SOBAO by Los Cidrines - Isla Verde — Restaurant in Carolina

The place is very clean and nicely appointed, and the staff is friendly, but the service and the food were both lacking. We ordered from the walk-up counter, where the young woman told us beer needed to be ordered from a separate counter. We went to the other counter but there was no one manning it and, after waiting unattended for a while, we hailed a staff person who told us the beer counter was closed but we could order from a self-serve screen, which would forward our order to the beer counter. We didn't understand how that would work with no one manning the beer counter, or why it was easier or faster than simply just handing us our beers, but went along thinking they knew better. We sat at a table from which we could see the beer counter, where a printer had spun out our order, which of course sat unnoticed. After a frustrating wait my wife went to seek help but found no one available, so she walked into the kitchen, where a surprised cook instructed a staffer to step out and serve our beers. As far as the food, my "chicken salad" sandwich was made with very thin chicken sandwich slices, cranberries, and what looked like a little bit of cole slaw, hardly what you'd expect as "chicken salad," and the "caldo gallego", which is supposed to be a slow-cooked broth with ham, beans and turnip greens, had no visible greens and the remaining ingredients appeared barely cooked. We've been Sobao patrons for decades (back when it was Los Cidrines), and had always found it to be a good alternative but this experience was most disappointing. The Isla Verde location has only recently opened and maybe they're still working things out but it seemed to us like no one was...

If Sobao wants to stay afloat in the competitive restaurant market in Isla Verde, it needs to upgrade the quality of its service and its menu. We ordered four beers and, after a way too long wait, I had to personally go to the kitchen to find someone who could process our order. Our food order took even longer. I had the spicy chicken sandwich and, to my dismay, it had an extra thin and flavorless slice of processed chicken and a very thin slice of bland processed cheese. The advertised chipotle sauce was stingily spread on the pretty forgettable bread bun and could hardly be tasted. My husband ordered what promised to be caldo gallego but was not. Take it out of the menu or give another name. Our niece and her husband weren’t that pleased with their food either. The place was almost empty and there were five staff members in the kitchen taking it easy. No one ever called to say our order was ready as they had told us they would do. I went to see what was taking so long and, lo and behold, the food was on the counter. Maybe they thought we had ESP. Upgrading the customer service is not that hard. When I saw the nicely decorated cafe and bakery after it opened, I thought the neighborhood had gained a new, striking eatery. Unfortunately, it doesn’t pass the service and food quality test. I advise the owner to take the time to fix...

We really wanted to love this place. The look is very inviting and it has a cool vibe. It was within walking distance from our hotel so we went for breakfast. We opted to order via the computers and once we figured out the system it was easy. We got two coffees, eggs over easy with potatoes, an oatmeal and a yogurt parfait. From time of ordering to actually getting our food it was 20 minutes. We let that slide fully knowing that good food takes time. What I didn't realize was the yogurt and fruit parfait that I was so excited for was a premade item that looked nothing like the photos. The saddest piece of a berry, half filled and no coconut (like the description stated...see photo). The oatmeal was fine as was the coffee. The eggs over easy were chewy and overdone and lacked flavor. We would say to stick with the coffee and other drinks here and skip the food. Your better off going...