Punta Cana Latin Grill — Restaurant in Athens-Clarke County Unified Government

Having lived in Miami for a while, I was missing the taste of good Dominican food. Thankfully, one of my friends found this new place and we decided to give it a go!

It’s new, but there are some points to note:

Service - The waitress and kitchen seemed to be doing the best they could. Even the manager came by the table twice to make sure the drinks were filled up. However, we came in hungry and it wasn’t too busy, but with the small size of the kitchen it took a while for the actual food to come out. However, it did come out at the same time and hot.

Value - For me, a good meal here runs $20 with tip. This is splitting an appetizer with a friends or two as well. The best part of this restaurant would probably be the portions. Everything was slightly bigger than I expected, which means that I had a hard time finishing it. The food was delicious, and at this price, next time I’ll just go easier and bring half of it home (coming from a 6 foot 200 lb dude who loves to eat).

Potential improvements - It’s loud in here. I mean really loud, as it’s a small space and it appears to be maximized for seat number. However, the distance between the tables coupled with the music make it a bit too loud for comfort. Either turn the music down so I can hear the people I’m eating with, or give a little more distance between the tables. Also, I’m sure this will come with time, but the food took too long...

It was our first time there and it was our last time visiting. The ground beef in the empanadas was not drained making it very greasy. They have green bell peppers in it which are not my favorite veggie. I asked the server if she knew what veggies are inside and the server had no clue what anything was. She was nice but that was it.

The management seems to hire order takers only. Lack of proper training is the reason for the poor service plus if the management accepts this type of performance, then it shows that the one who's in charge has the same type of work ethics.

The punta cana sauce is on almost every menu item. It's made with ketchup and mayonnaise. Other items just have ketchup.

The Texas margarita that was ordered came out in a martini glass. Never seen a margarita served like that before. Not good. The bottle of beer was not cold as well.

The pizza doesn't have pizza sauce on it. It come with that ketchup and mayonnaise...aka ( punta cana sauce ). The crust is made with maduro's not flour. It's not very big for the money. Plus the crust is fried.

Sorry no photos this time. Inferior food doesn't need to...

I’ve been coming to this restaurant the past 3 years. Tonight has definitely the worst experience! We (2) waited on the server to greet us for over 5 minutes when he was sitting in the booth next to us. Took our order and sat back down and never came back to check on us. The female manager brought the food, didn’t ask if we needed anything. We asked about a missing side and she got upset. Got up and had to ask for two sides of sauce, then only brought one. When the plates were picked up we ordered a Flan and it seemed like we were bothering her. The whole experience made us feel like we were in their way/not wanted. The restaurant had one other table so it’s not because they were busy. As a server I don’t expect much and always tip over 20% but tonight I couldn’t tip that amount when the service is so bad. One star because the food was good. Owner should give his employees some training on what good customer service consist of, don’t expect much from employees but a manager should be an example. A good one if they want to stay...