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| - Let me start by saying that I don't normally write bad Yelp reviews, but after eating here, I think the restaurant would appreciate constructive criticism. I normally love local businesses and want them to succeed.
I'll start with the GOOD:
They did a great job on the redesign of the Gavi's building, and the atmosphere is excellent with a Latin American/Caribbean islands/Polynesian vibe going on. Also, they played good music, mostly reggae, if a little loud for dinner service. The servers were very attentive, in fact we had two waitresses (which actually caused some confusion because they would ask us if the other waitress already took our drink, app, dinner, etc. order). Our food, appetizers and entrees arrived very quickly. Also, the drink menu and prices were pretty good.
But here's the BAD, which equals the two star review:
I guess my wife and I are spoiled by the Latin American restaurants in the CLE area like Paladar, Momocho, and El Carcinero, but the food here was not even close to those places. We ordered:
Goat cheese and chorizo croquettes - the flavor was good, but they were OVERPRICED at $8 for THREE of them.
My wife ordered the nights entree special which was: Lobster risotto with a frisée salad and sun dried tomatoes. Like the croquettes, flavor was good/OK, but VERY underwhelming, small, and cost $28 - not exactly good value.
Finally I ordered my entree off of the "shared" menu (which seems like it's just an appetizer + menu, the "plates", or entrées are basic proteins like salmon, chicken, pork, and steak - kinda boring for a Latin restaurant) which was their shrimp and grits. The grits were terrible; no flavor at all. No garlic, salt, pepper, or cheese - nothing. Quaker grits in a can taste better. There were four shrimp in the bowl and they were very blah as well. All for $14.
When all was said and done, our bill for the appetizer, two entrées, and three drinks was about $70 plus tip. For that much, I would have been very satisfied (size and taste) at Momocho or Paladar. We had to leave and get more food, due to the small portions.
We won't recommend this place to any friends for dinner, but summertime drinks on the patio will be great, and we'll come back for that.
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