Carmen's Restaurant and Catering

I enjoyed the food here
Customer care was top notch
We were well taken care of
I highly recommend this restaurant for Jamaican Food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Carmen's Restaurant and Catering 2280 Harris Ave NE Palm Bay, FL 32905

4 Stars

After what appeared to be a mistake in my last Jamaican joint review (whoa, that has a few connotations), I thought I was being punished by immediately being sent to another one by my random name generator. After smacking it on the side a few times and shaking it, I found it to be working correctly, so I proceeded to Carmen's Restaurant and Catering in Palm Bay, FL.

What a world of difference! Carmen is the proprietor and a one-woman show and boyo, let me tell ya, she sure shines. I found Carmen's menu to be a joy to behold, as eclectic as my vinyl collection. As such, I decided to go in a different direction today and steered away from the traditional Jamaican fare such as Jerk Chicken and Curried Goat and went with an order of Carmen's Fried Chicken with sides of rice, beans and potato salad along with an order of her Bang Bang Fried Shrimp Tacos (the same name as the drek at the horrid Bonefish Grill) with fries.

As Carmen got to work on my eats, I took in the interior. I found it to be open, welcoming, bright, and cheery, not unlike the owner! Carmen was out in no time with my foodstuffs. Taking a few before pictures, I got to work. I turned my attention and palate to the Fried Chicken. The first thing I noticed was the crunch of the coating. If you look at the picture I've attached, you can see what I mean. That coating was slathered on without care for conservation. It wasn't too much, it was just enough. The chicken, blanketed in a tender, juicy, succulent coating, tasted superb. The rice and beans were well-cooked and seasoned with love. The potato salad, like everything else, I assume was made by Carmen and if your Grandmother makes a better potato salad, I will eat these words!

I can't speak for you, but when I hear or read the words, Bang Bang, I immediately think of three things. First, playing cops and robbers as a child and “shooting” the bad guy with my finger gun while shouting, “Bang! Bang!” The second is the Bollywood bad remake of a worse film, “Bang Bang!” The third thing I think of is Chinese Street Chicken. None of this has anything to do with Carmen's Bang Bang Fried Shrimp Tacos, other than the Bang Bang sauce is loosely based on the Chinese Street Chicken tossing sauce. Carmen's Bang Bang sauce was a mixture of mayo, spicy stuff and it was mahvalous, dahling! The shrimp were coated with the same love and care as the chicken and were just as tender and juicy. Got Dayum! Carmen knows her way around a kitchen. I can only assume these are her recipes as well. She should open a restaurant and share this with...oh, wait. Never mind. With this meal and the success of the Fried Chicken at Cajun Soul, my hopes have been raised considerably.

The Big Boy says, “If you want good eats served with love and a friendly smile, visit Carmen. Tell her the Big Boy sent ya (it's safe this time)!”

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Carmen's Restaurant and Catering 2280 Harris Ave NE Palm Bay, FL 32905 4 Stars After what appeared to be a mistake in my last Jamaican joint review (whoa, that has a few connotations), I thought I was being punished by immediately being sent to another one by my random name generator. After smacking it on the side a few times and shaking it, I found it to be working correctly, so I proceeded to Carmen's Restaurant and Catering in Palm Bay, FL. What a world of difference! Carmen is the proprietor and a one-woman show and boyo, let me tell ya, she sure shines. I found Carmen's menu to be a joy to behold, as eclectic as my vinyl collection. As such, I decided to go in a different direction today and steered away from the traditional Jamaican fare such as Jerk Chicken and Curried Goat and went with an order of Carmen's Fried Chicken with sides of rice, beans and potato salad along with an order of her Bang Bang Fried Shrimp Tacos (the same name as the drek at the horrid Bonefish Grill) with fries. As Carmen got to work on my eats, I took in the interior. I found it to be open, welcoming, bright, and cheery, not unlike the owner! Carmen was out in no time with my foodstuffs. Taking a few before pictures, I got to work. I turned my attention and palate to the Fried Chicken. The first thing I noticed was the crunch of the coating. If you look at the picture I've attached, you can see what I mean. That coating was slathered on without care for conservation. It wasn't too much, it was just enough. The chicken, blanketed in a tender, juicy, succulent coating, tasted superb. The rice and beans were well-cooked and seasoned with love. The potato salad, like everything else, I assume was made by Carmen and if your Grandmother makes a better potato salad, I will eat these words! I can't speak for you, but when I hear or read the words, Bang Bang, I immediately think of three things. First, playing cops and robbers as a child and “shooting” the bad guy with my finger gun while shouting, “Bang! Bang!” The second is the Bollywood bad remake of a worse film, “Bang Bang!” The third thing I think of is Chinese Street Chicken. None of this has anything to do with Carmen's Bang Bang Fried Shrimp Tacos, other than the Bang Bang sauce is loosely based on the Chinese Street Chicken tossing sauce. Carmen's Bang Bang sauce was a mixture of mayo, spicy stuff and it was mahvalous, dahling! The shrimp were coated with the same love and care as the chicken and were just as tender and juicy. Got Dayum! Carmen knows her way around a kitchen. I can only assume these are her recipes as well. She should open a restaurant and share this with...oh, wait. Never mind. With this meal and the success of the Fried Chicken at Cajun Soul, my hopes have been raised considerably. The Big Boy says, “If you want good eats served with love and a friendly smile, visit Carmen. Tell her the Big Boy sent ya (it's safe this time)!”

Today was my first time at Carmen‘s restaurant.
Very pleased and looking forward to coming back soon! for lunch, I ordered a vegetable patty and jerk fried rice with chicken. It was very delicious.
I just finished the leftovers for dinner😋
My friend loves their fish tacos and sweet potato fries. She says they make the best sweet potato fries

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Excellent food!!

Coconut curry lentil bowl was out of this world.

Food was very good. So good we ordered more to take home! Family friendly place

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Delicious food and great vibes!
The oxtail was on point—tender and full of flavor. Curry chicken was savory, and the jerk chicken was absolutely mouthwatering. The green juice? Amazing!

The place has a real family atmosphere, which made the experience even better. Now that I live in the area, I’ll definitely be a regular!

Plus, you earn points toward future discounts—a nice bonus!
Pro tip: Don’t settle for the small plates… you’ll wish you went for the full meal! 😜

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food and service at Carmen’s is fantastic and the restaurant is immaculate! Kizzy and Andre were super warm and welcoming. They both happily chatted with us and answered all of our questions. I had the oxtail dinner with peas and rice, steamed veg, and a side of sweet plantains. I was very happy with the oxtail and plantain portions iykyk. My very West Indian parents had the curry goat, jerk chicken, red bean soup (my mom is still talking about the soup), tostones, and house made green juice. Everyone cleaned their plates. We’ll definitely be back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Having recently visited this establishment for the first time, I was highly impressed. The jerk burger I ordered was exceptionally well-prepared. I recommend this location for future visits.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

$50 for two small plates of food , with absolutely no flavor , canned vegetables just thrown in there. Definitely not worth the money. Barely any shrimp for the price I payed. Bad portions. No seasoning

Food: 1

Food was a 3/10 max. I’m Caribbean myself so I know what flavorful food taste like and this was far from it. paid $50 for two plates and it was not worth it small portion of rice seven shrimp in each bowls they also threw in some canned beans which did not make the meal taste any better sorry to say, but I wouldn’t recommend

Atmosphere: 4

Service: 3

The food was absolutely amazing with freshness of island cuisine favors.
Definitely a 5 STAR!!!!!

Food: 5

I got the lunch special wings spicy jerk flavor! They were delicious!! Fries were very good too. My coworkers were impressed with their food as well ❤️

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place was so good. Best Jamaican food in the area hands down. We had the spicy beef patties to start off then I had the oxtails and they were AMAZING so tender and falling off the bone. We will be back to try more. Definitely recommend trying this place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Spicy Beef Patties