Sajoma Latin Fusion — Restaurant in Florida

I have been right down the road from this restaurant for longer than I'd like to admit before coming to eat here.

Upon walking in, the ambiance of the restaurant is welcoming and pleasant. I chose to sit outside as the weather was pleasant enough, and the booths had more than enough fans in case the heat decided to kick up.

Upon sitting down, our waiter came over and was more than pleasant in both Spanish and English. I unfortunately forgot to ask his name, but he gave us a wonderful experience. I had the Mamajuana Old Fashioned and it was honestly ridiculously pleasant. I made sure to really take my time with it because it was so delicious that I wanted to make sure I could have a second. Which I did.

Between these two Old Fashioneds, we had the Queso de Hoja and the Tuna Tartare to start. The Queso de Hoja is something I had never had before, but the cheese was delicious and clearly fresh, and the pesto and toast it came with were also both fantastic, but the Tartare really stole the show as far as the appetizers I tried went. The fish was fresh and delicious while the sauce was the best kind of punch of flavor on top of a bed of avocado. Absolutely incredible.

As it was a lunch special and I was feeling somewhat nostalgic, I ordered the Bistec Encebollado. This is a dish I have had homemade from my mother-in-law, and is one of those dishes that I have a high bar for. I am more than pleased to say that while Sajoma uses a different cut of meat than I am accustomed to, it was cooked to perfection in a fantastic sauce. The rice is seasoned beautifully on its own, and the habichuelas are excellent. Mix those together and you've got something really special. Every bite tasted like I needed another bite, and it didn't matter what I was eating.

I also treated myself to a Cohiba as this was a birthday celebration for myself. A clipper, ashtray, and torch lighter were provided.

Considering how much was consumed and what the quality of it was, the bill of just shy of $200 was incredibly reasonable. Party consensus (of two and a half) is that a return is inevitable and more of the menu must be sampled.

Thank you for the excellent birthday celebration, Sajoma, even if you didn't know that's...

Start with food: I had the Pechuga Al Maduro. This entree is a couple pieces of flat chicken in a white sauce, stacked on top of each other with a toothpick. On top is Parmesan cheese but throughout the is mozzarella. In between the chicken is sweet plantain.

The presentation is underwhelming for a Latin fusion entree. It’s very basic and lacks a culinary flair….it’s literally just doused in white sauce. The chicken itself lacked seasoning to bring out the flavours especially the meat. What I can say positive about this dish is that it has a good flavour with everything in one bite meaning if you have bite without the plantain then the dish is off putting.

Constructive feedback: the sweet plantain needs to be of a purée complimenting the style of the dish (considering it’s Latin) and allowing every bite the chance to have the purée on every bite given it that enhanced flavour…never mind the slop of white sauce(the white sauce is good but way too much. Definitely have the slices of sweet plantain as well top. The chicken absolutely has to be seasoned. It’s not a fine dining experience either with a few flat pieces of dry chicken; a full chicken breast would be a lot nicer. Overall I’ll give this entree 2.5/5 because it has all the flavour and potential of a dish of fine dining.

Salmon teriyaki: my wife had this dish and like it and recommends this dish.

Churrasco a la parilla: my son ate this meal and it was a simple yet delicious entree.

Service: Our Waitress was Valeria G. She was very soft spoken to the point where she comes off as one whom lacks confidence (so use that voice😉). We asked for waters for the 3 of us and came back with 2… she abruptly left, she came back after a few moments and asked for that 3rd water and eventually returned with the water. Her personality came off as impersonal, quiet and wasn’t as attentive. I wasn’t impressed with service at all and needs constructive coaching.

Atmosphere: its good indoors, we were initially seated on the patio as requested however the music was too loud…

I recommend this restaurant however I hope you have a better experience than us.

See...

If I could leave zero stars, I would. From the moment we arrived, our experience at Sajoma Latin Fusion was nothing short of disappointing.

Our large group was met with an unwelcoming attitude from the hostess, setting the tone for the evening. We were immediately informed that we had a strict three-hour dining limit, starting the moment we were seated a detail that felt both unnecessary and unaccommodating for a large group.

Once seated, our waitress took our drink orders and returned with them promptly, but that was the last time we saw her for quite some time. After placing our meal orders, she vanished. We waited an astonishing hour and ten minutes before any food began to arrive, and when it did, the dishes trickled out at different times. This staggered service meant that by the time the final plates reached our table, nearly half of our party had already finished eating. The idea of enjoying a meal together as a family was entirely lost.

Throughout this ordeal, our drinks sat empty, as our waitress was nowhere to be found. Other staff members delivered the food, but no one checked on our table. While the presentation of the dishes was visually appealing, the flavor failed to match the aesthetics. The food was disappointingly cold, lacking seasoning, and simply not worth the steep prices.

After the last person had finished eating, our waitress reappeared to ask if we needed anything else. We all requested drink refills and our checks only for her to disappear again, returning nearly 20 minutes later. By this point, we had been seated for almost two hours and 45 minutes, yet had interacted with our server a mere four times.

To top it all off, a mandatory 20% gratuity was automatically added to our bill, an insult given the abysmal service.

Overall, Sajoma Latin Fusin failed on every front service, timing, food quality, and hospitality. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend dining here. Save your money and your patience for a restaurant that values its guests.

This version keeps all your points while making it flow smoothly like a polished restaurant review. Let me know if you’d...