Marmalade Cafe — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Marmalade Café Leadership Team,

I am writing to formally share my deep disappointment with the service I received during a recent visit, specifically from one of your employees, Dorothy G.

After being seated, I waited over 15 minutes without any greeting or acknowledgment. The restaurant was not busy, yet I felt completely ignored. At one point, I literally had to wave down another staff member just to get Dorothy’s attention. I even tried to smile at another employee — a young Hispanic woman with glasses — to get some help, but she looked directly at me and then turned her head. It was as though no one wanted to serve me. In an almost empty restaurant, that type of treatment is not just unacceptable, it’s insulting. Guests should never feel like they are a bother, yet that is exactly how I was made to feel.

When it was finally time to check out, Dorothy looked me in the face, smiled as if she was coming to assist me, then went to another table and never returned. I sat another 20 minutes before approaching her myself. When I did, she brushed me off with, “I have other tables.” That excuse was both dismissive and unnecessary — particularly in a restaurant that was far from full.

The food itself was also concerning. I ordered the ahi tuna, which should have been served chilled, but it arrived hot and unappetizing. The outside looked grated while the inside had uneven chunks, as if it had been left out too long. I even asked Dorothy if it was canned because it looked and tasted so unusual, but she didn’t seem to understand why I was asking.

The checkout process only added to the frustration. Dorothy unnecessarily involved the manager, framing it as if I had requested to speak with one — which I had not. Even more troubling, the manager signed the check on my behalf without my permission, initially recording “no tip.” I had to insist that it be corrected, as I fully intended to leave one. It was unprofessional, inappropriate, and disrespectful for a staff member to assume control of a guest’s check in that way.

From start to finish, this experience left me feeling dismissed, disrespected, and unwelcome. In today’s environment, restaurants cannot afford to treat paying guests as if they are inconveniences. It is customers who keep the restaurant afloat, and the service I received sent the opposite message.

I am extremely displeased with how I was treated by both Dorothy and the manager, and I hope your leadership team takes this matter seriously. I am bringing this to your attention because I expect better and because I do not want other guests to endure the same...

I just visited there on the 18th of this month ( December ) during this holiday season. The illuminations at the farmer's market/ the Grove & the x'mas tree w ornaments/ lights at this restaurant were very nice !! Seeing all of those holiday shoppers w bags w gifts inside sitting & eating their dinners is something special & I love watching people there during this time of the year !!

They had a couple of different choices of vegan soup ( Tuscany beans 🫘& kale soup & green peanut soup ! ) & 2 different kinds of vegan burgers 🍔 😋 We all ordered vegan burgers in different ways & my mom & sister had soups 🍲. Both tasted very good 👍 I preferred the pea soup ,though ! I am vegetarian, mom is ,too & others are vegans & mostly vegan . They were delicious 😋

The lady ( one of the managers ? )there was especially really sweet & helpful & she was very empathic towards our mom for being diabetic ( type 2 ) as she is type 1 diabetic ,so she immediately responded to our request for letting mom inject her insulin in their private room with us alone rather than using the restrooms. We really appreciated that very much !! 🙏 Our waiter was a very nice guy,too & very friendly as well & he was very new there & the male host took us to our table was very very nice also !! And he was very quick,smart & helpful about making a space & how to make mom's wheelchair fit well at the table !! 😀

Everything was very good 👍 My only hope / suggestion for them is to have more vegan entrée options !! Like pastas ,sandwiches, etc.

We really love this chain ,especially at this location as well as Calabasas (? ) . I really recommend this wonderful restaurant to everyone !! We had a doggie w us & had a table outside . They were gonna allow us inside for mom !! But,she wanted to see the illuminations & tram 🚊 & shoppers while eating her...

Strolling around the Grove and we needed a breakfast place before driving back to Vegas on the Monday of Labor Day weekend...Marmalade was a good find...

Marmalade Service & Ambiance: We arrived at 11 AM and was seated immediately by the friendly hosts at the entrance. Once seated, it took about 20 minutes until our server arrived. We thought they forgot us and almost left. Once he arrived he got our orders in immediately to the kitchen. The kitchen got all 5 of our plates to the table in under 15 minutes. That was awesome. The ambiance is a high end cafe with tall ceilings that you could mistake for a Cheesecake factory location.

Marmalade Brunch Plates: I had the huevos rancheros and it was delish. The tortillas and beans were fresh and it comes with 3 eggs and bonus enchilada which ups the value of this tasty dish. The French Toast was put together well and topped with fresh fruit. The short stack pancakes were fluffy and perfect for sharing if you don't want to commit to a full pancake dish. All our brunch plates were quality overall.

Our server apologized for the initial service and mentioned to us he was the only server when they opened and other servers have now arrived. He also apologized for the Marmalade not having coffee available this morning. The restaurant not having coffee and covering for servers at opening on a holiday day was a little baffling. Regardless, I'm still amazed on how fast the kitchen got the fresh dishes to the table so quickly and would definitely visit again if in the...