Carabalí Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Puerto Rico

I visited this restaurant for my birthday on 7/25 after riding the ATVs. Our excursions ended at 2:30p and we made it to the restaurant around 2:350. We sat in the bar area and when we arrived there was only one other table there waiting. We sat down for about 10-15 min and were not greeted or anything, so I decided to walk over to the bar, grab a drink and bring it to my table. I sat down and another 15-20 minutes passed, still no waitress. I went back to the bar and asked for a server because we wanted to order food. The bar tender directed me to whom I later found out was a manger. She then sent a waitress to our table. We placed an order a little bit after 3. We ordered chicken mufango and steak mufango. Our order took almost an hour to come out. I asked to speak to a manager and a gentlemen who spoke little English arrived. He called for assistance from a female manager, who was very rude. She didn’t care about my experience and literally nonchalantly stated that this wait time is normal in PR because they make their dishes fresh. Well if they make the dishes fresh like she said then my food would not have been cold when it came to my table. I was highly disappointed that tables that arrived after me received their orders prior to me receiving mine. The manager literally argued with me about my experience as if my concerns were not valid. Once she notices that I wasn’t budging on my stance, she then tried to appear empathetic. I let her know it was my birthday and that I was very dissatisfied with the service and she offered a 10% discount and for the staff to sing happy birthday, which I declined and they still did it anyway. Overall, I would not recommend this restaurant mainly due to the poor customer service and poor attitudes of the staff. I’m sure there are better places to eat with better service. Do not waste...

Yet another tourist trap pandering to those seeking adventure. We took our large family to Carabali for dinner after a long hike at El Yunque. Parking was ample, although it reeked of horse manure. The staff was welcoming and helpful, and quickly set up an indoor table for the group. We ordered food and drinks quickly, and when the food was set to come in, I was told they couldn't make my dish because they were missing a key kitchen tool (el guayo, shredder). That meant everyone got some food, and I had to wait for the kitchen to make another side dish for me. They could've informed me at any time during the 30 min wait,, but chose to do so at the last minute. When my food arrived, it was just a blob of oily octopus salad with oily tostones de pana and an uninteresting pile of shredded cabbage; essentially fat and cabbage. I ate my food (being famished after a whole day walking), and asked for the check. At that point, the server told me they had a new POS and they didn't know how to split the bill into more than three parts. They had servers searching on their phones how to do so. That meant I had to pay with a single card for 11 people, and figure out how to get them to repay me. After paying I noticed a 6% extra fee that was billed on top of the 11.5% tax. Plus their POS had no gratuity option below 18%. A money grab. This reflects the poor leadership this place has, putting extra emphasis on the theme park / Hacienda look of the place and not enough resources to train their employees or to have the right kitchen tools to do their job. Needless to say I do not plan or visiting Carabalí again, nor do I...

My husband and I just received horrible “service” at the Carabali Tiki Bar. I’ll stop just short of calling it racism. We had a fun, exhilarating ATV ride through the rainforest, and were ready to wind down with some food and drinks. We waited for a server to come to our table for 10 minutes or so, when my husband decides to just go speak to one of the servers who were taking drinks back and forth from the bar. She assured him that someone would come by our table to take our orders. Ten or so more minutes pass, and I decide to go stand in the line that was formed at the bar to at least get our drinks in queue. The woman at the cash register takes orders from each person in front of me in line. As soon as I’m next, without acknowledging me at all, she starts making herself busy stapling order tickets and receipts. This goes on for at least 5 minutes while I’m standing waiting to place an order like everyone else was able to do. My husband notices what’s going on and heads in my direction while I’m now asking all of the servers working the bar who can actually take my order. In jumps a male bartender against my husband (who is expressively heated) to the defense of his team’s poor service. I try to calmly explain to one of the servers the clear discrimination I received while waiting in line, when I notice rude cashier lady was now nowhere to be found. Hmph, I wonder why. It would’ve been much easier if we were informed up front that this place did not want our business, for whatever reason. I may perhaps recommend the ATV ride, but would never suggest the Tiki Bar to...