The of the former owner's of the original Mad Hatter's Cafe'- Malia Ricks, (and her family) welcome you to Ocean City's NEW favorite cafe'. Just off the boardwalk on 18th street, serving breakfast and lunch. Please stop in and check out our delicious soups, salads, and sandwiches. We also offer vegetarian options! Eat inside our beautiful beach themed cafe' with an ocean view, or sit outside with our pet friendly dining. Can't wait to see you!
Cuisine
American, Beach FoodDining Options
Kid Friendly, Outdoor DiningMeal Types
Breakfast, Brunch, LunchRecent Reviews
Malia's Cafe
Kate Finamore : 5 on 9/29/2025 12:42 pm
We ate two breakfasts there.
First day, I think our server was Malia!
She was EXCELLENT. Wrote down nothing. Remembered everything.
Food was delicious - pix are of the Health Nut French Toast and the large fruit cup.
We also had delicious smoothies made w real fruit and loved the steak and eggs and the Almond Joy pancakes.
One tip for diners / suggestion for owners:
When the (I don’t wanna say older but can’t think of another way to say it) guy is at the host stand, he’s actually a deterrent to business.
He’s not unfriendly, but he’s actually not good at the host job.
We sat outside right by the entrance and watched him tell probably 10 different parties of two or four people that it would be a 20min wait and then launch into a defensive explanation about how it’s a busy day and they should have gotten there earlier.
We saw at least a few parties just leave.
The thing is - it was NEVER a 20min wait while we were there. He told us the same thing when we arrived and we were seated in less than five min. As was just about about every other party that arrived during our meal - including a party of 11!
He also had a girl there write names on a list if there were a few parties waiting, but then forget to check the list and just give tables to the next people. We saw that happen at least twice.
He also changed the wait staff sections in the middle of our meal, which seemed to confuse some servers and have them with tables all over the place.
I honestly think he’s a nice guy but maybe this could be a gentle suggestion to greet people w a more welcoming vibe. And be open to being trained to be better at using a wait list and estimating wait times! Breakfast turns over pretty quick.
“We’re so glad you’re here. We’re thrilled to be so busy. Wait time is likely to be 5-10min. We’ll get you seated as soon as we can.”
First day, I think our server was Malia!
She was EXCELLENT. Wrote down nothing. Remembered everything.
Food was delicious - pix are of the Health Nut French Toast and the large fruit cup.
We also had delicious smoothies made w real fruit and loved the steak and eggs and the Almond Joy pancakes.
One tip for diners / suggestion for owners:
When the (I don’t wanna say older but can’t think of another way to say it) guy is at the host stand, he’s actually a deterrent to business.
He’s not unfriendly, but he’s actually not good at the host job.
We sat outside right by the entrance and watched him tell probably 10 different parties of two or four people that it would be a 20min wait and then launch into a defensive explanation about how it’s a busy day and they should have gotten there earlier.
We saw at least a few parties just leave.
The thing is - it was NEVER a 20min wait while we were there. He told us the same thing when we arrived and we were seated in less than five min. As was just about about every other party that arrived during our meal - including a party of 11!
He also had a girl there write names on a list if there were a few parties waiting, but then forget to check the list and just give tables to the next people. We saw that happen at least twice.
He also changed the wait staff sections in the middle of our meal, which seemed to confuse some servers and have them with tables all over the place.
I honestly think he’s a nice guy but maybe this could be a gentle suggestion to greet people w a more welcoming vibe. And be open to being trained to be better at using a wait list and estimating wait times! Breakfast turns over pretty quick.
“We’re so glad you’re here. We’re thrilled to be so busy. Wait time is likely to be 5-10min. We’ll get you seated as soon as we can.”
Kate Finamore
1759149758
5
5
Malia's Cafe
Jamie Klufts : 5 on 9/28/2025 4:02 pm
A lovely OC gem. This is the third breakfast spot we’ve tried down here and one we will absolutely return to. Staff were kind and attentive. Vibe is cute. Coffee is strong (in a good way!). We had the huevos rancheros – super delicious. We also had strawberry pancakes that were excellent. Eggs and home fries were cooked to perfection. Fresh fruit bowl was elevated with a nice mix of fruits – more variety than what you get at a typical breakfast spot. Can’t wait to come back!
Jamie Klufts
1759075379
5
5
Malia's Cafe
Aj Lee : 4 on 8/25/2025 11:35 pm
Some really good breakfest. Had chicken and waffles Nashville heat which my son stated was a bit too spicy for his taste...I had the western omlette....pretty darn good. Waffles w strawberries....very good. Place started to get packed so we ate outside.
Aj Lee
1756164915
4
5
Malia's Cafe
Modal title