Punta Cana Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Myrtle Beach

I was very excited to convince my Puerto Rican/Dominican family to come here to celebrate my sister’s birthday. I had visited over a year ago and the food was amazing then — I was really looking forward to sharing that experience again. Unfortunately, this visit was the complete opposite.

We arrived at 9:15 PM, and were immediately greeted with “Oh, I was just about to lock the door” — which was odd, considering they close at 10 PM. Then we were informed of a long list of items they didn't have on the menu. Still trying to stay positive, we placed our order.

After waiting over an hour, we were told they didn’t have white rice and beans — something that could’ve easily been mentioned earlier. They offered to replace it with moro. At that point, we were already committed, but the whole experience felt like we were being strung along.

When the food finally arrived, we had to ask for utensils. No refills were ever offered. The food itself? Extremely disappointing. The pollo a la parrilla was a paper-thin piece of meat that literally looked like a slice of fried cheese. The empanadas tasted bad. The chicharrón was chewy and tasted old, like it had been refried. The costillas were dry— definitely not fresh, and not authentic.

We voiced our concerns to one of the four waitresses, and requested to speak with a manager. A short man, who had been sitting at the register in regular clothes the whole night, finally came over once the restaurant was empty. He claimed he was not the manager, just a server — which didn’t make sense.

He apologized and admitted they were short-staffed and that most of the team didn’t want to work that night. He even said if we didn’t want to pay, that was fine, because they’d just deduct it from his check. While we were more than willing to pay for good food and service, the lack of accountability and honesty was insulting.

We paid and left. Needless to say, I will not be returning or recommending this place to anyone looking for authentic Dominican food or hospitality. Save your time — go somewhere else that actually values...

The restaurant was decent overall, but several major issues held it back. To begin with, the wait times were quite long, it took our waitress 15 minutes just to take our drink orders. In her defense, the restaurant was understaffed that day and packed with customers, and I believe only two chefs were working in the kitchen. She was also very apologetic, which made the delay a bit more understandable. Another downside was the background music, which was quite loud and made it difficult at times to hear what the waitress was saying. As for the food, it was quite good, but with one major flaw that I will talk about in a bit. I got the empanadas first, and they were pretty good. Meaty, cheesy, it had a good crust, and it was flaky. Then came the entrees, and I got a Red Snapper combo for $27.99 while my mom got a Skirt Steak combo for the same price. My snapper was pretty good, but it could use some more salt and seasoning. The rice, I have nothing to complain about, as it was white rice that was buttery. It paired well with the fish and the avocado on the side. However, I did not like the beans very much. They were watery, and they lacked flavor. I had a few bites of my mom's skirt steak, and it was tasty. Unfortunately, this is where the major problem I brought up earlier starts to arise. Not long after we returned to our hotel, she got really sick with food poisoning. I'm not too sure what was in the skirt steak, but it didn’t sit well with her. Given how quickly the symptoms came on after the meal, we strongly suspect it was the cause. Because of that, it’s hard to fully recommend the restaurant, even though the food had some decent flavor and the staff did their best despite a time crunch. For that reason, I'm not too sure I’d go back if I return to Myrtle Beach next year. If I do, hopefully, they’ve hired more staff and addressed many of the issues I...

**“I had the absolute worst experience at Punta Cana Bar & Grill, and I would never recommend this place to anyone. From the moment I walked in, the atmosphere felt unwelcoming and poorly maintained. The tables were sticky, the floor looked dirty, and the overall environment gave me a bad impression before I even ordered.

The food was a complete disaster. It was bland, overcooked, and tasted like it had been sitting around for hours. Nothing was fresh, and the portions were small for the price they charge. To make matters worse, the presentation was sloppy—honestly, I’ve had better meals at fast food restaurants.

The service was just as bad, if not worse. The staff seemed uninterested in doing their job, moving slowly and acting like serving customers was an inconvenience. It took forever to get our drinks, and when the food finally arrived, it wasn’t even what we ordered. When we tried to address it, the waiter was dismissive and rude, offering no apology or solution.

To top it all off, the music was way too loud, making it impossible to have a normal conversation, and the smell coming from the kitchen was unpleasant.

Overall, this place was a waste of time and money. Poor service, terrible food, and zero professionalism. If you value your money and your stomach, stay far away from Punta Cana...