Cafe Cartel (Marina Square)

Like I said in the title, I've never been impressed with the Cafe Cartel chain and now they don't even have free bread anymore (which was actually the only good, fresh food they every had). I wouldn't have came here if it wasn't my bff's birthday.

The ambiance is brightly lit, hard seats, but comfortable enough. I never understood why cafe cartel has always had so many customers, but it was averagely packed that day.

The staff here are slow, dumb, and couldn't care less about their customers. Ages to fill water, ages to take orders, ages to even bring you a menu.

We shared a porkrib platter. I don't like it. It had been boiled and just slathered with different kinds of bbq sauce, but when it comes down to it, tastes pretty much the same. Steak was overcooked, their sides of fries and vegetables were all bland, boring, obviously pre-made in some factory or something.

Their set meals are barely worth it. Their soup is like watered down bullion with cornstarch. Dislike. I think this place is over priced.

What is nice is their desserts. Plus point, their deserts are 50% off after 10pm or something like that.

After 9pm, there is a 50% discount for cakes, drinks and snacks at Cafe Cartel outlets. Happen to be in Marina Square and decided to go Cafe Cartel to have a bite at 915pm. It was a sat, there was a queue even though it was 915pm. Must be the 50% discount.

Had to wait about 1o to 15 minutes before getting a place. Sadly, the table was wet, not sure if the staff there cleaned the table after the previous customer left. It was obvious that they could not cope. Full house, yet there was only 4 staff serving the customers. Ordered a Tiramisu Cheese Cake and Tic-Tac-Toe Platter. Requested for two glasses of warm water which was promptly served.

The Tiramisu Cheese Cake took about 15 minutes to arrive. After tasting it, I was not won over, the cake was cut and left out in the open for sometime. It was not cold and inside, it was very moist/wet.

As for the Tic-Tac-Toe Platter. Had to ask the staff to check my order as we waited very long for it. It was served 40minutes after we ordered… It was ridiculous waiting this long for this ‘snack’

The Tic-Tac-Toe Platter was just fries, potato wedges and waffle fries. Why did it need 40minutes to cook? Moreover, the fries were cold and soggy. Same for the wedges which were cold. Only the waffle fries were slightly warm. Disappointing, who likes cold soggy food…

There maybe a 50% offer, but if food and service standards get compromised, this offer may as well be withdrew. This is bad for the image of the brand. I wonder is this the same for other outlets.

Full review and photos: http://foodiefc.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/cafe-cartel-marina-square/

been awhile since i decided to revisit cafe cartel, seeing there wasnt any queue for the peak hour dinner timing. stomach rolling like thunder, decided to make haste & get some food. 2 beefy mammoth of a man (my buddy & me), we were ushered to the tightest of spots for a 2-seater table, as if there werent any other seats available.

wasnt in the mood to pick a squabble, picked the food off the menu, scribbled the orders (grilled chicken pasta, mixed seafood platter, 2x rootbeer float) on the order sheet & had a hard time getting the attention of the staff down the aisle. fed up, got out of the tight seat to hand it to the staff at the counter.

we helped ourselves with the freeflow bread & butter, while waiting for our ala carte orders to be served. the rootbeer float arrived promptly, made the bread go down a lil better.

when the food was served, for some reason, i never felt more disappointed by the portion. if my memory serves, i believe it was the thinnest slice of dory fish i've ever had in all my yrs of dining. im sure i can get thicker chunks at other western concept joints (for the same price, or insignificantly more)

my buddy was struggling miserably to force the chicken down his esophagus. according to him, he could taste the distinction between the seasoning & the typical cooked "frozen" chicken. all he could do was struggle to manage the pasta, leaving an ugly sight of regurgitated chicken on his plate.

the experience last night was quite horrendous, to think that i once was glad & satisfied with my meals at cartel. i think there's plenty of room for improvement.

As with all restaurants in SG, Café Cartel started well. But its prices have risen over the years and its quality has become inconsistent.

Hubby and I shared a St Louis Pork Rib (upgrade to set meal) and an ice-cream. The ice-cream portion seemed ok until I scoop out the whipped cream. There was barely 1.5 scoops of ice-cream , they 'padded' the ice-cream very well with all that whip cream. The quality of their topping was quite lousy - tasteless chocolate conventures, one brandy cherry in the cherry sauce. For that price $8.60, I wld hv gotten better quality and larger portion at Swensons.

Service was nothing fantastic. We asked the waiter to serve us the ice-cream later (as we hv ordered mains), but a while later, another waiter still served us the ice-cream. Where’s the communication? After we finished our mains, no one came to clear our plate or took the initiative to serve dessert. We had to asked for it. And even then, we waited 15 mins (for an ice-cream that had been done and was just chilling in the fridge). The non-smiling waitress apologized that she forgot. (All the while she’s just walking ard doing nothing much and the place wasnt busy).

When the bill came, we asked abt Credit card discounts and were told that Citibank cardholders get 15% while UOB cardholders get 10%. Naturally we paid using Citibank. The total bill was $26.30 (before taxes) but the discount given was only $1.29. I only checked the bill thoroughly after my blur hubby has signed it. So we went back to ask why the discount was so little. Turned out that the Citibank discount is not valid for the set meal, hence the 15% was for the $8.60 ice-cream only. Was pretty pissed with them for not highlighting this upfront. The discount poster for UOB stated 10% off the total bill. Compute for yourself 10% of $26 vs 15% of $8.60.

Pic of pathetic ice-cream below (before we ate it. Only scooped out the whipped cream)

I was here with my friend over the weekend.

Generally, it was quite ok (at least for us) as we arrived at closed to 5pm and thought of having dinner here.

We ordered Grilled Chicken with Pasta and Fish & Chips (gave the ribs a miss as we were having pork related dishes over the last couple of days). We were told by the serving crew that we could help ourselves with the bread and have as much as we like! Generally, the food here were ok for us. I liked the bread...freshly toasted and we could cut accordingly to what we want. A good gesture though it was only bread!

The food was fine for us, chicken well marinated and the fish was crispy. The portion served was quite ok too.

However, it was quite a long wait for our food to be served. Other than this long wait, the service was ok. By 6pm, there was a queue outside the cafe and it was almost fully occupied.

When we asked for the bill, it took quite a while and so we walked up to the cashier instead (noticed that there were people queuing to pay as well). The cashier took the initiative in asking if we had certain credit cards as that would entitle us to X% of discount. But we didn't have but felt that this was a good gesture!

Ambience wise, quite ok. You can choose to sit face in (looking into the mall) or face out (looking at the vehicles passing by and facing MW and Pan Pacific Hotel).

Generally, its ok to dine here but be prepared to wait!

My first cafe cartel experience was at Plaza Sg on my birthday..

Like how the prices arent too steep yet the food is pretty delicious..

Hence when i was thinking of a place to eat and was given the choice of swensens and cafe cartel @ marina sq i quickly decided on cartel..

My favourite 2 dishes were the oriental chicken salad and the seafood baked pasta..

the salad was fresh..love my lettuce and the chicken wasnt hard..small pieces that prepare me for my next meal..and while im not one who likes salad dressing, i find this dresing light and erm zing-y..

as for my baked pasta..the servings are generous..the prawns were fresh..squid didnt taste like rubber bands and sauce was tasty..i get to choose my sauce..either tomato or cream..definitely the latter..plus anything with cheese baked on top of it gets thumbs up from me..esp if its well baked..aka not too burnt..juz nice and brown..the cheese isnt hardened n u get that effect that the cheese stretches with each fork/spoonful of pasta u take..

love the service at marina sq too..theyre so patient with my many requests for my food..like

-salad without dressing..

-no carrots..

more sauce..

and they alwez get the bread for me..even tho i dont mind gettin it myself..

worth it..esp since no 10%..juz the 7% charge..

i simply love dining at cafe cartel.

*the prices are really reasonable

*theres no service charge

*the service is really good

*the place is great to chill out

*theres free flow bread!

ive tried loads of stuff there from salad to dessert, ribs to panfried pasta and lasagne. i must credit the place for their service even though they dont charge the 10% service charge! the staff there are so friendly. especially the one at marina square and east coast rd.

must tries!

st louis pork ribs-this dish is really filling and it only cost $15plus. the meat is very soft and chewy. the sauce is really delicious. and together, it gives satiaty. if u are a meat lover, looking for something filling yet cheap at the same time tasty, this is the perfect dish for you! 9/10. (minus one cos sometimes the sauce gets quite salty.)

truffle cheesecake-for someone like me who pukes after eating too much cheese, this cake was not bad. the cheese is really light and with the chocolate on top its really nice! the cake wasnt very thick so the texture was just right. one of the nicer cakes i had at cartel apart from aunty amy chewy fudge cake. cartel offers half price cakes after 9pm, so a slice will cost less then 3bux! really worth it! 8/10 (minus 2 becos i feel there are nicer cakes elsewhere too,plus i seldom eat cheese.)

give a shot at this place. great for chilling out with friends and a simple lunch.

students and members enjoy further discounts!

St louis Pork Rib... will nv forget the size of it.. it was at least half of my arm length !! The meat is tender.. juicy.. and sweet.. the pork rib is well marinate with the bbq sauce.. simply every bite is satisfaction to the max !

i have also tried their Meat Lover's Special which have Chicken chop, porkchop & Bratwurst sausage topped with black pepper sauce.. their chops are nice.. except for thier bratwurst sausage.. is very bland.. but for those who really love meat.. shld go for it!

their chicken wing is also with unique.. well marinate with their own recipe..!!