Malka — Restaurant in West Palm Beach

Extremely disappointed.

Went in for my birthday and nearly every aspect of my visit was mediocre to downright awful.

Right off the bat, my excitement was soured when the hostess began to check me in - for my reservation that I was on-time for - then became confused and told me to wait in the back bar. There I am, waiting patiently, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting, until about 15 minutes tick by. I go back up front, and she's just looking down, doing nothing in particular. She made me wait for no reason and proceeded to literally forget about me. She seats me at the bar, which was not full whatsoever. Despite there being many seats, again she's confused for whatever reason and can't decide where the heck to seat me. Already, I'm thinking, "What. is. going. on?!"

After finally being seated at the bar, again I wait, and wait, and wait, until at least 10 minutes go by and finally one of the two bartenders - who were not busy at all - acknowledges my existence and takes my drink order. This is at least 30 minutes after my reservation time.

Allow me to clarify here - the restaurant was not busy in any sense of the word. This was a Monday night. The dining room and bar were not crowded at all, and the entire staff seemed very relaxed. The mood was about as mellow as a restaurant can be.

I asked for ice and lemon with my water and didn't get it. Despite the bar stocking Hendrick's gin, their $18 (!) Cucumber Gin cocktail is made with Tanqueray. Plus, Tanqueray is priced exactly the same as Hendrick's, which makes zero sense. And nearly $20 for a standard cocktail?! I get that this is a branch of an NYC spot, but this ain't NYC. Or Miami. $18 for a normal drink in West Palm is highway robbery.

Again, I'm waiting, and waiting, and waiting, for someone to take my order. Finally, my server arrived. Majorly lacking in professionalism and zero sense of urgency.

Mezze platter was okay but criminally dry. Just a drizzle of tahini on top or on the side or something, guys? Falafel were tasty, but it's pretty hard to mess up falafel. And, again, just something, anything to dip in would've been nice. Munching on all that raw radish and carrot, with not a hint of moisture anywhere, got pretty depressing, pretty quickly.

I ordered the schnitzel, and the server hemmed-and-hawed for a moment to then awkwardly suggest some tuna-tartare appetizer? Again, I'm thinking, "Am I being pranked? What is happening?!"

Schnitzel was... fine. It's breaded and fried meat. Veal would've been nice, but of course, it's chicken. And it's clearly not traditionally prepared schnitzel, with the characteristic bubbly crust. It's just run-of-the-mill breading, like a chicken-fried steak. I liked the selection of three different sauces. The coleslaw was pointless.

By the end of the meal, I totally lost my enthusiasm for any dessert, but the guy convinced me to try something. I asked for the pistachio cake to go, asked (halfway jokingly) for an extra-big piece since it was my birthday, and he proceeded to bring me a little box of this teen-tiny, anemic piece of boring, dry cake. Nothing else! No whipped cream, no berries, no crushed-pistachio topping, no drizzle of absolutely anything. I naively thought maybe, just maybe I'd get it on the house. But nope - $11 for what was literally the most depressing restaurant dessert I've ever received in my entire life. I would've gotten more excited for a Twinkie.

Valet parking is $5 despite being right in front of a huge parking garage?! Even the valet parking at La Goulue is complementary.

I arrived happy and left sad. Most confounding and frustrating of all is the perplexingly overwhelming positive feedback this place is continuing to get. Especially after having one of the greatest dining experiences of my life at Zahav a while back, the fact that my visit to Malka was literally one of the worst - on my birthday, of all days - is nothing short...

MALKA may impress with its $5 million design and lively atmosphere, but once the food arrives, the promise quickly unravels — much of the cooking is underseasoned, underwhelming, and surprisingly devoid of flavor.

The dishes spoke for themselves: •   Hummus – flat and uninspired, with no balance of tahini, lemon, or seasoning. To our surprise, it was topped with a handful of whole chickpeas — a presentation we have never encountered in Israel or anywhere across the Mediterranean. It felt careless and unfamiliar. •   Wild mushroom pasta – shockingly bland. A dish built on mushrooms should offer earthiness and depth, yet this version was watery, under-seasoned, and entirely without character. We were stunned at how empty the flavors were. •   Branzino – presented whole, unfilleted, floating in a spicy tomato sauce. Whole fish service can be elegant when executed with precision, but here it was clumsy and impractical, forcing diners to navigate bones rather than enjoy the fish. •   Schnitzel – described by our server as “the best in the world.” In reality, it arrived overcooked, dry, and devoid of seasoning. Schnitzel is a dish that lives or dies on crispness and flavor; this had neither.

There were a few bright moments: •   The focaccia was excellent — fluffy, light, and well-baked. •   The chocolate mousse was impressively rich for being dairy-free. •   The baklava was outstanding, among the best we have encountered anywhere.

Service and operations mirrored the uneven cooking. Our table was placed behind a brick wall on the far side of the dining room, cutting us off from the restaurant’s energy. And the valet system was astonishingly unprofessional: while normally stationed outside the restaurant, when it rains it shifts across the street under a garage. Guests are forced to run through the downpour to hand over a ticket and retrieve their own cars, getting soaked in the process. For a restaurant of this supposed caliber, this is simply unacceptable.

Kosher or not, food should be flavorful, balanced, and executed with care. MALKA dazzles with its design, but the cuisine is careless, flat, and unworthy of the stage it has built for itself. As diners familiar with these dishes across the Mediterranean and beyond, we were struck by how far the kitchen missed the mark.

In the long run, it’s the local community that keeps a restaurant thriving, and among locals, MALKA’s reputation is already slipping.

Management, please note: I will not be sending you an email as you continually request from unhappy guests — this...

We came to Malka with an associate who is Kosher. After hearing wonderful things about it, we were truly exited to try the food here. Well to say I was disappointed is an understatement. First off, I parked on the street which is legal after 7PM, but was practically accosted by two valets. I said no thank you, but they continued on about how it was free. I did not care. I was right in front and did not need to valet. They tried again since they apparently work on tips. Very annoying. We were then seated at a table for 3 that was right behind a work station. We requested a different table and after a few minutes we were moved. The place has a really cool vibe and I liked it. We ordered margarita's and they tried to up sell the tequila. The house is Patron which was fine. We didn't realize that they are $25 for a margarita and it was average at best. The menu is very difficult to understand and not explained very well. Fortunately, our server explained it. For dinner we had this type of pizza flatbread that was decent but mostly onions. We ordered the Schintzel was was extremely dry and not very good. Think deep fried chicken stuffed with mashed potatoes. The potato carpet was absolutely horrible and we won't even mention what it looked like. We also had a chopped salad and some black beans. We passed on desert. I should also mention that the we were facing the kitchen / bars and the staff / servers were sort of hanging out in the middle having way too much fun. It was a bit unprofessional. Perhaps this is just me being a bit nit picky, but I was not the only one that commented about this. In all, I was extremely underwhelmed and will not be returning there. It is also quite expensive for the food received. There are better options although limited if you...