Rancho Latino — Restaurant in Charlotte Amalie

If you're short on time, do not go here. I usually do not like to leave a bad review. I too was once a waiter. However, I want to share this experience.

Good things first. The atmosphere and restaurant was clean. The appetizers which became food to-go was good.

Here is the bad. Of all things during my vacation in the Caribbean, their service was a major disappointment. I received a recommendation from a local to try out this restaurant. So I took my group of friends there. Keep in mind, we were trying to be done with lunch and head back to the airport by 1 PM. We got to the restaurant at 10:30 AM. We waited for this restaurant to open at 11 AM. Once they unlocked their doors, we were the first ones to dine in and was seated after 5 mins. The waiter disappeared to the back and did not come take our orders until 11:30 AM. Our water and soda came out at 11:45 AM. As we continued to wait for (at least) our appetizers, we looked around and noticed other customers at the other tables, who came in after us, have already received their drinks and FOOD. At 12:00 PM, the waiter came around, said nothing but went around our table, as if she is doing a headcount, or trying to mesmerize our orders again. We asked the waiter, how much longer do we have to wait for our food? The waiter said she'll check with the cook. She then dodged us for the next 10 mins. So we called for her. She proceed to tell us that the cook just started on the appetizers. When asked why did the other tables received their food first, she said those were our orders, but because the others ordered the same entrees, they gave our food away to the other customers, first. What? Why? No explanation. At this point, we requested that they cancel all our entrees. Whatever appetizers that have been put down on the fryer, we'll take it to-go. She gave us our checks, and still charged us an 18% graditude for practically serving us water and soda. We refused to pay the gratitude, so they agreed and took it off, re-printed our checks. From there, we proceeded to wait another 10 mins for our appetizers. If you kept track of the time stamps, we didn't get our appetizers until closer to 12:30 PM, which was about 1.5 hrs. You can say, we were all hangry when we left. Those who work in the restaurant industry understands this is...

Visited with a group of friends and had a generally enjoyable time, though there were a few ups and downs. The Long Island Iced Tea was by far the strongest I’ve ever had and definitely a highlight if you’re looking for a bold drink. We all really liked the calamari appetizer. It was crispy, well-seasoned, and a great way to start the meal. For entrées, I had the shrimp a la criolla, which was flavorful and cooked just right. Others in my group weren’t as happy with their choices. The fried shrimp was overcooked and too crispy, and the pork chop also came out dry and chewy. It seems the quality of the main dishes can be hit or miss depending on what you order. The staff was friendly, but service was on the slow side. It took a while to be greeted, place our orders, and get the check. Still, the ambiance was pleasant and the restaurant itself is nice. Overall, a decent spot with potential, especially if they work on timing and consistency in...

I'm brutally honest.... This was definitely Not what I had hoped it would be.... 💔💔 The pictures look great.... But don't let the glamour shots fool you....🤔🤔 The Stew Beef tasted like it was old and reheated. The meat was dry and tough, somebody clearly dropped the ball here.... And my white rice was also not the greatest. Truth be told, the only thing I did like, was the beans, and those were barely even warm. When I go into a restaurant that claims to serve "Latin American" food, my expectations are high.... Don't make that mistake here....This was like going into a place that claimed to serve "New York Style Pizza".... But what you end up getting is more like Dominos lol

I gave it one star because I had to, and that one star was for the good service that I got, but the food, thumbs...