OldTown White Coffee - SM City Santa Rosa — Restaurant in Santa Rosa

I was told that the food in OldTown was great, and actually, my sister and I were disappointed. We went there for dinner on a Saturday night, although we understand that the time we got in was dinner rush, however it was hard to call the staff's attention. There was no one to greet us by the door, even though there was a host podium. No one even offered us a table, and we had to sit ourselves on a table that was not cleaned yet. If we hadn't called the staff's attention, they wouldn't clean the table.

What made my decision to rate this branch one star, is our experience with the staff. Our table was right next to the staff "lounge" where most of the people who are on break are staying (I wouldn't actually say it's a lounge because it looks like a part lf the restaurant where they removed extra tables and chairs). I understand that they are resting, however, it would be nice to be in a restaurant where I can hear myself think. The staff were noisy and exchanging profanities which made our stay uncomfortable as I felt seen while eating.

Regarding the food, the menu was given to us after several calls for the staff. If we hadn't made eye contact with one of them, no one would take our orders. It took almost 30 minutes. Food was okay though, definitely overestimated by the reviews on the internet.

I feel like the restaurant is not short-staffed as during our stay, there were almost seven staff on break NEXT to our table. The staff lacks basic etiquette as, not only were they exchanging profanities in front of the customers, but some were also sleeping and had their feet resting on the couch–almost as if they were feeling at home.

I hope that the management would take this in consideration and improve their customer service. The restaurant has a lot of potential, especially with their food and coffee. OldTown Coffee, SM Sta. Rosa Branch, please take this as a...

Pros: Food tastes good. Place is clean.

Cons: No high chair for kids. Staff and crew lack customer service skills! A. We arrived at the restaurant and sat for almost a minute without anyone greeting us and giving the menu. My husband just stood up and got the menu from the counter and the staff there, who I think is the Manager did not do anything even after seeing my husband getting the menu by himself. B. All our orders arrived except for the Hainanese Chicken my husband ordered. We were almost finished with the orders delivered when the waiter came to us and asked if they can put BBQ sauce to the Hainanese Chicken instead of the original sauce as they ran out of it. Imagine, BBQ sauce in Hainanese Chicken? We asked the waiter why he told us just now since we've been waiting for too long. The waiter said that they have prepared the order, they just found out that they do not have sauce anymore after cooking it. My husband, who was so disappointed ended just cancelling his order. The waiter just left with no apologies at all! Lack of forecasting skills. On our first visit, all the rice meals were not available, the staff said that the rice was still being cooked. Then yesterday, the veggies were not available. And the Hainanese Sauce was just discovered unavailable after cooking the Hainanese Chicken? 🤦‍♂️ The cancelled order was still in our bill when we received it which took another waiting time for it to be removed. They are charging 20php now for each drink you will be taking out, considering the pricey cost of their drinks.

Reading all the reviews here, I can say that what happened to us is not an isolated case, it is really how the staff there work! The higher management should look into this. Sadly, this is our second visit but will...

Coffee has a general sweeter profile, due to addition of condensed milk as tradition, however it brings the texture to a quite fulfilling gulp. It's great in its own way.

Laksa noodle dishes seems unavailable frequently. My third time in a row already actually that I was told it wasnt available. Was it that popular?

Their Dry Noodles or Mee Kicap is severely lacking in dark soya sauce/ sesame oil, the one responsible for bringing the dish to a full circle. It looks too dry for it and taste bland too. You could ask for more dark soya/sesame oil sauce to remedial it though.

Service's lack of alertness may be due to customer scarcity at times, resulting in probable complacency. Though regardless, alertness is still required to practice.

Last but not the least, ambience of store screams both hazelnut and heritage, unlike many other coffee stores that have a darker ambience, this store challenges it with using lighter colors and it still worked. So great job to whomever interior designed it

Overall, the place is decent with rooms for...