I went with a large group for lunch on a Saturday.
The service was fairly terrible--they didn't seem to have any idea how
to handle a large party. The kitchen was pretty-much on-point. Once
our orders finally got taken, the wait for food wasn't long (at least
for most of the table).
The food, however, was surprisingly good. I expected a hackneyd chain
judging on first impressions. The large, open dining room is very
white, very loud and very themed.
The entrees are broken up by regional influence. The dish I had was
Spanish influenced.
I had the snapper dish. A really fresh, perfectly-cooked snapper
filet,which was possibly very lightly flour-dredged before pan-
seared. Served with a refreshing take on plantains, and topped with
micro greens and crkispy-fried onion strings. The plantains were
lightly fried--so lightly, in fact, that I mistook them for roasted
potatoes at first. This was the first time I'd had plantains that
weren't fried to he'll and back,and I must say, I was impressed. I
had no idea plantains could be eaten firm and still taste good. The
plantains also had a touch of pineapple, which was a neat flavor to
mix in. The micro greens, wilted spinach and light diced salsa were
great accompaniments, and complemented the snapper well. The onions
would have too, but I was attempting to avoid anything obviously fried
that day.
The plating was also impressive. My plate came out well-balanced in
both flavor and texture, and some of the other dishes (most notably,
the chicken salad) came out looking exciting. Definitely not
something you'd expect from a $15 dish average spot.
I also had Bimini bread (which, unfortunately does not come with the
meal), and it was great. Since I've only had Bimini bread once before-
and not in the Caribbean , I don't know how authentic it was, but it
was great nonetheless.
Service and advertisements for one of those classy 40-something ounce
drinks with souvenier cup aside, I would definitely eat here again.
Although the menu isn't large (not necessarily a bad thing), there
were 3 or 4 dishes I'd like to try.
The menu was also varied enough to please most.
Going strictly on the food, I would rate this place 3 out of 5 salamanders.
