Pleasure Caribbean, the new Haitian restaurant in Riverside Square in Coral Springs, is worth your…read morepatience.
And you will need some patience right now.
They're clearly understaffed, the kitchen is getting hammered with takeout orders, and service can be uneven. The main server speaks limited English, although the owner's daughter, Sisi, speaks perfectly and does a great job helping non-Creole speakers navigate the menu. But if you can get past those early growing pains, you'll discover one of the most interesting new restaurants to open in Coral Springs this year.
Haitian food has long been part of South Florida's culinary landscape, but mostly through takeout counters serving immigrant communities. What makes Pleasure Caribbean notable is that it presents the cuisine in a polished sit-down setting, with an attractively renovated dining room in a suburban shopping plaza -- likely the first restaurant of its kind in Coral Springs, which has a rapidly growing Haitian population.
The cuisine itself is deeply savory, assertively seasoned, and unlike anything else in the Caribbean. Mushrooms, herbs, layered spice blends, and slow-cooked flavors dominate the menu, often with a gentle but persistent chile warmth running underneath everything.
We started with Pate Kode, a fried turnover superficially similar to an empanada, but with a crust closer to frybread. Ours was stuffed with hard-boiled egg, peppers, onions, and seasoned meat, and absolutely came alive with Pikliz, Haiti's signature vinegary fermented slaw loaded with habanero heat.
The Boulette -- Haitian fried meatballs -- were outstanding: fluffy rather than dense, heavily seasoned with herbs and parmesan, served with a light tomato-sofrito (epis) sauce that deserved to be eaten with a spoon.
Lalo, the restaurant's stew of jute leaves, corned beef, and crab, may challenge unfamiliar diners visually, but it delivers deep earthy flavor somewhere between spinach, callaloo, and long-cooked greens. The crab functions more as seasoning than centerpiece, enriching the entire dish.
And then there are the starches, arguably the soul of the meal. Riz Djon Djon, Haiti's famous black mushroom rice, had remarkable depth and aroma. Even better was the Mayi Moulen ak Pwa -- cornmeal with black beans -- which frankly doesn't look particularly appetizing but becomes strangely addictive after the first few bites: creamy, savory, slightly spicy comfort food.
To drink, we had fresh limeade that practically begged for a pour of Barbancourt or Clairin from the liquor store a few doors down. I paired everything with Prestige, the iconic Haitian lager, which is a little hoppier and more flavorful than most Caribbean beers.
The biggest surprise, honestly, may be the room itself. Instead of the utilitarian takeout environment most people associate with Haitian restaurants in South Florida, Pleasure Caribbean has turquoise booths, polished wood floors, crystal-style lighting, and a contemporary dining room that feels designed for lingering over a meal.
They're still working through service issues, and less adventurous diners may bounce off the rough edges. That would be a mistake.
There's real cooking happening here.