Madera Kitchen

I was a vendor at this venue for a corporate event so I didn't get to eat. But horsdoevres were served and guests seemed to love them. The decor is rustic with a large patio with some coverage from weather, lots if planters with planters, and overhead electric heaters. There is an interior area with a bar, seating, dance area, and a stage for the hired DJ. Some of the tables could use some services because they were rocking a lot. There was tons of seating and a pleasant setting. Parking is HARD! VERY limited and metered especially on Fridays and weekends. Even in the evenings. So, you may want to find a lot with a flat fee and Uber or Lyft over.

This place is run terribly, the management clearly can't handle their duties, and the place is always a mess. They never clean! They leave their trash and dumpster full, and the front of the building is always littered. I have seen roaches and other pests in there, (and I'm not jut talking about the rude guests! Stay away from this place, and have your event in a classy, clean, and positive establishment.

The food and atmosphere was good but what really won me over was the customer service. My friends and I spent 3 hrs there and constantly received refills on our waters, bottomless mimosas, and bottomless micheladas without having to ask. Definitely had such a great experience here and would 10/10 come again!

Update May 2022: Noticed the fake reviews mentioned in Jan 2022 update have been removed. See original review about wedding below. Update Jan 2022: It looks like a lot of the recent 3 and 4 star Google reviews are from fake accounts or for the wrong place, as they don't describe Madera factually at all (one references it being in SOMA and another references a downstairs wine cellar, neither true). Each such account only has two reviews, one for Madera and the other for an electrician or appliance repair shop. And they are getting posted regularly about once per week. Seems like a lot of effort to boost one's star rating rather than just focusing on providing a good experience! Original review Unfortunately, I can't recommend Madera as a wedding party venue. Despite it being a charming location with good drinks and food, the event management soured the planning experience for us. We hired the restaurant's in-house planner, Jenn (Red Light Special Events/Weddings by Jennifer Laskey), but had to fire her and hire someone else a month before the wedding because we weren't satisfied with her planning services. We paid her her whole fee anyway without argument. Nonetheless, she still showed up at our wedding, despite saying she would not. It was awkward to say the least. Additionally, the photo booth that we paid extra for, which was central to our guest party favor, did not function properly for most of the night. We also paid a mandatory 20% service charge (over $3K) that was supposed to go toward gratuity according to our contract, but we were told the day before our wedding that if we didn't allow tip jars on the bar, the bartenders (who were wonderful) would not get any tip. It put us and our guests in an awkward position. Finally, we also rented the house owned by the restaurant owner to get ready in. While nice, the day after our wedding we got a call asking for more money to clean, despite paying a cleaning fee already, because we left two boxes by the garbage can. It was just one thing after another. There are lots of beautiful venues in LA. Just make sure the management is up to the task of not ruining your experience.

Nice vibe. Bartenders pour great drinks. Food was an 8 in my opinion Good value for the