Red Velvet Cafe & Gifts — Restaurant in City of Langley

At about 945 am on 21 June 2025, My husband and I were in the area for an appointment and thought we would try this place out for breakfast as it looked nice. From the beginning the experience was poor and went downhill from there. We approached the counter and read over the menu for a few minutes, and when we ordered, the server at the counter barely smiled and was not particularly friendly. Once we placed our order we walked to a table and sat down - the table felt dirty and did not appear to have been wiped down/ cleaned. I got up and walked over to the server at the counter and politely asked if the table could be wiped down and the server snapped saying, “yeah, I’ll get there.” I was taken aback at the response but went and sat back down to wait for the server to come and wipe our table. When she arrived to wipe our table, as soon as she approached she just started spraying cleaner, then wiped the table hurriedly, not even covering the whole table. When the server was finished wiping the table she said in a very curt tone, “There!”, and walked away. My husband had ordered tea and I ordered a cafe latte. When the server, brought the tea pot and cup for my husbands tea, the server set the tea pot down so hard it spilled tea out of the top of the tea pot leaving a large puddle near the centre of the table. The server just turned and walked away and when she came back with my latte, I said the the tea had spilled out over the table and the server responded curtly again with, “it’s ok, it’s just water”. I said, “it’s not water it’s tea and I don’t really want a puddle on our table while we eat, can you please wipe it up?”. The server literally huffed, turn abruptly walked back to the counter grabbed a cloth and then swiped the cloth over half the puddle, leaving half the puddle on the table, and actually stomped away. My husband and I were shocked - we have never seen any server behave so unprofessionally over a spill they caused. Not sure what the issue with the server was but she definitely needs extensive training in customer service and cleanliness. Eventually the food arrived, it was disappointing with very small portions and was quite bland, and the...

Interesting ambiance, wonderful pastries, very unfortunate drinks. This is the first place I've been to in my life where the coffee taste in a cappuccino may be an "extra charge" if not buying the larger size. It just sounds like a poor excuse given by a very lazy (and unskilled) barista. Good customer service is not their stuff...

Following owner's response:

I was the managing director of a coffee chain for some years and never thought of a coffee not tasting well because of the size. It's just unacceptable.

Poor customer service is saying that a better coffee taste depends on the coffee size which doesn't make sense at all. Remaking the drink is the least a business can do if the product is not up to customers' expectations. It's the business responsibility to make sure that its products are well designed and made right most of the times; not customers'.

I get that people can make mistakes (we all do). But trying to convince a customer that you are doing an upgrade on a bad product even if it's "for free" is misleading. If you want me to pay "the upgrade" I will. Do you want me to not screw your score? Fine, I did so already - your croissants are the best in town by far and deserve to be complimented. But I believe you're missing the point.

My wife threw her drink right after we left without saying a word, even though the barista nicely offered a new drink. She just didn't like it and preferred to avoid getting into an argument. I believe we all lost in that situation.

Many customer remain silent and just don't come back. So, you can choose to listen to your customers or to keep arguing... Happy to provide more insights from my learnings and mistakes as a customer facing manager. Extra "business flavor" is...

Stopped by while shopping in Langley and this Cafe and gift shop gets top billing. I'd give a six if possible. It is completely accessible as are both unisex washrooms. This alone is huge and not only is it easy access but there were a number of people with mobility issues enjoy the cafe when I was there. The staff and owner are wonderful and enjoy working there, which I discovered when I asked if I could take a picture of the menu. (Always ask). Meals are prepared fresh after you place and pay for your order at the counter, and the kitchen is wide open so you can watch things being made. Better to grab a seat 'though as the customers were coming in steady. I ordered a toasted Rueben which was absolutely perfect and a cold coffee drink. My partner ordered a Croussant and a tossed salad with a hot tea. Our entire meal was prepared and ready within a very few minutes. They call your name to come to the counter for your food, however I also had my Reuben delivered to the table. I also noted that a gentleman with mobility concerns had his meal carried out for him as he headed out to sit in the front tables outside the storefront. There are a wide variety of gifts, clothing and take home sauces , edibles etc to choose from while you wait. My partner picked out some clothing while waiting for me to arrive, (I was in a hobby shop across the street). Parking is street parking only however there is plenty available even on a Friday at lunchtime. Definitely a "6"...