Mad & Kaffe — Restaurant in Copenhagen Municipality

We had an awful experience at Mad. We were discriminated by a Danish waitress (blond, pony tail, with black turtleneck) at Mad&Kaffe on 3rd February, during the last brunch we had before leaving Copenhagen.

We were brought to the seat next to a big group of people while were 6 empty seats available when we entered. I went to the waitress, as we were not being served after a long wait, to request a corner seat so that I can stay away from a large crowd due to my medical condition.

Although there were 6 other empty seats that were not reserved, she turned me down with a NO and no explanation. I asked her that if there’s other way to accommodate, she only gave me a cold face and said I can leave.

I had no choice but to sit a bit further. A few minutes later she came to check at our table and claimed that we moved our table away (which is not true). Without even a word to us, she started to grab our table and moved it violently.

At that time, we were still not being served and she just left us. I felt humiliated and being given a hard time. We almost begged her to take the order after 39 mins of waiting, she finally came to take our order, after serving a few tables came after us. We are 2 Asian and 1 Muslim, and all of us felt being discriminated and treated with racism.

Our food finally arrived around 10:20, an hour and half after we entered, and it was delivered by a male waiter (who is a lot nicer compared to her). The food was ok but when it came I almost want to cry.

By the time we left the restaurant, I saw her standing at the entrance turning an Asian visitor out. Then turned to the European couple behind him and welcomed them with smile.

I would never forget her face and the feeling of being humiliated at the place that we paid for food and service, and the experience being discriminated as an Asian disabled person.

And at the end, the payment was also a joke - there is no way to split the bill (unless you do 50/50 among 3 people), and we were made to pay additional tax as they failed to notice payment with DKK will be taxed. We only realised it when I found there was additional charge and asked the nice waiter, he said she should’ve remind us.

Thanks for the great...

We visited the place for brunch after reading all these great reviews. It is not that the place is bad or anything, but it is not that it will blow your mind as seen in reviews. In the positives, I liked the staff as they were very friendly and smiley. They explained the items in the menu and the set-up if you sit outside and it starts raining (you cannot move, they will bring you umbreallas). For the food, they have a concept with a choice of 3, 5, or 7 dishes at a better price (the drink is not included in this count). The sizes as you can expect are small but the food is mostly tasty. From all the items, I enjoyed mostly the chicken nugget and the banana bread. My boyfriend wasn't happy but he is a difficult person to please when it comes to food. The prices are relatively ok for Copenhagen (though I have to mention that a friend quoted 'imagine if you were in your country (mediteranean area) they made you sit outside in the smallest and most uncomfortable chairs, raining, eating nothing, and paying 30€ per person, you would for sure have been annoyed and here we do stay and we say thank you as well as it is mostly the same everywhere in Denmark). What made me feel very uncomfortable was that we were sitting at a small table in the sidewalk and you could see that the pedestrians were struggling to walk by due to the table covering most of the sidewalk.

However, I have to mention that maybe if we were proactive and made a table reservation for brunch, then my review might have been more positive. But I was not expecting that it will be that full inside that early (around 10:00).

So, as a conclusion, I would say you can visit the place once but make sure to book a table and don't expect to feel full after eating (unless maybe you have the 7...

If you don’t speak Danish, don’t bother.

I visited the café on Thursday around 13:00 with a friend, hoping to enjoy brunch. The place was full, and there was a big sign at the entrance saying “Please wait to be seated.” So we did - for over 10 minutes.

When a table finally freed up, we considered just taking it, but decided to follow the rules. Seconds later, a woman walked in from across the street and sat there without hesitation. I approached the waitress and told her we had been waiting and wanted that table. She responded in Danish- which I understand well enough- that we were first, and the table should go to us. The woman stood up.

Then another waitress arrived (both of them were rushing through). My friend asked if we could now sit. Before she could answer, the same woman jumped in again, loudly insisting (in Danish) that she had been there first. And this time, the waitress gave her the table, saying “she was long before you here.” Say what?!

It was unbelievable. We followed the rules. We waited. But somehow, speaking Danish and insisting loudly was all it took to get priority.

The other guest’s entitlement was frustrating, but what really stuck with me was the clear bias from the staff.

So no, I don’t care how many influencers tag your food or how “cozy” your café looks on Instagram. If being local is the secret password to basic respect, you’ve already lost me.

Your food might be good, but your service is disgraceful. And if your staff can’t be bothered to follow your own policies, then throw those “Please wait to be seated” signs in the bin - because clearly, they mean nothing.

I won’t be back. And I’ll make sure others know what kind of welcome...