Coconuts Caribbean Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Palo Alto

Some friends recommended the food from this place a while ago so we finally came to give it a try. A waitress led us to some outdoor seating, but after sitting for a while someone else came over to tell us that the table was actually dirty and she wiped it for us (very nice of her, but we had so many questions🤔). We then waited for another 30 minutes for someone to finally take our order. Apparently the person that was supposed to be in charge of our table didn’t want to do that🤷🏻‍♀️ so someone else that felt bad for us was kind enough to come over and take our order. We then waited for another 20 minutes for the food to finally arrive. Everything seemed to take so long that at some point we were honestly thinking about just leaving😫. As it got late, the temperature got lower, as it always does on a February evening in Palo Alto. We asked if we could have the outdoor heaters turned on so we wouldn’t be freezing outside🥶. We were told that they were out of gas and there’s no way for them to turn on the heater. Luckily we survived through this because the food was kind of spicy and that definitely helped us stay warm. The lights outside were just some patio string lights, not super bright. Might be good for drinks but if you’re having a meal you might not want to sit outside after it gets dark. The other table was literally eating with their phone flashlights🔦 so they could see what was in their plates. Shivering in the coldness and darkness🫠. Overall the food was okay (I also don’t know what authentic Caribbean food is supposed to be like, would be inappropriate for me to comment on the authenticity) and the portion was pretty big, but the entire experience was not so good and service could definitely...

do not go here. Trust me! I was really looking forward to this restaurant and was completely disappointed. We made reservations for our family dinner for 14 ppl at 3pm on a Saturday. I called two times to confirm. But when we arrived they had "accidentally" given one of our tables away. Even though they knew we were coming and the restaurant was empty (so they could have easily moved us) they sat us at separate tables. I was so frustrated because the whole point of setting up the dinner was for all of us to be together. I get that restaurants get busy but it was empty and I called multiple times and they assured me all would be well. That was the first red flag. The second was our horrible waiter who was so rude to my aunt she refused to buy food at the restaurant. He had an attitude from the beginning, didn't care that he kept getting our orders wrong, and was genuinely so unpleasant I just wanted the whole experience to be over. Even the manager yelled at him in front of us and they got into a bit of a shouting match because he wasn't getting our drinks and food out. And the final straw was that it took 45 min to bring our drinks and literally (I am not kidding) 1 hour and 35 minutes for our food. Mind you half of our family was at a different table and their food came out immediately! So they were done with eating before we even had appetizers on the table. I was stunned by how bad the service was and felt so bad that I had tried to plan something nice and it was such a bad experience for all of us. Do not bother with this restaurant cause considering the management and ambiance it will not be around for...

A few days ago, we discovered this treasure trove!! Wish we knew about it earlier so we would not have missed out on the fantastic Jamaican food all these years!! We were celebrating my birthday and got a truly royal treatment 😁👍👍Thank you very much, dear Mike and the staff, for making us feel so special 🙏Free samples of their signature dishes goat curry and ox tail were heavenly tasting and amazingly tender, which definitely convinced us to order the two! Since there were so many excellent items to order, we went for their Combo plates! 😀 I decided to order jerk salmon and jerk chicken combo. I typically don't like salmon but this one was out of this world -- to lick your fingers, succulent and soft melting in your mouth, amazing aromas tantalazing my taste buds!! 👏👏 The same happened with the ox tail dish -- I don't eat beef period, but decided to venture and try this house specialty...Now I am hooked and plan to have my Coconuts refill on any happy occasion I celebrate!! Oh, the drinks are heavenly too!! I had Sorrel (a non alcoholic hibiscus beverage). So refreshing, so tropical and very healthy🍹!! We also got a complimentary glass of home made ginger beer. As I said, we'll be going back to this restaurant over and over again and are now recommending it to all people we know! We also plan to check Chef Robert Simpson's other establishment, Back A Yard in Menlo Park 👍😊 Chef Robert, you are a great Gift that keeps giving 👏Thank you for all you do! 🌞 Blessings to you and...