Valentina B.
Google
I recently dined at Papa Zouk in Antigua, and while the food was good, the overall experience was uncomfortable and ruined our last night on the island. The first thing you notice when entering the restaurant is that it's very overwhelming: a lot of everything. Decorations, too many customers in a room, and fans - which made it challenging to have a conversation with the person in front of you.
We were lucky enough to be accommodated at one of the few single tables, as most guests had to share a long table (which would have been absolutely fine!). However, as it was a special night, we were delighted to have a bit more privacy. After 15 minutes (we had already ordered food and drinks), the owner came to us and "kindly" asked us to move to a shared table as there was a couple celebrating something special. Something so special that the lady spent the evening watching her phone, and the waitress turned out to be a friend.
For the inconvenience, the owner told us that drinks were on him. The food was good; the fried elements of the dish were excellent with perfect breadcrumbs. Maybe a little too oily. I liked the idea of serving homemade sauces on the table to dress food (like putting olive oil on the table but instead, you had a passion fruit dressing).
The only problem with the food was that we ordered two dishes to share and received three (one entree and two main courses - exactly bthe same main course). We asked the waiter if the food was definitely ours, and she confirmed. At this stage, we thought maybe they had shared the main course on two plates as it was a bigger meal.
Well, once the bill arrived, the surprise: they charged us for the drinks (2 rum punch and water, not a magnum of champagne) and two main courses. We were extremely disappointed with this, and thankfully a young lady (she was working at the bar?) assisted us and was very kind and understanding. On the other hand, our waitress was rude and lacked basic customer service skills, starting to say that we couldn't have our dinner for free, and things like that.
We explained that we didn't want a free dinner; clearly, as paying customers (and the restaurant is overpriced considering portion sizes), we wanted to pay for the service received. Ah, guess what? This was the waitress was friend of the people who were sitting at our initial table.
In all this, the owner did not check on us once. All in all, it was a bizarre and unpleasant experience that I would not recommend. It's a shame because the restaurant was recommended by locals and we were so excited, but it was the worst night in the last 10 days. We're coming back to Antigua soon, but don't think this place will be on our list again.
