Caribbean Cove Restaurant & Lounge

Owners are good people very nice restaurant and very good and authentic food it’s my favorite place to go

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Great food! So happy they’re back up and running!!! Go stop by!!!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The oxtails and rice are the most delicious to me

I love this place! All of the food is phenomenal

Great lunch. Thanks

The menu and service were ahead of my expectations. I really loved the ambience of this restaurant. First-rate spot to take my family out for lunch.

Good food friendly staff

Great food but order the fish an hour and a half in advance or you’ll sleep there.

Caribbean Cove Restaurant- Cocoa,Fl- 2-Stars

"Success needs no explanation. Failure does not have one that matters." --J. Jackson

Maybe it comes with the territory of being a tourist trap in general. Maybe it has to do with the "industrialized food" mindset left over from the 50s that permeated Americana and went hand in hand with military bases. All I know is that it seems to be harder and harder to find anything higher than a 3 star joint to dine at in Cocoa and the surrounding area. Case in point my recent ill-fated journey to Caribbean Cove in Cocoa. Located just off of King Street (SR 520) in a brightly painted Caribbean-green building is where Dorothy, the owner, hangs her shingle.

The aforementioned Dorothy was also my server for the meal and while I found her to be on the ball, she refused to answer what I thought was a logical question. Dorothy is of the Indian subcontinent ethnicity and while I am all for branching out and exploring, learning and stealing from other cultures, I had to ask her how she ended up involved in Caribbean food. I thought the answer might be fascinating, or at the least, interesting...alas, I will never know as she would not answer. She just skipped over it and began going over the menu. Shrugging it off as a Cultural thing (maybe I crossed a line in Indian culture by asking a personal question?), I moved on to place my order for one serving Stewed Chicken and one helping of their Curry Chicken along with a Jamaican cream soda to wash it all down.

Glancing around while awaiting my food, I couldn't help but notice the lack of any and all decorations on the walls, or any place else for that matter. I could only hope that they were pouring all their operating expenses into top notch quality food. Before too long Dorothy returned with my order and I began to sample her chow. Stirring the stew a bit with my spoon, I couldn't seem to find a piece of chicken sans fat or gristle. Try as I might, I just couldn't do it. I tried to take a bite of the one with the most meat to gristle/fat ratio, but even that one had too little meat. Overall, the chicken was gross and inedible.

I found about the same quality of chicken in the curry dish as I did in the stew, it was only of a slightly better grade. While the chicken may have been edible in this dish, the dish as a whole was rather bland. The rice, while steamed to perfection fell exceedingly flat on the palate. The cabbage, however, was not only cooked properly but bursting with flavor! Sadly, that was the best of the lot. Oh, I would feel ashamed if I didn't mention the fact that while the Jamaican cream soda was super tasty and creamy, I saw it at Publix for .$51/bottle. As one can see from my review, Dorothy is not putting the money into high-grade ingredients, and as I mentioned, she is certainly not investing in interior decorating, which leaves one to wonder where she is putting her revenue.

I did check out her FaceBook page after my meal and found it loaded with posts about Caribbean festivals and music acts. I think she is focusing more on the Lounge part of the place than the restaurant part. My question to her is, "Why not both?" If you are looking for some tasty cabbage and an owner with an air of mystery, this is the place to go, if you are looking for a good sampling of Caribbean cuisine, however, the Big Boy says, "Not here. Not by a long shot." #iamthebigboy #bigboydiningout

Great food, great lady

Despite our late arrival, at the beginning of the afternoon, we were welcomed with great kindness by the owner of the restaurant. Not really knowing what to eat, she made us taste two of her dishes.
Our choice was a kind of Colombo made with goat and rice, and another with chicken. It was really very tasty and not too spicy as we wanted.
A very good time spent in this restaurant which will remain a strong memory of our trip...

Great food 👍

Food was fantastic. Very friendly people

Unreliable hours tried multiple random times during posted lunch n dinner hours, doors locked n bars up!

Went here few weeks ago the rice is FANTASTIC. I had j*** chicken it was nice and spicy the way i like it but yea...the rice is top notch. The look of the place from outside is very cozy and warm however the inside looks like the hotel from the shinning lol. I liked this place the ower/chef was very nice i felt like a valued customer. Will go here again.