Palm Island Restaurant & Lounge — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

Overall Experience: 6/10 – Room for Significant Improvement

Order Highlights: Drinks: Island Water (poor), Palm Island (good) Food: House Special Fried Rice (average) Appetizers: Jerk Lamb Chops (good, but with issues)

This restaurant has potential but is currently hampered by operational inconsistencies and poor service.

Key Issues Identified:

Front-of-House Neglect: The absence of a proper greeting system is a major flaw. Relying solely on a bouncer, especially one not in uniform, creates a poor first impression. A dedicated greeting team (greeter, table manager, seater) is essential for a smooth customer flow.

Service Delays & Inefficiency: Our experience was characterized by prolonged waits for drinks and appetizers. This was compounded by a poorly stocked bar (no Hennessy), which staff failed to communicate proactively. Customers should be informed of unavailable items immediately.

Drink Quality Concerns: The "Island Water" drink was notably bad and should be revised or removed from the menu. Charging premium prices for subpar drinks is unacceptable.

Food Execution Shortfalls: While the Jerk Lamb Chops were cooked well, they lacked an accompanying sauce despite being served on a plate designed for one. Excessive saltiness was also a concern. The House Special Fried Rice was generic and uninspiring.

Unprofessional Staff Conduct: A deeply concerning observation was the apparent drinking and smoking among staff, including the owner, manager, and other employees, during service hours. This unprofessionalism jeopardizes the establishment's reputation and liquor license.

Inattentive Waitstaff: Our waitress was consistently forgetful and unresponsive, even during a non-peak hour. Such neglect directly impacts the customer experience.

Unjustified Mandatory Gratuity: The mandatory 18% gratuity was particularly galling given the poor service. Tipping should be earned and discretionary, not an enforced charge for unsatisfactory performance.

Recommendations for Improvement:

Implement a Professional Front-of-House System: Establish clear roles and responsibilities for greeting, seating, and managing tables.

Streamline Service & Inventory Management: Ensure the bar is fully stocked before opening. Train staff to proactively communicate any unavailable menu items to guests.

Review Drink Menu: Eliminate or significantly improve poor-quality drinks like the "Island Water."

Enhance Food Presentation & Flavor: Provide appropriate sauces for dishes where expected (e.g., lamb chops). Address issues like excessive saltiness.

Enforce Professional Staff Conduct: Prohibit drinking and smoking on duty. Foster a professional work environment.

Improve Staff Training & Accountability: Address issues of forgetfulness and inattentiveness. Hold staff accountable for service quality.

Reconsider Gratuity Policy: Make tipping discretionary, based on the quality of service received.

As a patron who wishes to see Guyanese businesses thrive, I offer this as constructive criticism. There is clear potential for this establishment, but a comprehensive internal "clean-up" is urgently needed to elevate the...

I would not recommend this place to anyone ever! I only have it those stars so those who are looking at good reviews I’m here to tell you there isn’t one!! if you want place where you feel safe this isn’t it! My family and I we’re celebrating a birthday and decided to come to palm island because we saw the Instagram posts from influencers and thought it was a good place to come…… wrong!!! That night proved that they are all paid reviews!!

We came on a Saturday night and the place was fairly packed there was no host to greet us just a big obnoxious security. He told us there was a little bit of a wait but if we TIPPED HIM!!! He would get us in faster. My husband said he’d take care of him but I still thought that was a bit forward for him to state that. We got a couple hightops tables the only good part of our time there was our server pinky. She was very attentive even though it seemed like she was basically taking all the other tables aswell we ordered a couple drinks that were great but the food we had was terrible. Over priced! Smh the music was good we enjoyed our time with the drinks and our company but when I stepped outside to get some thing from my car there was a fight going on outside and the bouncer did nothing To help. the poor kid was bleeding everywhere! The bouncer came out way after to break it up but should have prevented that before hand. I should have taken that as a sign to leave but I didn’t want to ruin my guests time. I went back in and went back to Dancing as the night completed we paid out bill and as we were leaving here comes the bouncer demanding that my husband pay him. I’ve never seen anything like that. He proceeded to yell and scream and became violent. He wouldn’t stop the staff had to get in between to stop the person. Who is suppose to be breaking up the fights not starting them! Pinky was nice enough to come and de-escalate toys situation and at bring us to the back exit to avoid him. But that man was crazy he followed us outside still demanding the money and getting even crazier he even started picking a fight with his own co worker pinky who was trying to protect us smh we really didn’t feel safe I called the police. They came but I don’t think anything was resolved That place is not safe they really should re-evaluate who they hire. Will not be returning...

STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!! And let me tell you why:

We had a reservation for a group to have lunch. When we arrived at 12:45, we were given one menu to share between 9 people. After we ordered our drinks, our meal orders were taken around 1:15. We were told the fried rice would take “a while” but never given an exact wait time. While we waited, we decided to order chicken wings. SPOILER: we were brought the order of wings AFTER we ate our main meal…. 2 HOURS LATER. See below…

Around 2:30, after having been there for well over an hour and still not having our meals, we were told they ran out of duck and could only serve two of the four duck orders. We were offered free soup and appetizers while we waited for our meals. WE NEVER RECEIVED THE “FREE” SOUP OR APPETIZER. And mind you, still didn’t receive our initial order of chicken wings.

We sat until 3:15 to receive our meals, which were subpar at BEST. The duck was mostly skin and bones. Each dish was a huge plate of rice or lo mein, with VERY small portions of under seasoned meat. We never had our waters refilled and it would take at least 15-30 minutes for them to bring any additional drinks. The silverware was not clean. The bathroom was disgusting. There was a cigarette butt in the women’s bathroom sink.

Because of the outrageous service and insane 2 1/2 hour wait time to receive our meals, we requested to speak to the manager. We were told he had just stepped out and that we would need to wait. Which we did. For 15 minutes. Just for the waitress to come back and tell us that the manager was “too busy in the kitchen” and was unable to come talk to us. They offered us 30% off our meal…. Absolutely pathetic.

I have never been more tempted to walk out of an “establishment” in my life. I regret giving them a single cent out of my pocket. This place needs to stop calling themselves a restaurant. If you’re looking for a decent meal in a timely manner, STAY...