Taste Of The Islands Charleston. SC — Restaurant in Charleston

Response to your final response. We did indeed want to live, laugh and love but our experience there prevented us from doing that. I came all the way from New York to celebrate my cousin’s birthday. My niece chose your place. We took a party bus to your place hoping for a good time. It matters not the kind of event you were hosting or the fact that you tried to tarnish my character by suggesting I wanted to dance on the table. In that statement you were inferring that we had no class. I did enjoy one or two songs as I swayed along to the music. What spoiled the night was BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE! The woman who served us approached us with a frown. Never once did she smile or try to be pleasant. She rolled her eyes up in her head when we told her the order was incorrect. Same way you are here saying live, laugh, love please ask the ladies to smile before they get permanent ugly frown lines. Those frown lines add about 10 years to the face. Being mean and bitter ages you quickly. Love and light to you. Peace and blessings. It is far easier to be kind and it makes you more attractive!

*Edit after owner responded again changing up his story.

Still didn't point out where I said I wanted to dance on the tables. And the place was not busy. I posted pictures. Who was smiling and laughing? The people on their phones? They staff WERE rude. And it wasn't my birthday. Wrong person. I told the birthday girl she should read reviews before choosing a place next time though. If you really want to know how this place is clink on the 1 star reviews. They tell it all. I am not the only one. And this owner go back and forth with people defending their staff. Other reviewers found them to be rude as well soooo. I guess its your turn now. Let's go.

*Edit after response from owner. Nowhere in my review did I say I wanted to dance on the table. Your staff was rude because they brought us the wrong orders. You didn't have a response to that point I see. They didn't like it when told they brought over the wrong drinks. They showed visual disdain. That's why I said they were unprofessional. What do you have to say about that? And why were we given menus then told the kitchen was closed. So unorganized as well then. Instead of giving a condescending response you should train your staff on customer service. They were so unpleasant with the exception of the woman who collected the 10 dollars at the door. The drinks were also weak and we spent $100 on drinks and shots. We left most of it unfinished. That's how bad it was.

This place seems cool for 50 years and over crowd. The music was all old school. Only one or two people were dancing the whole time I was there. I really was excited for the experience. They charged $10 for us to get in. At no point was I compelled to get up and dance. The service was terrible. They took forever to bring drinks. They brought us the wrong drinks. The woman who brought the drinks wasn't even sure what drinks she was giving us. Then another woman came to bring shots. We ordered 4. She only brought three. We showed the receipt that said we paid for 4. After ten minutes a gentleman came out and bought us 2 shots. After more back and forth they brought out the other 2. It was very frustrating. Then we tried ordering food and they said the kitchen was closed. They were serving people food still. I think they were upset because they kept messing up the drinks so they just decided to make us feel unwelcome. I really wanted to like this place but the attitudes of the staff was unprofessional and...

They were short-staffed tonight and I was warned by other customers that service would be slow. I was fine with that because I support my folks. It took a while for someone to come out of the back to greet us, which was fine. It was about 10 minutes standing around, but it was no sweat. The son was having difficulty working the register for one of the tables, so his mom had to come out and help him, which was fine. I support family business and parents teaching their kids the ropes. However, when someone whom the son personally knew walked in off the street and he immediately took his order, after I had been sitting there for 20 minutes waiting for him to come over. This was a bridge too far. I immediately left because this was disrespectful. I also saw another patron leave behind me. I'm sure the food is good and I don't blame his parents because they probably have no idea how he's operating out front. This is the kind of BS that could potentially kill a good busy. I was with a family member and planned to take three more plates back to the hotel for others who couldn't make it, but the son's buddy was well served. The son needs customer service training. ...or Mom should stay out in front because she knows what she's doing. I'll try again the next time I'm in town.

Response: I appreciate your defense of your son. That's what loving parents do, and it's a good thing. But you were not outside ma'am and we did not meet. The customer did not call in his order, as you are assuming. He walked in off the street, your son pulled out a notepad and wrote his order down before proceeding into the back to give it to you and your husband while I had been waiting almost half an hour by then. ....NOT in my mind. I also saw two phone order customers stop by to retrieve their food while I was waiting, which of course did not bother me. But, I see the problem now. Good customer service should be taught to everyone at your establishment. You didn't even have the correct information, or maybe I was mistaken for another customer who left. I was the patient and respectful customer who was willing to wait given the circumstances before the disrespectful act. I love that you love your son, but I'm kind of disappointed that you completely missed the point. "First come, first served" is always the best policy. I'm sure you would agree.

Also, I will stop by and speak with you and your whole family in person. I'm a proud West Indian and love my folks. The food also...

(see edit below) this place is PHENOMENAL!!! we've been a few times and looking forward to the next. portions are ridiculously large, prices are fair, wait staff and manager super friendly. the jerk chicken , brown stewed chicken, and curry chicken are to die for! 10/10 absolutely recommend even if the service can be a little slow

edit: i really hate taking away stars but i feel like i don't have much choice. we've been to taste of the islands 3 or 4 times since i wrote the review above, and while the food and welcoming vibe have always been consistent, the service has been hit or miss, at best. the last time we went was about a week ago, it was around 6pm on a weekday, the restaurant was slow..maybe 5 other people eating and a few to go orders getting picked up. we sat down at a table and waited no less than 15 minutes for someone to even greet us. we've been here enough to kind of know this is typical so we knew going ahead and ordering as soon as we saw someone was the smart thing to do. we placed our orders as soon as our server came over to greet us and bring waters.. then we waited, and waited..and waited...and waited some more. another couple came in and sat at a table and after probably 15-20 minutes of just sitting there with literally no one even acknowledging them, they left very frustrated. it took almost an hour for the server to bring our two dishes. literally almost an hour. if we didn't love this place we absolutely would have walked out. after we were done we waited another at least 15 minutes for the check and eventually gave up and walked around to find someone to pay. we were there for almost 2 hours, for a simple dinner, on a weeknight, when it wasn't busy. inexcusable. i will say that as usual our food was fantastic. and another server came over to apologize for the wait and comped us a tea, but were busy people, and it messed up our entire evening. i hate saying this because i truly love this place but sadly i probably wont go back unless i have a ton of free time that evening.

please, Taste of the Islands management, if you're reading these reviews: get your stuff together. this wasn't a one off thing, this is how it's been every time, except this time...