Watusi Cafe — Restaurant in Hilton Head Island

We visited Watusi on June 18th. We were added to the waitlist at 11:30am and was told it was a 15 minute wait. We had an ADA compliant service dog with us and the lady at the host stand asked the two legal questions, which was nice to see! The handler answered the questions promptly and we asked to be seated inside due to the heat flaring disabilities, in which she said that could be accommodated.

We went outside and sat while we waited for our table. During this time, we saw multiple individuals who came in after us who did not reserve prior seating (we asked them). We walked in at around 12 to see if maybe us being in there shot off a lightbulb of “oh yeah, we need to seat them!” Nope. We wandered around the store and I checked the text I was sent which then read “Error, this booking is no longer valid.” At this point, it had been an hour since check in and I approached the barista to ask her what was going on. The lady who was originally at the host stand was nowhere to be found. The barista spoke to another lady (which I’m assuming was taking to go orders or pick up) and she went to seat us outside. I spoke up as we had already been sitting outside and said “the dog is a service dog so he is allowed inside”. There were tables inside that were available. We were increasingly growing frustrated, which is valid. We were seated outside anyways. Thank goodness we had a fan as the seating was directly in the sun for a black poodle that has around 6in of hair on him. We were seated next to an ill behaved dog that continuously tried to get to the service dog.

The food was good, we ordered a waffle and breakfast burrito. We could not finish it as it was hard to enjoy hot food in hot weather. The ice in our cups had melted and was not refilled. Each bill was $20.

It seems to be an issue of organization and communication. I believe we may order pick up from here on out due to the experience inside. This was heartbreaking due to the fact it came heavily...

Based on their website and menu, you’d be forgiven for thinking that Watusi was a real coffee shop. Unfortunately the reality is very different. I ordered a Cappuccino with oat milk – my “go to” both at home and on the road. When I’m paying $6.50 for such a drink—$5 for the cappuccino and an obscene $1.50 up-charge for oat milk—in a so-called professional establishment, I expect it to be at least as good as what I can make at home and ideally much better. What arrived was a large coffee cup—much larger than the traditional 6oz I was expecting—filled with scolding hot, watery liquid, and a large dollop of scummy foam on top. I realize that oat milk is a little harder to steam than regular milk, but clearly the staff had no idea what they were doing. And what is it with mediocre coffee establishments thinking that quantity is more important than quality? I sent the drink back and decided not to order anything else.

I had, however, ordered Biscuits and Gravy—one of their “Specialties”—which arrived shortly after I sent back the coffee. The unattractive plate of food that arrived looked far from appealing, but I didn’t feel there was much I could do at this point, and I was hungry. After a couple of bites of the bland food, with supposedly home-made biscuits (they tasted more like home-mixed from a packet), I noticed what appeared to be a human hair on the side of my plate. So that was sent back too and I left. I’m sure that in a place like Hilton Head, places like Watusi survive based on a steady stream of unsuspecting, new customers, who are just passing through. I will not be returning, and hope this review may encourage others to look elsewhere when...

visited here this morning and we were super excited from the reviews of the coffee!! however, from the minute we walked in, it wasn’t very pleasant. the young girl at the register for the general store where the entrance is placed was not very forthcoming, and we wended up being placed behind 3 sets of parties that were originally behind us. Not a big deal…right? I’m never one to usually complain because of human-error. However, then when placed at our table, it was a different experience. Our server came 15 minutes (which again, i get it) BUT after we were seated (we watched tables of 4 and 8 seated around us be served sooner — we were a table of 2). Again, no big deal…right? (I guess). We order coffee we hear was AMAZING and the salmon Benedict + biscuits and Gravy. I won’t deny the fact that the dishes were fantastic!!! BUT…we never got our coffee. And our server was not the least bit friendly, nor apologetic for not bringing it. After we were finished with our meal—(once she finally came over, our 2nd time seeing her)—-she simply stated, “oh. I forgot to bring it. Do you want your check?”… I’m rarely one to complain, and never one to share an unpleasant experience when it feels like a compete misunderstanding. However, this waitress could not have cared less, which was especially concerning in regards to the fact that we shared we were so excited for the coffee when she initially greeted us. We’re from Philly, and have SO many people we know who have raved about this place!! But, i will never go back when we’ve had SO many better experiences on island, and will continue to wonder if this coffee is...