Terraza 18 Restaurant — Restaurant in Carolina

I really wanted to give this place a better review because in all honesty the food was good but the service lacked big time! Found this spot when looking for a place to eat close to where we were staying. Found street parking relatively easily which was a plus but it was also after 7pm so maybe that played a part. Upon arrival, the restaurant was pretty empty, only 1 party (of about 10 ppl who looked to have been there for a while already) and 1 small table (of 2) by the bar. We were greeted and told to sit wherever we wanted. Our server came over right away and took our drink order (sprite and jugo parcha) and gave us some time to look over the menu. I couldn't quite decide what I wanted so I asked for suggestions and was told to look at their IG page, so I did. The page had very nice pics/reels but not many were recent nor did they give descriptions, just looking at pictures. I figured the safe bet was to just get mofongo w/garlic shrimp because nothing else was calling out to me; hubby just got grilled chicken breast with rice. Soon after placing my order, the food for the large table came out & something immediately caught my eye. I asked the server delivering the food what it was and she told me (half avocado stuffed with chicken and rice). I told her I had just placed my order but if I could change it to that I'd love to because I didn't recall seeing it on the menu. She assured me it wouldn't be a problem, confirmed how I wanted it (with the garlic shrimp instead of chicken) and went to the back. That's when things went downhill...I sat and watched as several ppl who came in after us drank and ate meals at the bar and left. I went thru my juice and hadn't had a thing to eat...they don't offer bread, chips, anything to hold you over. I'm usually pretty patient and didn't say anything for a while but once it hit 9pm and I had been waiting over an hour for food that shouldn't take that long, I became super annoyed...most especially because no one came back after taking our order to give us an update. Not until I asked my husband to see where they were or what they were doing did he say they ran to the back and then appeared with his meal, the meal for the gentleman who showed up for the big table late, and what was supposed to be mine (but it was wrong). When I told her it was incorrect she told me it was what I ordered. I very clearly repeated the order (in Spanish) and she went to get the other server who took the changed order. She initially also tried to say it's what I ordered but I reminded her and she THEN "remembered"...I told them I was ready to leave because I was tired (literally dozing off while waiting) and she assured me they could do the shrimp in 5 minutes. She then went on to lecture me about how when going to a restaurant, I should expect to wait 45 minutes to an hour for food on a busy night...I almost lost it but decided it was best not to entertain foolishness...the place was NOT packed...it was a Thursday night, and when I placed my order, there were no visible others, because they had already been served. Not wanting to ruin my hubby's food/time, I agreed and told him to eat his while I waited (because I know shrimp doesn't in fact take long to cook). His food was warm at best (leads me to believe it was sitting while they were talking). 5 minutes came and went...no food...more like 15+ minutes later, I got my food, but by then I couldn't enjoy it the way I wanted. Thankfully, it was beautifully plated and tasted good, but the service left a bad taste in my mouth. Communication goes a long way, had they just come by every so often to check on us or give us updates on our meal, the entire experience would've...

We are in town for the night due to an overnight layover. We got dressed and came out to eat at Terraza. We weren’t sure if it was open because the lighting was not good although it did state on google that it was open til 10pm. It was in deed open we sat down. I order a mofongo with chicken. All was well, the garlic sauce the chicken was in was salty but I didn’t mind. Half way through I took a bite of the chicken and mofongo and I felt a weird texture on my tongue. I began to pull it out I had to stop chewing on the food to get it out and realized it was a piece of hair. I knew it was not my hair one because I had my hair pulled back and two you could see the mofongo wrapped around the strand of hair. I mentioned to the waitress (straight hair) I found a strand of hair and she said well that’s not my hair, she was rude and not even attempting to talk with the manager. She then brought the check and I was charged the full price. I asked a separate waitress (curly hair)about possibly paying half due to the hair in the mofongo. The original waitress (straight hair)stated that they can’t do anything because I already ate half. I stated you can’t give me half off that’s not my fault that I didn’t find the hair until half way through my meal. She stated no the most she could do was give me a free dessert. I then stated that it was ok I don’t want the free dessert and I’ll pay the full price. That’s what I did I got my receipt and left.While outside waiting for the unber the waitress with the curly hair came out and said we can give you a refund my manager said it’s ok I said no it’s fine that’s ok. She went in and came back and asked again if I was sure about the refund. I said ok. In the end I did get a refund on my mofongo with pollo but the waitress with the straight hair did not handle it well. I was not out to get a free meal. I Was out to eat a good authentic meal and tip well before I go back home to PA. I am not saying don’t eat here. Please do but just be mindful of what you may experience. The waitress with the curly hair did try to help us as much...

It was my first time visiting this restaurant, and the atmosphere was weird. It is a small, dark room with black-painted walls and roofs, hideous decorations, and dimmed lights. The tables and chairs looked cheap, and the floor tiles were soiled. It seems like they didn't have enough money to renew the place properly and decided to cover all the defects with black paint. Surprisingly, the food was good, the portions were substantial, and the prices were affordable. At least they didn't skimp on food quality and portion sizes. We waited about 30 minutes from the order to receive the food at the table, which is acceptable for this menu. There is free/public parking on the street and plenty of spaces on Sundays. Sadly, this public parking is shared with many businesses on weekdays or Saturdays, making it almost impossible to find a parking spot.

It seems that in Puerto Rico, there is a trend of painting restaurants with black paint and using dark environments. This may be suitable for taverns and similar places for nightlife activity, but it looks weird for...