Malibu Barbie Cafe — Restaurant in Melbourne

I don’t recommend this place!! Poor customer service by the owne.

We arrived at approximately 8:00 PM to celebrate our daughter’s birthday, as she is a big fan of Barbie. Initially, my husband intended to make an online reservation, but we opted for a walk-in based on the information provided on your website, which indicated that walk-ins were welcome. Upon arrival, we joined the queue and were subsequently informed by a gentleman who identified himself as the owner that the café was fully booked for the evening and that they were not accepting walk-ins. This information was disappointing, as it contrasted with what was indicated on the website. After checking online, we noticed that there were still available slots, the next being at 8:45 PM, which we then successfully booked. After returning at 8:45 PM, we were finally seated, but upon reviewing the menu, we discovered that we could only order drinks and entrees. We approached a member of your staff, “Barbie,” for assistance with ordering hamburgers, which were not included on the limited menu. She informed us there was a glitch with the online ordering system and assured us that our orders would be prepared once placed.

A second staff member came to check on us, ,we told him about the ordering issue, he informed us that the restaurant had been closed. This was surprising to us, as your website does not mention any early closure or restrictions regarding walk-in customers. We communicated our concern to him, highlighting that we had arrived 75 minutes before closing time (10 PM). Shortly thereafter, the manager or owner approached our table and, unfortunately, was rather rude. He claimed that all relevant information was clearly stated on your website. When we requested to see this information, he left to check and returned with the explanation that technical issues with the system prevented updates from being reflected online. Instead of addressing our concerns with understanding or offering an apology for the inconvenience we experienced, his demeanor remained dismissive. When my husband expressed his disappointment over the situation—especially considering we had been turned away just 45 minutes earlier—the owner escalated the situation by asking us to leave and even mentioned that he would call security. Respecting his request and not wanting to disturb other patrons in an otherwise empty room, we asked for a refund. To our surprise, after asking us to leave, he claimed he had initially intended to offer us a free meal😂😂, which was puzzling, given the circumstances. Unfortunately, the treatment we received felt discriminatory and left us...

ChatGPT You said: Refine and correct spelling and grammatical errors "The whole thing started out well. We had no booking and upon arrival we were told that they were fully booked which is understandable. However, the barbie at the door was very accommodating and professional. She said they could see if they could find us a table in about an hour or so and sent us upstairs to see what they could do. There we were met with another barbie who was amazing. This barbie name was Lauren. She was very pleasant , professional and accommodating. I was very impressed by thus place at this stage. Lauren found me and my 4 year old daughter a table for two and as we set another young lady by the name Jess came to the table and was nothing short of amazing. Now, I dine out quite a bit and recently noticed that the service quality had dropped significantly in restaurants and cafes that aren't an upscale pleaces or some of those located in 5 star hotels. This place exceeded my expectations and beyond. The people mentioned above were just the main actors, but there were others who occasionally popped by to ensure we were looked after. All on in all, this place is amazing, I would recommend it to all parents. I would say and say hey to Lauren and the gang. ChatGPT said: Here’s your refined version with corrected grammar, spelling, punctuation, and improved flow:

The whole experience started out well.

We had no booking, and upon arrival, we were informed that they were fully booked—which was completely understandable. However, the young woman at the door was very accommodating and professional. She mentioned they might be able to find us a table in about an hour and directed us upstairs to see what could be done.

Upstairs, we were greeted by another staff member named Lauren, who was absolutely amazing. She was pleasant, professional, and very accommodating. At this point, I was genuinely impressed by the level of service.

Lauren managed to find a table for me and my 4-year-old daughter. As we settled in, another lovely staff member named Jess came to our table and was nothing short of amazing.

I dine out quite frequently and have recently noticed that service quality has dropped significantly in many restaurants and cafes that aren’t high-end or located in five-star hotels. But this place exceeded my expectations. The staff I mentioned were the standouts, but others also checked in from time to time to make sure we were well looked after. My daughter loved the whole experience and Lauren.

All in all, this place is fantastic. I’d highly recommend it to all parents. If you go, be sure to say hello to Lauren...

I wish I could give this place -5 review! I don’t even know where to start with how horrific our experience was. I was so looking forward to taking my two daughters, we travelled two hours to see this cafe! As soon as we arrived for our 930 am booking we had to queue for 15 minutes even though there were only two other guests in front of us waiting to be seated. They had one lady on the door who had such awful customer service she treated us as if we were a burden to her. We were finally seated at 945 after being told we weren’t able to bring my babies pram in so had to dump in in a random pram parking section behind a garden. Once seated we were abruptly told we had to order online. When I queried how the online ordering is set up for allergies she rudely replied it’s all online. Well surprise suprise there was no information about allergies online when ordering so I had to wait several minutes to find someone to actually speak to and help order. When I did miraculously find someone she had absolutely zero idea what was in anything on the menu and had to go back and forth asking someone else. Eventually we ordered and paid $85 for a crap coffee in a paper cup, 2 milkshakes, some fruit on a stick, 2 donuts and the most revolting bacon and eggs I’ve ever seen in my life. After ordering my baby needed her nappy changed( best timing) so I took all three kids upstairs to where the toilets are, couldn’t find the baby change facilities and when I asked one of the staff her response was they didn’t have any and I could change my baby on the floor. If I hadn’t of just spent $85 at that point I would have walked straight out. I asked another staff member where the closest baby change facility was and she had no idea and didn’t even attempt to help me. I can’t comprehend how a venue such as this does not cater for families. Absolutely disgusting. It just went downhill from here, there was a hair in my food, the roller rink is ridiculously overpriced- $10 per child to roll around a tiny ring. Don’t waste your money on that better off buying some yourself haha Overall I couldn’t have been more disappointed given my daughters were soo excited to go. Will be telling anyone and everyone who will listen to avoid wasting their time and money on this place! All of this and the place wasn’t even that busy so not sure what their excuse is for such poor service and facilities. Some basic training in customer service would...