Traveller's Rest — Restaurant in New Providence

Unfortunately, my first impression of this restaurant was very poor and disheartening. A group of fellow leaders that I was apart of decided to make reservations with this restaurant on a Sunday after we all attended church together. Considering emergency orders, we were comfortably accommodated outside, which was a divine setup. Nevertheless, that's where many of the pleasantries ended. Firstly, as we all ordered, we were told that almost half of the menu was not available: no sweet potato fries, no fresh catch of the day, no jerk chicken, and the list continued. Already, a few of us got up and left, or didn't order. The remainder, me included, placed orders, and then the second and third issues arose: the wait was ridiculous, and the prices were exorbitant. I waited two and a half hours to receive my plate of food: a cracked conch dinner with plantains and salad, costing $26. The absurdity! I know many restaurants around the country that serve the same dish for less. Nonetheless, my group and I decided to try it out and give the restaurant the benefit of the doubt We received our drinks thankfully, but apparently the kitchen became backed up, so we waited for what felt like an eternity with growling tummies. Thank goodness we had good conversation and togetherness. The waitress seemed stretched far too thin, so her attitude reared its ugly head a few times in conversation as I asked questions to learn more. I let it slide. The food came out one by one, and right when a particular friend of mine who was sitting next to me canceled our food orders at 3:59pm, a server brought out our food at 4:00pm on the dot. We decided to take it and eat. I will be honest - my conch was tenderrrrrrrr, and the salad and plantains were exquisitely done. The only issue there was the quantity: it was a good portion of conch, but three small slices of plantains and a bowl of salad as big as my fist. I inhaled my food out of starvation and out of already having a huge appetite, and was left in want. We complained, but there was no compensation. The manager just looked at us, heard our pleas, smiled and apologized. We all still paid for our meals, plus gratuities, and VAT. It was a waste of almost $39. I was surely displeased. Maybe it was because it was a Sunday, or maybe the business is unable to grow to accommodate its growing customer base. Either way, I highly doubt I will be returning. Great food and seating, but the piss-poor customer service, turnaround time, and overpricing isn't worth it. Go to Bamboo Shack or Oh Andros or something - they are far more worth it in...

Traveller's rest is one of my family's long time favorite restaurants for Bahamian food. Below I include my rating scale and explain why I gave this illustrious restaurant such a high rating.

#1 Location The location is not very ideal, however, for travelers coming in from the airport it is a great option as it only takes about 5 minutes to get to.

#2 Service I recently returned to this restaurant with my wife after 5 years of not having the opportunity to do so. And was greeted to just one server. The restaurant seemed relatively busy as there were a few other couples out to enjoy the flair. Not once during my time did I feel as though I wasn't being tended to correctly. The server was kind, apologetic when I asked for a bottle of sweet wine, and overall very caring. Only after my meal when I was gearing to leave a tip did he inform me that he was the owner and that his servers had called in sick for the day. I was surprised by this because service was timely.

#3 Atmosphere The atmosphere at this restaurant is brilliant. Bahamian tunes are played at a mellow volume and the tables face the beach on the opposite side of the road. My wife and I loved it!

#4 food quality The food was great. There's no other way to put it than that. My wife fell in love with the Conch fritters at the restaurant. Definitely worth a try. The cracked conch she ordered was so tender it almost melted in your mouth. Kudos.

#5 pricing Pricing is a bit on the high side as with most restaurants in nassau. I found that it was much cheaper than most upscale locales, as I only spent $37 and was able to fill both myself and my wife sufficiently.

To conclude I highly suggest this restaurant, if not for anything other than the great service...

My first time experience here was horrible the ambiance was beautiful though. When we got there I specifically asked the waitress what do they do for birthdays she told me that they usually sing, so I told her my son is celebrating his birthday and graduation she said ok. As we proceeded she took the drink orders, when that was completed she took the food order I ordered the steak with peas n rice, macaroni & plantains. She then asked me how I wanted my steak to be cooked I told her medium well and it came out well done. As I started to eat, the steak was very lemony and it had an after taste, the rice and macaroni tasted the same way so I told the waitress that I didn't acquire the taste so she took the food away and asked me if I wanted something of the menu and I told her no because it was a turn off for me. I even spoke with the chef and explained 1or 2 things to him not in a rude manner and he understood. After all of that I'm thinking that the waitress was going to get a few colleagues together to sing happy birthday to my son and it never happened I felt very disappointed because this is a big day for my son both graduation and birthday. I won't be dining here anymore the service was poor the waitess that served us has braids and I still turned around and gave her a tip.. This leave a very bad taste...