The Licking Lounge Miami Gardens — Restaurant in Miami Gardens

First time going was on a Tuesday, 10/26. I was charged for some water.. they give you a bottle of water for $2.50 instead of a glass of water. The customer service was trash. The waitress we had didn’t consistently check on us. The cook was the one serving us and getting the table what we needed. I guess this was due to short staff. Our waitress was at the front desk taking other people’s orders. I ordered some chicken wings with fries. The fries were nice and seasoned, but my chicken wings were small. My partner didn’t like his yams, so he asked for an order of collard greens to substitute the yams because you get two sides with your dinner, and the cook (not our waitress) was telling us he couldn’t switch out the sides because my partner didn’t say anything. Mind you, the yams have been sitting on the table untouched, and we already told the waitress he didn’t like them, so it seems like a lack of communication to me. Before we got our bill the cook nor the waitress asked how are we were splitting the bill. The cook brought everything on one check, and then when we told him how we were splitting the bill, he caught an attitude and was rushing us to pay. I felt like he was trying to intimidate me by standing over me while I was looking at the bill to make sure it was correct and it wasn’t. My bill had my partner’s and I's food and the other two people's food on our bill, so it shows he didn’t take the time to look over everything. As I stated before, the cook was standing over me, so I didn’t make sure everything was right, and my bill was $107 for just two people, so I knew that wasn’t right, but he took my card anyway and paid for it then he didn’t want to give me my refund. Then he had the audacity to tell me to have the other two people in my party (there was a total of four of us) to cash app me their part. Mind you, the other two people in my party got their bill fixed and paid for, so basically, they would’ve been paying double for their meals. The cook had a nasty attitude and was blaming everything on the waitress when he was the one that messed everything up on our bill. The waitress should’ve been the only one serving us, not the cook. I came here to support DJ Khaled, but I will not be coming back here ever again. They had terrible...

My friends and I went to Miami to celebrate me and my friend’s birthday and we were met with nothing but BAD customer service. Firstly, we called several times to see if they could and would accommodate a party of 8 and no one ever picked up. We proceeded to take a chance because we really wanted to check it out, so we took an Uber and they said they could seat us. Secondly, they proceeded to tell us that we would have to sit separately…4 to a table, but there was a party of 7 men celebrating a bachelor party that they kept together, so we were perturbed by that as well. We were seated, she took our drink order and we waited almost TWO HOURS FOR OUR FOOD! My sister and I both ordered the calamari and they put our orders on the same plate…and worst than that…they were nasty and tough!! Over half of them didn’t have the breading on them and it was like chewing fried rubber bands. After waiting an hour and a half the “manager” finally came over to the table with holes in his clothes which spoke to how seriously he takes the job to begin with but short of offering a 10% discount did nothing and was not apologetic in the least! They prioritized the takeout orders versus the people that leave their house to eat at their establishment. The size of the portion of Mac and Cheese was that of a kids meal and the chicken and waffle was below standard because my waffle was dense and not at all crispy on the outside. I requested a to-go box and left when I finally got my food. I will never return to the place and I am a foodie….it was just terrible! When we got home, my friend Sha, the one of us that really wanted to go to this “restaurant” but gave up and walked out 15mins before her food came…was the one that told us that it was Khaled’s restaurant. He needs to stay in his lane and leave the restaurant business to people who properly train their staff on customer and how to run the front AND back of the house! He can never say “WE THE BEST” as it pertains to customer...

OUR EXPERIENCE WASN'T GOOD, BUT YOU GO AND SEE FOR YOURSELF. YOU MAY HAVE A BETTER EXPERIENCE!!

Love the vibe inside (music, videos, decor, a/c, etc). Food was good, too. But the service needs to be SERIOUSLY addressed! Our visit was Monday, 6/28th around 230ish; we left 5ish!!! Way too long for a party of 4 lunch.

We were seated by "lil Ms. light-skinned", [we later found out her name was Jay] who acted like she was too good to be working. She took our drink orders & brought them to us. As she was leaving my son said "excuse me", she turned around and said "what's up". 1st strike! He ordered the Conch appetizer and she left. 15-20 minutes pass and we start looking for her. Got up to ask about the conch and the staff seemed to not know anything. We waited another 4-5 minutes and watched CeCe and another young man wait on other tables, and still NO Jay.

CeCe proceeded to apologize and take our orders. Conch came out (perfectly cooked), food eventually came (timely and hot!) and still NO Jay!! We're about 1/2 way done eating and Jay gets out of a car at the front of the building and comes in as if she was just finishing her break. The security guard at the door even looked surprised. Who TF does that?? All of us at the table were hoping she came back over and said something, but she didn't. She just walked her self around DOING NOTHING and eventually left again!!! DEFINITELY NOT A GOOD LOOK! At least let the staff know so the customers are taken care of. Not sure if a true boss was there at the time, we never saw anyone address her for leaving customers.

CeCe is the only reason this review has 2 stars. She deserves 5 stars alone! She handled the situation very well and was courteous and professional during the entire visit. But 2+ hours in an almost empty restaurant is ridiculous...

FYI - there is a service charge added to all orders that is shared by all employees. This DOES NOT include the tip, so...