Cafe Malabar

Cafe Malabar reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Review summary

1. Z

   Zinnia

   Victoria6 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Cafe Malabar is an excellent addition to Victoria to showcase the myriad flavours and dishes India has to offer. This South Indian cuisine is full of flavours and delicious meals. It’s worth it !
   

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2. P

   Puneet

   Vancouver8 reviews

   3.0

   Dined 4 days ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 3

   My wife and I chose to dine here with our baby because it came up as a kid friendly recommendation in the app. Unfortunately it is not. So I'm not sure if that's an app issue or the restaurant has advertised it. However, we were wegded into a table with a baby seat that blocked the path to a group of tables. So we were inconveniencing everyone passing by our table and also had traffic going past our table the entire meal. I wish they had moved us to a booth. The food we did try was okay. My wife liked her fish, but my biryiani was dry and left unfinished.
   

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3. J

   June

   Vancouver31 reviews

   5.0

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Lovely location on the inner harbour. The food was exquisite - the flavours so subtle. The cocktail was unique and flavourful. Everything we had was spectacular. The service was for the most part good but our food took forever to come out. We noticed another couple that had arrived much later than us eating before us. The food was worth the wait though. Another quibble was that the main course seafood specials didn’t come with anything else but the seafood. The only extra dishes were rice or bread. When I inquired about this, the waitress said the salmon special came with a salad. It was actually a garnish consisting of a few sprigs of herbs. The portions were much smaller than we expected but still we felt full after eating. Now that I know how the menu works though I would definitely return.
   

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4. J

   Jessica

   Vancouver14 reviews

   4.0

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Great experience at Malabar. Very interesting and delicious food, attentive and prompt service, good atmosphere and location. Only suggestion would be to have at least one of the daily specials be vegetarian. The rest of the menu has a respectable number of vegetarian dishes, with several starters and breads, and three mains.
   

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5. H

   Helen

   Vancouver38 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on May 12, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   What a wonderful meal! The flavours & presentation were fantastic & the service professional. The meal was very good value & we are looking forward to our next visit.
   

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6. T

   Teri VIP

   Vancouver15 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on May 11, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Delicious food. Excellent wait staff. Fun cocktails and prosecco on tap! The food was a little slow coming out but was so tasty it was worth the wait.
   

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7. R

   Roopam

   Vancouver1 review

   2.0

   Dined on May 10, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 2
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   The fried mushroom was no where close to mushrooms, they felt more like onions. Also the special - sol fish was pretty average. Everything lacked spices. The best was fried chicken rest like dosa, chicken Biryani, idli was far below average. I was highly disappointed with the taste and was expecting far more from a very renowned restaurant. I will not be coming back here.
   

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8. K

   Karen

   Vancouver1 review

   4.0

   Dined on May 8, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The beef biriyani was delicious and I would definitely like to try some of the other biriyani dishes. The fish koyilandi curry was very fishy tasting and there were a lot of bones although it was easy to debone the fish. I had it with appam which was a bit too rich as a combination. I think rice would’ve been a better side option for me. Overall it was a great dining experience and our server was very knowledgeable.
   

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9. J

   Josee

   Coastal Georgia1 review

   5.0

   Dined on May 4, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 5

   Best indian food we have ever had. Wonderful new location on the waterfront. Great menu with many sharing options. The fry mushroom and the prawn appetizer was really good. Rockfish was fantastic. Would return again. Make sure to make a reservation as it is very busy.
   

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10. B

    Barbara

    Vancouver4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on May 4, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4

    Our meals were excellent; our server was appropriayely attentive and helpful, explaining food and seasoning options to assist with our decision making; other staff members checked in to see if we were enjoying our meal; and we could actually have a conversation over dinner, which was truly a bonus. The only mild distraction was because of where we were seated at one of the high tables. People who were waiting to be seated leaned against the railing and hung over our table which intruded on our space and privacy. Regardless we will definitely be back and we will also recommend the Cafe Malabar to others! Thank you for a lovely evening!
    

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