El Kafelito – Benalmádena

Very disappointing. It’s a cute place with the playground nearby… but the 2 waiters in the morning made the experience awful. Prices are high for average food… service is poor, they don’t come to take your order or bring you the food, and their attitude is dismissive and mean.

Siempre ambiente para los peques. Servicio genial. Anastasia es la mejor. Perfecto para padres!

Business model on parent exploitation This is one of those establishments that know their strengths and stay in business despite all indications of should-fail business. My comment is based on a few visits, the last one (the last of the few and THE last) being today. Generally, they have over-priced mediocre food (to be fair, the prices are likely “okay” for the area). What distinguishes them is their exceptionally bad service. I do not mean not being treated like kings and queens. You have to wait long to be attended and served because they are short staffed, and I do not mean to blame the workers for their likely annoying boss. I actually appreciate the workers’ honesty – they are unapologetically rude and they do not pretend otherwise. For example, I ordered something with jamon serrano in it (like half of the menu), that apparently they did not have at the moment (and she did not care to mention). The server visibly and hearbly huffed-puffed after I asked a couple seconds to change the order (we did not not send the server elsewhere, the server huffed upfront instantly, and received my new order within 30 seconds while she was taking other’s orders at our table). I guess they adopted their boss’ thinking that there is a playground right there and the parents will end up at their establishment regardless of how they are treated (I have to admit, the playground next to it is pretty convenient, but not to the extent that they assume). We were annoyed with the attitude but did not press it – service industry is a difficult industry, and everybody has bad days, right? We end up complaining to them later for yet another incident other than the huff-puff, and they could not care less. One of the staff dismissively asked the other to ignore the complaint rather than hearing it. In short, you can go to this business to observe how you can open a local cafe that offers neither good food nor reaonable pricing, yet stays open even though the customers are treated like they are a nuisance. A dream case for any establishment.

Hemos estado muchas veces pero no volveremos. Atención pésima, profesionalidad inexistente. El día 1 de junio por la mañana había dos trabajadoras prepotentes con una actitud inaceptable. Una pena, el servicio en las otras ocasiones había sido bueno.

Lovely small cafe situated next to a well maintained children’s play area. Ample seating indoor & outdoor. Friendly staff & great service. Excellent for breakfast & light bites. Also lovely to stop off for a drink following an evening stroll.

Super cute! The kiddos enjoyed the little park. The chicken was very good (lagrimitas de pollo) with good seasoning. The coffee was above average.

Intenté darle varias oportunidades a este sitio pero no paran de decepcionarme. Cuando recién abrió, se notaba que hacía las cosas bien, pero no ha tardado mucho en venirse abajo. Si vas a tomarte una cerveza de botellín o una Coca-Cola, pues está bien, esta en un buen sitio, tiene un parque para niños justo en frente, etc. Pero me parece decepcionante, que se siga ofreciendo una calidad de comida baja y una atención al cliente algo extraña. Las patatas bravas, lo más básico de la carta, no es algo difícil de hacer, están congeladas, solo hay que freírlas y hacerlo bien (pero siempre se quedan duras/crudas por dentro), ¡y me pasó en más de una ocasión! Se nota que se hace con pocas ganas. Otra cosa, es que en la carta aparece el precio de 3,50€, pero me cobraron 4,50€. ¡Hay que actualizar los precios! Respecto a los camareros/cocineros, la atención deja mucho que desear. Pero lo que más me llama la atención es la rotación del personal; los camareros siempre van cambiando, ¿puede que esto ocurra debido a unas malas condiciones laborales? Respecto a las sillas BLANCAS de la terraza, ¿porque no se limpian? Me gustaría que estuvieran limpias, pero es un motivo por el cual ya no me gusta sentarme en la terraza… Ojalá que El Kafelito vuelva a recuperar la ilusión y la pasión que le puso al negocio al principio, cuando le di 5 estrellas. Pero ahora, me veo en la obligación de actualizar mi reseña. ¡Espero que mejoréis!

We visited El Kafelito multiple times during our stay in Spain. Always a good service and delicious foods, drinks, milkshakes and whatnot! Thank you for everything. Highly recommended!