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Malabar cafe, the restaurant under the spotlight specialises in presenting the authentic Kerala cuisine as well as the North Indian and Mediterranean cuisine for their dinner buffet.
An assortment of veg and non veg starters with special attention given to sea food starters. Notable variety of salads, breads especially catering to Mediterranean style with some of the best hummus available in Trivandrum. The main course consists of mainly Kerala style rice, biriyani, breads, curry options as well as North Indian style dishes. The dessert includes variety of pastries, Madeleine, tarts along with the usual assortment of flavoured ice creams, seasonal fruits, halwas, payasam and specific North Indian sweets.
Due credit must be given to the staff who are very courteous, friendly and professional. Overall it is a refreshing addition to the trivandrum premium dining locations.
The absence of Oriental or Chinese cuisine can be attributed to the presence of another restaurant inside the property called The Oriental Kitchen which specialises in that.
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Malabar Cafe started off with it’s lunch buffet for the public on 27/11/2022. Few observations as followed:
1. AMBIENCE: I haven’t visited the property when it was used by the Taj, hence not sure for the aesthetics back then. However, the first thing I noticed as we walked in to the restaurant was the ordinary room height as opposed to the double heightened airy spacious restaurants in most recognised hotel chains. That reduces the grandeur, though there may not have been much to do about it. It reminded of the Radisson Blu Kochi restaurant with a less grand appeal.
2. AMBIENCE, HYGIENE: Powder rooms/wash rooms are located inside the restaurant, and not in the lobby as in most hotels. Again, renovated properties may not have been left with much options for such changes. It’s hygienic as it could get.
3. AMBIENCE: Extended seating/subsidiary hall in the restaurant felt a bit too beige, and claustrophobic with lack of greenery. I felt a bit suffocated especially with the restaurant fully booked. This particular seating hall doesn’t give the ambience of a fine dining restaurant nor does it give the comfort or entertainment of a cafe. It’s just that there’s nothing to look at in the subsidiary hall. There’s no table plants either. I’m not a fan of television, though it might have been better like what they did at Regency Thrissur. Main dining hall invokes freshness compared to the other one.
4. AMBIENCE: Overall, it felt like the ambience could have been better with some expert consultancy. It sure won’t be able to beat something of the likes of Hyatt Bolgatty. But It didn’t beat the ambience of O cafe,O by Tamara either which is also a restaurant limited by the Not so scenic location.
5. VEG OPTIONS: Though limited in number, vegetarian options were delicious. Even with plenty of meat options, I took refills on them. Indian sweets tasted perfect too.
6. ORIENTAL OPTIONS: They don’t serve even a single oriental option. No indo-Chinese favourite starters, soups, noodles or rice could be tasted from here. But, that’s the case with Malabar Cafe Bolgatty as well as they have a dedicated Thai Soul restaurant. Hyatt regency Thrissur presently serves oriental, though they are planning to discontinue it with opening of an oriental restaurant as well. I do not like it that they don’t serve oriental, it’s a disappointing decision.
7. CONTINENTAL: Couple of continental options were there, and they were great.
8. LIVE OPTIONS: I didn’t ask for Appam, though I’m convinced it would be there. There weren’t any grilled options. What I liked the most was the fact that they had few numbers of Kerala Paratta and Naan cut into quarters and readily available on the buffet spread itself. This does reduce food wastage. Usually whenever from live counters parathas are ordered, they serve it full sized inside baskets, and ends up getting not fully consumed.
9. KERALA CUISINE: Chef’s kiss! Absolutely flavourful and more than sufficient spread.
10. WELCOME DRINKS: Not great or bad just Nannari water, iced tea and some berry concentrate. But great that they had options and served soft drinks, many restaurants don’t do that at all.
11. DESSERTS: Totally content with desserts as the spread catered to multiple textures, flavours and variety. Just Yum.
12. VALUE FOR MONEY: Prices tend to change, and it’s too early. It definitely is the most value for money presently available in Thiruvananthapuram. On days where ambience wouldn’t be a key priority, this restaurant would be the default choice for sure. As for Hyatt restaurants in Kerala, Thrissur may be the most value for money.
OVERALL VERDICT: Definitely the top choice for sure. Just the ambience is a bit let down. On all other aspects, more than elated. Flavourful food is the ultimate parameter of a restaurant, and it will not disappoint in food. Staff are courteous and happy to serve us. Service is great as well. 👌
Had a great time with family at Malabar cafe for the brunch. Awesome balanced spread of local and North Indian delicacies. The mutton dishes were great and the mutton biriyani served was as aromatic as it can get. The dessert spread was also great, with more than enough choices.
I loved the staff attitude. Everybody was kind and understanding, which is hard to find. We had baby with us and staff ensured all the needs were addressed.
Overall awesome food and excellent service. Highly recommend.
Had Christmas brunch at Hyatt's Malabar Cafe, 2022. Lovely buffet spread, chic ambience, n friendly n helpful staffs ... Had a beautiful time ...
Buffet was amazing and surprised to see large variety of dishes, worth the price.
Good ambience. Many options with few local delicacies. Efficient and smiling staffs.
Food was great. Staff extremely polite and helpful.
Awesome varieties for lunch and dinner buffets!
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