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Last Update: Jan 13th, 2015
Bahama Breeze Pembroke Pines

Bahama Breeze

11000 Pines Blvd
Pembroke Pines FL, 33026
9544506450
Overall Rating
2.0
Food
Service
Ambiance
Value
Last Review
01/13/2015

Details

Hours: Mon–Thu, Sun 11am–midnight Fri–Sat 11am–1am
Attire: Casual
Parking: Private Lot
CC: Yes
Alcohol: Full Bar
Outside Dining: Yes
Reservations: No
Delivery: yes

Pros

Interesting Menu
Large Restaurant

Cons

Lethargic Service
They claim not to have current menus for customers

Critic's Review

The concept of Bahamia Breeze is an interesting on; Caribbean food and "Island" atmosphere. The chain was bought by Darden a few years ago (think Olive Garden, Longhorn Steakhouse, Seasons 52, Capital Grille), and I wanted to try it at one time but long forgot. I went in today.

From the outside, the place looks outdated; there's a circular entrance and a big porch with the kind of furniture you'd expect to find at a beachy kind of location. Of course this place is on Pines Road many miles from any beaches.

Bahama Breeze Porch

Inside it's very dark and has the smell of an old bar. It does look like a bad Caribbean hotel; there's a little bar in the corner of the big main room.

Bahama Breeze Bar

There were 2 booths available, but neither had been set up since they were last occupied. The hostess was going to wipe one of them down, but then she put me in the back room. I didn't mind the isolation, but there are pitfalls to being seated in a non-standard area.

Bahama Breeze Interior

It was quite a while before I saw a server. I'd already decided what I wanted, but he only seemed interested in taking my drink order. I'd already been waiting over 10 minutes, so as he was leaving I told him I was ready, and ordered a cup of black bean soup and the Ropa Vieja bowl, which is Ropa Vieja and rice in a bowl. It doesn't come with black beans but I figured I'd save half the soup for the entree.

He brought out the tea; now I'm realizing that I'm sitting at a table with no roll-up, no condiments, nothing. "I'll need sweeteners", I said, which should have registered with him. I tasted the tea; surprise, surprise; it was sweet tea. Ugh. So I had to ask for an unsweetened tea.

As I'm telling him that I wanted unsweetened tea (his fault for not asking), he informed me that I had an old menu and that the item I'd ordered is no longer on the menu. Great, so now had to start all over again. "Ok, get me the tea please".

He comes back with a glass of tea with no lemon; does he maybe thing that since I wanted extra lemon for the first tea that I might wanted for the unsweetened also? So I had to fish out the lemons and transfer them to the new glass.

Bahama Breeze Tea

Again, my server didn't return for quite a while. I still hadn't ordered; but I though my soup might come out. Finally he came over, and I ordered the Lunch Mahi Tacos, which included a cup of soup.

Music was occasionally islandish, but other times not so much. Marcia Aitken, "The Prayer", Mystic Roots. I could see the patio through the slats near my seat; a real babefest outside today.

Bahama Breeze Patio

Finally a runner brought out the soup.

Bahama Breeze Black Bean Soup

The soup was quite good; it actually didn't just taste like a bowl of black beans. Nicely seasoned, and the cilantro cream drizzle worked well. I realized that I had no napkin; I polished off the soup; no sign on my server. Then he came over to tell me that my food was coming. "I'll need a roll-up at some point", I mentioned. "I'm with you", he said. OK.

Next he came over with some flatbread chips and some sort of sauce "Something for you to nosh on while you wait". At first I thought it was a spinach dip sample, but it was some sort of cilantro aioli. Not terrible, but I didn't want to eat chips.

Snacks

I'm checking the time and I've been here 45 minutes and I still can't get a couple of tacos. Finally a runner brings them out.

Bahama Breeze Lunch Mahi Tacos

They didn't look very appetizing. And thanks for the cilantro stem. I took a bite and they were totally bland. Of course I had no salt and pepper. The guacamole needed salt also. I had to wait to flag down my server to get some shakers.

I was afraid I wouldn't see the guy for another 10 minutes, so I asked him to bring my check so I could make a quite exit. I didn't plan on spending over an hour for lunch.

These were easily the worst fish tacos I've ever had. The taco shells were doughy, and the fish was cooked so well on one side that i could barely bite through it. And could they spare the fish? Was there an once of fish on the 2 tacos combined?

Bahama Breeze Mahi Taco

I ended up using the green dip on the taco, which was the only thing on my table that had any taste.

During this entire ordeal, I wasn't offered a refill. I had to dilute the green tea and drink that.

At the beginning, I gave the server the benefit of the doubt based based on my being seated at a table that wasn't set up. But at some point he should have brought me a roll-up and the normal table set up. He just seemed totally unaware of what I needed at all times.

Conclusion

The tacos indicate to me that it's likely that the food here is capable of being very, very bad. The soup was good, so it may be a dish by dish trial and error thing. I get the feeling that the service is lethargic through and through, which perhaps is part of the Caribbean theme, since service generally sucks rocks on the islands.

You can overlook the tired service and dated decor in a resort with a nice pool or on the ocean, but in the middle of Pembroke Pines, not so much.

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