Restaurant Experiences in Nassau

     Dining out in Nassau is an experience, to say the least. Over the past ten days, I have had the opportunity to try a wide range of restaurants here in the Bahamas, and I have found that they all have one thing in common: poor service. Even though I have been able to enjoy my restaurant experiences due to the company of my friends, the lack of service and hospitality did not add to my experience.
     My first encounter with this trend was when my group and I ventured out west to try La Caverna, a local Italian hot spot. The rave online reviews gave me and my friends hope that we would be in for a treat, however, once we arrived we were tremendously let down. When we entered the restaurant, no one acknowledged us and after waiting several minutes we had to sit ourselves. The owner, who doubled as the waiter, continuously checked-in on the few other tables, yet never came by to offer water nor menus. Once we waited 15 minutes, he finally acknowledged our presence, but did not apologize for the abnormally long wait time. The food, on the other hand, was not as bad as I thought it would be, yet it still did not make up for the lack of hospitality. By the time my friends and I left the restaurant, we were fuming from our evening at La Caverna, and could only hope that the rest of our restaurant experiences would not be as disappointing.
     The following evening, we crossed the bridge to Paradise Island to try Viola’s Bar and Grill. We were shocked, once again, to see no hostess anywhere and had to approach a waiter to remind him of our reservation. It took us nearly 10 minutes to be greeted by our waitress and another 15 minutes for us to receive our drinks. The expression, “island time,” is certainly an understatement here. Once we received our food, our spirits were raised and we were able to enjoy the authentic Caribbean atmosphere and music of Viola’s Bar and Grill.
     The last restaurant experience my friends and I had was at Lukka Kairi, a relaxing beach inspired restaurant. It was situated on the main street of downtown Nassau and had a great view of passerby cruise tourists. Unlike the other restaurants we experienced, Lukka Kairi had a designated host and we were shown to our table immediately. Our waitress was unbelievably punctual, and brought us our water in just 2 minutes. The food did not disappoint either, the local conch sliders were phenomenal and the salads was equally stupendous. While our waitress failed to do a quality check and never refilled our water, it was still the best service we had in the Bahamas. Overall, dining out in Nassau is not a quick and painless experience. They certainly take “island time,” to heart here, so if you enjoy a casual 4 hour meal… this is your place to be.