CHAMBAO - Cafe & Retreat — Restaurant in Malé Atoll

Replay to the owner : Thank you for your response. It’s unfortunate that instead of addressing the concerns I raised, you chose to be dismissive and condescending. A professional approach would be to take customer feedback into consideration rather than make assumptions about their knowledge of food. Wishing you the best.

Disappointing experience. This place is really popular on the island, but honestly, not worth it. Apparently, you need a reservation, but there’s no sign saying that. We got lucky because the restaurant was empty when we arrived, but we saw so many people get turned away—even though 80% of the tables stayed empty the whole time we were there. It was just awkward watching people walk in, sit down, then get told five minutes later they needed a reservation. Really unprofessional.

The food? Nothing special. We got the tuna tartare and nachos to share, but after one bite of the tartare, we realized the fish wasn’t fresh. It was disgusting, and we immediately lost our appetite. And for $70? Way overpriced for such an average meal.

The only reason I’m giving 2 stars is because the drinks looked good and were actually okay. Otherwise, just go to Amore or...

First of all, the whole experience and the design and food presentation is super nice and artsy, and all the staff is very kind.

About the food, I can't remember if I ordered butter chicken or tikka masala, but it was a bit plain taste with cinnamon dominating. French fries didn't look fresh made. Also can't remember which fruit juice did we order, but it was with a lot of added water and with added sugar (this is the case in all the other restaurants too)

Overall, I can't say it wasn't good, but my main complaint is that the big prices don't justify what you get, and are catered specifically for Western tourists (prices are 2 - 2.5x more expensive compared to the rest of the island). And when you pay that much, you don't expect watered juice or average meal. If the price was normal for the given food, I would rate it with 4 stars for sure.

Also, shisha was very expensive, around $27 which is more expensive than most European cities, so we didn't order it.

And definitely, kudos to the owner for a super interesting design of...

We visited this place during our week of staying on the island in the month of August and used to have lunch and dinner there almost every day. Our kids loved their burgers, nachos and pasta. Can recommend Spanish rice (paella), it’s a huge thing (a whole pan, enough for two or three to share); tuna in coconut sauce is very good and the portion is big. The crepes are fab! Very fast and tasty. The fresh juices are really different from other restaurants of the island, nicely decorated, without so much sugar added and with much fruit. They have shisha, table football and some more table games plus the swings that the kids absolutely loved! The prices are a bit higher then in other places but the quality and the size of the portions worth it. They have rooms for rent, next time will contact them directly for the...