Calypso Rum Bar & Island Grill

This place isn’t good. Drink specials are okay and the food is terrible. I had a fried shrimp basket with plantains and sweet mashed potatoes. The basket came with 5 tiny shrimp and the potatoes were too salty. The Garden was a much better restaurant and better fit for Central Ave. If I were them I would stop serving food and just serve drinks.

This is an oversized bar with good food. So don’t judge it by restaurant standards. Where’s the love, mon?

I come here on Tuesdays with my run club. I have not had any negative experiences like the other reviews.
This used to be The Garden, so it still has all the indoor seating, the patio, and the stage. The stage is actually elevated now. I’m not sure if this was always there, but there’s a pool table in the back.
The bartender and manager are nice. The drink specials are okay.
Food-​wise, they have some decent deals on baskets. I found the pork chop to be savory but salty. The plantains were good. The fried fish was flaky and tasty. The mashed sweet potatoes could have done with less butter. But overall, the meals were satisfying.

The vibe here was like a bright, beachy dive. There was a live band that was quite obviously playing to a CD, as most of the instruments we heard were not on stage. My family and I were there for probably three hours just getting drinks. Our first round took quite a while to come out, which we were told was due to the new staff they were trying to test– essentially.
Our server was Amber Rose and she was very sweet, funny and interactive with our party. After the «live band» was done with their set a DJ started playing top 40 and a good mix.
I think it was a decent and fun place to have drinks as long as you aren’t in a huge rush.

Stopped in with some friends to see what replaced The Garden. Was a lousy experience. I will not go back, nor will I recommend them. We ordered a veggie quesadilla and an order of calamari. The calamari was undercooked and the quesadilla had virtually nothing in it. I got a frozen rum runner. The first one out was only about ²⁄₃ full. I sent it back and the replacement had NO flavor and I’m not sure any alcohol. I wish I could give a half a star (or less!) but not an option.

Sigh. Wanted to check out the Garden’s new replacement, so we stopped by for a drink. IMO, the concept here doesn’t seem right… or it just wasn’t developed enough.
The staff here is inexperienced… or received no training whatsoever. Having worked in the food service industry, I’m generally patient and understanding. We were brought the wrong drinks twice and the incorrect food was ran to our table several times. Service was beyond slow-​it took almost TWO hours to get a couple of drinks and a dessert. And the dessert, the pineapple rum cake which our server insisted we try, lacked the slice of grilled pineapple as described on the menu and was obviously microwaved (scalding hot on the outside/​chilly and dense on the inside).
I couldn’t help but notice the other fellow diners around us getting impatient and frustrated. The $ 6.50 well-​vodka drinks were watered down. There were small bugs crawling all over the table top (and we were inside). We left there feeling sad and ripped off. The new owners would have done better by just leaving it as the Garden and fixing up the place cosmetically. If all guests have an experience like we did– people won’t be coming back to give it another shot. :(