Island Soul

I went here for lunch with a coworker based on the reviews on yelp. This place lived up to the reviews. We were promptly greeted and seated. The restaurant was about half full when we arrived. They are known for their jerk so we ordered the jerk chicken and jerk ribs along with the calypso wings as an app. The entr?e portions were perfect and the price of $8 was good for what you get. You get 4 wings for $5 that tasted great but wished we had a few more wings. The food was fabulous. Lots of island flavor without being to spicy or salty. Our waters were always topped off and bill came in a timely manner. I recommend this place for lunch. To me, dinner may be on the pricey side for most so stick with lunch or happy hour. more

Dont waste your time or money, I ordered the Ox tails, very disappointed to say the least, dry, burned and flavorless. The customer service was horrible, I was completely ignored for well over an hour. The food is overpriced and the utensils/glasses/plates were dirty. The wait staff have major attitudes and dont have a clue of the idea of ""customer service"" This was truly the worst dining experience of my life and I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone! Pros: none whatsoever Cons: everything more

If you love Carribean food this is a must taste!!! I ordered the Goat Curry and it was fantastic. Service was exceptional and the cleanliness is impeccable. A nice additional to the ""New Columbia City"" neighborhood, location ROCKS!!! Pros: Ambiance, Parking, Service more

If you are looking for good Caribbean food this is the spot! Even if you are not looking for Caribbean food you NEED to stop in and try Island Soul Restaurant. and next time you are in Columbia City you WILL be looking for Caribbean food at Island Soul! I recommend the Jerked Chicken it was so off the hook I wanted to ask for seconds! The food was great, the wait staff was very friendly , and it had a feel good atmosphere. It was one of the most enjoyable nights out I have had in a long time. If you are looking for a classy restaurant that is reasonably priced in the city, Island Soul is the joint. Pros: food & atmosphere Cons: parking more

Ok, it was PACKED. My party of 4 was asked to put our name on a list and it would be a 30 minute wait or less. This was strange for a THURSDAY night... we left and went around the corner to the OTHER carribean restaurant and IT was empty... We came back, waited less than 30 minutes and was seated. We where greeted with geniune warm smiles, when it was OUR turn. Our waitress was very friendly & knowledgeable of the menu and offered suggestions, starters we had savory tostone's and beef patties!! WINNERS! And she steered us to order the following ~ the Island Vatapa & Soul n the Bowl. FANTASTIC!!! The other couple had a goat lover & vegetarian (curried veggies w/tofu) they where pleased!!! You really DO feel like a family member there, our waitress Cara (i think) knew her stuff! We thought we where full until the seductress came over with the dessert menu & conned us into or sharing TWO items, a mango cheese cake & rum pound cake that brought me straight back to childhood. Pros: Fresh, Savory, Spicy Cons: Only 1 coconut corn bread for each entree more

The food is awesome, the customer service is splendid...the experience was worthy of being repeted again and again. My wife and I went on a Friday night and it turned into a vacation like atomspere. The shrimp dish was to die for, the greens were cooked just right..The muffins...oh those muffins the best in town..no joke. The owner came out and was passing out the shrimp on a stick to the customers as an extra taste treat. The staff there made you feel as though you were family and they knew you for years. The whole restaurant was rocking when there was a birthday to be acknowledged. Trust me I have eaten Caribbean food many,many times and this is some of the best anywhere. Parking is a challenge..but the hunt for a parking space will be handsomely rewarded with the wonderful meal and customer service you recieve. You can't get them everywhere so order a ""Ting"" with your meal Pros: Food, Customer service, menu Cons: Parking more

Not sure about the several one star ratings; but since a number seem to be from the same day or couple of days, I'd guess it's all the same group of people that went together. It's a shame that one party would try to bring down the ratings of this establishment. more

I recently recommended this restaurant - the new one in Columbia City (previously on Judkins) - to a close friend for our 'after book club meeting throw down' - and she discovered the bad reviews on this site! I would advise those who experienced a less than enjoyable experience to try them again. One of the persons mentioned that she understood policy - then I would have thought that there should not have been further discussion. I don't care for the cash policy, however the food is definitely a reason to forgo this single policy. I have ALWAYS found food choices divine and I have received nothing less than honorable customer service experiences when I visited. I apologize to the ladies who did not have this type of experience but I would like to reiterate - try them again, you will love them!! Pros: Location, Location, Location and the food!! Cons: parking more

I've never owned a restaurant and I certainly don't know what it takes to run one, but my guess is that there are two key factors to being successful in a running a restaurant--excellent food, and great customer service. I was surpised to find that customer services was not a priority on Casuelita's list of key elements for a successful business. In fact, I was angered to discover that they didn't know the meaning nor seemed to care to get acquainted with the idea. more

I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone just based upon the customer service. We are a group of professional women who get together monthly and decided upon this restaurant to eat at in July. The staff was rude, nasty and inconsiderate they informed us nastily if we did not have cash to go down the street to the cash machine and get the money. It does not matter if it is McDonald?s or the fanciest restaurant in to world (I have traveled many places) without decent customer service even if the food is good the memory of the restaurant is lacking substance, and you would not recommend it to others. To some this may be a good restaurant but it is obvious it lacks the necessary ingredients to make it a decent place to take people out to when you want to have a good time and a good meal. Cons: Bad Customer Service more

My experience is similar to ?Horrible Service, Don?t Even Bother?, a group of professional women that meet monthly selected this restaurant for their July gathering, and I cannot begin to express the unprofessional, rude and arrogant service we received. As we waited for the 5 pm opening, someone came to the door to informed us we did not have a reservation, because they do not book parties over six; they don?t provide separate checks, if we did not have cash we should visit the ATM on the corner before entering; since there were seven of us she?s have to think about seating us at separate tables; if we wanted to further complain we needed to wait for the owner. We did to find her just as rude as the worker we encountered, she eventually asked if we indented to eat and if not she had no more time for us and closed the door on a foot and in our faces. Pros: Before moving - Food Excellent Cons: Appalling Customer Service - since moving to Columbia City more

I cannot begin to address the unprofessional conduct of the ""assistant owner"" and ""assistant manager"" in regard to their atrocious customer service! I would not recommend this restaurant to even an enemy! I consider myself a fairly open-minded individual who believes that everyone can have a bad day, however, their ""bad day"" appears to be a ""normal day"" for them, i.e., ""We don't provide separate checks and you better have cash! If not, go down the street to the ATM before entering."" When we tried to speak with them about their poor customer service, they stated, ""Are you going to have dinner or not, while simultaneously slamming the door in our faces."" (This was stated to a group of professional women, ages 40-60 who meet once a month for dinner.) Appalling! Mary German Cons: Awful service at the Rainier Avenue restaurant. more

After reading a review in the NW news source, I was excited to visit their new location on Rainier. Arriving for lunch at 1PM, it was a holiday weekend, and they didn't open until 2PM. ""OK"" I thought to myself, no big deal, I'll come back in an hour. Upon returning, chairs were still not set up, and there were others waiting to get in. 2:10PM rolls around, and I kindly stick my head in the door to casually ask when they plan on opening. I was ignored a number of times until the waitress finally acknowledged us to tell us annoyingly ""15 more minutes,"" then walked away. She couldn't even let us in to sit down. I understand it's a small restaurant, and good food takes time, etc., but to ignore a customer, and so rudely just walk away is unacceptable. We understood she was working alone on the floor, and would have been most understanding if we were given an apology and the opportunity to sit or even look at a menu. Customer service is 70% of the experience to me, and this was unacceptable. We ended up going somewhere else, and now, I don't even want to give them a chance. Very unfortunate experience. Cons: Terrible customer service. more

I have been here many times. The food is really good. Best oxtails outside my home. I wish they gave you more for the price. The owner takes time out to stop by to say hi. Very good guy. I did have a bad experience recently :( . My wife was in charge of the outings this year and choose my favorite place. Well, they didnt have regular food from the menu. They were doing a special 5 course dinner. I wish they didnt, because my wife and I like the food the way it is. We decided to go on with it, the food was VERY good. I almost wanted to ask the owner to find out what he did to give the Lobster that good smokey taste. The bad part of the whole thing was the service was the worse we've had, and on a day like that....that's the last thing you should have to worry about. It wasnt just us, but many around us got very bad service. It was from a male in dreads...we havent had him before...and it was in the lower room. I am sorry folks, but I am just not down with going to a place to eat and having to wait 35 minutes before drinks..other than water....to be on the table. 20 minutes later the food starts comming. It did come out quickly after the aps was on the table, but STILL....about 55 minutes before you get food in your mouth??? Thhey didnt even have a price on the minue for the meal, I thought that was strange. It was expensive, but I didnt mind spending money on a great local place. Pros: Oxtails are the Best!!! Cons: Service sometimes, Downstairs should look like upstairs more