awal cafe — Restaurant in Agdal Riyad أكدال الرياض

Just wasted my precious 40 minutes.

Placed my order at 14:09. Until 14:52, I still received nothing, even though what I ordered was only a glass of drink.

I counted that at least 3 tables -excluding mine- were served during that period, not to mention the clients who sat on those tables came after me. Shouldn't it be first come, first served?

Two of the 3 tables were near me. One beside me, one behind me. Staff had to walk past my table to reach those tables. Was I invisible from the staff's vision when they served those tables?

After waiting for more than 40 minutes, I approached the staff and asked about my order. Turned out it still hadn't been made yet. (One of them even laughed?!) Seeing that I was in a rush, they asked if I'd like to purchase a takeaway drink. I didn't want to wait any longer cause I really had to go somewhere.

But the part that truly hurt was the silence as I left the place. No one said sorry; not in darija, arabic, french, or english, and not even through body language. It was like as if I was invisible, and as if my time I spent on waiting didn't matter at all. I left with a heavy heart, feeling like I had been completely ignored.

I put expectations when finally choosing this place due to its positive ratings. Now, I'm just telling what I have experienced... :(

Poor service, poor...

A very nice and pleasant new cafe, I had an vanilla flavored latte which was well-made. The atmosphere is nice as well, light and soft colors, nice seating arrangement. The staff were pleasant. And it was quiet enough, not too loud.

My major issue is that the only way to access the menu is via QR code. I tried 2 different codes from 2 tables, I even tried to take it out of the plastic so it could be read more easily. 5 minutes I spent trying with my phone to read the QR code to access the menu. I asked if there was a physical menu and was told unfortunately no since the cafe was new. In my opinion, this is no excuse. Trying to access the menu was frustrating. The owner had to come and asked that the QR was not working? Then showed me the menu on her phone.

This is poor service and unfortunate. If you want your customers to order with ease, don't force them to 1. Scan a QR code just to be able to access the menu, 2. Even if you have a QR menu, ensure it is readible.

I seriously thought about leaving because I was frustrated unable to access the menu, but felt bad when the owner came over and asked. But this is unacceptable. Especially for a...

My visit to Awal Cafe was an absolute letdown from start to finish. The service was abysmal—our server was passive and unengaged, even handing me items to hold for her (without asking me to do so, just handing me the stuff lol), which is unprofessional. We had several missing items brought to our table, and I had to get up and go to the counter to notify her that I hadn't received my juice.

We even had to get up and go order ourselves because the service was so bad. The fruit bowl was a scam, containing only two small orange pieces and some granola. The coffee was another disappointment. We ordered coffee with coconut milk but were served oat milk instead, which caused digestive issues for me later on.

While the ambience inside and the interior design are cute and well-made, making it a nice spot for photos, it doesn't make up for the bad service. Overall, the experience was frustrating and far below expectations. I cannot recommend Awal Cafe based...