On July 4th at 8pm, there were 5 open tables. I went with my wife's family (dad from Singapore, sis & hubby from SF) and my kids, and let them know we'd like to have a light meal, appetizers & dessert. They refused to serve us, stating that they would not open tables until 10pm for dessert.

We won't be returning, however pretty the decor, and NYC deli-ish their fare. They should treat folks better. The manager refused to talk to me as well.

had two meals there. pretty polished food, generous portions. Dinner service needs a little work, but this restaurant had potential. I think they should institute a reservation policy for dinner

DON'T GO--NO NEED TO PAY FOR PRICEY FOOD, TERRIBLE SERVICE AND AN UNBEARABLE MANAGER

Where to begin on my miserable experience?

- We were told the wait was 10 minutes. The wait turned out to be 30 minutes.

- The busboy took away our cocktails before we were done with them. In fact, they were full. When we pointed this out to him, all he said was was, "I thought you guys you were done." I do not need to be referred to "You guys".

- The pasta that we ordered for our appetizer took 40 minutes to arrive. We inquired as to our order TWO times with no response.

- We asked for plates FIVE times in order to share the pasta, as it was an appetizer. When no plates arrived, we were forced to eat off the same plate together.

- Our entrees arrived TWO minutes after our appetizer. Decent restaurants wait for its patrons to complete their appetizers before bringing the entrees, especially if it takes 40 minutes for the appetizer to arrive. Therefore, we were balancing three large plates on a small table. Our entrees were practically in our laps.

- The sirloin entre that I ordered medium rare came to me burnt on the outside with the texture of beef jerky. Not what I had experienced two weeks prior and certainly not worth $27.00. I ate one piece, so the waitress asked me if I wanted to take it home. I told her that because it was burnt, I wouldn't be taking it home and her response was, "You should have ordered it rare."

- Our waitress' underwear hanging out of the back of her low rise pants the entire time we were there. Very unappetizing to look at someone's thong the whole time one is dining. Unsanitary and unsightly.

- Finally, I called to speak to the manager to describe my experience. "Michael" told me that he couldn't and wouldn't do anything about it and that I should "come back for a nice table". He very rudely and inappropriately ended the call by saying, "I'm busy" and hung up. (I specifically called AFTER the lunch hour.) What manager of a decent restaurant does that? Poor manners on the part of the manager and poor service by the wait staff.

Most restaurants comp returning customers for an experience such as this. For a $150.00+ meal for two persons, this is not the quality of service or food that diners expect. I am appalled at the service I received, especially by the manager.

There are too many restaurants in Palo Alto to choose from where the service is courteous and food prepared to order.

Aside from having to view underwear, the hostesses should also try NOT dressing like prostitutes. With half their butts hanging out of their skirts and their cellulite practically in my face (yes, even young, skinny girls have it), I nearly had the dry heaves.

Spare yourselves!

So Helen, tell us what you REALLY think.

I have not eaten there but I did stop by and look at the menu. At the bottom it says something like "a sophisticated New York dining experience." I'd like to point out that Fifth and Madison are parallel! There is no such place as Madison and Fifth in New York. So much for sophistication.

We went there for lunch and only ordered entrees.

Pros:
- very good food
- nice dish's presentation
- generous portion
- olives and mortadella to start the meal

Cons:
- hostess poorly dressed, apparently very bored and unwilling to smile
- attitude (not as bad as Cafe Niebaum-Coppola though)
- slow service even though the restaurant was not very busy. We had to wait quite some time before someone even took our order and then more time to actually be served.

Overall, still a very good experience thanks to the food, which makes me forgive the cons. Not cheap but worth it.

to helen, a resident of Stanford,

Com'on helen, it's just a meal.
Have a life and be happy.

Presentation was beautiful, but food was unbelievably salty. It was too rich tasting (risotto was soooo cheesy and salty). My friend and I both could not get throught half of our meals due to the salt content.
Service was okay, although the waitress was pretty snooty when I walked in and she saw my sleeping 3 month old in a stroller.
Will not return.

This place can be summed up fairly easily: It lacks the intelligence to support its arrogance. As a fairly new restaurant, I'd fully expect to run into a few hiccups in my first experiences there. Indeed, one of the more fun aspects of being a diner at a new establishment is watching it mature upon return visits. This is one place that really isn't worth expending the energy to turn the key in the ignition of my car to return to. Went there about two months after opening. We were told we'd be seated in about ten minuted. Fourty minutes later we were finally shown a table. As expected, the host had the "you're privleged to be here" attitude. Whatever, thery're trying to be trendy - I can deal with idiots with attitude; it amuses me. Our waitress was (again as expected) gorgeous. While she was very sweet, there was absolutly nothing going on up there - when I ordered a Tanqueray Ten martini up with an olive, she asked if "up" meant no ice. Again, I can deal with this. Here's were things get bad. I ordered their special of the day fish entree (forget what the fish was, but it was actually pretty good). It was served with clams and a little linguini. Two of the clams, however, were rancid; both full of mud and smelled like a garbage dump. Upon showing this to the waitress, she said "Really? I thought we checked for that kind of stuff." I asked her if I could just speak to the manager for a moment. His first mistake was showing up for work. I have never in all my years eating out - in SF, NY, or LA - encountered such an unbeleiveably incompetant, unintelligent, rude, and extrodinarily arrogant employee. I told him upfront that I was willing to pay for the dish (I had eaten all the fish) but that I wanted to do him a favor by pointing out the two clams. His response was literally "Well I wouldn't have comped that anyway - you should say something before you eat."

I got news for Madison and Fifth. Your food is sub-par. Your arrogance is quickly undercut by incompetance, and let's face it, if you can't make it playing "A-ball" in the suburbs, you're not going to make it in the big leagues in Manhattan. Also, Madison and Fifth are parallel. Go figure.

I agree completely. They are too arrogant for their competence. I went there 3 times when they first opened, and even though I must say the food is quite decent, the service is terrible. On one occasion the waitress finally came to our table after many frustrating attempts to get her attention for at least 1/2 hour --- and could not remember whether she had already taken our order or not!
I have not returned. I just don't feel inclined, even though I dine in downtown Palo Alto very often.

I agree completely. They are too arrogant for their competence. I went there 3 times when they first opened, and even though I must say the food is quite decent, the service is terrible. On one occasion the waitress finally came to our table after many frustrating attempts to get her attention for at least 1/2 hour --- and could not remember whether she had already taken our order or not!
I have not returned. I just don't feel inclined, even though I dine in downtown Palo Alto very often.

I agree completely. They are too arrogant for their competence. I went there 3 times when they first opened, and even though I must say the food is quite decent, the service is terrible. On one occasion the waitress finally came to our table after many frustrating attempts to get her attention for at least 1/2 hour --- and could not remember whether she had already taken our order or not!
I have not returned. I just don't feel inclined, even though I dine in downtown Palo Alto very often.

My boyfriend and I go to Madison and Fifth fairly often - about once or twice a month. We like the New York sophistication and the delicious food with a nice presentation. We don't get bored coming back because there are always new and tasty specials. We find the waiters quite friendly, and some of them actually come from New York. The prices are somewhat high, but comparable to many of the other restaurants downtown. Madison and Fifth is definitely a welcome addition to the downtown dining scene.