Marina Cafe — Restaurant in London

My partner booked a table for Valentines Day. My partner had enquired before if there would be a Valentine's theme in the restaurant itself and was told yes. When we arrived there was nothing, it was bland and looked normal. My partner said we had a reservation. The server abruptly replied that we don't do bookings. He explained he had spoken to someone the day before, but it was dismissed by the server. She said to sit anywhere. We chose a table which seemed OK but felt sticky .atbe it was the wood. First, the server came over. I went through the whole order, and she realised her pen wasn't working. She came back only to walk away again mid sentance. We finally gave our order. 2 OJs, 2 full English breakfasts, and 2 lots of pancakes. She asked if we wanted the pancakes as a side or a meal. On the menu, we picked the one with syrup and fruit. When she put the order through. We we questioned and had a discussion with the chef for what seemed like 30 minutes, questioning if we want two lots of pancakes. I literally had a headache by then. I said to my partner that the oil or griddle smelled a bit off. It was a strong stale smell. The OJ was ok, it said freshly squeezed but clearly came from a carton. The breakfast felt fake. Everything had a salty, processed taste, and the oil didn't help. The mushrooms were overly salty and from a can, and the tomatoe looked a bit on the ripe side and seemed canned. The claim everything was fresh, but looked lacklustre. The eggs didn't taste nice, I think either the griddle or oil was old or just tasted weird. The service was mediocre. We had to listen to our initial server moan about working the night before, and she doesn't normally take orders, and there is no staff, just her and the chef. While I'm sympathetic, I don't need to be dragged down. While we were there, we noticed a lot of weird dealings going on in the other half of the restaurant in the outside bit. The table roughly near ours in the next bit seemed to have people coming and going, collecting envelopes from a person that arrived and retreaved a suitcases behind the register of the restaurant. Twice this happened. Only one of the people bought a hot drink. It felt weird, and I was literally thinking this place could be raided. However, it could be innocent. it just looked very dodgy. S question for the batista who was our initial server. Why on earth did you have to bang the thing you put the coffee so.louf and hard,there was no need for it. It was worse than someone banging with a hammer. Over the top! When my partner came to pay, they said the price (while that was happening, I got our car to pick us up, I wanted out of there). It came up to around £60 my partner paid. However, the money didn't go through the big till in front of us but this little tin underneath the counter. Then my partner was told they couldn't accept £50 notes. The managers and/ or boss need to authorise it. We pointed out the main chef was the boss because that is what you said when we had problems with pancake gate. She went on and on and on wothout actually giving a proper reason as to why. Anyway she took it. So what was the fuss? Now, I was shocked at many of the practices. From staff to food, from the way money is handled. Some went in the till, and some went in the tin. You have to sit and watch, very interesting. I know a lot of people who rave about this place and it was highly recommended to us. With regret, I didn't like the food. It didn't taste nice, and the oil or whatever that taste was repeated on me. I don't think I would return. If everything was at least good, I still wouldn't go back. It all started off bad and...

We visited for an English breakfast, and the experience was quite disappointing. They didn’t even ask how we wanted our eggs cooked—one plate came with scrambled eggs, the other with fried eggs. The toast was made from old bread, and one of the sausages was vegetarian instead of regular, which we didn’t request. When we asked why, the response was simply, ‘Maybe they ran out.’ That’s something they should ask the customer about before making substitutions. The same thing happened with my drink. I ordered a pistachio latte, but was served something different because they ran out of the correct syrup. For dietary restrictions, this is a serious issue—swapping ingredients without asking is not acceptable. Service was inattentive, slow, and unprofessional. One of the servers brought our dishes and waited for us to tell her which plate belonged to whom, which felt very disorganized. The same server even tried to pass off an americano as the pistachio latte I ordered. The place is very small and they put so many tables to catch more clients but we couldn’t fit and most of the clients, myself included, needed to eat at one of the corner of my table to leave space to the table next to me. So unorganised. Despite having four servers for fewer than 10 tables outside, the place was chaotic. Many other customers were complaining about missing items, incorrect orders, and long waits. For the prices they’re charging, especially in this area, the quality and service should be much better. Unfortunately, I can’t recommend this café. Added after their reply - I didn’t make anything up. I have no reason to lie about my experience. I just shared what actually happened. Reviews are meant to reflect a personal experience, and that’s exactly what mine was. Your reply comes off as quite harsh and defensive when all I did was give honest feedback. Maybe consider using a kinder tone next time—it really doesn’t help the situation to respond so aggressively. In terms of the issues I highlighted, I stand by what I shared. The staff definitely need more training in hospitality, especially when it comes to swapping out items without asking customers first. It’s risky not to check for allergies or dietary needs. This is basic stuff in customer service. No one asked about potential allergies or dietary restrictions, which is concerning in terms of safety. Making substitutions without checking with the customer is not only a service issue but could potentially be dangerous. Anyway, I hope you take this as a chance to improve, not just brush off honest feedback. Good luck! Last add - I've updated my review multiple times to respond to your comments directly, not to spread misinformation. As a local guide, I take great care in providing honest and thoughtful feedback. If I wanted to act in bad faith, I could have easily left a negative review under a fake account, but I chose not to. Instead, I’m here engaging with you transparently. I suggest you take some time to reflect on how you address customer feedback. Perhaps consider asking ChatGPT to help adjust the tone of your replies, as they currently come across as both offensive and highly...

I drive past this place almost every day, being a lover of pancakes I could not miss the A board outside with pancakes covers with fruits or if you want meat options. I simply wanted pancakes with maple syrup and a black coffee.

The place is lovely and homely and the staff were very nice and welcoming. I arrived around 3pm and the gentleman behind the counter checked the time Tom make sure they were still serving pancakes, apparently they stop at 4pm.

The location of this place is really nice directly alongside Costa coffee and opposite the car entrance to Sainsbury’s. I never like giving anything less than five stars but honestly these were the worst pancakes I have ever tasted. They were thick and chewy and the syrup was thick and not runny like normal maple syrup. I will not be back sadly. I’m going to say maybe it was just the wrong time of day or just a bad day because I don’t believe they are always this bad.

On the plus side the coffee was great. And I have to say again the staff were lovely the girls serving at the tables were lovely o was greeted with a lovely smile on entrance. And because I’m fair I can’t speak for the other meals because I didn’t try them, so they might be amazing. The place was busy and bustling so they must be doing something right.

This is just my opinion and it means nothing to any other visitors but this is not the first time I’ve had pancakes and syrup and as mentioned this was the...