Maganda D.
Yelp
Date(s) visited: about 1 times.
Food/Drink: 3/5
Service: 2/5
Atmosphere: 3/5
Price: 3/5
Parking: 5/5
"Jamaican food for those who don't like to wait."
Food/Drink: So today I ordered the Brown Stewed Chicken plate with rice, peas, and cabbage. The sauce was good and you could taste the herbs in the stew but the chicken was somewhat dry and hard. The cabbage along with the peas and rice I have to say was flavorful yet it did not sit well with me that the food was not made fresh and was served to me one minute after I sat down.
Service: To start, my plate was $14 and I put down $3 up front on the bill hoping that some sort of decent tip would get me some decent service. Throughout my whole experience not only was I not offered water (which I had to ask for) noone came and waited on me after initially sitting down and receiving my food, noone came by to check to see if my food was okay, and noone came by to refill my water. I found it interesting that I sat there ready for a whole dine-in experience while eating from a Styrofoam plate (so I'm sure the food was zapped in the microwave!). Also, the hot sauce they brought out was red pepper and not scotch bonnet which surprised me since normally scotch bonnet sauce is served at most Jamaican restaurants that I frequent.
Atmosphere: Kind of dark in there and they definitely need more lighting or even more plants (it feels almost like a restaurant in an attic).
Price: I truly feel that I could have gotten more for what I paid for at a small size.
Parking: There is parking in front of the restaurant which is free.
MY THOUGHTS?: This was my 1st time in this restaurant and will definitely be my last. This is an old restaurant from back in the days that I know my friends used to go to (who are mostly islanders) but I never gave myself the opportunity until today to go after having a craving for some Caribbean food. Being an islander myself, I know that we are usually very lively and high spirited people. I did not like the customer service or the way I was welcomed into the restaurant and served (note also, it was me and only two other customers so they definitely had the chance to focus on service while I was there).
RECOMMENDATIONS: My recommendation is to go to Jerk Dat instead which is also located on the East Side. With Jerk Dat they give you good portions and not only that, the chef and his wife are super friendly. They ask you if you want to try samples of their soups when they are made fresh. They let you know up front how long the wait is because you know their food will be fresh. And every time I walk into Jerk Dat they are just very nice people always willing to serve (AND their food is good).
Sorry to say but, this place lost my business being that it was my 1st time walking in and I am highly disappointed with what I experienced today.