Tin Box Vieques Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Isla de Vieques

I’m giving it 3 stars because the food is FANTASTIC! Unfortunately we had a really bad experience with our waitress. We arrived at 5pm and were promptly seated by the hostess. Our waitress (I believe the hostess said her name was Emma? We don’t actually know for certain!) came and took our drink/food orders. My parent and I asked for a couple modifications. She wanted white meat chicken on her barbecue platter and I asked for the coleslaw and onions on the side of my pork sandwich because coleslaw makes me feel ill. I did not tell the waitress that as this is never an issue so I didn’t think of it, and that was my fault. 30 minutes go by and we finally get my parent’s glass of water. Another 15 minutes later, we got my lemonade which tasted like it was just lemon water. Our waitress didn’t return after this so we flagged down two other staff because we had to leave by 6:45 for a tour. They got our waitress who said the food had been in the system in the kitchen the whole time and she would check what was going on. 10 minutes later, she came back with our food in to go boxes. We checked and none of our modifications were added. She said the kitchen couldn’t accommodate us because they were busy. She took my order back and scraped the coleslaw and onions off and returned. My parent was just stuck with two chicken legs which are not white meat and the waitress gave a snappy response when we noted that to her. We didn’t want to cause drama so we paid and left. Our waitress did apologize for the service but as we were leaving we let the hostess know. The waitress then came up to us and said the kitchen had lost our ticket and she had to enter it again (without modifications) and we both said that wasn’t true but walked away. I turned around and let the hostess know what the waitress said wasn’t true and the waitress then exited the building and started asking me why I was lying about what she said and said “where did I lie? I’m sorry your food was wrong but I didn’t lie to you. Tell me how I lied to you.” I told her and she said that wasn’t what happened at all. I had two staff who could have given witness statements otherwise. The waitress was rude and while I would never say the customer is always right, and did not want to be rude to the restaurant, I feel that this wasn’t something that should have occurred. The hostess had to ask the waitress to drop it and tried to stop the interaction. I feel so bad for her and for causing drama but I do think something has to be said about this experience. I couldn’t end up eating half of my dinner because the coleslaw did make me feel ill, but it’s not anyone’s fault for me not saying that’s why I asked for no coleslaw. Excellent food, terrible service. If I had the 2 hours to spare again I would definitely return just...

Tin Box Treehouse – Dinner Review

Perched among the palms just outside Esperanza, Tin Box pulls off the rare trifecta of killer food, laid-back vibes, and service that feels like old friends catching up. Here’s the breakdown of our night:

⸻

Highlights

• Service (11/10) Our server, Samantha, deserves her own line on the menu. She greeted us with a grin, answered every “What’s this sauce?” question, and somehow slipped island history into drink recommendations. When my toddler’s fork took a header off the deck, she reappeared with a fresh one before I could blink. Absolute heart of gold.

• Ambiance (10/10) Imagine an oversized treehouse strung with Edison bulbs, a gentle trade-wind breeze, and swing seats at the sushi bar. Horses clopped by underneath while a local guitarist played Jack Johnson covers. If you’re looking for a “this is the Vieques I came for” setting, this is it.

• Must-order plates • Badass Bacon – Candied, house-cured strips served in a mason jar. Sweet-smoky perfection and the fastest way to shut down table chatter. • BBQ Trio Platter – Ribs that slide off the bone, juicy pulled pork, and smoky chicken—with sweet-potato fries that disappeared faster than the meat. Perfect split for two. • Catfish Tacos – Crispy, flaky fillets, bright cilantro crema, and just enough jalapeño heat. A surprise standout. • Hush-Puppies – Listed as a side, but trust me: they’re dessert. Drizzled with local honey, light as beignets.

• Drinks Frozen margaritas here are dangerously smooth—classic lime for me, passion-fruit for my wife. Samantha steered us toward a virgin mango colada for the kiddo, and we all left sipping happy.

⸻

Tiny Quibbles • The Sesame Ahi Tuna looked beautiful but ran a touch salty for our taste—still good, just overshadowed by that bacon. • Island pacing is real: entrées hit the table 25 minutes after apps. Nothing outrageous, but worth noting if you’ve got an overtired toddler.

⸻

Bottom Line

Tin Box isn’t just a meal; it’s a tree-top evening you’ll brag about when you get home. Between Samantha’s five-star hospitality, plates that nail sweet–savory balance, and a setting straight out of a surf-lifestyle magazine, this spot earns a solid 5 / 5 from our crew. Go hungry, order the bacon first, and save room for those honey-kissed...

Very unusual place both with menu selection as combination of BBQ and sushi. The baked beans side was amazingly different with heavy cilantro and other Caribbean flavors, and ribs and chicken great too. The multi level seating gives terrific views of the jungle backyard with several varieties of birds. However the choice of background music (80s disco and similar) really negated the ambiance, especially at a loud enough level to make talking difficult. It might be more supportive of the ambiance created by location to instead have microphones amplifying the natural sounds of the jungle for diners to enjoy. That might complement the food, or at least have music like new age instrumental that might lean toward sounds of running water and chines to better complement the sushi theme. The experience while tasty was discordant, creating uneasiness versus pleasure. There’s a lot of potential here to be better by focusing more consistently on what the intented essence is and do that very well. Also while BBQ had so many positives (although not he pulled pork wasn’t anything special), the calamari was way over cooked...