Tropical Grill

The food is very good, although not the freshest. I was sat right next to the kitchen and didn't hear a peep from inside there, despite my friend and I ordering three fairly large meals, which would suggest to me it was refrigerated/frozen and then microwaved. However, I can only imagine how good the food would be if it was cooked from fresh. The flavours were excellent, and it was some of the best African food I've had in terms of seasoning. Our server was very polite and cute. No issue with her. The only other issue was my drink, which was clearly poured from a bottle of Coke (not a fountain) and was flat. It tasted like last month's soda. The atmosphere of the restaurant was pretty flat, too. I put it down to it being a Monday evening, which is generally not a busy time for restaurants. Overall; food was good, but not the freshest. They'd have gotten 4 stars if it was freshly-made.

So let me start by saying that I love African food. I've been fortunate enough to be able to travel extensively throughout Africa. So, when I found an African restaurant that had peppered snail, I was excited. I called the restaurant and asked if they had peppered snail, I drove from New Jersey up to New York after ensuring so. Once in New York, they called me back and told me that they weren't going to make it anymore because it took too much work and the cook didn't feel like it. The person then said that he had my number from the caller ID and would call me back later to let me know if the cook felt like making it. Fast forward to today, I called them back because they didn't call me last night and I asked if they had the peppered snail and I was placed on hold only for the person to tell me the cook said they weren't going to make it. He told me he had my number and would call me back if she decided to make it. At this point, I asked what kind of restaurant this was because they definitely have things on the menu and even though it's in stock, the "cook doesn't feel like making it" and that blows my mind. Horrible attitudes & horrible customer service.

Don't go here to waste money oooo..ha! Horrible Horrible place to buy food .I find out when got home they gave me wrong order, and the food was tasteless I won't give it to an animal to eat and the most painful part I bought a large quantity close to $200 and I even gave tips to two people there . This has been happening for long I thought they had changed but each time I go I forget they once did it to me . it worst of the worst food . No more patronage I ll never go here No more

Was excited to try Egusi soup and pounded yam. I must say, I was HIGHLY disappointed. Food was overpriced with tiny portions. Will not order again but was worth the try ‍

I ordered $60 worth of food. I first noticed that my containers had an amount comparable to how much 6yr old eat - very little. The chicken in 1 container was not chewable and couldn't be swallowed. the meat was dark and hard on the inside as if it's been laying on a counter for a few days. The fish was just as bad with old non chewable parts. The only fresh part of these meals was the white and jollof rice along with the spinach. i absolutely love African food, but this was sadly the worst experience ever. They should not be in business!

I have been going to tropical on and off for some time now. Tropical grill honestly is a hit and miss. Today they completely missed the mark. Old egusi soup?! Old puff puff.. Watery and just terrible???.. not to mention I asked for fried hard chicken and I got the biggest most hormonal chicken ever.. disgusting. I am just so disappointed and still hungry. I want to support my Nigerian people so bad , but if we don't make consistency and customer satisfaction a priority, we will continue to lack smh.

I refuse to even go into detail lmfaooo . Not pictured was the mushy jollof. If you eat Nigerian food you already understand my frustration. I'd never order this again. Should've gotten my money back. If you're in the are better you go with Aso rock and deal with the attitude.

Not many African restaurants around so glad to have this place. Remodeled to have a lounge feel. Service was actually reasonable! Pleasant, courteous staff and ... No unreasonable wait time. If you've been to b an African restaurant before you know the wait can be ridiculous. I literally turned 50yrs old waiting for Buka in Brooklyn to serve us food. All the food looked and smelled delicious. My favorite was the puff puff, suya and egusi. Puff puff was light and airy with a hint of sugar. Perfection! Not a big ball of fried dough. My husband enjoyed the soft chicken. On the jollof rice . .. Jury is still out. But we'll be back to try again.

I just called this restaurant to ask if they were opened. I wanted to make sure due to COVID. The man answered and stated if we were not open I wouldn't answer the phone . WTF!!!!!!!!. Is this how you speak to a customer ?? I would never spend a penny on this place ever again .

My first time having Ogbono with chicken and fufu was here. The soup and fufu were good, but the chicken was bright pink inside and the texture made me question where it even came from.

Passed by today early afternoon no activity, must be closed, the location is bit odd for this establishment, being this part of Rockaway is Airport oriented

I came here last night with my dad. I ordered Egusi and pounded yam. We been here a few times before and the jollof rice was really good. The Egusi though, didn't have enough spinach or meat. There was a piece of beef and goat meat and a large cow tripe which I do not like. Dad ordered moi moi. We was in car and it was wrapped in foil. I opened it and it's like mashed potatoe. I was told it's suppose to be round and not coming apart like this. I think I had this once so I googled it to see and all pics are of it rounded. Like it was not cooked long enough. Dad said he will tell them next time he is in the area. To be $3 a piece as well smh.. They only take cash as well which is an inconvenience for people who do not carry cash.

The restaurant was conveniently located with parking spots available which is always nice. The food was REALLY good! I ordered suya and jollof rice! My first time eating Nigerian food and loved it. The waiter could have been better he rarely came over to us and checked. I ordered a water and didn't get it and my check took forever to come. Other than that it's a nice place!

Highly unprofessional customer service. I called in to place an order and to my arrival, I was told they don't accept cards. i pulled out cash and was told they can only accept the exact amount because the register isn't opened and needs a manager to open it. Where is the manager i asked? Not in at the moment was the response. They accept cards on some days and not on other days, very inconsistent with everything. The level of professionalism here is abysmal and uncharacteristic to the service industry Never ordering from here ever again.

Great place for Nigerian cuisine. Good service.

Tonight was a great experience and we were transported to West Africa with some sumptuous food! We had chicken, Jollof rice, snapper fish, tilapia fish, a mixture of meats, pounded yam, egusi, white rice, Red velvet cake and carrot cake. Portions were more than ample and the entire meal was very delicious! Our party was large and they took care of us like pros. The manager came to joyfully greet us and our server was just as pleasant.

Service is very poor here. You wait forever to be served your food. The waitresses do not check on you to see if you need anything. The food portions are small. The food tastes okay, but not worth me returning here

I had Jollof rice and chicken. The chicken had a raw taste to it, like it wasn't properly cleaned. And the quality of the chicken left a lot to be desired. I don't know where they get their fowl from but it's definitely not fresh. Fowl is also supposed to be very meaty, all the pieces I received were mostly bone! The jollof itself was lackluster, and just edible at best. Overall, very disappointed with their overpriced food, and will not be returning.

The food is good, but the customer service is lacking. You can easily spend an hour + waiting to get served, and the female staff are rude.

I came in after contemplating if it was open. There wasn't anything from outside indicating that. Upon entering there was no one there to greet or seat me. I made up my mind at that point to get take out. After waiting 5 minutes I went to the kitchen to request help. Once I got someone's attention I placed my simple order Goat Meat Pepper Soup which was out of stock so I went for Fish ($15 did I ask for Moby Dick Pepper Soup )since that is what was available. The service was less than sub par, it's as though I interrupted their afternoon siesta coming in to the empty restaurant on a nice Saturday afternoon. I haven't been here for years and I won't be back. The place was cold, empty, big tvs on the wall with nothing on, no music, no steam from cooking nothing. Oh the nice (sike) Mada am taking orders needs to brush all the way up on her waitressing skills, which were absent today. I forgot to mention I ordered some Suya that was the saving grace, very tasty.

Went here for my first African Party.. I enjoyed it. I enjoy different cultures, being that I am of West Indian heritage I felt the music and style of dance was very similar. The decor was OK. I enjoyed the lighting of the bar, there was enough space to dance. As far as the crowd.. that was hit or miss, females were sitting down.. dudes were posted up.. typical.. THE ONE NEGATIVE the strobe lights and the smoke.. my 20/20 went to 5/5... damn near blinded me and suffocated me! It was a bit too much. But the DJ was playing good solid tunes. so the question is... (Will I be back) YES! I'll just wear a gas mask! I enjoyed my time. It's a decent spot. I'd recommend it. Try new things stop staying sheltered.

When it comes to African Food in New York City I can say that I am sort of an expert. Tropical Grill as a restaurant is horrible. Please do not waste your money. There are far better Nigerian Restaurants in New York City that serve better food. Tropical Grill as a Lounge/Club is amazing. It is the best Nigerian Club in New York City. They have the premier African DJ's in America playing the hottest African/ West Indian Music out right now. There SUYA is amazing! I would recommend you coming for Friday's Suya nights. It is such a good time. You will not regret it. You might meet your African Prince!

Very poor looking restaurant, poor service, food is - rice and bones (almost no meat). Payed $12 - enjoy only Sam Adams beer. Don't go there. Overpriced! Bad neborhood.

Tropical grill is a very nice looking lounge/restaurant. Nice tables for the restaurant area and plush looking couches. I ordered the egusi and pounded yam with a side of plantains. The food was really good, however compared to most African restaurants, the portions are not as big for the price. They are not tiny portions, but they could stand to be a little bigger. We ordered take out, it was only 3:30 pm and they already had the strobe lights going lol, it would be a bit awkward eating at 4pm with strobe lights. Another thing that threw me off, is that one of the items I wanted (puff-puff), was not available. Now this is very typical of African restaurants but still no slack on this, if you can not consistently have an item, it should not be on your menu. Lastly, before we actually picked it up, we attempted to call for their "delivery" service. I called, made my order and waited for a total, she then told me she would have to call the car service to find out how much they would charge then she would call me back. LOL, so basically they do NOT have delivery, they will make you pay for a cab as well as the food, we weren't willing to have an additional 10-15 bucks tacked on to our tab. All in all, great food spot, customer service is eh, not terrible. I will definitely check it out for dine-in and possibly one of their club nights.

Me and my boyfriend are regulars here.. Of course there are some things that can be improved at tropical grill but honestly the food is good here.. I usually get the jollof rice or tropical rice with moi moi and plantain etc and I always love it. Its not going to compare to the authentic Naija food but it close. Their puff puffwhenever they randomly decide to actually have some are divineeeeeeee! Egusi soup is pretty good. Nightlife here is pretty popular.

This place sucks, gnats were landing on our food, I asked for spicy chicken and they gave me crappy chicken wings with no heat. The fried rice taste was off, I couldn't put my finger on it but its taste was not fried rice. The fried banana chips were probably the only good thing.

Came here to eat before going to work and had to wait for an hour for simple jollof rice and goat meat!! The hell!!! Horrible service!!!

The whole place sucks, food, service, music. It's too loud and they do not respect their neighbors!!

This restaurant is a family favorite because you can get some pretty good Nigerian food at a great price. However, my family has a love hate relationship with this place, which we just chalk up to it being a true Nigerian spot. First the waiters are quite nice young ladies but you service will be poor. The place is trying for a look but whatever it is they are failing at it. Finally some items are just overpriced; I love plantains and a side order will generally get you about 8 pieces. All in all, it a great place, but go for the food don't expect manhattan quality service.

Probably the worst service I have ever received. I called ahead if time and when I arrived my order had not even been placed and the lady in the front had a nasty attitude. She told me I had to wait and did not give me a time frame of when the food would be ready.

Number one,being that I am Nigerian,this place customer service sucks.I came in the door and was waiting for someone to attend to me for a long time.As soon as an Nigerian elder came in, a young lady came out and immediately took his order. This young lady had seen me,walk past me several times. She took my order after asking him first and then me.Customers shouldnt be treated different. The food is way too expensive with small portion.It always our own people that overpriced.They really need to work on the customer service like really

To be frank and honest, when it come to partying Tropical Grill takes the cake. That is if you want the straight African-Nigerian dancing and music mix with modern day youths but food wise. They are HORRIBLE. Beside the suya and buka rice and sometimes fish. Everything else isn't worth the amount they ask for and nor for the portions either. Unlike 9ja villa located on Utica and ave N or U and Festac Grill located on Hendrix in NY who serves a nice plate full (Mostly Festac Grill) Tropical Grill food can offer to be a little more. Plus they're are always if not most of the time never in stock with what is advertised on their menu in which i do not understand! The service also might i add is based on who is who/who you are. I've experienced where by someone will come in and have to wait almost 10 mins. before a hostess would even acknowledge them but an older male would come in and these hostess would finally decide to come out and not to mention take the older male order first who in which just arrived whereby the person who actually arrived 1st would be dealt with second. All in all the ambiance is nice but the service, wait time, food isn't worth the hassle. Also stop serving people the bottom of the pot whereby you scrape the bottom to serve it. Thank You.