Bettie's Restaurant — Restaurant in Jersey City

My overall experience was absolutely terrible. Their display of dishes on social media is what drew me to this restaurant. Despite being informed of a negative experience that my close friend experience, I went against her recommendations and attempted to try this restaurant anyway. First, we arrived on a Thursday around 7pm (they open at 5pm), the restaurant was essentially empty and one other table was being served. A waitress came over and served was water when asked to order a juice, I was made aware that the establishment did not have juice because they didn't have a chance to stock up. While I knew this location was BYOB for alcohol, I was hoping to try some of the tropical juices on the menu.

Appetizer/Happy Hour: After my friend and I left to go purchase a bottle of wine, we looked at the menu and asked about Happy Hour. The waitress didn't appear to have much knowledge about Happy Hour and the timeframes on when it started and ended. She proceed to state that "the kitchen doesn't want to do happy hour now". When asked to speak to the chef or the owner who was probably in the kitchen cooking, the waitress came back and mentioned that the kitchen now agreed to proceed with Happy Hour. We ordered a 6 item platter and received the 4 item platter options. When the waitress was asked about the other item that were supposed to be on the platter, we were told "the kitchen said everything is here" when in fact if she was aware of the menu she would be able to see that we were served the 4 item option. After much back and forth I stated that she needs to assure that we are charged for the 4 item option instead of the 6. No one from the kitchen came to rectify the situation by giving us what we ordered or by even checking in to see if we were satisfied with the appetizer. There appeared to be a HUGE language barrier between the waitress and the individuals in the kitchen. I saw the owner walking passed our table and he didn't even check in with us after the incident. There were a total of 5 customers in that restaurant incIuding myself and my friend therefore, it was evident which table had the discrepancy. Overall the fritay platter was delicious but again we didn't get all the items we ordered and we had to settled with what the kitchen was willing to serve.

Dinner: The food was okay, I had lambi and djon djon. I really love black rice however, the black rice served was tasteless and the lambi lacked flavor. The haitian flavor I was looking for was lacking tremendously.

Payment: I was surprised that there was a service fee for bringing in our own wine/alcohol and a surcharge for paying with a credit card. It was astonishing because I initially wanted juice and was essentially had to purchase a bottle of wine because the restaurant lacked supplies. It's also ludicrous that a restaurant would charge their customers a fee to use a credit credit. The esthetics of the restaurant was satisfactory however their customer service and follow through was unpleasant. After this experience, I will no longer be bamboozled by social media...

We discovered this place on Instagram and decided to have our 10-year anniversary dinner there. It took us about an hour to get there. First, typical Jersey City, the parking situation was horrible. Wednesday at 6 pm, and it took us about 20 minutes to find a spot, which was way down the block... and not the restaurant's fault, but part of the experience. Next, we arrived and were escorted to our table. The decor was lovely, afro beats on the radio, colors, and art was dope.. I liked it... the light was a little too dim for me, but it's a personal preference... now down to the get down.

Our waitress approached us, and she must have been new or not familiar with Haitian cuisine. She didn't seem to understand the menu and lacked confidence and explanation of items when asked. The entire menu is limited, only about a total of ten items, so it's not much to remember. We asked about the Pate and made sure to say it had to be fish... the menu even says herring.. we ordered that, and I got Akra... Well, when after about 20 minutes, my wife's pate came out; it was more like an empanada vs. pate.. and it was beef....🤦🏾‍♂️ A man did a lot of observing during our time in the restaurant, and I will assume he is the owner. Very attentive and knowledgeable. We called him over and expressed the item was wrong, and he apologized and we to get it fixed. After about ten more minutes, her fish pate came out... I'm disappointed with the empanada-style shell, but let me tell you, the filling was amazing. The flavor was 10/10. My Akra was also good. A solid 8/10

We then ordered our meal. My wife got the seafood pasta, and I got legume. The food took about another 20 minutes to come out. During that time, the waitress never came by the table. My water and lemonade glasses have been empty for a good 10 minutes. I called over the "owner" and asked him for refills. Once again, he was on it.

When the food came out.. presentation was good. 8/10. My wife's seafood pasta tasted great, but here comes another problem. The dish consisted of pasta, muscles, and a whole crab. Some parts of the dish were hot, some warm, and then FROZEN. Yes, some of the seafood was still frozen, and it made some other parts of the dish cold🤦🏾‍♂️. At this point, we didn't want to say anything else. We decided to end dinner and call it a night.

Oh, the flavor of her seafood pasta was 8.5/10, and my legume and white rice and sos pwa was 7.5/10.

We really want to like this place, the potential is there, but the parking situation, service, and food consistency didn't deliver a...

I am writing to formally express my deep disappointment and frustration regarding the unacceptable service my guests and I received during our event at Bettie’s Restaurant on September 20, 2025 due to the significant shortcomings in what was promised versus what was delivered.

This event was booked well in advance with the owners assurance, Chef Benal, that the entire venue would be reserved exclusively for our party. However, when we arrived on time, we were surprised to see other patrons still dining. This was completely contrary to our agreement, and when questioned, the response that they would “leave soon” was both unprofessional and disingenuous. Additional issues that severely impacted the evening include:

The chef was not present when guests arrived, and staff were unaware of our reservation, showing a lack of communication and planning. The DJ did not arrive until 9:45 PM, despite the event starting at 7:00 PM. The food was served late and buffet-style without support, rather than a plated service suitable for a private event. Guests were charged for to-go plates, which felt inappropriate given the disorganized service. The open bar ran out of liquor early, clearly due to poor preparation for the confirmed party size.

What makes this more upsetting is that we came in good faith to support a Haitian-owned business in our own community. Instead, the experience was distasteful, disgraceful, and deeply saddening. This is precisely the kind of treatment that discourages people from supporting their own. Frankly, it’s hard to ignore the feeling that had we been white patrons, the level of service and consideration might have been very different. This event was supposed to be a celebration and instead, it became a source of embarrassment and regret.

Additionally, the service provided by the staff was extremely poor. Throughout the evening, tables were left cluttered with used plates, as staff rarely came around to clear them. No water was provided at the tables while guests waited for food, which added further discomfort and frustration. The overall lack of attentiveness and basic hospitality made the experience even more unpleasant and unacceptable.

Unfortunately, the experience was so poor that even one star...