have dinner. We were seated under a 10 feet projector that was playing a basketball game. Everyone was staring at the game that was playing over the top of our heads. Awkward much?
The oysters tasted like they were a couple days old and had a strong fishy after taste. We spoke to the owner/​manager and he insisted they were fresh from this morning and that he gets soooooo many oyster orders that he has to get them fresh. This is a Friday night during prime time. The only people we saw with oysters were 2 other couples who also came in w the same deal. I don’t know how 36 oysters a night even comes close to more than 200+ oysters a day he claims that they sell PER NIGHT. He insisted that we didn’t know what oysters were suppose to taste like.
We decided to order the duck fat fries ($ 7) to try to find some redeeming food from this place but that utimately failed as well. I don’t know what they were meant to taste like but they were stale & flavorless. Best part? Our waitress brings over lamb lollipops and we’re thinking they comped us a dish. We touched the plate already and was about to eat them when the waitress comes over and takes it off our hands and tells us she accidentally placed it at the wrong table. THEN she goes to serve it to the correct table. I don’t know about you but if another customer touched my food, I wouldn’t want to eat it.
The only redeeming quality was that at least they got the drinks right. When Boyfriend got home, he ended up throwing up everything. Unfortunately I couldn’t and am still nursing my upset stomach.
Bad food, food poisoning, crappy service, why would anyone ever come here with all the other awesome alternatives in the area?

Came here last Friday for a birthday party. Perfect venue for a party. Really cool atmosphere, nice drinks, great long tables, awesome food.
We had:
Baby Spinach Salad –good, but too much pepper (pepper attack)
Lamb Lollipops– by far the best thing on the menu. Perfectly cooked, great sauce –a must order!
Margherita Pizza — nice thin crust, good amount of cheese –a ok
Shrimp tacos — fantastic !
Short rib tacos — tasty tasty
Sliders — perfectly cooked burger!
Great time, definitely recommend making a reservation.

Hi great new — non-​NYU crowd bar in the west village WITH FIRE PLACE!
I’ve been here twice, neither time it was crowded, which is my favorite type of bar. There is a lounge-​y feel that is awesome and relaxing. I like feeling comfortable in a bar without feeling too overwhelmed or that the crowd is too pretentious.
In the sea of NYU bars that attract younger college kids, it’s difficult to find a place that stands out. I really like the Madelyn because it isn’t very crowded but also because it has a cozy homey factor to it. The staff is also super sweet and the drinks are wonderful.
I had a hot totty which always makes me tired but puts me in the best mood. In fact, I want another one as I type this.
Prices aren’t too bad for the west village either.

I stopped into Madelyn because my friend had met the owner on vacation. John was very hospitable. He made us felt welcome. Drinks were reasonably priced at $ 11 for most of the specialty cocktails. I had the sparkling berry which had raspberry and champagne in it.
The clientele was mixed aged not fratty like the area’s NYU bar scene. The atmosphere and dark and romantic therefore being a great place to go on a date. Don’t get me wrong you can definitely go to catch up with friends and have a few drinks and mingle. If your looking to shake your tail feather then I’d choose elsewhere. There wasn’t much of a dance area. The bar area is long and service was in sync.
The music was a little spotty from Michael Jackson to Z100 music. If it was up to me I’d want to hear some. The XX and Florence + The Machine remixes.
The food: We had the Margherita pizza and oysters. The pizza was perfectly cooked the sauce was light. The oysters were sweet, literally sweet as if there was sugar on them. Hands down those oysters were the best I ever had. I don’t need to explain any further.

I stopped in for the new Tuesday night salsa night and really enjoyed it. There is a really great crowd of experienced dancers but also a lot of non-​dancers just hanging out drinking, eating, and watching the dancing so whatever your motivation, it’s a good time. People were friendly, the décor is nice, and the dance floor is good. I look forward to going back. I hope they have vegan food!

They did a really nice job with this place, standout points include:
— Nice décor/​look
— Solid food (go with the shared plates). The lamb lollipops were awesome, each with a hefty chunk of meat on them. The pasta with short ribs was great, but I would recommend sharing a half vs ordering the whole portion. Wasn’t a fan of the fried chicken.
— Attentive service, several employees checked on our table repeatedly. There was a brief delay in our food coming out, and the manager came over, apologized and comped us a drink — a nice touch.
— Music was perfect, all 60’s and 70’s soul at the right volume to be noticeable but not drown out conversation

I stopped in here with my girlfriends last weekend and let me just say that the lamb chops and oysters were to DIE for. I usually douse my oysters in hot sauce but these were too delicious just as they were.
Will definitely be back to sit by the fireplace and try more off the menu. Loved that the new owner came over to meet us and bought us a round of drinks.