Cafe Karibo — Restaurant in Fernandina Beach

Reply to Owner Below We saw reviews that were good, so we decided to try it out on a night we didn't have previous plans. The experience could probably not have been any worse. Three of us ordered burgers and my Uncle was about to take a bite of his and a DEAD LIZARD FELL OUT OF HIS BURGER. This on its own would be enough to leave a bad review but when the waitress came over to see what was wrong, she was just as shocked as we were but that's when everything went downhill. She never came back to our table as my entire family sat in disbelief as we wondered if we should even finish our food. We sat there and became more and more incredulous that no one had come back to even see how we were, let alone tell us what they were doing regarding our bill. All of us had lost our appetite and wanted to leave at that point. Eventually my Uncle walked up to our waitress to ask for the manager. The manager was there and she immediately became very defensive and rude and said she would only comp our appetizer and my Uncle's burger. Even though none of us had eaten most of our food. We sat for a few more minutes waiting for the bill and the manager came back with the receipt and said "your entire meal was comped" with the rudest attitude anyone could have. She clearly did not want to give us our half-eaten, LIZARD CONTAMINATED food for free. Unacceptable. If they hadn't avoided us and been so rude about the situation I might have left a completely different review, or not left one at all. But they treated us like we were liars and trying to unjustly get our food for free. We love Amelia Island, but will never return here.

REPLY TO OWNER Once again I'm deeply disappointed with your response. There are quite a few things wrong with your assessment of the situation last night. First, we never received an apology after the initial shock. The Smoked Salmon was ordered as an appetizer before the lizard incident, it was not a replacement. And although I understand your comment about an outdoor environment we were sitting inside, not outside. And all other meals were not consumed, we all ate about half of our...

While I've lived in this area for about 3 years now, I've visited often. I had heard mention of this place, but never really thought of visiting, until my wife joined some friends here for lunch a couple of weeks ago, and couldn't stop raving about it.

So, I did what any husband should do to satiate their partner, and agreed to take her there for dinner. She warned me that they had an eclectic menu, but not to worry, as she found a number of things I would really enjoy.

We quite enjoyed the dinner, had an amazing time, and agreed to come back again soon.

So, late this afternoon was our "soon". We arrived about 4:30, to find that we had the entire wooded back area to ourselves, and sat halfway down the back. Shawn, our server, was quick to arrive, recommend some wine for my wife, and a local brew (based on some other examples I provided) to me. He was spot on for both the wine and local draft. And, we were quite happy when he informed us that during happy hour, ALL drinks (except the Sangria and one other item) were half off. Wait, what?? Even if I wanted Remy, I could get it at half off? YEP!

So, now that we've passed the lavations, time to hit the food. Both of our orders were spot on, as recommended by Shawn, and we were both extremely impressed by his knowledge of the food and beverage menu. My wife has a gluten allergy (NCGS), and Shawn knew what was and what wasn't gluten free (they have quite a good selection of gluten free items), and was quick to recommend a few items based on what we mentioned.

The food each time has been absolutely wonderful, and we've found our new hangout for afternoon lunches and early dinners, or when we want to take our friends out for a nice dinner in a great atmosphere.

If you go, we highly recommend sitting outside during the mild climate seasons, and absolutely would insist that you ask for Shawn as your server. An absolute wonderful place and experience that I felt compelled to...

Just an awful experience from the start. We were spending just one night on Amelia Island as we were making our way back to Tampa. Staff is very unorganized, and in need of basic hospitality training. No one greeted me, just left me standing at the bar, no one said "Hi! Our hostess stand is outside and to the right. She will take your name." No direction as to where things are. I've never been here. How would I know? We are seated, server seems weeded and not super friendly. Got us water, offered no water for our dog. Fine. Doesn't go over specials. Fine. Order crab cake app. Those were actually very good. I order chx carbonara, no veg please. Plate comes out with dried out pasta, watery sauce and grilled chx. No bacon, no nothing. Doesn't resemble carbonara at all. Thought about ordering something else but was just kind of over it at this point. Their ticket times were awful. Took forever. Menu is small and they were out of some items. Had to ask for water refill. 😒 Dirty tables everywhere on the patio where we were seated and a hostess standing up front doing nothing. 😒 Buss some tables! Seems like it has potential but they need to tighten up and train their staff!! Would not recommend. Plus, everything closes so early on the island we just wasted precious time here. Went to find something else open and give them my business. I understand the staff is young but they need to spend time training them how to work in a restaurant. How do I know? I spent 18 years in hospitality as hostess, server and bartender. Find a restaurant that cares when you visit the island. This is...