Pimenta — Restaurant in Fredericksburg

Yes, this is not my first time here but it has been about a year since my visit and this time was absolutely disappointing. We came in me, a friend and two kids sat in the window upfront. The waiter was all over the place. We tried to put our order in several times And he went back-and-forth to ask what this and that was on the menu to the cook. there was a card on the table. We just decided to go ahead and scan it to put our order in after about 30 minutes. He finally came over with a jar full of Cold tapwater and if anybody knows how tapwater, taste and smells It’s pretty obvious we still waited to get the drinks that we ordered. As we sat, my friend, ordered the ragamuffin wings which were mediocre, and I still hadn’t ordered anything and just decided now that we’ve been here over an hour to just add my item to her tab because I also had a son who was becoming very fussy and aggravated . the waiter have been running around for the last 30 minutes trying to figure out who had an open tab at that table and how he could cancel it out in the entire time it was our tab! Once we finally received after being there, almost 2 hours my friend still having to ask for her drink that she ordered and canceling alcohol because it was taking too long to receive. We get our bag we’re still missing an entire order of oxtails, curry, chicken, mac & cheese, and cabbage. My order of oxtails, cabbage beans, and rice and plantains was mediocre at best. This item on the menu cost $34 and I received maybe five oxtails that were very small with barely anything on them. There was more juice in my plate than anything. I actually went back into the place while my friend waited on her order that was missing and said this to the cook that the portion sizes are absolutely not worth $34. I’m not happy at all with my order And then Fixed her order, said that he understands and threw her an extra side for us having waited for two hours, and still had to wait another 30 minutes for this portion of the food! At this point, the owner was in there yelling at the waiter who said that he was new and he just started and hadn’t been properly trained, and had only been there a couple of days, but instead of them, realizing he hasn’t been trained and has no idea what he’s doing. They committed to yell at him in front of everybody there, which I thought was inappropriate! Used to be really nice I’m not sure what’s going on but the food has gotten mediocre. The service is horrible and the portion sizes are absolutely not worth the amount of money they have the audacity to charge on top of adding a 20% gratuity amount to your order Which they said was for eating in but we didn’t eat. We sat at the table continuously trying to order with tapwater at the table finally got the wings sent over and she ate maybe one wing and that means that we need to pay a 20% gratuity because it’s taking you an hour to finish our order which we ordered to go so basically by the time we got done ordering we ended up paying $140 Which we could’ve taken to any restaurant And ended up with a better meal than what we had this day. At the least, I would think we had a good quality of water brought to the table After being there an hour! And of course, our order being messed up and us asking them what is this extra amount that’s being added on our bill the least they could’ve done after we’ve been there this long waiting was took that extra gratuity off because we literally had no service worth anything here, but you want us to be forced to tip for someone bringing tapwater to the table! Never again that was my absolute last time at this place was a complete turn off. When I’m going somewhere, paying $34 for a tray, I definitely expect more than a scoop of rice, a spoonful of cabbage and five oxtails. Its Highway robbery they clearly don’t care about their customers if they stand in front of them and scream at the people who are actually working here. It was so bad in fact that my friend asked him if they were hiring. Take your money somewhere else...

I had to do this review in hopes that it could improve the aspects that I'm about to talk about with the food that I ordered. Ordinarily I go to taste of trelawny but said I would try someplace new because I was closer to this place. I must say I was very disappointed. While the food had good flavor there was hardly any meat. I spent $70 for combination plates of curry goat and oxtail with a side of oxtail. The curry goat was more bone than meat and so I'm assuming that they just are using a different cut of meat because when I go to taste of trelawny they use the cubed curry goat and it's all meat and the goat was not as tender as it could be. However the oxtail was the most disappointing part because I have had oxtail at a variety of restaurants and have never had oxtail as tough as this place provided me. When I bit into the oxtail I struggled to find meat throughout all of the fat that was tough. Yes even the fat was tough. If you are a constant Caribbean food eater then you are aware of how tender oxtails can be if done properly. For example at taste of trelawny their oxtail is literally falling off the bone, it melts in your mouth an the same with the goat. While taste of trelawny provides a much bigger helping for a similar price this restaurant succeeded in only the flavoring in my opinion. And when you're spending $70 it's not just about the portion it's about the quality so I don't know if they undercooked it or if they're getting a different cut of meat I don't really know what took place but I will not be ordering from this place again because when I spend $70 I want more meat on my plate then bone and instead of trying to fill people up with rice and cabbage I would prefer tender meat. Again food tasted good but texture is everything.

Reply to the reply, no encouragement needed. Your food did that bottom line. I strongly and humbly suggest that you dine at other restaurants and taste different restaurant foods. Ask what they do to tenderize there meats because as I said the food had good flavor but was tough. And with lamb and especially ox tail it's unexceptable at your prices. It's about growth and nothing wrong with experimenting to get it just right. Also I received 3 pieces of lamb bone. That's it three pieces of lamb that was mainly bone on one of my meals. For 70 dollars any customer expects better. Now maybe I caught y'all on a bad day. But a bad day it was.

Reply to reply number too. Here it is 3 years later and I have not been back, but today I was looking to see if there was any Jamaican cuisine in north Stafford and stumbled across your reply. I will say this To get hung up on semantics is your right. I mentioned goat like ten times on my original review but I did mis speak in the second. However not every one in Fredericksburg is in a position to spend what I did on food for my family, on tips alone, so when I say 70 dollars was a lot to me and chose your restaurant for a special occasion, I don’t expect to spend 70 dollars on Jamaican food and get curry goat that is literally bone and fat. Or oxtail that is impossible to not tenderize be tough. I will bet that I caught you at the end of the day and got what was left after the city buying your food up and just got slim pickings but had I checked my food before I pulled off I would have got my money back. You suggested I take my own advice and go elsewhere, yes I can read between lines even professional ones, which clearly I did but it serve you no good to not take into consideration the experience of even just one of your customers. It’s been three years and maybe you did care about my experience a little and things are aired out so that not one person has a bad experience similar to mine. On the flip side I will never forget my plate and the lack of meat on it but will also never forget the flavor. It was the best I had since the restaurant on...

Busy authentic Jamaican restaurant with delicious freshly prepared food favorites and genuinely friendly customer service. This was our second time there and on both occasions our host and server was Ato Williams who is also the bartender and Frontend Specialist. In short, he was awesome on both visits. Despite wearing many hats and "Doing It All,"- he was very pleasant, hardworking, happy to help and provided us with great customer service. Alto was very friendly and he smiled, greeted, and seated us when we walked in. Pimenta offers a decent size menu with authentic Jamaican appetizers, entrees, drinks, and deserts- everything that moves around you looks and smells so good!

On our first visit, for an entree my wife had the Curry Coconut Salmon. She originally wanted the Jerk Salmon but I reminded her that our customers recommended the Curry Coconut Salmon and so did Ato as well. I ordered the Red Snapper which you may have prepared in three different ways. I asked Ato which was the most popular and best tasting and he indicated the Deep Fried Salmon. We had water with no ice and lemon to drink. The Curry Coconut Salmon was the correct portion and the appropriate size and was full of great flavor. I recommend having the Salmon prepared to medium temperature. My wife selected Seasoned Cabbage and Vibe's Mac and Cheese as her two sides which were equally delicious. My Deep Fried Whole Red Snapper dish was personally delivered by the Wayne, The Master Chef and it looked and smelled scrumptious. I paired the fish with Rice and Peas and Fried Plantains. Both of our meals were very delicious and the perfect temperature... We were so thankful that we chose to go to Pimenta from the several eateries that our customer recommended in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area. By the way, Ato makes some very interesting alcoholic drinks and we were very tempted to try one but we had a long drive ahead... Try his new creation a "Blue Martini."

On our second visit, for an entree my wife had the Jerk Shrimp with Rice & Pigeon Peas, and Plantains. I had the Deep Fried Red Snapper with Rice & Pigeon Peas, and Plantains. We had water with no ice and lemon to drink. The Jerk Shrimp dish is the correct portion and the appropriate size, perfectly plated and was full of great flavor! There plantains are some of the best that I have had including my many visits to Jamaica. I recommend having the Salmon prepared to medium temperature. On this visit, my Deep Fried Whole Red Snapper dish was personally prepared by Chef David and it looked, smelled, and tasted delicious. Again, both of our meals were very delicious and the perfect temperature.

With that said, come hungry and definitely request Ato Williams and make sure that either Wayne or David are The Chef on Duty and you will not be disappointed. By the way, they also service a large amount of takeout and call ahead orders. In closing, we always share our meals so we have two opinions about any particular dish and our empty plates essentially tell the story! Enjoy your meal and great customer service at Pimenta or order it to go! -...