Update 8/19/25: I was immediately reached out to by the manager (I didn't get the chance to post this sooner). She showed concern towards the issues that I raised by offering me an apology. I appreciate that. However, I received a personal message not soon after informing me that after we left, the next customers oxtails were falling off the bone. If I can be very transparent, I would not have sent that to me. If one client/customer has a bad experience after spending any amount of money.. why would that person want to hear that the next pertain was served what every customer shouod have received... which was accurate cooked food. I think the think that bothered me that there was nothing offered from those in the restaurants or from management to support consideration towards the fact that the oxtails were half cooked and the service (outside of Joel was trash). Like we paid full price for food that was not worth it. Once Joel tasted the food himself, he deemed it unsatisfactory, that food should never have been allowed to be ate further. However, he kindly kept pointing out that we had so much of a serving, I guess he didn't want to have to dump that and give us better.
I'm never looking for a meal ticket, but right is right and wrong is wrong. We spent over $100 for food that was not even worth $50 and trash customer service.
My wife and visited this spot yesterday for the 1st time. We are both from Flatbush (Brooklyn, NY) and we love Carribbean food. We were immediately greeted by Joel (Sorry if I misspelled his name). We both agreed that the spot was nice. We sat where we liked. We let him know that this was our 1st time there and that we came based upn reviews. He was very accomodating.
We ordered water and lemon, but they had no lemons available. Joel went to the store to get some (Honestly, they should have had that in stock). For food, we both ordered the Oxtail plate with rice and peas and plantain. My wife ordered the steamed veggies. For drinks, I order the Sweet Finger Juice (Mixture of Sorrel and Ginger Beer). The waitress informed us that the oxtails would be ready in 5 mins. We were excited because the food was going to be fresh.
Pros: The serving size was great. The oxtails was a pleasant size. The rice and beans were delicious and the oxtails gravy went perfect with the rice. My drink was so tasty.
Cons: The oxtails was undercooked..especially the large pieces. They were very very tough and that is not what it should have been (There is a disclaimer...Joel made it known earlier in that he was surprised or food came out so quick because he did not feel the Oxtails were done to have been served yet. He stated he tasted then and they needed longer). I told him after tasting a baby size oxtail, that it was a little rough.. but we were good. I did not realize at that point that the larger ones were as tough as they were.
The plantain were very small sized. They were overcooked and some were undercooked. They tasted kinda old. The carrots in the oxtails needed to cook longer as well. The steamed veggies had been over steamed, so it was very dried out.
I ate all my rice and some of the oxtails (Even though they were tough, I didn't want to waste $35 and I was beyond hungry). My wife barely ate. She ate some rice and the baby size oxtails. She was beyond dissatisfied. Majority of her food went home.
My drink was served without ice. It was room temperature. Sorrel and ginger beer should be served cold.
We ordered a slice of Rum Cake. When it came in the to-go carton, it was heated. I didn't understand why because it should be freshly made. It looked dry as well.
The waitress was okay in the beginning. However, she did not come and check on us, she didn't ask if we needed anything. My wife had to go to her to get my ice. She brought an extra Sorrel that my wife had started asking for in the beginning, but changed her mind. That was on our bill. In the midst of meeting our needs, someone came back in because their bag broke. She stopped to support that customer by getting her a bag, putting the items into the bag and talking to her. She finally came back to our table and forgot to bring our bill. She never returned to pick up the bill, so I had to get up and go to the counter to pay. The restaurant was nowhere near crowded. She was sitting down.
When we got home and ate the rum cake, it was dry and horrible. I think that it was in the fridge or freezer and they warmed it.
Altogether we spent $112. The portions showed to be worth the amount.. but not the food nor dessert.
I want to add that Joel was amazing..personality wise and managerial. However, I still need to give the review because he was not in the kitchen, nor was he the waitress. He can't do everyone's job and others have to be held accountable for their lacking so that they can improve for future clients. read more