Gladys' Café — Restaurant in Charlotte Amalie

In St Thomas and wanted to try authentic local food. This place had mostly good reviews so decided to give it a try... what a mistake. The food is bland. I’m not sure who they are trying to appeal to but it’s not authentic Caribbean food. I’m African and have had Caribbean (mostly Jamaican) food from many places. I’ve also been to other Caribbean islands so I had an idea of what to expect when I ordered their so called “famous” curry goat. What a disappointment. Bland, bland, bland. Other than the lack of spices, there was no salt! Felt like I was eating curry water. The goat itself seems to have been boiled on its own, in water (no spices such as garlic, onions, thymes, ginger, SALT!) and then dumped into this so called curry sauce. I ate two spoonfuls and gave up. I then told the waitress that I didn’t enjoy my food and did not eat it so assumed that they would at the very least not charge me for it. WRONG! She first asked me what was wrong with it then when I told her it lacked flavor, she called what assumed was the manager over and she also asked me the same question to which I gave the same response. I was then lectured on how the curry goat is a “best seller” and they’ve sold 15 plates already today and therefore insinuating that something must be wrong with me for not liking this dog food. I had my mom and my son with me so did not feel like arguing. I obliged and paid for something I didn’t even eat. My mom ordered the Ole Wife and felt the same. They just fried the fish (probably still frozen), no seasoning added and serve it up with the saddest excuse for rice and peas Ive ever tasted. I’m starting to think the good reviews are from individuals that have never had Caribbean food or decently seasoned...

for context: i had avoided gladys’ cafe for a few days as some of the reviews had commented on how bland the food was. i was swayed by a trip advisor review to try it anyway.

we ordered the stewed chicken and mahi sandwich. stewed chicken was super underwhelming and disappointing. sooooo dry on the inside, i was shocked...was expecting at least the moisture level of a 6.99 rotisserie chicken. came with two plantains that tasted more like bananas and some steamed veggies that were cold (?) for whatever reason. the veggies were flavorless. it did come with a side of rice and beans which was good. however, it felt like a waste of 15 dollars and i didn’t finish it. the chicken had tiny splinters of bones allllll through it, would seriously not recommend to anyone trying to eat fast. you’ll need to pick bone fragments out of every bite.

the mahi sandwich was cooked well but entirely bland and seasonless. it made the bread overwhelming and my mom ended up eating it without it/did not finish it. the fries were well cooked but not seasoned, that was fine. definitely have had better off my grill at home.

drinks are pricy, you’re better off going to one of the other spots.

our service was ‘standard’, nothing exceptional but not bad! but i would not recommend this spot over local spots; this was probably the only meal of the trip that i honestly regretted. should’ve trusted my gut and steered clear! maybe other options are better, but the negative reviews...

Unfortunately, I did not read the reviews until after my experience at the restaurant. I must say that the path leading to the restaurant is beautiful, absolutely picturesque. Seeing the atmosphere and walking through the alleyway on Sunday morning, I had high hopes for brunch at Gladys'. Yet, my hopes were quickly dashed due to the long wait for order taking, extremely rude Server, and nonexistent customer service. The server notified us that they were short staffed and she was performing multiple job responsibilities. She told us to hurry up and order and looked annoyed when we asked questions about the menu options. She asked us to be patient about the wait, but had no patience whatsoever for us. When our drinks were brought to the table, she informed us that one person's order wasn't available-no cranberry juice. We still felt the disregard and disrespect from earlier and decided to pay for our drinks, cancel our food order and leave. It's a shame they have someone so mean, rude and severely lacking in proper etiquette to represent this restaurant. I hope the owner reads this or someone who cares about that business reads it so they can make a positive change. The offender is near the beverage machine wearing all black clothes and pink crocs.

I don't pay people to treat me poorly and we quickly left and went to Indigo 4 for a fantastic brunch and excellent customer service...