Enigma Cafe
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Great customer service, friendly staff, fast service especially with big crowds. Love love love it.
Sad to see how awful this café has gotten over the years, its a far-cry from what it used to be and has gone downhill so badly.The food and drinks have gone down-hill in quality, the server at the counter made me adjust my order over 3 times since they were unable to fulfil them, they wouldn't make a gelato milkshake, but would gladly make a thickshake despite the gelato being visible in the ice-cream counter right next to the register?The fettucine that I ordered was swimming in sauce, it was not thick or creamy, it was watered down with barely any taste to it, this is disappointing considering the past times I've went here the fettucine is creamy and flavourful. The only flavourful part of my watered down fettucine was the sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.The overall vibe of the restaurant was horrid, the back area which used to be maintained was in disarray with chairs all over the place, and the entire mood of the cafe felt depressing. The cashier staff felt incredibly disinterested and bored, I felt unwelcome with their tone and attitude in how they served me, the only saving grace was the waiter who was kind and polite and treated me nicely despite my terrible experience.PLEASE NOTE: At the time of my review they do charge a credit card surcharge, and a holiday surcharge too and did NOT have any posted notices on the door, front counter and staff failed to notify me of this surcharge and the only way I known there was a surcharge is by checking the receipt receipt.
Enigma used to be an amazing spot to have a meal and had a great atmosphere. Now it’s like walking into a dungeon with a troll for a manager.I’ve been back twice and both times it had sticky floors, was dark and cold and the tables were small and dirty. There was rubbish all over the tables out the back and mops by the tables you eat at.The manager was so rude we left, saying “what do you want?” when we went up to order and then being rude when we told him our order. He wasn’t just rude to us, we heard him speak this way to other customers and his own staff.Poor form and won’t be returning or recommending to anyone.
In what was one of Wellington’s most iconic cafes, I was disgusted to see how downhill this place has gone since it has presumably changed owners. Appalling service, overpriced food (which we didn’t even wait around for due to a 45 minute wait and had to ask for our money back). Every customer eating there looked miserable and downtrodden at what used to be a sensational slice of the Wellington scene.
I visited the cafe with a guide dog in training. We got a friendly welcome and immediately told it was ok to have the GD with me.The chap was very pleasant. And made a mean mocha. Delicious.A lovely spot to swing into when on Courtenay place.
Everything was perfect. Definitely going back this was review a few years ago.It's now Friday 22nd Nov 2024First the atmosphere has gone,It was empty and the service was a big let down, there was no interest in me being a customerThe food. No love in the meal madeEspecially paying that price.Sorry guys, I'll just keep the memories when enigma was great.
This used to be my all-time favourite cafe in Wellington but it’s lost its touch and is going downhill. We arrived on a sunny Sunday afternoon, the cafe used bustling with customers, sometimes it was hard to find a free table, however it was completely empty when we arrived. The staff were uninterested and on their phones until we spoke up, overall service was extremely poor and there was no care for their customers. We wanted to sit outside and enjoy the weather however the entire area was littered with rubbish bags, smelling up the entire area, cigarette butts all over the ground despite no smoking signs. I ordered a iced chocolate and even after stirring in the chocolate syrup that was drizzled around the inside of the cup, my drink was still basically straight milk with iced cubes, not even the hint of a chocolate after taste. The coffee tasted off, the food was average and seemed like it had either been heated in a microwave or just not taken very good care of. I’d like to return back one day and hopefully they’ve found their rhythm again but unfortunately for now I will be steering clear.
Yummy food! Steak is my favorite 😍 Great service as always...my old time place.
By far today was my worst experience at Enigma, since I been coming here for the last 10 years living in Wellington.This was Monday night at 8pm.We were really confused and thought the place was closed, dimming light, no customers inside. When we were still at the door, the staff was on his phone and not acknowledging us until we asked if they are still opened.The staff had a poor customer service. I asked for Chai tea, was told that they don’t do chai. So I asked for dirty chai, yes to that, despite both items were on the menu.We asked for white chocolate frappe, and was told they can’t do milkshake, frappe or smoothie.We also ordered an almond croissant, the staff didn’t even offered to heat it up. So we had a cold cabinet food…The worst part is we were there from 8pm to 9pm, the same staff played the same one song on repeat for an hour. The song was Anchor Point by Ahmed Spins. Is this the vibe you want to offer the customers who want to relax at the cafe?2 more customers walked in and stood at the front counter for awhile, while this same staff was talking on his phone, walked to the tilt and was still on his phone.Every week multiple business are closing down around Wellington, yet a cafe in middle of town offered a terrible experience while there was only us there inside. Shouldn’t staff be on top of their game and offer every customer an amazing experience especially during this hard time.I used to work in hospo so I know what a minimum standard customer service will be, and our experience tonight is far from it.
Food is not fresh. The atmosphere is weird and gloomy there. Looks like an abandoned cafe unfortunately
Very disappointed. Food from the cabinet was microwaved to reheat which was not the best method for a panini. Perhaps a sandwich press should be invested in? We won't be back, this place has gone very downhill.
ordered a slice of cake and it was dry and flavourless ( black forest cake ), friend ordered tea, didn't recieve it for 10 mins so reminded the staff member, they told us it was coming and brought a long black over instead.staff looks like they don't want to be here and also constantly watching our tableweird vibes, wouldn't come back
Relatively expensive food for the size, especially the cabinet food. Staff seem nice but they never look excited to be there. I don't want to say the place is dirty but I never feel like it's as clean as it should be
Was good years ago but it's a bit run down now. The food seems to be old and not fresh any more. The wine choices were lacking and the staff didn't even know where the wines were made.
The coffee here is always good.NY cheesecake was excellent, rich, classic flavor, small portion but the perfect amount for something small with coffee.Carrot cake was superb.Priced exactly as you'd expect in the middle of Wellington.
Really nice place i visited here every week and the food and service was still good!
Saturday night ate at Enigma, had a great experience. Came again Sunday night for the same meal, it was horrible and not at all the same amazing dish I had the night before. No excuse for that much salt on top off everything. Partner had a meal and was very spicy, if something has chillies in like that you should mention it on the menu. Won't visit again
Came in, spent 45 bucks on a big breakfast and a coffee, food came out half an hour later, poached eggs over cooked to all heaven, bacon was cold, and an add on avocado was barely more than a forkful. For $45 I got a pretty simple yet poorly made fry up, a long wait, and a coffee (which was actually a great coffee to be fair).Coffee was good and interior is cool, however wouldn’t recommend ordering food at all.
The bagel quality itself was tough and didn't taste fresh, but the contents were a nice combination of fresher ingredients (but, unfortunately, you can't serve a bagel ensemble with a poor quality bagel and hope to achieve high marks). The atmosphere was a bit on the dark and bleak side, but with a full house I bet the ambiance improves some.
Looks like they've changed hands. Worst meal I've ever had at an eatery for a long time today. Tasteless (in fact it tasted a bit weird in general), dirty cafe. The iced chocolate I ordered was crap. Wasn't what was described on the menu at all. The filo was chucked in the microwave and not really edible. It was gross. The stuff inside was covered in pepper. Think I got one that was two or three days old.We wasted our food and just left. I'm pissed I spent a decent amount of money on disgusting crap.The guy that served us seemed a bit slovenly too.Really disappointing. Not what it used to be. Won't be back.
This cafe used to be one of my favourites, but it’s completely fallen off :(. I’m guessing they changed owners?Ordered a $6 carrot cake from the cabinet and they gave me and charged me for a $10 slice - no worries, miscommunication.Then this is what my iced chocolate looked like…. It’s a literally cup of plain milk with chocolate syrup sitting in the bottom of the cup. And they knew I was dining in but still gave it to me in a single use plastic cup.
Really nice place. I visited here years ago and had to come back to see if it was still there. It hasn't changed much, and the food and service was still good!
Came for brunch with my partner on Sunday ordered the mushrooms on toast it was just a soggy soupy mess on my plate thought it came with eggs but that was my mistake I didn’t read the menu properly. I then asked for two poached eggs on the side and it was just drowning in vinegar and not edible at all, unfortunately was really looking forward to this place since my partners dad used to work here and we wanted to try it out definitely won’t be back some things need to be changed.
Usually the place we love to go.This time however. We came in was sort of busy which we didn’t mind. We placed our order which we had to confirm multiple times. Our order was 2x big breakfast, pancakes and eggs Benedict. We also got 3 X-Large hot chocolates and a caramel latte. And then we sat at a table and waited…Now the wait we didn’t mind, knowing it was so busy we just chilled and chatted. About 45 minutes later out came our food which we were excited about.Now here’s where it goes downhill!! 3 out of 4 meals came out and they were stone cold . They didn’t look appealing and just gross. We questioned where the fourth one was and after 15 minutes it came out fresh nice and hot and you could see the steam coming off it.Overall it was a disappointing experience that has made us never to return again.
Good selection of food, but probably a little more expensive than most. I was at a table of 4 and we all had something different and everyone and myself loved the food. The coffee was fairly average.The service was not overly friendly though. One girl seemed to be annoyed when we asked for cutlery.The decor was pretty trendy, though it was really dark inside. I understand that perhaps it is meant to be intimate, but it was really dark.This place is probably better suited for 1 or 2 people who want a quick bite.
