Malabar - Sevenoaks

I unfortunately visited this café today and, as mentioned before, the staff lacked any personality - not even a simple "please" or "thank you." The coffee was awful, with both the latte and cappuccino being of poor quality. The cheese and bacon muffin was also terrible, with the bacon being nowhere to be found and lacking in taste. I usually prefer to support independent coffee shops, but I will never return to this place. My brief 20-minute visit ended up costing £15 for two terrible coffees and uneaten sandwich and muffin - definitely not worth the money.

I visited the restaurant today for coffee and cake to enjoy in the shop, but we were served our coffees in paper cups (unsure if they were recyclable) and our cakes in paper/plastic bags. I mentioned to the young lady that we were dining in, but all she said was "it's because of Covid." This was disappointing. I believe it is now feasible to wash cups, saucers, and plates without putting anyone's life at risk. Malibar has always been one of my preferred coffee spots, but I won't be coming back until the old ways are restored.

It seems the staff didn’t bother to serve visitors appropriately. Cold milk instead of warm and the food was cold too. Disappointing experience.

Customer service the last three times I 've been in now matches the EXCELLENT coffee! After leaving a review a week or so ago saying I felt like I was an inconvenience to the staff and that service had steadily gone down hill...I must admit I was wrong. Previous review has been deleted!!! Yes, there were a few days of bad service in a row... but ever since last week the staff have been back up to full cheeriness! We all have our bad days, myself included. Also, it 's very clear whoever manages the review responses on trip advisor is incredibly polite respectful always worth bearing something like this in mind. If a manager is rude on trip advisor to customers who express concerns, imagine how they treat their staff/customers in real life! I can 't remember who responded to my more critical review (of three stars) but I remember reading it and thinking 'okay, I 'll give Malabar another shot ' and I am glad I did!

I do like Malabar, and especially the classy food and drink they sell. I went today looking forward to a first visit in months and had great coffee but most of the food was sold (great for them! . What did annoy me considerably was that, despite having the ability to have sit-down coffee, I could not use the loo! Not very helpful to say the least. Either open up properly or don't bother!!