Marmalade

Seriously. No eftpos? Seems a bit weird in 2016. And the food arrived before the drinks. It’s also pretty crammed, so not great for kids or prams. Other than that it was ok food.

Since the last review, Marmalade Café has changed ownership. The menu has expanded, the lunchtime specials change every day but has stayed true to Marmalade, is that their coffee is still second to none. Not only do the mega friendly staff serve the best coffee, they also serve a wide range of tea and not just in a cup. You get your very own teapot! If you ask the staff about their special tea, they will tell you it’s a rare blend but I’ll let you go and find out, I don’t want to ruin anything. Becoming a regular has it’s perks, some of the staff start talking to you while you wait for your meal and some even get to know your order off by heart.
I haven’t even started on their breakfasts yet! They have something for everyone, whether you’re not very hungry and just want eggs on toast or you want the whole nine yards with a fry up, you will leave feeling full. And with the new management, the staff will make sure your dining experience at Marmalade was a pleasant one. Trust me on this, you will always want to go back for more once you’ve been there. It’s the friendly atmosphere that did it for me.

Marmalade Café… it is a sweet name for a café and to me brings back memories of the sticky leather booth chairs and discoloured cushions. This was one of the perks of doing grocery shopping with my mum when I was a broody teenager the promise of a milkshake at this café. As mentioned in previous reviews I love milkshakes and they need to be done correctly I can proudly say that marmalade is in my top ten of milkshake makers. Their granitas and fresh juices are also really tasty and hit the spot on a hot day. The cakes and biscuits are pretty good here and I have sampled most of the menu over the years and everything I have had has been tasty. Their quiches probably stand out the most.

We don’t get along to Carine Glades Shopping Centre very often, but when we do I almost always wind up getting coffee from Marmalade Café. Even if I’ve already had coffee that day, and even if I don’t particularly need anymore and may in fact start having heart palpitations if I do, I’ll always wind up having one or two double espressos and laughing at the unfunny jokes that are invariably written in chalk on the café’s signage and that change every day. («How do you know when a woman is about to say something clever?» a recent one begun. «Because she starts her sentence with: ‘A man once told me…’» Completely inappropriate, I know, and weird seeing as all the employees behind the counter are themselves women.)
In addition to the excellent coffee, Marmalade Café also does juices and a range of light meals. I have only eaten there once myself and a fine ham and cheese croissant it was, too. But my experience with the menu is probably too limited for me to say very much about it here.
I always find the service to be a little brusquer than it needs to be – perhaps because of the jokes? – but am willing to put up with it on the grounds these people really know how to work their espresso machine.