Carmen's Restaurant and Catering — Restaurant in Palm Bay

Carmen's Restaurant and Catering 2280 Harris Ave NE Palm Bay, FL 32905

4 Stars

After what appeared to be a mistake in my last Jamaican joint review (whoa, that has a few connotations), I thought I was being punished by immediately being sent to another one by my random name generator. After smacking it on the side a few times and shaking it, I found it to be working correctly, so I proceeded to Carmen's Restaurant and Catering in Palm Bay, FL.

What a world of difference! Carmen is the proprietor and a one-woman show and boyo, let me tell ya, she sure shines. I found Carmen's menu to be a joy to behold, as eclectic as my vinyl collection. As such, I decided to go in a different direction today and steered away from the traditional Jamaican fare such as Jerk Chicken and Curried Goat and went with an order of Carmen's Fried Chicken with sides of rice, beans and potato salad along with an order of her Bang Bang Fried Shrimp Tacos (the same name as the drek at the horrid Bonefish Grill) with fries.

As Carmen got to work on my eats, I took in the interior. I found it to be open, welcoming, bright, and cheery, not unlike the owner! Carmen was out in no time with my foodstuffs. Taking a few before pictures, I got to work. I turned my attention and palate to the Fried Chicken. The first thing I noticed was the crunch of the coating. If you look at the picture I've attached, you can see what I mean. That coating was slathered on without care for conservation. It wasn't too much, it was just enough. The chicken, blanketed in a tender, juicy, succulent coating, tasted superb. The rice and beans were well-cooked and seasoned with love. The potato salad, like everything else, I assume was made by Carmen and if your Grandmother makes a better potato salad, I will eat these words!

I can't speak for you, but when I hear or read the words, Bang Bang, I immediately think of three things. First, playing cops and robbers as a child and “shooting” the bad guy with my finger gun while shouting, “Bang! Bang!” The second is the Bollywood bad remake of a worse film, “Bang Bang!” The third thing I think of is Chinese Street Chicken. None of this has anything to do with Carmen's Bang Bang Fried Shrimp Tacos, other than the Bang Bang sauce is loosely based on the Chinese Street Chicken tossing sauce. Carmen's Bang Bang sauce was a mixture of mayo, spicy stuff and it was mahvalous, dahling! The shrimp were coated with the same love and care as the chicken and were just as tender and juicy. Got Dayum! Carmen knows her way around a kitchen. I can only assume these are her recipes as well. She should open a restaurant and share this with...oh, wait. Never mind. With this meal and the success of the Fried Chicken at Cajun Soul, my hopes have been raised considerably.

The Big Boy says, “If you want good eats served with love and a friendly smile, visit Carmen. Tell her the Big Boy sent ya (it's safe...

Wow! Carmen’s popped up on my Google search as a new restaurant, and so a friend and I decided to go for lunch.

The atmosphere was clean and pleasant, about 20 tables nicely spread. The waitress was very attentive and the selection of foods left me trying to decide which of several good-looking choice I should make.

I chose the Mahi fish tacos with pineapple salsa. MmmmmmMMMMMMmmmm. They were VERY TASTY (ask for double salsa). The fries that came with were fresh and crispy. My friend had the jerk chicken and commented that it was also very good.

We plan to go back! They apparently also have delivery, pick-up, and catering. But the restaurant itself is pleasant enough to enjoy good fellowship.

9/6/24 - so far been back 2 more times and with two different people. All still very good. The Salmon sandwich has a wonderful mix of tastes! And then the Chicken Jerk was very...

I was extremely disappointed. We ordered 4 different dishes all with rice and peas. Nothing tasted authentic. The oxtail was seasoned mainly with salt (too much salt). The brown stew pork had a strange flavor. The jerk pork was not jerk pork. I dont think Jamaicans are going to be OK with this. Then I was excited when I saw on the menu Cucumber Mint. It too was disappointing. It appeared to be juiced cucumbers with maybe a slight sweetener and water added. There was no mint. Even the rice and peas was missing Jamaican flavoring such as thyme, pimento, bay leaves or coconut milk. I don't believe I tasted any of those special flavors. The chef is probably not familiar with authentic Jamaican food. I can...