Pearl Of the Island Restaurant & Patio — Restaurant in Lake Park

I had lunch at Pearl of the Island in Lake Park with my daughter. While the food was good, the overall experience was disappointing and unfortunately, this isn’t the first time I’ve run into billing issues here.

When it came time to pay, the server brought over a handheld card reader no printed receipt, no review of what we were being charged for, and no confirmation of whether we received everything we ordered. I had to request a printed receipt after paying, and only then did I see two major problems: We were charged for an appetizer we never received. A service charge had already been added to the bill, despite the server telling me it wasn’t. I ended up tipping on top of that essentially double tipping.

When I brought this to the server’s attention, she admitted the appetizer was never made and offered to make it after I had already paid, packed up my food, and was walking out the door. Not helpful.

Even more concerning, she explained that the service charge doesn’t go to the staff it goes to the restaurant. That’s extremely misleading. Most diners assume a service charge is a gratuity for the people actually providing the service. Instead, it feels like customers are being misled into overpaying, and the servers aren’t even benefiting.

When I asked to speak to a manager, I was told to “come back after 6 p.m.” Seriously? I’m addressing a valid concern on the spot, and I’m told to return later like it’s not important?

After reading through other reviews, I now see that this is a pattern multiple people have called out the same issues, and the owner has never responded to a single one. That says a lot.

Until Pearl of the Island starts being honest with their billing practices, trains their staff properly, and starts caring about customer feedback, I won’t be back. I encourage future customers to ask for a receipt before paying and be very careful with what you’re being...

Upon arrival the atmosphere was okay. But I was unpleasantly surprised by their service fee. Grant it , they say it’s on the menu (probably in really small print). The server didn’t mention said service charge either which is cool I guess that’s not a required procedure (but it should be) to let people know that you’re going to charge them 18% just to eat there (NO IT IS NOT A TIP FOR THE SERVER ITS A TIP FOR THE RESTAURANT) which is crazy. Charging an 18% service fee (a fee charged by the restaurant just because you are eating there.) That's crazy work. The restaurant does not have enough ambience to charge people for eating there.. not at all! And charging $25 for a small piece of salmon is also crazy work… but live well and prosper I guess but I don’t think I’ll be returning to this establishment. Too many Haitian restaurants around that don’t charge me to exist lol.. Thank you for...

Our party ordered a variety of drinks, appetizers, and entrees. The food was very good with the items being very tasty. Drinks came out kind of slow and plates weren't provided for the appetizers so that was a major miss eating on the table. Things like water refills were filled after asking. Entrees came out one by one and we agreed to not wait to eat so by the time the last plate of food came out the first person was almost done. But it was hot and cooked to order to very forgivable IMO. They had no deserts so that ended the night. Pricing on the menu was on the moderate ($18-$27) and the drinks high ($18). The worst is the 18% service charge that we were told does not include the gratuity so if you leave a 20% tip you're at a whopping 38% in service charges. Because of this we will not...