Cafe Azafran — Restaurant in Rehoboth Beach

I was so disappointed with my experience. I had been waiting for 2 years to come back to the area to eat at this restaurant, which had been recommended. So for my son's birthday I decided to make the 4 hour round trip. When we arrived we were barely welcomed or acknowledged. Then it was realized that our reservation was not even written down! There was no apology even when told that we had driven 2 hours to get there. Because they were not prepared for us and the Covid-19 necessary spacing. They had to move us several times because of the reserved parties coming in. We were finally placed in a small window seat table which I thought was nice. Until I had to brush crumbs off the seat and wipe up flies, hair, dust and crumbs from the window sills beside and right behind me. When told to the server she did not seem to care and never offered to clean it up better than I could with a cocktail napkin!! The only other table in the window seat area had been used and when they seated us they did not bother to clean up from the previous diners. The area was a mess. The tables were so close that I could not move without hitting the piled up dishes and glasses with my elbow. I finally asked her to clear the table. She did so reluctantly and said they had no busperson at the time. The menu was very limited because of the virus so what I had decided on from viewing their website menu was not available. We had to wait forever for the server to return because shortly after we arrived one server left leaving only one server for the entire restaurant both inside and out!! She finally took our order and then it again was forever to receive the food! Our server had to also answer the phone to take reservations and carry out orders all the while serve the food and cocktails, clear the tables when she could and take the carry out food to the awaiting cars and foot traffic at times walking at least a block down the street!!! The food was good but nothing special that I could not have gotten at another nice restaurant. Our beet and goat cheese salad was served missing two ingredients. The portion was small enough for $12.00 so not having everything that belonged it it made it very skimpy. I had to flag down the chef after he got off the phone and question the missing ingredients. He did not offer an apology or offer to take the salad and return with a properly prepared one. He just brought back two tiny bowls put them on the table and walked away. We felt all throughout the dinner as if they did not care that we had driven all those hours to eat at their establishment and that it was a birthday dinner! They did not even provide any complementary dessert for his birthday so I ordered one off the menu. I did not expect them to sing to him nor would he have wanted that but they did not even put a candle on it. We again waited a long time for them to clear the table and present the check. Then a while to get the bill taken care of and returned to us. Then with no enthusiasm, we were told to come back again. That will not happen! I had high hopes for this restaurant and unfortunately I was very disappointed! I dine out quite often and I have never experienced that type...

VERY disappointed in the service at this place. The restaurant itself was nice enough, great ambiance and good food, but the service left a lot to be desired. We were greeted by the host who was not very friendly from the start. Anyway he seated us & all was well when our waiter took over, who was super friendly and nice—gave us great suggestions for what to order including for our 3-year old daughter. The food was pretty good - shrimp & ratatouille tapas; my husband’s crab cakes were yummy; and my seafood stew was good, though I’ve had better. The worst happened when we got drinks. I got our waiter’s recommendation- the key lime martini, which was like key lime pie in a glass—absolutely delicious. But when I ordered a second glass, they brought it to me spilling out of the glass—looked like someone had thrown up all over the glass and the napkins they brought it on. It was so messy that the host (same rude guy) had to carefully bring it over. That itself was fine, I didn’t mind it too much. Though at such an expensive place you’d think they’d have poured me another drink or at least transferred it to a clean glass. Anyway I could get over all that, until I accidentally dropped the glass & spilled half the drink - mostly because the table they seated our party of 3 at was so tiny and set up right up against a pillar that there was no elbow room. One of the waiters picked up the glass and he was nice but the host came over to clean the mess & when I apologized to him, he didn’t utter a word of even acknowledge my apology. It’s not like I dropped it on purpose - the least he could do was acknowledge my apology, especially when he didn’t even bother to apologize when he served me the drink in a dirty glass that was spilling all over & sticky to the touch. Worst of all, they didn’t offer to bring me a replacement (most upscale, OVERPRICED restaurants like this one would have brought a replacement unasked) and charged me the FULL PRICE for the drink. I don’t think our waiter was involved in this bad treatment and probably wasn’t even aware of the spilled drink, so I completely blame this on the horrid host. This is the kind of service (or disservice?) that leaves a BAD TASTE in your mouth no matter the taste of the food. NOT...

Weekend dinner Charming /rustic structure Pros: -large/spacious back screened patio which is well ventilated drink menu is reasonably priced and well curated ( 10 $ cocktails and 8 $ wine !!!) eclectic menu with generous serving..think super sized tapas menu --dishes are well seasoned -- server is courteous and welcoming

CONS: --slow/disorganized service ..she diligently wrote down my sons 5 ALLERGIES but served him 2 dishes with it anyway ..( good thing he noticed it and pushed back) --had to revise the check 3 X because of multiple dishes that were charged 2x and some that were omitted bruschetta appetizer- I piece of bread with an artichoke as large as the bread resting on a large plate of salad? lamb chops were tasty -but looked messy on a bed of greens --white beans and sausage was tasty but should be sliced in smaller pieces patatas bravas ..too greasy the clam dish was flavorful... in fact it was too robust in a red broth with the taste smothered from the paprika oozing out of the chorizo ..overpowering the delicate briny clams --flank steak was well seasoned but could have been plated/sliced better -- the calamari was tender and generous and just piled carelessly on a plate --scallops and grilled shrimp was well prepared but again a touch overwhelmed with seasoning

the dishes need to be polished/refined/tweaked and better plated with more attention to detail....could definitely have more potential

-service DEFNITELY needs a lot of work.. ..they should train with the SoDel chain for better execution

--might come back if the...