"My husband surprised me with a reservation to Madera for our anniversary on a Monday. Our reservation was at 5:30 pm but they suggested getting there about 15 minutes early, so we got there around 5:15 pm and was seated right away. They have an open kitchen close to the entrance and lovely dining room with vaulted ceilings as well as outdoor patio spaces as well. I requested to sit inside but closer to the windows for the beautiful green scenery in the background. The menu is nice and small which was great because I am typically overwhelmed when the menu is endless. We ordered the smoked deviled eggs, grill octopus, Ora king salmon, liberty farms dry aged duck breast. The smoked deviled eggs were really good and topped with trout roe so it was a great combination. The grilled octopus was perfectly cooked and have a nice Smokey taste to it as well. The star of the night were the large dishes, Ora king salmon and livery farms dry aged duck breast. The Ora king salmon was hands down the best salmon I?ve tried. The skin was very nice and crispy, while the salmon was perfectly cooked. The salmon quality itself was the best I?ve had. I wasn?t served a belly piece but it sure feels like it with all of the omega oozing out of it. This was perfect paired with small cuts of citrus and a type of herb sauce. The duck breast was also perfectly cooked and amazingly flavored. The duck skin itself was very nice and crispy while the duck breast meat was still juicy. My husband and I both would come back just for the salmon and duck breast. And of course we had to celebrate our anniversary with dessert! We were so full that we ended up getting just 1 dessert to share. I unfortunately don?t remember the name of the dessert but it was a cheesecake made out of sheep?s milk. The cheesecake wasn?t a traditional cheesecake. It was just soft cheesecake with no breading served on some type of glazed with strawberries and topped with pistachios crumbles. I didn?t think I?ll like sheep milk but this cheesecake was amazing and out of this world. For two people that were too full to look at the dessert menu, we ended up scrapping the plate clean! Service was amazing here as well! Our server, Andrea was very kind, patient and attentive. She made the experience way better with her recommendations of the menu, drinks, and constantly coming back to check in on us."
Crispy Duck
