Madiba Restaurant

The Scene – When New York's only South African restaurant first opened back in 1999, a certain ramshackle charm evoked a night at the edge of the veldt. Since then, Madiba has more than doubled in size and replaced the kerosene lanterns with giant, colorful paintings of Africa. Food is served at wooden camping tables, and drinks come in small metal mugs. There's also a lounging area where bands and performance troupes entertain. – – The Food – Unique dishes here include potjie (similar to oxtail stew), bunny chow (a hollowed-out loaf of bread containing vegetable…

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When to Go:: The restaurant hosts comedy and music events from time to time. Call for details.
The Extras:: This eclectic venue offers outside services like catering and musicians for hire.

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User Reviews (37)

ambiance	100.0% positive	“DELICIOUS food, great decor, amazing artwork, incredibly friendly and efficient waitstaff, and cute friendly bartender Dennis.” “Madiba is a perfectly adequate, middling restaurant in a nice neighborhood with a decent ambience and a loyal clientele.” “I've been there twice now and each time the food and atmosphere have been delightful.” “It's dark and romantic with huge windows and has an eclectic crowd.” “All in all I'd say that if you're in a hurry for a quick and efficient meal you might be happier elsewhere but if you enjoy a leisure meal in a very friendly atmosphere then you'll probably be hooked.” “Beautiful decor, casual outdoor dining, a jewel in my neighborhood.” “If they lowered the prices by 25% and got some decent help, It'd be a fair value and a fun experience, instead you leave feeling ripped off.” “Madiba has a original decor, if a bit flamboyant, and a nice vibe about it.” “The ambiance is amazing and the setting is unique.” “have to say Mojitos and other fun drinks are the best around.” “there was also some pretty cool stuff around with the decor.”
dessert	100.0% positive	“would also highly recommend the bread pudding for dessert.”
drinks	81.82000160217285% positive	“The service was great and the drinks were phenominal.” “You walk into a hopping bar scene with all of the most beautiful people you almost want to leave!” “We order a Caipirinha and a glass of red wine (Nederburg Pinotage).” “It took us forever just to get menus, drinks had to be begged for to arrive, and food was WAY overpriced, but tasty.” “the food is quite good although i can't say authentic, the drinks generous, the staff is friendly.” “The space itself is great: the shebeen vibe and cocktails are very creative and enjoyable and convey a sense of "theater", but drinks are drastically overpriced for Ft.” “have to say Mojitos and other fun drinks are the best around.” “We were seated right away and had some great SA savannah and krait beers, yum!” “We will return, but will stay away from the expensive drinks.” “The wine was bad, the lamb was overcooked and the waiter didn't bother to check with me about food and drink.” “They have the best cocktails very tasty (potent!)”
food quality	86.11000061035156% positive	“Great food” “We ordered a salad, oxtail and a fish dish (I forgot the name, but it was big fish, head chopped off).” “would also highly recommend the bread pudding for dessert.” “Perfect food.” “love Madiba - the food is South African and very tasty.” “Although Madiba is understaffed, their food is good and so are the amenities.” “The food is just okay and I suppose novel, but it's basically good street cart food.” “think this place is authentic because the wait staff reminded me of the one person I sort of know from south africa.” “All in all I'd say that if you're in a hurry for a quick and efficient meal you might be happier elsewhere but if you enjoy a leisure meal in a very friendly atmosphere then you'll probably be hooked.” “The salad and the oxtail were impressive!” “DELICIOUS food, great decor, amazing artwork, incredibly friendly and efficient waitstaff, and cute friendly bartender Dennis.” “The food was the most amazing experience.” “bad food, lekker jol!” “The food is delicious and definitely different then everything else on the DeKalb strip.” “The authentic South African side dishes were great, and we enjoyed trying something new.” “The wine was bad, the lamb was overcooked and the waiter didn't bother to check with me about food and drink.” “Terrible service for just OK food.” “It took us forever just to get menus, drinks had to be begged for to arrive, and food was WAY overpriced, but tasty.” “They have the best cocktails very tasty (potent!)” “Probably: more to enjoy a nice caipirinha outdoor in the Summer than for the food, though.” “I've been there twice now and each time the food and atmosphere have been delightful.” “It's a great place to go with a group of friends whether you stop in for an after-work cocktail (the rum punch is divine) or a full meal.” “the food is quite good although i can't say authentic, the drinks generous, the staff is friendly.” “can't vouch for whether this place represents the authentic tastes of home longed for by transplanted ex-pats, but the food I had was fine, if somewhat over-priced.”
menu variety	75.0% positive	“The service was friendly and helpful, since the menu was new to me.” “It took us forever just to get menus, drinks had to be begged for to arrive, and food was WAY overpriced, but tasty.”
overall	83.33000183105469% positive	“It's a great place to go with a group of friends whether you stop in for an after-work cocktail (the rum punch is divine) or a full meal.” “Although, the prices may be considered to be on the steep end--especially in the neighborhood--it is a nice place for a quiet, homestyle dinner on a Sunday night.”
return potential	0.0% positive	“We will return, but will stay away from the expensive drinks.”
service	76.31999969482422% positive	“Terrible service for just OK food.” “half of the place was empty but the service was a way too slow.” “Perfect service.” “will definitely recommend this place to my friends and also for those people wanting to leave the hustle and bustle of the city.” “The service was unexplicably slow, considering that the place was almost empty.” “The service was friendly and helpful, since the menu was new to me.” “All in all I'd say that if you're in a hurry for a quick and efficient meal you might be happier elsewhere but if you enjoy a leisure meal in a very friendly atmosphere then you'll probably be hooked.” “The bartender took about 10 minutes polishing glasses and trying to establish a "cool" South African attitude before he deigned to look in our direction.” “The service is really friendly - much more so than alot of other places in the area.” “Perfect time waiting with great bartender in front room.” “The wine was bad, the lamb was overcooked and the waiter didn't bother to check with me about food and drink.” “The service was great and the drinks were phenominal.” “DELICIOUS food, great decor, amazing artwork, incredibly friendly and efficient waitstaff, and cute friendly bartender Dennis.” “And, the staff is FANTASTIC - friendly and for the most part, from the neighborhood!” “In some ways Madibaechoes some of the woes of other neighborhood restaurants in that the service can be a bit too relaxed at times but the energy and liveliness more than make up for it plus a warm smile goes a long way with me!” “Ridiculously poor service, plastic, overpriced” “think this place is authentic because the wait staff reminded me of the one person I sort of know from south africa.” “You walk into a hopping bar scene with all of the most beautiful people you almost want to leave!” “the food is quite good although i can't say authentic, the drinks generous, the staff is friendly.”
value	60.0% positive	“The overpriced Caipirinha was terrible.” “We will return, but will stay away from the expensive drinks.” “Although, the prices may be considered to be on the steep end--especially in the neighborhood--it is a nice place for a quiet, homestyle dinner on a Sunday night.” “The space itself is great: the shebeen vibe and cocktails are very creative and enjoyable and convey a sense of "theater", but drinks are drastically overpriced for Ft.” “the food is quite good although i can't say authentic, the drinks generous, the staff is friendly.” “think its in really poor taste to charge a cover for the music when you are going there to have a nice dinner and spend significant money - come on - this is Brooklyn!” “If they lowered the prices by 25% and got some decent help, It'd be a fair value and a fun experience, instead you leave feeling ripped off.” “Ridiculously poor service, plastic, overpriced” “It's dark and romantic with huge windows and has an eclectic crowd.” “It took us forever just to get menus, drinks had to be begged for to arrive, and food was WAY overpriced, but tasty.”
wait time	60.0% positive	“half of the place was empty but the service was a way too slow.” “The service was unexplicably slow, considering that the place was almost empty.” “The bartender took about 10 minutes polishing glasses and trying to establish a "cool" South African attitude before he deigned to look in our direction.” “In some ways Madibaechoes some of the woes of other neighborhood restaurants in that the service can be a bit too relaxed at times but the energy and liveliness more than make up for it plus a warm smile goes a long way with me!” “All in all I'd say that if you're in a hurry for a quick and efficient meal you might be happier elsewhere but if you enjoy a leisure meal in a very friendly atmosphere then you'll probably be hooked.”

02/19/12

Delicious Food ... but overpriced

by Dax Pagan

I, too, love the food at this restaurant! Everything I have ever had here was really good, and I'm trying to eat my way thru the menu.

The decor is "unusual" - I presume it's meant to be authentic to or remniscent of South Africa.

The service has always been prompt and helpful.

My only gripe is that it seems expensive to me, considering everything else. $20 entrees that are relatively small is just out of reason unless you really love the food.

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12/16/11

i am obsessed with this restaurant.

by BethAnnBonner

I love the food. I love the adorable/knowledgeable staff. I love the location. I LOVE this restaurant.

i also LOVE bringing my family and friends from out of town here!!!

it's wonderful. i've only ever had one less-than-perfect experience with their food- but that is because i am EXTREMELY picky. :)

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11/12/10

Thieves!!!!!!

by emmajane3000

SO I went there 3 times... each time the service was pretty damn bad (nice people but just couldn't get their stuff together). Food was ok but expected much better. Then they charged my friends credit card TWICE!!! It was nothing we could see at the time because the CC receipt was for $71 but when she got her bank statement they rang it through twice! After several unhelpful phonecalls with them we went back there to square it away and when the girl rang the CC through to take it off she took it offline so it never even took it off her card! (that WASN'T a mistake because we bought a drink on my CC while waiting and it was certainly online then!) The owners brother, Dennis, apologized and gave us 1 free drink and told us to come back 2 days later and he'd give her gift certificates since she was coming all the way from Williamsburg to fix it. When we went back he was nowhere to be found. The man helping us said he knew nothing about it and looked at us like 'sorry, i can't help you'. I had to suggest to him that he call Dennis to get this straightened out and when he did call him Dennis played dumb. My friends bank account ended up getting overdrafted because it didn't come off of her card when they "rang it through" and we ended up leaving with no gift certificates and her having to file a claim with the bank to have them investigate the situation so they could clear her of all the overdraft fees that had accrued. I understand accidents happen but when they do they should be handled properly... and all 4 people we dealt with in this situation were total idiots and tried to pass it off to someone else. Deffinitely not going back!!!

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11/07/10

Home away from home!

by Niens

My friend and I went to Madiba's in search of a little taste of home...and that's exactly what we got!

The food was excellent, friendly service-just like in SA, great background music and decor! The food did not arrive promptly like it would if you go to all-American Mc Dee's, but if you want to have a South-African experience, you should expect to be served on "African time!" Sit back, relax, sip on a Savannah and just enjoy the ambiance!

We enjoyed the Proudly SA products that were for sale! (Bought half of it) Funny though that our "Ouma-rusks" and "Cream-soda" was packed in "I heart NY bags!" Any "Checkers" ;"Pick 'n Pay" or "PEP" bags coming for future visitors?

this place is AYOBA! Loved it

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06/13/10

save yourself for a better service and meal

by syncopation96

I went to the restaurant around 5pm on Sunday. A half of the place was empty but the service was a way too slow. The wine was bad, the lamb was overcooked and the waiter didn't bother to check with me about food and drink. I couldn't even find him when I was ready for a check. It was a second time visiting this place. I wish I wasn't too hungry and it wasn't pouring when I walked by the restaurant.

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What People Are Saying About Madiba Restaurant

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Editor's Tips

02/19/12

Delicious Food ... but overpriced

by Dax Pagan

12/16/11

i am obsessed with this restaurant.

by BethAnnBonner

11/12/10

Thieves!!!!!!

by emmajane3000

11/07/10

Home away from home!

by Niens

06/13/10

save yourself for a better service and meal

by syncopation96

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