La'Caj Seafood — Restaurant in Maryland

Boycotting companies that have rolled back their DEI policies, I have been researching businesses I can support. La'Caj came up on my radar, Instagram recommendation, so my mother and I decided try them. Here's an honest review. First, THE GOOD: It was an accessible place with lots of parking, conveniently located near major thoroughfares and public transportation. Quickly greeted upon entrance, no wait time in being seated, and informed about the Karaoke night starting at 6PM. We arrived around a 4:40 PM, and the friendly female hostess, who informed us of the events, also asked whether or not we would be staying for the event. Her reason for asking was for seating purposes. She didn't want to seat us in an area where the DJ and dancing would take place. We told her that we would not be staying, so we were seated at the last booth near the bar. We thanked her and waited for our server to come. This is where the good ends. THE BAD: As first timers, we didn't know that they only had a digital menu. So we sat and waited, approx. 10 min., for someone to bring us a menu, water, and utensils. I guess she realized that we didn't know about the QR code, and came by to tell us that this was the only way to view the menu. However, we still had yet to see our assigned server nor did we receive any water or utensils. 1ST RED FLAG Even at 600% magnification the print is small, and for a senior with cataracts, not user friendly. Another 8-10 minutes and, our server arrives. She, literally, looked as if our presence was an inconvenience and as if she didn't want to be there. Trying to give her the benefit of the doubt because maybe she wasn't feeling well, or just having a rough day, but we were off to a bad start. 20 minutes in- no water, or utensils. As she, reluctantly, engaged us in conversation, we had many questions about the entrees, due to allergy and dietary restrictions. After asking several questions, which she answered to the best of her ability, we asked her for a quick moment so that we could make a decision. She asked about our drink order, to which we responded, "Water w/o ice." She acknowledged our request, and said she'd be right back. Another 5 minutes later, as I now have my timer on, she returns to take our order. By this time my mother and I are feeling some kinda' way, but were committed to support, so we stayed in order to try the food. Wanting to get a good taste of all they had to offer, we proceeded to order from each section, starter, entree, drink, sides, and dessert. Our initial order consisted of: the Cajun chicken flatbread, red snapper w/ mac & cheese (regular), and collard greens, fried chicken tender basket w/fries & corn poppers, two Non-alcoholic mocktails (we don't drink): Virgin Mojito and Pina Colada, and Mexican churros. They were out of the flatbread, so it was removed. Roughly 5 minutes later, she's back with our waters, but both have ice. My face obviously said, what never left my mouth, so she scrambled to make the correction, but not before serving several other patrons who had come in well after us, possibly regulars, with drinks, utensils, and starter food. 2ND RED FLAG. The atmosphere is loud and grew louder as the evening crowd came in. 15 minutes later - Our utensils come and then our food. After waiting so long and enduring poor service, we were quickly disappointed with the food. Not terrible, but very salty and a bit greasy. We ate, but could not finish, as our stomachs begin to turn. I was ready to leave, but mom had to make a pit stop. Upon her return, she informs me the restroom was nasty and that it had no water. Our server was very inattentive, so I asked several other workers for things we needed, in order to leave. When I did get her attention, I asked her to remove the churros, and just bring the bill. Upon receiving the bill, I noticed a Liquor tax rate, but we didn't have alcohol. After bringing it to the manager's attention, we were given a credit. We paid, and swiftly left, around 6:25PM. It's highly likely that we...

We came here because my girlfriend saw this place on the news and it had just undergone a rebranding so we were curious about it. We made a reservation last week for Saturday afternoon and everything went smoothly. My girlfriend's best friend actually had also gotten takeout from here and recommended the empanadas so you know we had to try them!

We arrived to the restaurant a little before 2:00 p.m. for our reservation and on the outside the storefront is very minimal with just the logo on the door and in line with the others stores in its surroundings. One reviewer mentioned it was unassuming and I couldn't agree more, but don't let that fool you. That's where the similarities end.

As soon as you enter you are greeted and offered a seat if there is a wait time while they are cleaning off tables to make room for other patrons. This was our case as there was a slight wait time of maybe 5 minutes or so. Then we got seated and our server Bianca arrived at our table. She had a great energy and was very helpful as this was our first time coming here. I had some questions about certain menu items and possible recommendations of what people usually like or lean more towards. Bianca was more than helpful and even confirmed some of my choices in terms of drinks and offered honest feedback on some of the items that I was looking at which I really appreciate it.

The atmosphere was a chill vibe with a mixture of Latin music with hip hop thrown in. It was very clean and the staff were extremely helpful. The one gentleman even saw that my girlfriend had her purse on her leg and went and got a seat so that she could place her purse securely at our table. He even offered to box our food as he saw we were getting ready to leave. That level of service was very thoughtful and we appreciated that very much. The owner was also present on the floor walking about as people were enjoying their meals making sure that everyone was satisfied.

We ordered various things and loved everything we ordered! My girlfriend ordered the fajitas platter that came with a generous amount of steak and chicken, so much so that she had enough to take for lunch that I packed the next day and some leftovers even from that. Which tells you just how much you are getting value for money. We also loved how the beans and rice were seasoned which you do not often find in restaurants these days that are supposedly authentic, so kudos to them for that we definitely noticed.

We also shared some beef empanadas at the recommendation of my girlfriend's best friend and they were some of the tastiest we have had in the area. The crust on the outside was crispy and flavorful with the inside being just enough flakiness to complement the beef which was also a very good amount. They were very tasty and mac and cheese was delicious also.

We also got some drinks which we enjoyed as well during our meal. My girlfriend got the blue Kool-Aid as they call it and I had the rum punch which was also very good. Both drinks had a good amount of sweetness to offset the alcohol so that it wasn't too strong tasting but you also could feel that there was generous amount of alcohol in the drinks after about 3 to 4 sips, which isn't always the case as restaurants like to load their drinks up with a ton of ice and then give you mostly juice with a splash of alcohol but that was not the case here so kudos again for having great drinks and great vibes throughout our visit. For my meal, I had the lollipop lamb chops with cheese grits and capers which were all very good. The lamb was tender and flavorful and a good size for what you paid. I also had a side of sweet potato fries which were also very good. I recommend having some sort of honey mustard dipping sauce with a bit of spice to compliment this sweet potato fries.

Then we ended the night off with the main event and the real reason why my girlfriend wanted to come here, the banana pudding creme brulee!That's right you heard correctly lol this was the main attraction for my girlfriend and it was...

I really wanted to like this place but I couldn't do it. Reservations were for 1pm, and we were seated on time. We noticed that they had a photo booth that we were told was there for an event later in the day. Second thing we noticed- the music. It was so loud that you had to raise your voice to be heard (this let me know that the atmosphere was not children or older adult friendly). I inquired about a menu but was told that we had to scan a QR code, as there were no physical menus- okay. I was really excited to try the red snapper but from viewing other guests' plates, it was way smaller than the ones I've seen on social media so I opted for fried fish and grits and got a side of kale. My companion ordered the cognac-soaked creme brulee french toast, with a side of both bacon and grits. We asked for the lobster and avocado deviled eggs and strawberry Brazilian lemonade- BOTH were unavailable at 1pm and the restaurant opened at 11am. The assumption was that they may be saving them for the event later on. When the food came, I noticed that I received a cup of salsa with my fish, two fried pieces of okra (the garnish), and grits with a sauce on them. I notified the waitress that I was missing the tarter sauce and she brought it over. The kale was slightly burnt but not bad. The grits were kinda salty with the sauce, but it was edible. Fish was a little rubbery (just 1 piece; the other was OK) and had a lot of bones, for a filet. The batter was seasoned and tarter sauce made it better. My companion was not pleased with the French toast as it was not quite cooked on both sides; one side undercooked and the other burnt. We couldn't taste the cognac it was soaked in. For presentation sake, the burnt parts (PICTURE) could have been removed before plating. My companion said the bacon was good, but the grits had a large burnt clump in them, that was shown to the waitress. They were promptly replaced with a fresh bowl but, without the sauce on it that both of us initially had and was replaced with a lot of red seasoning. When asked why the sauce wasn't put on the replacements, the waitress said my companion was erroneously given grits with the sauce at first- apparently, the à la carte grits are just cheesy with some Cajun seasoning. When the bill came, I noticed I was charged for tarter sauce. When pointed out to the waitress, she conveniently forgot that I was MISSING tarter sauce and told me that the .50$ was for extra. I pointed out to her that the kitchen staff has been replacing the tarter sauce on this dish with salsa (via others who had the same thing). At that point, she took the charge off. Also, while waiting for the bill, I noticed an employee getting a stack of menus together (which I was told earlier didn't exist- PICTURE) and an employee's vape by the grass wall (PICTURE). Evidently, there was a locked room in the back in which the vape should have been, or perhaps in the employee's pocket. Overall, the atmosphere was distracting from the meal (picture booth, grass wall, TV and extremely loud music). I will admit we were approached by a Black woman who asked how we were doing- but she did not identify herself as an employee and had on plain clothes. Only the kitchen (who wore all black) and wait staff (who wore light blue shirts) were easily identifiable. There was a woman with grey/black leggings, silver shoes and a fancy pack walking around that after awhile, we assumed was staff. And FYI, there was the hostess with a burgundy shirt videotaping the guests, presumably for social media. I covered my face when she came around because I did NOT see anywhere on the restaurant's website or social media that I may be subject to being recorded while in the establishment. I did not consent and found it rude to not notify patrons that this may occur. The restaurant had no issue posting a "90 minute limit" placard at each table, so why not make notice of staff recording at any time? Overall, it was not terrible, but it could have been...