RUMBA Island Inspired Cuisine & Rum Bar — Restaurant in Town of Southampton

Okay so I park in the marina and think this cant be right.

Then the rumbus comes and picks us up. The driver was awesome probably my favorite part of the experience. We get there and our friends say its gonna be an hour to and hour and a half wait. Fine we were willing to wait we heard some really great things.

We go up to the bar and I order me and my friend drinks. We were sharing one chair just grabbing some drinks then moving outside to wait. The bartender asked if we wanted to open or close the tab. I wasn't planning on ordering anymore drinks until we were seated so I closed it. The bartender grabbed my card did the transaction and get this. Literally looks away from me and throws that little check folder at me.

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Debit card goes flying lands under a table. To say I was a little put off would be an understatement. But I shrugged it off and moved on. We ended up getting another drink and got the same kind of attitude. I don't know if I looked at this person the wrong way or what but I knew that even if the food was absolutely the best thing I've ever had I would be hesitant about coming back.

We were seated after an hour and 15 minutes. Where we were seated was very close quarters but that was no issue. Regardless even with being seated so close together we literally could not hear each other speak. Now I'm as big a fan of live music as anyone else but this was ridiculously loud. We had to wait until the songs were over to talk to one another. Even shouting wasnt loud enough. For what it's worth they were enjoyable to listen to.

Our waiter was wonderful. Truly an amazing person made us feel very welcome. He did very well considering how loud the music was. I believe that was the reason my order got mixed up. He couldn't hear me.The food was fantastic and the vegetarian options were awesome. Cocktails were spot on the rum punch tastes just like what I had in the carribean.

Now on the voicemail it said that there was a deal for tacos on Thursdays. This wasn't why we came here but it was a nice little suprise. This voicemail neglected to state that this deal ended at 5pm. To be fair we did get there by 5pm we just were waiting on a table but again no problem we really enjoyed the food. Our waiter was able to talk to the manager about giving us the deal even though we made no fuss about it which was very much appreciated.

I have been back since this incident, didnt order anything at the bar and am still uncomfortable doing so. Food and drinks are always...

First, the pros. Duck empanadas are arguably the best thing on the menu. Incredible. And our server Kevin C was kind, helpful, attentive, and an all around good guy.

Now, the cons. When arriving, we saw the police speaking with a group of 6ish black women who we learned “had to be escorted out” while the white maître-d’ (presumably) spoke with another officer giving her side of the story, notably complimenting the police’s work. Bad look from the start. Allegedly, according to other patrons, they were asked to leave because they were being loud and stayed too long. However, I couldn’t help but notice the groups of white women who were obnoxiously loud and seemed to have been there for quite a while and were allowed to stay. When I say obnoxiously loud, I mean the kind of loud that actually physically hurts your ears, the kind of unnecessary shrieking that makes a nice dinner unpleasant, shrieked by people sitting close enough where you really truly don’t have to yell. Yes, it’s a loud, fun bar/restaurant that doesn’t in the slightest advertise itself as a quiet spot for an intimate dinner, but the double standard was blatant. Not to mention, the restaurant’s whole thing is appropriating Caribbean culture, and you’d hope that maybe an establishment dedicated to being “inspired” by the Caribbean would be a bit more sensitive to this kind of situation. Even if the women asked to leave were being unacceptably loud, it’s extremely difficult to imagine 1) they were much more disruptive than the many unabashedly, excessively, annoyingly loud non-black groups that were allowed to stay and 2) the police were needed.

There has to be another sensible alternative to calling the cops on black women in a majority white space. Forfeiting future duck empanadas because I just can’t support a restaurant that thinks that’s an acceptable solution to a situation that, I imagine, could have easily been resolved without...

being a business owner myself, I wont give this place less than 4 stars without first trying to the food and drink, that wouldnt be fair.

That being said let me Express my disappointment and give a few pointers to those looking to check this place out.

dont bother if you dont have a reservation, I thought it would be a cool place to take my wife for our anniversary, I love Caribbean food, she loves rum cocktails, so I called around 3 Friday afternoon to book a table, maybe I'm being sensitive, but I could swear the guy on the phone laughed at me, should have been my first hint. I asked "how packed are you guys round 830ish should I even bother?" he said "there will be a little wait but come down" we live almost a half hour away. Called again around 730 before we headed out no one answered the phone, that should have been my 2nd hint.

got there 840, place is packed, parking lot full, park down the street and take a shuttle, is this a restaurant or a nightclub?

my wife already feeling uneasy, I got closer to check the place out, its packed to the gills with the usual 20 something hampton summer crowd, definitely not the spot for some mid-30s married with kids and oh my God we finally get a night out type people.

I'm not knocking this place, as a business owner I'm glad to see them succeeding and making money off the summer crowd, and it's pretty clear they dont need my business, I just think based on the website it seemed like a cool, low key spot, but it appeared to be just another "Hamptons hot spot" so if that's your scene go for it. If your like us and pictured hanging out on a deck eating great food, sipping a rum drink with some jimmy buffet softly playing in the background, this is not that place.

maybe we will check it out in the off season. bummed we trucked all the way out there just to turn around and eat hibachi near home, but like I said, place is jumping and doesn't need...