Milk London — Restaurant in London

My recent visit to Milk Cafe was an absolute letdown. It was an incredibly disappointing experience from start to finish.

I couldn't help but notice the subtle racism that permeated the atmosphere. The customers around me were treated with preferential treatment, while we were blatantly ignored. It made me extremely uncomfortable throughout my entire visit.

The staff failed miserably in attending to our table. We were completely forgotten, with no updates on our order and no one bothering to check on us. We waited 40 minutes for our food to arrive for eggs that were completely cold and bread that was visibly burnt. It was as if the kitchen staff had forgotten about my order and didn't care enough to ensure its proper preparation. Unacceptable! To make matters worse, the overall cleanliness and hygiene of the place were questionable at best. I noticed some staff members with dirty shoes, clothes, including the glassware, which was highly unprofessional and off-putting.

Let's not forget the standout performer of rudeness, Fred. He was the epitome of hostility and disinterest. Despite attending to other tables around us, he completely ignored our presence, making us feel invisible. When we attempted to ask questions about the menu, Fred responded with a rude and dismissive attitude. It was as if we were expected to have intimate knowledge of their offerings, despite it being our first visit. To make matters worse, numerous items on the menu were unavailable, yet Fred failed to communicate this to us in a clear and respectful manner. It felt like a guessing game, with every selection met by his condescending announcement of unavailability.

Fred spoke to us as if we were incapable of understanding English or lacked basic communication skills. His patronizing tone and demeanor were utterly disrespectful and uncalled for.

It is unfortunate that we have been met with such an unpleasant experience. I encourage both staff members and management to look into the way customers are being treated in the future. Do not recommend, severely underwhelming. You're better off...

I've visited twice now, with other aborted missions inbetween due to those pancakes selling out rather early. I had the fish sando the first time as a compromise, which was honestly just... not all I hoped and dreamed of. The fish itself was totally, bafflingly devoid of flavour. The bread, while I know is supposed to be soft and fluffy and Japanese, just kind of fell apart and was a big, sweet, crumbly nothing, and the sauce did nothing to make up for what these two key elements lacked. There was also some token cabbage inside, again, taking up space where flavour should have been. Overall, a bland, disappointing waste of calories. On the side, I had some quite pricey salmon (but alas, a side of smoked salmon is never good value in London) and the brown butter hollandaise. The former was just fine, the latter was delicious, but altogether, a huge kick in the wallet.

Finally, one day I succeeded in getting the instagram famous pancakes. The variation that I had came with 2 cubes of cheesecake (alas, the flavour escapes me, but it could have been passionfruit), toasted coconut, some fruity pearls, a lime chantilly (I think), dried pineapple and a chilli syrup. Now, when I say I am a huge glutton, believe me. But I got through one pancake and my vision began to blur. Overall the taste was fine, but it size and calorie wise, it ws all just too much... and a mild case of style over substance... a dish made for anyone with eyes bigger than their stomachs. It looked absolutely beautiful but it was overall rather unnecessary. That said, well played and kudos to Milk, as every man and his dog (literally) seems hypnotised enough by the luscious instagram feed and queues up outside Milk in droves every weekend. So, more fool me for not being equally...

Fish Sando 8/10 - mvp of the day with the right crunch and perfectly compatible combo of taste and ingredients. True to its name, this japanese style dish was minimalist to its core. Using the right ingredients and cooking time, the flavours had been perfect for me. Also it's big enough for 2.

The Convict 7/10 - splash of flavours were a bit overwhelming the taste felt a bit of an overdose/all over the place for me. Taste wise it's something you can get anywhere. Bread tasted more like biscuit. I was expecting more of a toastie kind of texture. It's yummy still!

Tahini Banana Bread 7.5/10 - tahini on top overpowered the banana bread so best to eat them separately if you want to have a better taste of the banana in the bread. Tahini is also a bit too sweet even for a sweet tooth like me. Nevertheless it's something I would want to indulge in every once in awhile.

Weekend special pancakes 3.5/10 - Not a fan of pancakes made with buckwheat. The special this weekend had been a miss for me with the experimental choice of toppings. Enjoyed the blackcurrant cheesecake on top though. An interesting dish overall!

Coffee: Latte was smooth and silky it's good coffee. Get an extra shot for a more bitter and stronger taste.

Recommend the fish sando, it's perfect.

We ordered a lot for 2 hence the £30-40pp price range. You could be spending £10-20pp with coffee.

Do expect a long queue around brunch time where the wait could take...