Reina's — Restaurant in South Caye Caulker

Where do I begin? if I could give negative stars I would and I don't understand all the great reviews?...As a Belizean/American coming home I always try to patronize Belizean businesses. Sat down with my family and ordered a ceviche,a panty ripper and some other drinks for the table. We waited and when my cocktail was delivered it tasted of only juice, my sister went to the bar and we were informed that they were out of rum(hence the drink was just juice)the guy behind the bar threw money at the waiter and in a very rude voice told him to go get rum and chips so now that explains why the ceviche was taking long. Ok that's the first strike, no problem things happen I waited again for the cocktail to arrive, ceviche was good portion ratio from conch to veg was ok. Our order seemed to be the last and the kitchen was closing, when it finally arrived the pork chop was swimming in BBQ sauce and not seasoned,the lobster was well cooked however the veggies was over cooked and the rice was atrocious. I want to point out that I asked if there were any other choice for side items and it was standard white rice and steamed veggies. I stood and told the cook the rice is mushy and I was calm even tho annoyed. What was absolutely unprofessional and irresponsible of this business was the lip and back talking I received from the back of house. The cook and the ladies were refusing to accept the rice was overcooked and mushy like mashed potatoes,and when I walked away after being offered the same overcooked veg was attitude. The absolute attack that I had no right to disagree,I had no right to state that the rice was overcooked and that was complaining because I wanted to eat for free. I asked to pay the bill because I am not a free loader and I was denied. What I was not going to stand for was the back talking I heard loud and clear because my table was beside the kitchen. This owner needs to retrain ITS ENTIRE STAFF except for the waiter(he knows who is he is). It is extremely hard being a Belizean coming home to this type of treatment and I will encourage ANY AND ALL BELIZEANS "YOU ARE NOT THE RIGHT COLOR" TO PATRONIZE THIS PLACE. TAKE YOUR MONEY ELSEWHERE!!!!!! ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING HOW THE MEN WORKING THERE WERE ARGUING LIKE WOMEN. I HAVE NOTHING NICE TO SAY ABOUT THIS PLACE AND I REITERATE "NOBODY SHOULD VISIT THIS PLACE" take your money elsewhere!!!!!! THE QUALITY OF ANY ESTABLISHMENT SHOULD BEGIN AND END WITH ITS FIRST AND LAST TABLE SERVICE..Absolutely do not visit this place, infact check new reviews and you won't be surprised Especially how the very sweet waiter was very scared that he would be abused after we left, if I was an unhappy patron and I was talked in the manner I was it makes complete sense how this waiter was scared and said he would be fired or made to pay for the meal that I asked for the bill and I was refused to be given the bill calling me a free loader shouting "if I wanted to eat for free just say that" and this was from the guy grilling!!ABUSE OF AN EMPLOYEE WHO WAS EXCELLENT FROM THE STAFF AND ABUSE OF PATRONS. BTW with all the arguments the cook had the nerve to say the rice was made in a rice cooker,so expect to pay $50-$60+ for rice cooker rice because the cook is inadequate in making rice he has to depends on a cooker for it and you get boiled veggies,not even fired fresh at very least.2 side items,...

I had been so excited to eat at Reina’s since it was on everybody’s list of best restaurants in Caye Caulker. We were lucky that our hotel was able to get a reservation so we didn’t wait in line long. We sat down close to 6:30.

The vibe was fun as though you are eating in someone’s driveway with a corrugated roof, people packed in and a lot of smoke from the grill.

The menu was on chalkboards - regular and specials. That’s where the first problem cropped up. About 60 percent of the entrees (there were no apps I could see) listed were red snapper. But when I went to order jerk snapper I was told they had no snapper. Only pork, chicken and shrimp.

My husband wind I are pescatarians so we both ordered shrimp dishes - he ordered shrimp curry and I ordered mango bbq shrimp, a special. Half an hour or so later, they brought my husbands shrimp curry and a huge slab of meat for me (I haven’t eaten meat in 50 years). I pointed out that it was the wrong entree and they took away the meat, 10 minutes or so later they came back with the mango shrimp. But they were under cooked! I flagged down a server and asked her to throw them on the barbecue for a couple more minutes. 15 minutes later I got an entirely new plate. Nice of them but I would have preferred that they leave the plate so I could eat something and just quickly further cook shrimp. The final version of the shrimp were good but not great and the veggies on the side were just bland. Such a...

I can imagine this was once a secret gem, in which great Belizean food could be found at great prices. Well, if so, that gem status is almost officially worn out.

Reina's was packed - I got the last available table - and as a result, wait times were long. I'd come for their famous jerk chicken, but hadn't noticed that they'd bumped up their prices in the last 3 months. $20BZD is still a good deal, but no longer the astoundingly good value that $15BZD once was.

So after ~35 minutes of waiting, when the food finally came - it had some legwork to do to make it all worthwhile. And, perhaps thanks to an illusion created by the big plates they use, I wasn't sure a meal with that portion sizing would be up to the task.

Suffice to say, it was. That jerk chicken is likely the best I've ever had, certainly at that price range. Yes, there wasn't much chicken, and no, the rice wasn't cooked perfectly. But that jerk sauce was unlike any other I'd tasted.

Truth be told, this establishment is probably as close to a 4 as it is a 5, but if this is the local legend it seems to be, I do not want to be the one to kill it. I will leave that to the many tourists who will likely follow in...