Two of us (one vegan; one not) had similar thoughts: 'okay, acceptable, nothing great'. The specifics: 1. Ambiance. A very large facility with a few small sidewalk tables, and others inside, immediately accessible to the outside. Some portions of the facility have tables with chairs stacked on them, as if waiting for the crowds to come: very unappealing. And plastic grass glued to a bench does NOT make "Caribbean atmosphere"! Friendly, attentive service (before 6 pm on a weekend). 2. Food. We had the 'chips and friends', 'lo-mein bowl', and 'cassareep bowl'. None were especially flavorful or tasty. To me, they are trying to 'veganize' meat dishes, without a true understanding of vegan ingredients. I found their sauces too sweet. 3. Price. On the moderate to high side. There's a 3.5% charge added to each bill for the kitchen help. I am for ALL workers being paid a living wage, but please, build such charges into the menu prices; don't rub my nose in the dirt of your political/social issue! Also, there was an extra $3.00 charge added for two alcoholic drinks listed as "rocks pour". Apparently they believe extra alcohol is used when a drink is poured over ice. Really? No advance warning of such charges; no offer to remove them when we complained. Summary: sad to say, I won't be back.
I will give it three stars because of the ambiance and the service. However, I do think that the Cuban seitan sandwich that I ordered wasn’t seasoned properly, and it was dry and without flavor. It was simply blah! Nothing special. I ended up returning the sandwich and getting something else. Recommend the Mofongo because it was delicious. The cornbread was dry :/ My drink was on point, and I enjoyed the vibes—5 stars to the bartender. I think this place needs a revamp in its menu. It doesn’t have too many options, and the menu is blah! I don't think I will be coming back.
The food and cocktails here are amazing! I have been veggie for many years, and never had the opportunity to have Caribbean food as a kid because I disliked meat so much. This is a great answer to that! Get the doubles!!
I thought that this was a good quality vegan meal with unique food options and friendly service.My sister and I shared the curry fries, the Cassareep Rice Bowl and the Cubano. We also each had a Piña Colada.The curry on the fries was really delicious, though the fries themselves could’ve been more crispy. The Cassareep bowl was very tasty, but I wish I’d tried one of the others. It felt a little basic. The Cubano was good but we both agreed we like more pickles and Dijon than this sandwich had. Piña Coladas were tasty, just a little too icy.Overall a good meal and I’m happy we tried it!
This place is a must visit whether you are vegan or not. The interior and general vibe is super cool. Decor and lighting is relaxing and music was at a great level and also enjoyable.We really loved the service, which was top notch. The drinks were fantastic. We had the mofongo appetizer which was incredible and the best food item of the night. The sauce was fantastic. We also had the lo mein bowl, which I thought could have used a bit more flavor, and the cassareep rice bowl, which had great flavors. Everything came out smoking hot and was very fresh.Here's what I didn't love. About half of the restaurant was closed on Saturday night due to staffing issues. Be prepared to wait a while for a table. We ended up eating at the bar which was not our first choice. There really aren't desserts unless you count the sweet plantains - which I did not like. If you are a sweet plantain purist, who enjoys them made with very ripe plantains, pan fried until carmelized, then these may not be for you. These sweet plantains are made with sugar and it's very obvious.That's about it. Overall, great restaurant with interesting menu options. I'll definitely return.ps. Enjoy the restrooms!
First off, we are not vegan. I cannot eat eggs or dairy at all though, so a vegan restaurant was my Valentine's treat - a meal with no fear of days of misery. We had never been to this place before, so we decided to try a few dishes. We split the Buss Up Shut, the papaya slaw and the coconut bread. Wow! A few bites into the main dish my meat eating, no food restrictions husband said, "This is overall...spectacular!" For reals, I have no idea how the roti could possibly taste so buttery. I don't eat a ton of bread, but I will make an exception for this! The slaw was interesting, but we'd probably try something else next time. The coconut cake, I mean bread, was out of control. I'm pretty sure could eat it by the sheet-pan - I was only saved by the fact that it has cinnamon, which I also have to avoid. The "one bite" I had turned into about 1/8 the piece, which was totally worth the minor pain it caused me. We went on a Friday at 3:45 and had to wait 40 minutes to get our food, which we didn't expect -I guess this place is not a secret! Overall it was worth the wait and although it is nowhere near our house, we will be back! (Oh, although it took 40 minutes to get the food, it was so good it only took us about 10 minutes to lick the plates clean lol)
I’ve always had a mixed opinion on this place. Spices are good, service is good, and options are decent. I’m a carnivore that loves vegan food and I think they try too hard to make their vegan cuisine into meat foods. They seem to apologize too much for being vegan and turning what would otherwise be great dishes into replacements for meat dishes. I want to love this place, but can’t
We had the curry waffle fries, cauliflower wings and Cuban. All were very flavorful! Recommend ordering their side of hot sauce too!
Really cool decor and sustainability efforts. Drinks were great and staff is friendly and quick. I wanted to like the food more than I did, but everything was a bit bland for my taste. I'm also not vegan so perhaps I just don't have the acquired taste. I got the pad Thai which had too much sesame oil and it saturated my pallet, really taking away from the rest of the flavours. My friend ordered the Cuban and it was pretty disappointing, but honestly I'm just used to non-vegan cuban's so if that's what you're really in the mood for, I'd vote you stay away, haha. Overall though I still loved my time here because I think they've got a really cool concept and the atmosphere + staff were sweet.
The drinks were amazing but the food was lackluster. The Curry fries were clearly not fresh, my friend asked for not tomatoes and still received them in her sandwich and the cauliflower wings were undercooked. Loved the ambiance but will probably not be returning.