Fade To Black - St Albans — Restaurant in St Albans

So excited to pop out for lunch here today to leave an hour later and have to go to M&S to pickup a wrap instead. We were told there was a 10 minute wait for sandwiches which was fine. We noticed couples that had come in after us all receiving their food first. We asked after 40 minutes if ours was coming. Finally one plate did arrive and we shared it, assuming the next sandwich was coming. We finished, waited another 5-10 mins and then I got up to ask where our other order was: Given we are two people at a table at lunch time why would we order one item? They had to question what I ordered as the staff don’t seem to know which tables order what (as while we were sitting at our table we were brought over someone else’s drinks and again later someone else’s lunch - which maybe we should have accepted?!). They were like “ohh we didn’t see that. The orders are in such a muddle and we’re so busy”…looks around 3 tables full? Manic. Four members of staff and 6 customers - it shouldn’t take that long to knock up toast and cheese surely? Sigh, lessons in customer service should be had here, I know it’s Marshalswick and usually you can get away with charging a premium but come on. No one came to say our order was delayed, or checked when we had our order that everything was ok…did we have everything and only a refund on the sandwich that never turned up and many excuses. A pity as it’s our local place but we won’t be returning after...

Popped back into fade 2 black for a coffee and some food and was very surprised to see how much it had changed. Must say I wasn’t too impressed; instantly felt unwelcome. Visited with a friend who had a pushchair and it was so crowded we couldn’t get seated or store the pram in the back. The coffee is excellent and service although slow was still very friendly, think they were just a bit overwhelmed. The poor girl who had to make our takeaways looked rushed off her feet! Maybe we aren’t the type of clientele they are appealing to anymore. Seems like it’s going in a different direction, sad to see it has lost its independent coffee shop charm in favour of yet another bar...

Fade to Black coffee shop in the Quadrant, Marshalswick is a fantastic place to relax and chill while you sample some of the best coffee, sandwiches and pastries. The ambiance of this shop is relaxing, and the staff are highly capable. You could not ask for more because everything you need is provided. Also if you feel like an alcoholic drink on a Thursday through to Saturday evening then you’ll not be disappointed. They have a fine selection of wines and bottled beers as well as 2 draught pumps dispensing a premium larger and an IPA. Well done, guys! Keep making great coffee and pouring those drinks, I’ll certainly be frequenting Fade to Black many...