DoubleTap Cafe — Restaurant in Perak

A sadly disappointing experience. I don't like giving bad reviews but perhaps if enough people do (and they're getting quite a few recently) they might notice and if they actually care about more than making money things will change. It has such a lovely location just by the lake gardens and coffee is actually really good. Lots of the issues probably would be reasonably easy to fix with enough thought and effort.

Anyway the pros such as they were really good coffee (surprisingly good given other elements of the experience), a lot of parking, building is quite stylish looking and of course excellent location right by Raintree Walk. They've recently moved to this location actually and no doubt it's probably a money spinner because of passing trade though they're currently ill equipped to deal with it I think. Staff shortages in part plus I expect high staff turnover also given the working environment.

Service in terms of politeness wasn't too bad tbf - they did better than I would've done working in that environment on a hot, busy Saturday for 10+ hours. I doubt most of them were much above 20 years old - any deficiency in service I would blame on the owners not them frankly.

Cons of which they were sadly quite a few. The environment is extremely hot partly because the building is inefficient in its construction, partly because there's no ceiling fans but mostly I think because they're using older bulbs which give out and enormous amount of heat - more than the ac can deal with. It was probably cheaper for them to use these bulbs rather than LED ones however long term the energy costs will be MUCH higher. Also none of their customers will return because they don't want to be slowly cooked alive in an already very hot country while waiting for their food. I urge them - beg them even to change these bulbs immediately for everyone's sake - imagine being a waitress or chef there and wearing a mask!!

Service was very slow - took perhaps 30 minutes for two flat whites to arrive and about the same for a very average omelette. Went up after about 25 minutes to remind the counter staff and was like ordering again - seems to be some issue with communication between the front and back or possibly some other deeper training and/or technical issue.

As far as I could tell there seemed to be no owner or manager about orchestrating things - almost like they were leaving their young staff just to face the problems while they enjoy the money being made - If true that's unforgivable. Hopefully that's not the case but certainly some more leadership wouldn't go amiss here as a minimum.

Laughably my wife's nachos took 45 minutes and was just bagged nachos emptied on to a plate with a small pot of cheap cheese sauce and another small pot of chopped cucumber and onion (not salsa as the menu said)! I could've genuinely have made this in 45 seconds so how it takes a supposedly professional kitchen 45 minutes is beyond me. The food overall was mediocre but this is just plain bad - not only from a service perspective but because the end product is so poor and the customer feels cheated.

I could be wrong and I hope I am but I think very much a case of profit being the most important thing by cutting expenses to a minimum. Not a pleasant experience for the customer who will rarely be fooled and will seriously harm repeat custom. This is probably quite important in Taiping as it's not somewhere low quality that can just rely on tourists mostly like the Old smokehouse in Cameron highlands does. I don't think just being by the lake gardens is good enough for this place to survive long term.

The friends we were with had been to the old location and this whole experience left them feeling genuinely sad. The view might be better and the size bigger but it seems to have lost most of the good things it had in the process. It was an utterly charmless experience. With enough work it could be significantly improved I'm sure - I think somewhere here there's still a really good cafe - the location certainly...

First of all, the food here tastes great, definitely a big improvement compared to a few years ago. I’ve always been a fan of their spaghetti series.

The price is also very reasonable, especially when compared to newer cafés around Taiping. For the quality and portion, it’s quite worth it.

However, I found the experience a bit frustrating due to the supervisor's rigid approach. We ordered the new “Drunken White Clam Spaghetti,” and was waiting it to be served, but sometimes later, we were told that the sauce was out of stock and had to pick something else.

My friend, who’s a chef at an omakase fine dining restaurant, requested to switch to the Tom Yam Spaghetti (same price, easier since they don’t have to void the bill or anything), but with seafood clam instead of chicken breast, as she doesn’t eat chicken due to the texture (she is a chef, she knew this can be done, just depends on whether the restaurant wants to do it or not) (I mean, we have the right to pay for what we prefer to eat wat). We suggested giving a smaller portion of clam to balance the cost since we understand chicken is definitely cheaper.

The service staff was polite and professional, she checked with the kitchen and supervisor. But she came back saying, “The kitchen said they can cook it, but they won’t,” and couldn’t provide a proper reason other than “supervisor didn’t allow it.” When we asked to speak to the supervisor, we were told that they weren’t around.

Honestly, it wasn’t an unreasonable request, especially since the clams were still in stock and the dish we originally ordered couldn’t be served anyway, and again, we did mention to serve the clam in lesser portion. Many other restaurants, even newer ones in Taiping, would’ve been more flexible when it comes to customer’s requests.

That said, the food is still delicious, prices are fair, and the service staff was courteous. Just a shame that the SOP is so rigid, a bit of flexibility could’ve easily turned this into a...

Wonderful Food and Cozy Ambience, but Some Improvements Needed.

I recently had a delightful dining experience in this cosy place overlooking the taiping lake garden . This place offers a fair selection of mix cuisine food. Their dalgona coffee with caramel crumbs and fries were simply scrumptious. The highlight of my meal was the generous portion of fish fillet; and left me and my toddler feeling completely satisfied.

The ambience of the restaurant was cozy and had a unique touch of industrial Boho house aesthetics, which added to the overall charm. I truly appreciated the concept they had created, as it made my dining experience more enjoyable.

However, there are a couple of areas where the restaurant could improve. Firstly, the road conditions leading to the car parks could be better maintained. It was disappointing to see the area resemble a construction site, and it would be beneficial for both the restaurant and its patrons if the parking area were properly tarred and maintained.

Secondly, it would be helpful to have a prominent sign indicating that the restaurant operates on a self-serve or counter-order system. As a first-time visitor, we waited for a waiter for quite some time, only to realize later that we needed to place our orders at the counter. This confusion was also noticed by other customers at different tables. Clear signage would prevent such instances and streamline the ordering process for all guests.

Third to add on some coffee varieties to the menu 😂

Despite these minor issues, my overall experience at Double Tap was excellent. The combination of delectable food, and cozy ambience made it a memorable dining session, especially since I was accompanied by my little one. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a chill and aesthetic...