Tropical Bay — Restaurant in Broadview Heights

My boyfriend and I dined here tonight and the service was TERRIBLE. We walked in at 8:45. We first asked if the server was still taking tables. We didn’t want to be rude and dine in if closing was the main focus. But she said of course. We sat, once we sat and waited a bit to have our drinks ordered. The server proceed to make one drink disappear, come back after a minute or two poured my drink. She then pulled out her phone started texting. Took a picture of my drink disappeared from the bar another minute or two came back took ANOTHER photo then served us. Once severing us I looked at my glass and it was dirty. Lip stains, multiple and and finger prints. So to take many pictures of my glass and not pay attention to the stains on my cup was just gross. Mind you we made EYE CONTACT while she was typing away on her phone. After finally taking our order and bringing our food she disappeared. Like. Never seen her again until I had no drink and my leftovers just sitting. Waiting so I finally got up. Because mind you it’s now past closing time and we are still waiting for a box. I go upfront and she’s in the bathroom and magically reappears when I asked for a box but couldn’t look me in the eye or apologize for her service. Mind you we were the only table there. I walked out and my boyfriend told her that her service was terrible.

It’s a good place for take out. But unless you’ve got time to serve...

We came here for dinner because we heard that the food was really good. I was a little disappointed that there was no table service here. But really, in the end, it wasn't a big deal. The server was super friendly and made us feel like we were regular customers.

The food was even better than I thought it was going to be. There were a lot of choices. Multiple rice types, as well as quite a few protein options. The chicken, beef, and pork selections were very flavorful. I had Cuban rice, with Jamaican chicken, Yuka (which is much like potato), and salad. It all comes in one bowl, but you get a good portion of each.

Since it was our first time, the server gave us some samples to try. Unfortunately, everything was so good that it made our decision that much more difficult. But I guess that is a nice problem to have.

They have Latin music playing in the background, so it gives the place a nice atmosphere. We were the only ones in there eating at 6pm. On this particular Saturday, we saw quite a few people coming in and out. So my guess is that almost everyone does take-out instead of eating in.

We will definitely be back to try some...

I just picked up dinner here for the first time and this 100% has to be my new favorite place for a quick, affordable, and absolutely delicious bite to eat. I had the pleasure of speaking with the owner, Diana, and her family, and they were all incredibly sweet and welcoming! The entire restaurant from the kitchen to front of house is ran by their family and you can definitely taste the authenticity and care put into the food. It is chipotle-style, in the sense of building your own bowl, but calling it chipotle would be such a downgrade. The portions are large (I'm also a big eater) for what you pay for, and the food is absolutely packed with flavor. There are multiple different meat options and I believe vegetarian options as well, and they have a specialty meat which they rotate daily. I also ordered sweet plantains and saw they have leche flan and guava cheesecake as well- and Diana was kind enough to give me a plantain/cream cheese egg roll which was also great! Would definitely recommend anyone to come here for something different but familiar, and at a really high quality. Am super satisfied with Tropical Bay and will 100% be...