519 — Restaurant in Trinidad

I recommend sitting at the bar for the best service. Drinks are good, even though overdone sometimes - lots of embellishments to a simple whiskey sour. I've been here often enough to say I love the vibe of 519. I've been seated at the bar, indoors, and outdoors. I've attended a couple events here. Great ambiance, great crowd. The restaurant leaves much to be desired. Back in June when I visited and was seated inside, I wasn't pleased with the experience. A friend and I went on a Sunday night and waited quite a while to have our orders taken even though it wasn't busy. It took even longer to get the food, though the drinks came quickly. What's worse is that after we got the food, we didn't see our waiter again until we flagged him down to pay him. We sat for over an hour waiting, but we had a good time because we were catching up. The staff was getting ready to close and started cleaning up around us. At that point we wanted to pay and leave. When we did flag the waiter down, the machine for card transactions wasn't working. When I went to the manager, I learned that it actually hadn't been working since we got there. I didn't have that much cash on me. Got the prices of the menu options, who really is walking around with that much cash? Not me. There was no apology, no compassion, no anything. Instead I was told that they take USD for payment after seeing the type of card I was trying to pay with. Nope, none of that cash on me either. I expected that if they knew the machine wasn't working, they should tell people upon entry, or at least when taking orders. But that would be the courteous thing to do, and the customer friendly thing to do I guess.

With no real way of paying at the establishment, my friend and I walked over to an ATM in the mall (where I paid an ATM fee and a foreign withdrawal fee) so that I could hurriedly go back, pay them, and leave as they closed up. Still, no acknowledgement, nor apology for this inconvenience.

Recommendation: it's a good place to lime and have drinks where you can enjoy the vibe. Sit outside, at, or near the bar for best service.

Note: not every cocktail...

Located in the C3 shopping center, 519 appears to be a popular location for grabbing an after work drink or meals with friends. I would wager to describe it as an semi upscale "liming" spot. Our reservation was for 8pm on a Friday night and the restaurant was already packed. Service was a bit slow to arrive, but once she did make an appearance, our server was personable and helpful throughout our stay. A perusal of the menu revealed a variety of offerings, though sorely lacking in local Trini favorites. I opted for the 519 Angus 8oz burger cooked to medium with a side of wedges along with a maracas sunset to drink. I appreciate that the restaurant offers coloring mats, crayons and a kids menu for its younger patrons. My daughter and niece were able to entertain themselves while waiting for their meals to arrive. While the food and service was okay overall, do note food will take some time to arrive, I would be remiss to not mention the ambience overall. I appreciate a good lime and loud music as any true Trini, however as the night went on, the decibels of the music increased while our conversation waned. We were relegated to shouting at/to each other to be heard. As Trinis we love a good time, however a restaurant is not a fete or the savannah. My burger was cooked to medium which I appreciated, however the menu touted an onion marmalade to accompany it. Frankly, they were sliced onions lightly kissed by the fire. The wedges were hot and well seasoned. Despite the late(ish) hour we left, the restaurant remained crowded and folks were still arriving en masse. So, they must be doing...

Updated Review (from 5 stars to 1): My family and I (1yo & 3yo) went to lunch last Sunday to celebrate my son's birthday (3yo) and it was the worst experience at 519 ever!

While we were seated immediately, and the server did take our order within maybe 10mins of being there, we waited over 45 mins before getting our appetizers, not to mention she did not check in on us during that time.

When we placed our main course order, we proceeded to wait yet another hour for 2/3 meals. The first meal came out in 30 mins and was COLD, the Grilled chicken was DRY and the veggies were bland.

We ended up asking for the meals to go.

Thankfully we got a slice of chocolate cake for him with a firework candle that made him smile- this did not make up for the 45 mins of me hearing him ask for food repeatedly, while seeing everyone else who came after us get their food.

I waited a day before posting this review and honestly it was so horrible i can't even begin to describe how that ruined our day. Imagine 2 overstimulated parents, with cranky kids- it wasn't nice for us or other patrons of 519.

P.s. we took our kids outside to not hamper anyone else.

P.P.S The managers asked if we were okay and we said no all 3 times, they asked if there was anything they can do to make it better and we said no, and guess what they still did- NOTHING!

All in all, not a family friendly location AT ALL- Check Mr. Rangos, they served...