JW Cafe — Restaurant in Hong Kong Island

We had a business lunch at the cafe today and it was a mistake. The service was unacceptable and food was subpar. We ordered ala carte instead of buffet, items were nasi goreng, lamb rack, and an Impossible burger.

We finished ordering at 12:10PM and the first item arrived at our table at 12:40PM when we had to inquire the whereabouts of our food. When I asked the server why service is so slow today he simply told me they are busy and left. Another 5 minutes went by, the Impossible burger arrived, it was luke warm and dry.

At this point, I made it known to the server that this is an unacceptable level of service from a JW Marriott establishment. Finally, the assistant manager came over to apologise for the slow service because they are busy. I had no choice but to inform her that majority of the tables were buffet diners so how can it be so busy for the kitchen to neglect ala carte orders? At this point it is already 12:55PM and still no lamb rack.

Finally, the lamb rack arrived at 12:58PM and my friend had no choice but to wolf it down as quickly as possible as he needs to leave at 1:30PM. My other friend pointed out that my burger was not good to the assistant manager as I stopped eating after a few bites. She offered to replace it, but I do not have the luxury to wait any further.

The chef came out to inquire about the burger being the wrong temperature and offered a replacement. I declined and asked him why is service so terrible today, again, the response was they are busy. That is when I can no longer take this irresponsible excuse from the leadership and told him point blank that the restaurant being busy is his responsibility to solve rather than to diminish my dining experience. He gave a look of displeasure and left without another word.

In summary, they comped the lamb rack and gave us a $100 discount on the final bill, but still had the audacity to add a $50 service charge. Never took ownership of the screw up but simply blame it on the kitchen being busy when 90% of patrons are buffet dining. 5 star price for 1 star food and service.

I would not recommend anyone to dine here as next to them you have choices such as the Shangri-la, Conrad and many others inside...

Mid-sized buffet spread;Top Taste and Service

I’d say JW Cafe is Mid-sized in terms of number of dishes/Variety (if you compare it to a giant such as Cafe TOO @ Shangri-La-La)..... but JW is definitely Top-class in terms of Quality, Taste and Service.👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

The lunch buffet had excellent quality seafood😋 and the overall focus leans towards Chinese dishes.... which is great👍🏻. Of course one would still find some good chicken wings, pastas, spring rolls and roast meats in that buffet.

The sweet and sour pork was excellent and so was the noodles that it came with. The mussels were definitely worth multiple visits.👍🏻

We got the chance to enjoy the buffet as well as the a-la-carte menu since one of our party was fashionably late😜.... in fact so late that the buffet closed at 14:30, so one of us had to order from the menu.

Among the a-la-carte menu, the Jumbo Asparagus (appetizer), and the King Salmon (mains) were very good.🌟

For the iced tea, we requested to replace the lemon slices with orange slices 😮... as I recalled having it somewhere before and I remember liking it. The staff did it with no problem.

While I was enjoying the buffet, it was around 14:20.... so just 10 more minutes. And they checked with me a couple of times if I wanted anything else, and they actually prepared the plates and brought to me, given the urgency.......

I've been struggling to give a review for JW buffet because it's a mixed bag. Pros: It has a variety of choices, cuisines, & it's definitely provided more options (I.e. cold seafood) than the usual lunch buffets. We sat by the side, which had a fantastic bird's eye view of the restaurant underneath and the outside. As for the food itself, I particularly liked its Peking duck, sirloin steak, fish maw, & its fruits & desserts. Cons: However, the biggest issue of JW Cafe was its overcrowded problem. It's difficult to manoeuvre at the food station & there's always a queue at every counter. Foods were not refilled quickly as there were lots of empty trays at the food station just after 1/2 hour. Dispite it has more choices than many usual buffets, but it's also more expensive than others. In addition, I didn't find anything was exceptionally tasty. Overall, I am the kind of person who would enjoy a good atmosphere more than the actual food itself when it comes to buffet. I like the interior decor of JW Café & the comfy seating area, but I hate the overcrowded at the food station & the supply of food definitely couldn't meet its demands on the...