ate | altogether experimental | Caves — Restaurant in Delhi

Honest review - I have been raving about this place’s food and desserts to everybody I know. But their Safdarjung outlet is going to bring their business down entirely. They have got the WORST, MOST LAZY STAFF I have ever seen. They do not acknowledge any feedback, they barely ever take into account any requests, they have big frowns on their faces while working, and it just seems like they dont want to work at all. At least thrice, I have reached this outlet between 9 30-9 40 pm, really looking forward to their desserts, but each time, I was told they are closed, even though WE COULD SEE OCCUPIED TABLES INSIDE! Andddd, their official closing time on Google and every other online platform is 10 PM! They are clearly functioning till 10 pm. We understand that if they close at 10, they cant take any fresh orders in the kitchen. But we told them that we just want to grab desserts, which are obviously ready and on display. But they said no to that as well, clearly just not wanting to work and open their billing systems again. Its only when I went in and requested to check their timings with their owner / senior manager, that they agreed to serve us the on display dessert items. Which clearly proved that they were available but the staff on its own had decided to shut down before their official hours, to reduce their own work load. Really really disappointing for a gourmet cafe like this, which is serving excellent food but has the most undedicated staff. Note to the owner - you guys deserve better staff members!...

Please don’t go by the photos of this place, how it seems instagrammable and another good looking new spot in Delhi. The food here is quite pathetic, I went there recently and ordered two items — one was marinara pasta and the other was a recreation of hummus plate w pita. The pasta was so spicy, and the tomatoes were definitely not fresh, we couldn’t eat more than 2 bites. It was horrible, pasta is not meant to be like that!! And the other dish was so average and just these two things costed us 1200 which seemed quite a waste. We weren’t full or satisfied. Not visiting again, their desserts are quite amazing though.

This one’s quite cramped too, the tables are kept so close to one another that you can nearly hear the people talking who’re seated next to you. There is limited privacy. The staff was kind, however, due to the weird structure of the Cafe, there was no way to call your waiter or wave at them, you had to get up go outside...

on my most recent visit to ate Safdarjung, my friend and I saw 3 honeybees - 2 alive, 1 dead right next to where it seemed the best to sit around. I thought I could give the management a chance and point it out, hoping they would do something. but alas, stupid me, expecting a bee-free dining experience. because next, the person that chose to serve us saw it, reluctantly called help that was also reluctant, and told us to "be(e?) careful". lovely time - amusing, a fun story. but would I come back? I've enjoyed the other ate over the years since it's opened but this one? I would rather go to a place with the same vibe, minus the bees and the reluctance to provide a bee-free experience. But thank you...