Mystic Jamaica Restaurant — Restaurant in Virginia

This review is coming from someone who has worked in the food and beverage industry, so you could say that I have a high standard when it comes to restaurants. Not only do I expect great food, I also expect great service. It doesn't matter whether a restaurant is a 5-star fine dining restaurant or a hole in the wall "greasy spoon" restaurant -- I desire a delicious meal and a welcoming environment. Having said all of that, my husband and I are relatively new to the Newport News area (we're military) and I've been eating at Mystic Jamaica for a couple of years now, and after what my mother and I experienced this evening, I feel the need to write a review.

I'll start with the positive: I always order the same thing (oxtails over white rice, with cabbage and macaroni and cheese) and this particular dish consistently tastes pretty good. Now for the negative. . . . I don't know if this is a family business, but the environment isn't very welcoming. It's as if I'm dropping by someone else's house uninvited and they're doing me a favor by fixing me something to eat. In fact, every time I come, NO ONE ever smiles when I walk through the door. The cashiers NEVER smile as they take my order, and they do not say "thank you, come back and see us" as I walk out of the door. They come across as distant, not wanting to be there, monotone, and mechanical. The cashier that worked on the evening of August 14th 2015 was actually a bit rude, and my mother sensed the same attitude. It was really weird. Her attitude came across as if we were irritating her by placing an order and we could tell that she wasn't really paying attention while she took our order. She actually answered the phone while she was assisting us (FREE TIP: you're not suppose to answer the phone and talk to another customer while serving a customer who is right in front of you, because it's discourteous and distracts your attention). I clearly stated that our order was "for here" but because she wasn't paying attention, she put our order in to-go boxes. Then when she realized that our order was for here, she only brought one set of plastic ware to the table. As she is doing this, she is on the phone. My cabbage side was small, so I bypassed the cashier who seemed like she didn't want to be there and I was inconveniencing her and walked straight up to the kitchen door/window and knocked on it, and asked the chef if he could kindly fix a larger side. He was very nice and fixed me a larger side of cabbage. My mother said that was very nice of him. On the way out, I ordered 2 more "Ting" sodas and I jokingly said to the cashier "You should smile sometimes" (because her face looked mean the entire time we were there) and she kept a straight irritated facial expression. Of course, she didn't say "thank you, good night, come back and see us" as we walked out of the door. When we got outside, my mother said that it wasn't a very friendly environment and the cashier acted like we were irritating her or some sort of burden.

Tonight was the final nail in the coffin. I kept coming back because the food was good, but after what happened tonight, sadly, I will not be giving Mystic Jamaica my business anymore. My family and I are going to visit another Jamaican restaurant down the street and see if they are more welcoming, friendly, and appreciative of our business. I will no longer patronize a business that acts as if they are doing the customer a favor, and that the customer is a burden and an inconvenience. With all of the money that we have spent there, the people working at the front desk cannot even give us a SMILE and say thank you "come back' " have a good day/night" as we are leaving.

I'm sure that the cashiers are friendly at times and with certain customers, but their "friendliness" is not consistent enough. Good food and good reggae music does not compensate for good service. You also need to be welcoming...

This was my first experience of real Jamaican food. I was out of town and wanted to try something new. I chose to dine in, and as soon as I pulled up to the building several other cars pulled up too. That was an immediate green flag for me. As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with a hello and presented a small paper menu. I ordered two meals- Jamaican bbq jerk chicken and fried catfish. I'm always searching for a good catfish. Anyways, the dinner specials automatically come with rice as well as 2 sides of your choosing. I received my receipt after payment, and when my order was ready my number was called out. I went to the front counter and was presented with my two trays of food. Let me just say, they pack that rice in! You get your money's worth. I chose mac and cheese and cornbread as my two sides for each meal. That macaroni! Love at first bite. It wasn't thst ooey gooey cheesy mac. It has a deceptive drier appearance but the flavor was so good. The cornbread, sweet and soft, with almost a custard like center. The rice fluffy and subtly seasoned, allowing for the flavors of the main entrees to be the stars. Now to get to the mains- the bbq jerk chicken came scorching hot, both in temperature and flavor. If you like your food with a nice heat, this is the meal for you. The sauce was savory, the chicken tender, and perfectly spiced and seasoned. The catfish though! Fried hot and with a nice crispy batter. Juicy and the right amount of seasoning and salt. Overall, the food was delicious and fresh. The atmosphere was nice and the cleanliness of the restaurant 👌 staff was patient and professional....

If I could give this place no stars I would..my wife and I ordered 2 Large dry ox tail meals with boxed Mac and cheese, unflavored cabbage, dry ass rice and beans and double plantain dipped in hella grease all to go... The customer service was horrible from all the staff!!! after our unsuccessful attempt to force this ‘jafakin’ food down we called to inform them of how disgusting this food was and was told that with no issues they would refund my meal. When I returned they failed to keep their agreement as stated over the phone although they remembered speaking with me. The same girl I spoke with the day before smirked in my face and stated she forgot to mention an important part of the policy over the phone and would not be able to stick to what she told me over the phone.I swear the food was the worst. Had to throw a whole $30 meal in the trash and had to dig through it all just to get 1/2 of my money back!! 👎🏿👎🏿👎🏿 I have eaten here before but will never return.. IF YOU DECIDE TO GO BEWARE OF THE BOXED AND UNSEASONED SIDES AND SMALL...