Ostra Brava — Restaurant in Aguadilla

I went to opening of Ostra Brava which was excellent! I have been an executive in hospitality industry for 5-star properties worldwide over 30 years. Ostra Brava did their opening right! I was impressed. Best I have seen on the island. I did my best to "spread the word" with friends, associates and others expecting to visit Aguadilla in the near future. This evening I was sorely disappointed and if not for Marta, would never return. Asked for separate checks upfront which was not done. Food was overpriced for the quality/quantity (my friend and I both agreed, both world traveled) and arrived with no cutlery. Food without forks, knives or spoons?! Oh, really?! Service was deplorable. Okay, was told girl waiting on us was "new" but was more focused on cleaning tables than taking customer orders, made so many mistakes it was embarrassing and showed no signs of remorse or regret (when realizing all her mistakes). I met the owners at opening, both are friendly and nice people but please tell me, what is going on?! This is NOT how to run a business with poor customer service (after asking upfront for separate checks and server did not do this among several other mistakes - too many to mention). It created a huge misunderstanding that never should have happened and let a bad taste in all of our mouths. Why?! Ostra Brava has great potential, great location but needs much help to be what it should/could be. Marta should be made Manager, she was the one to take charge and come to the rescue in responsible, admirable ways. Professional while the server we had (although new) clearly was a huge disappointment. Please improve. Sorely disappointed....

Very disappointed that we called days in advance to make sure specific things would be available, as I wanted to celebrate something special with my husband and we had been here before and it was good. We drove from 3 hours away, having been told they’d have these things. 2/3 of the menu items I wanted were not available. Also, the menu available online is not updated because the new menu does not even have mussels or scallops. The menu item drink I ordered, they didn’t have the lavender and my cup came out with some other person’s actual lipstick on it, though they were kind enough to offer a straw. Went to the bathroom while waiting way too long for oysters and there was no toilet or towel paper. They brought out my husbands food about 15 mins before mine. Also, the one thing I ordered was oyster’s Rockefeller and it was just cheese and spinach with stale pieces of bread. Asked to speak to the owner, who I saw, and was sent some kid who gave me a $7 discount, and also charged me for everything including bottles of water when I asked for cups.

Edit: I wanted to say that I appreciate your response, however I saw you minutes before I asked to speak to you and you were arranging things in the bar. Your manager also decided to argue with me about what Rockefeller oysters are when I mentioned it’s supposed to be what I ate there last time. He was saying now there’s now onions?? Oysters Rockefeller are what your old chef made/ it’s a butter parsley sauce (spinach optional) and breadcrumbs- Not Borden shredded, Parmesan cheese as a hard shell on top of boiling hot shriveled oyster. Oysters Rockefeller don’t...

Being a chef for over 15 years I would expected better but this is just another establishment trying, for lack of a better word. The establishment has a kids menu yet I had a small baby and had no high chair to accommodate. Bartender was great friendly, attentive and did her job.Tried to get raw oysters and overpriced for half a dozen ($20), whereas even in all other restaurants a dozen is a standard number and being fresh catch comes with a seldom price. I ordered the Tapica sampler($30) for appetizer, the fish and cheese hush puppies were tasteful and well cooked. Calamari batter was like eating fried sand, onion rings were sad, thinner than a cancer patient asking for seconds and you only get about 6 thin rubber bands of it. Chicken bites were bland and had no taste or seasoning. I had ordered a 2.5 lb lobster and apparently they had kitchen issues and it would take another 35 minutes to grill the lobster were I was already trying to swallow the sand calamari and the onion hairs. So I just canceled it and not risk it. On top of that you have a dog that apparently was greeted by what seem to be the owner which kept barking and being loud while trying to dine so there goes the health code. For the many positive reviews that this establishment gets, I expected a great experience...