Palm Bay Caribbean in Epping Forest

This review is a bit odd because the food was excellent, but the service was disappointing, which is surprising given that the restaurant seemed to be overstaffed. Food The food was delicious, flavorful, well-portioned, and reasonably priced. The cocktails were also enjoyable. Service 1) I had to call three times to book a table because no one answered the phone. 2) Upon arrival with my wife and three kids, we stood at the entrance waiting to be seated (it wasn’t that busy), but no one acknowledged us. It seemed like there was no clear assignment for greeting customers, and we had to approach someone ourselves. 3)The table wasn’t clean, so we couldn’t sit immediately. 4) We waited 15 minutes before anyone took our order. 5) It took 15 minutes to receive our drinks, which were just canned beverages that could have been served immediately. 6) Staff were eating behind the counter while other customers waited for their food. 7) They got our order wrong. 8) No one asked how our meal was. 9) It took an unusually long time to pay. 10) There was no “thank you for coming.” I said thank you as we left, but no one acknowledged it. So, despite the great food, the service left much to be desired. This is one of those places that could really excel if they just focused on improving their service.

After waiting 45mins for my food to after ordering the waitress returns without a apology to ask what we ordered as she had not put the order back in the system and will have to re do it in after I specifically asked what food was ready when ordering

The food is 10/10 as always but I don’t get why there’s some English girl running the shop who doesn’t have a clue about Caribbean food and would rather stand round chatting instead of serving customers. I came and ordered the other day and she was serving people who had come in after me instead. She then missed items out of my order which I had paid for.

Wow, I collected a takeaway from here after being recommended, I will be returning with the family for an evening out. I highly recommend

Delicious food, great portion sizes and great service. Would defo recommend!

Went for a large group booking. Food was great, atmosphere was great. This was my 3rd time at the restaurant and would happily go back again.!

Lovely food and good atmosphere. Family friendly.

Omg what a fabulous place, food vibe the lot. You got a good thing good. One word WOW Wull defo come back 🫶🏻👍🏻🙌🏻👌🏻

Best Caribbean restaurant I've ever been to so friendly the food is out of this world respect all the staff big 👍🏼 up 💝💯

Honestly speaking I’m pretty hard to please but this venue has it all , don’t be fooled by the size of the place they push out and accommodate to highest standard , a banging oxtail and on point rice n peas ….. everything was beautifully cooked and presented…we will be going back , there was 8 of us celebrating my sister in law’s birthday last night ❤️ Massive shout out to every one of the staff I can’t remember all your names you all had vibz The music …. Needless to say had us all moving while we ate Thanks guys for a wonderful night ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

The food is good, but the staff are so rude. They disrespect the delivery drivers whilst they are not only customers, but also sort of restaurant’s face to their customers while delivering their food.

Food was good, price is a bit high but the most annoying element was I had to wait almost 1hour+ for simple take away. Ridiculous

Food was amazing as always thank you so much guys and thank you Freya for helping me out

Absolutely disgusting place has gone down hill I called and complained about the food the following morning at 11:30am as we live 20 mins away from there spoke to the young girl on the phone she said no one around to discuss the problem and said she would get someone to call back , still haven’t received the call back 6 days later , I was not happy with the take away after spending over £60 and won’t be doing so again , they’ve served under cooked curry goat carrots and potatoes in the curry goat weee rock hard absolutely vile goat so tough and the worse I’ve ever eaten in my life reported to the environment agency for under cooked food and will never be returning to the establishment could of solved this by returning my call and complaint but with no respect or return call review and environment agency informed! Avoid waste of money and undercooked which was inedible

Found it to be a bit overpriced and the roti could have been better but nice vibes, the lady that served us was really nice and polite which makes a change for a Caribbean restaurant and the rest of the food and cocktail was lovely 👌🏽

Maybe the best tasting food I have had this year.

The food has been consistently good. Nice atmosphere and good service everytime... Will definitely need a bigger place soon 😊

Outstanding restaurant! Food and service were of a superior standard. I am dairy and gluten free and fear trying new restaurants. But Palm Bay exceeded expectations. Allergies were not an issue. Great evening. Thank you all. See you all soon.

Wow ordered a takeaway yesterday and the food is amazing, the jerk chicken & rice and peas was delicious this is my new favourite takeaway. Highly recommend.and I will be back soon.

I used to love ordering from this restaurant and always wanted to support this family run business. The food is absolutely amazing. However, the attention to detail when ordering takeaway food is deplorable. Every time I order, there is always something missing. The last order I made, they forgot 2 Mac and cheese sides. The menu price for this side was £5.95 but when I called to get a refund on the mac and cheese, they stated that they only charged me £4.95 each. The server also asked for my bank details over the phone for the refund. Who does that? On previous occasions, the refunds were made over the phone from the card details that the order was paid with. I cannot continue to support a business that consistently makes the same mistakes and does not learn from them. This tells me that they do not care about their customers and it does make me wonder if they are forgetting items on purpose. I now have to travel 30 minutes to Loughton to get my refund. Shocking and appalling but I can’t give away money for free.

What truly delicious food, full flavour, well rounded and mouth watering, friendly staff with a can do attitude- well done guys - excellent!

Done the best oxtail I’ve ever had! really friendly and great vibes and music would deffo recommend

I can say I’m a regular now at Palm Bay, and I can confidently say this place never disappoints! The food is consistently amazing, so flavourful.. Every visit is a delight, from the mouth-watering jerk chicken to the delicious sides, everything is so tasty. Also,the staff is very friendly 😊 If you haven't tried it yet, you're missing out! Highly recommend this spot for anyone craving Caribbean food.

Heard about this place so we thought it was about time we tried it Our order was curry goat with plain rice. And oxtail with rice and peas. Also had slaw, saltfish fritters and a fried dumpling. Although this place was busy, especially with takeaway orders, our orders came out quick enough,and the food was lovely. No complaints about that. It's hard to judge the place's atmosphere,because it's a cross between sit-down and lots of people coming in and out for takeaway orders. It's more cafe style than restaurant style. I'm not putting it down, it's just set up that way. I would definitely recommend if you like Caribbean food.

New favourite place, 3 meals in 2 days!! Freshly made with not a microwave in sight. Good portion size, food is unreal and staff are extremely friendly as well as the restaurant being tastefully decorated. I highly recommend Palm Bay!

I ordered a jurk veg and got a some fried veg with no jurk as it was not spycys at all and the onions where burnt I spent £32 on food that had no care put in to it I phoned them up and the lady on the phone giggled when I said I wasn't happy with the food and sa8d that's just the way we cook it I have lived in Brixton my hold life and have never seen such a lack of care on food that comes from the heart I'm not one to talk badly but I feel like I was robed and taken advantage of as a customer and I only say this because I don't want anyone else to be treated this way truly disappointing as I thought it's was a good restaurant to go to

Food nice but my roti was hard in places and I sent it back. My meal came in patches.Long long wait for food.

Great wholesome food. Will be back.

Took a while for someone to seat us (it wasn’t that busy). Then took another 10 minutes for the waitress to come to us to take our order. Thats the bad points … The good points … The rum punch 👍🏾 We ordered the platter for 2. Chicken Curry and Jerk Chicken with Rice & Peas. Coleslaw and Salad. The plantain had run out. I negotiated a soft drink as an alternative with the lovely waitress 😀 Overall The Palm Bay Caribbean was lovely and will definitely visit you guys again 👍🏾

Came with my friend for dinner and we ordered the combo platter and the food was incredible. I travelled from Kent and would 100% make the journey again!! The portions are generous and the curried goat was so good. Loads of variety on the cocktail menu, if you’re in the area definitely one to try!

Lovely little place. Absolutely amazing authentic food. "Proper things" as we say. The service is great, everyone's very friendly and helpful. The place is clean and well maintained. Prices are reasonable. Cocktails are on point. I drove up all the way from mid Kent and it was worth every mile... 100% recommended.

I've been here twice so far for lunch. Generous portions and delicious food. The service good and the place is really clean. It's halal too so it's a win win for me.

Great vegan food!! And great prices too :)

Not been here since our Xmas party 2022 & this is the best Caribbean food I've had since then, by far the best I've been to, in & around manor.

Bought a takeaway. The Chicken in the stew chicken was hard and dry. Looks like it was left over jerk, with skin and bones removed and put in the stew gravy. I have had food from there before which was good but now I see it is a GAMBLE if you will get good or bad food. Get ready to play roulette if you buy from here.

Customer Service is wonderful, the food is tasty 😋, and the food amounts are well worth its money, bring your family and friends.

Needed a taste reminiscent of my youth, Palm Bay 💯 did that. Lively staff, freshly cooked food, 2pm and super chilled. Ackee, saltfish, plantain, rice & peas

Rice and peas very very dry. The chicken had a nice flavour but had gone past the chargrilled stage onto just burnt. Ordered on just eat, salad was missing from order. Delivery time was good.

They Forgot the ox tail, waited over hour n half food was cold and not even that nice, disappointed, waste of money.

really recommend, such a lovely takeaway for Saturday night! arrived warm, portions were good and the flavours were phenomenal! Everyone in the family loved it.

Amazing food, drinks, and service! Always a good vibe. Our go to place when we visit the UK.

What's going on guys? I have been to Palm Bay many times. On my last occasion it seems like it has gone backwards in service (I waited at least 20 mins for my mains to be cleared) and my desert that I ordered never came out... The oxtail was tuff as old boots and the curry goat was a little better, but for a restaurant that specialises in Carribbean food, still not much better. I think that the restaurant is resting on its laurels, just because it is busy, they think that service and food quality can drop... Unfortunately, people will vote with their feet sooner or later and you'll have no business. So management, pull up your socks, train your waiting staff to be more attentive, a little happier and understand what's on the menu. Don't cut corners with the food. Go back to how you used to be.

What's going on guys? I have been to Palm Bay many times. On my last occasion it seems like it has gone backwards in service (I waited at least 20 mins for my mains to be cleared) and my desert that I ordered never came out... The oxtail was tuff as old boots and the curry goat was a little better, but for a restaurant that specialises in Carribbean food, still not much better. I think that the restaurant is resting on its laurels, just because it is busy, they think that service and food quality can drop... Unfortunately, people will vote with their feet sooner or later and you'll have no business. So management, pull up your socks, train your waiting staff to be more attentive, a little happier and understand what's on the menu. Don't cut corners with the food. Go back to how you used to be.

Called 30 mins in advance for a collection order and the food still was not ready. She then gave my food and it wasn’t even my order. Then I had to wait for even longer. No apology from the woman manager whatsoever. Rude and no customer service at all. Won’t be coming back solely cos of the service. This ain’t the first time I’ve had my order messed up. Will be the last time

We went for an early lunch and we sat close to the outside terrace as the weather was nice. We ordered our drinks and food but we had to wait around 30 mins to be served our drinks (that's including water!) We noticed other customers who had arrived after us all received their drinks before us, which upset us a little. Trying to get some attention from the staff at first was frustrating as we were ignored a few times. Once we did ask where our drinks were, they said they were "being made". Anyway...the drinks came once we complained, and the food came shortly afterwards. The food was really good and we were happy. The portions were very generous too, so make sure you go on an empty stomach! My husband had curried goat/jerk chicken combo with rice and Peas and I had the fish platter combo (jerk salmon and king prawns) with sweet potato fries. We will visit again as the drink situation hasn't put us off. We enjoyed the food too so it is definitely on the list of places to eat again!

Rubbish.....how could you serve dry rice to people .. No gravy ...no coleslaw.....I would never eat there anymore

I ordered a takeaway last night and the curry goat was very salty and it was was almost inedible and there was no spice to it. The lamb chops were a little bit tough too. Slightly disappointing as we waitied a lot time for the food. Dumplings however were really tasty.

Very lovely food melted in the mouth and a great atmosphere with the music Would book on weekends as it was very busy but still was catered to well, only recommendation would be to have a larger restaurant to accommodate more guests to enjoy the wonderful food

We had an incredible time! Great food and cocktails! Great vibes! Highly recommend.

Overall the experience was not great. The food took a while to come and when it did, it wasn’t hot. It was really nice food however. We had a bad experience with the manager present as we ordered drinks that were way too sour yet was supposed to include sugarcane and wanted to change them. The waitress was supportive and kind and offered to get us new ones yet the manager made condescending comments about how we knew what we were ordering and initially wanted to charge us for the drinks that were already taken. They were not half way drank or anything, literally a sip. Of just one, the other was untouched. Trying to argue with us about how we read the ingredients and still ordered the drink. The drink was not to our liking and I politely requested that the next drink include more of the sugarcane as I the other one lacked it entirely. The manager then made a comment with a lot of attitude. It was completely unnecessary. The rest of the staff however were bubbly and helpful and they were exceptional at customer service.

Went with my cousin for food yesterday Eating the rice and peas with oxtail took me back to stokenewington as a youngster Enjoyed the meal , staff are friendly and polite , good music and atmosphere Will return real soon

I had the pleasure of ordering Palm Bay for a large group of us. Everyone absolutely loved their food. I was so impressed that no mistakes were made with anyones order. The employees also made the ordering process so easy and communicated with us effectively. We will definitely be back and highly recommend. Thank you so much Palm Bay!

Good food alongside a good service.

This was a takeaway order....I love this food and restaurant.. however today I ordered the boneless curried goat and it was totally inedible....far far too hot it has burnt my mouth...after 3 mouthfuls I gave up even though I was so looking forward to it and starving...not sure what happened this evening but you couldn't taste any of the food just the hot sauce and pepper.

Nice atmosphere service is good Food I don't ABT halal food is available or not

Lovely drinks and food. We enjoyed the 2 for £14 happy hour cocktails - the rum punch was exceptional. The jerk lamb chops for starters was plentiful and a jerk chicken salad was delicious and very filling. Recommended.

Having eaten at a lot of caribbean restaurants at home & abroad this is a gem of a restaurant for my favourite food and i'm talking about the way your grandparents used to cook. Can't big up this place enough and a credit to the staff and chefs that keep it real. Even got Mr Wray on the shelf. A regular spot for me and da Mrs

Absolutely amazing 👏🏽 1st time and everything is on point definitely recommend and will definitely be back!!! Proper authentic food, cocktails amazing and all so well priced. Cafe Caribbean, Loughton I thought you had it in the bag, this place tops you. If you haven't been pls go you will not be disappointed. To all the staff in the back and in front well done, keep doing what your doing do not change a thing 👏🏽💯😊

As soon as you enter the restaurant you felt relaxed all the staff were friendly smiling no pushed up face's made you feel welcome customer service excellent no attitude As for the food 5 🌟 on point flavours delicious 😋 I've spread the word I'm back there again I've been to quite a few Caribbean restaurant and they deserve praise...

most of what I wanted wasn't available. but what I did have was very nice. will definitely give this place a second chance.

Amazing food the best Caribbean food I’ve had so far and very nice I felt like I was in my element of good food thank you so much for the amazing experience and great taste of food also cocktails to end the night .I 100% recommend this restaurant and staff are friendly also helpful great customer service.

Amazing and delicious food. Great service. You will not be disappointed. The cocktails are very nice too. Restaurant great for any occasion

I love this place..!! The food is amazing no matter what I order, never had a bad meal..

I keep on returning as it's that good. Why not come & pay this venue a visit. It's always busy & the food is mouth-wateringly great. Palm Bay Caribbean - thank you.

Jerk Salmon is my absolute favourite.

Delicious food but meat portion sizes are quite small. Staff were extremely polite but a little slow in getting orders and returning/making eye contact to ask if you need anything else. Atmosphere was lovely, nice background music, nice seating/spacing, but single sex toilet needs more regular attention. Overall would recommend this restaurant for a nice Carribbean meal.

The only reason my rating is bad it's because of the ridiculous size of the wrap It's simply overpriced for what we get. Such a shame because it was delicious

Ordered XL jerk chicken take away. Small portion and burnt.

That's it I've decided, I'm growing dreads. I have gone from salt and pepper to mouth tingling sensations from seasonings unbeknown to the Caucasian community. The jerk salmon...the lamb chops, complimented with rice and peas...this is what my life was missing. You have filled a bland void within me and changed it to vibrant joy. How can I go back home to Susan, when all she knows is baked beans. I am now transformed into the white yardie, life will never be the same. I want to argue about how to pronounce plantain but all my family want to do is talk brexit. The stereotypes wasn't even true, they had every item in stock and they have blessed me with soul touching customer service. Palm Bay Caribbean you are now a part of me 🤍

First time ordering and so amazing I had to call and tell them! Thank you all x

Everytime I order from this place they get the order wrong every single time and then never take responsibility that we get the wrong order! Ordered me and my children food recieved completely the wrong order to me phoning to be told once it leaves it’s not down to them! So having to then reorder from a BETTER place like we don’t wait long enough! Take the mick and staff are useless which don’t help!!!

All food is amazing.... Mac and cheese King prawns Everything.....

If the food wasn’t nice here I wouldn’t return , miss and item every single time I come never get my order correct

I am giving this a 5* because the food is exceptional and local people need to support local businesses so that areas thrive. But this review could so easily also be a 1* based on the service. An hour and a half wait for chicken and rice is an hour too long. I appreciate everything is cooked fresh and am happy to wait a little longer, but they clearly have an issue. And if you are in the resturant that issue is obvious. Palm Bay tries to be bother a takeaway and a resturant, and it can not cope with the level off orders from takeaways. Unfortunately due to the way food apps and their reviews work, they end up prioritising takeaway orders over restaurant. And the result is sitting diners suffer. The constant stream of those collecting takeaways also means that the restaurant is always cold (due to doors opening and closing) and crowded with people standing around waiting for their food. I appreciate since Covid, takeaways have boomed and many restaurants rely on them now. But your sit in eaters should not suffer. They either need a second chef, turn off takeaway orders when the restaurant is busy, or close down the restaurant. By trying to be everything to everyone, this place will suffer. I will return, as the food is exceptional. I only hope that the owners (who are great people), read this review and deal worth the poor service for dine-iners.

The building is vibrant, clean, comfortable, tidy, hygienic, bright, sleek, big enough and colourful that will make you happy when entering with a smile on your face. The staff are friendly, welcoming, helpful, knowledgeable, professional, well mannered, understanding, supportive, sociable, respectful, attentive, responsive and punctual. The food is delicious, meaty, mouthwatering, flavourful, fresh, tasty with right amount sauce but little bit burnt although overall quite good. The price is little bit expensive but quality over quantity which makes it worth paying for the food because the food is better than some place that offers the same food. My friend said the chicken is banging, lamb chop is decent and my little sister said all the food is great. You should go there, try food because it is great and you should go there soon possible before they run out of space or close until it is opened for tomorrow.

Very expensive and not very authentic

The food banged. I got a lunchtime meal a few days ago, and I’m still thinking about it…the food was absolutely delicious. The staff were patient and helpful. Got a really good lunch for under a tenner. The plantain was top tier.

Good food at a reasonable price.

Lovely little restaurant in an area where Caribbean food is scarce so a nice new addition. We drove past it several times though because the front didn't stand out, but inside the decor was lovely and intimate. We waited a while to get the table wiped, get drinks and eventually the food came out. Service is slow but the taste of the food does make up for it. The jerk chicken and rice and peas was divine. The saltfish fritters and plaintain were oily but once I used my napkin to drain the oil, both were tasty. I'd definitely visit again but make sure I've eaten a little beforehand to offset the delays in the service. Prices are reasonable too.

We really had a great evening, atmosphere was excellent Food was lovely

Service extremely slow upon arrival after sitting down we was served after other guests that came in after us then we waited a further 10minutes to be served after them overall took 30minutes for food to arrive at the table with drinks coming at the same time

As a Jamaican the food was 10/10 and I’ll definitely be back. Very authentic! The coleslaw, dumpling, jerk chicken, oxtail, everything!

The music is absolutely on fire 🔥. The food was good and the staff are amazing.

Really friendly staff and good food, I cannot fault it.

First time trying the restaurant. Went with the hubs on a date night and it did not disappoint. The food was spot on, I enjoyed every bit of it. Will return again with friends and family.

Second time dis place run ma belly ta rarse… I’m done.

Food is great with good portion size. However, service can be a bit slow. Great atmosphere with lovely music.

Loved it. The food was super amazing. Definitely a thumbs up.

Place was vibrant, the staff and especially the waitress was really nice 👌. The food, BANGING!!! Definitely my new lunch spot. Plus they care about students and those who in the NHS by giving them discounts. Cmon 😏

Everything about this place was terrible, the female staff were polite , but one of the waiters seemed like a hungry dog, kept coming over to try speaking to my mrs, looked like a desperate perv. Food was ok until I got home, then my stomach had some of the worst pains I’ve ever experienced. Stay away guys. Food is horrible staff even worse. First and last time Never again

This place has the worse customer service and you have to wait over an hour for delivery and they ignore the phone. They have really bad out look on how a business needs to run. Will never order from here again

Excellent service, food was lovely, Would definitely recommend. I had googled online and found this little gem. Really impressed and good range to choice from

Great food. Great curry Goat and jerk chicken.

Palm bay blew me away! Amazing decor, friendly service, and phenomenal food. Every bite was a masterpiece. Don't miss it!

Food is banging and super nice people, great lunch deals

Really enjoyed it here. Food was lovely.

What a gem. Great taste and flavour for all our dishes, real bbq and got 25% off eat in on a weekday lunch!

Awful customer service. Waited 35 minutes for our drinks just to find out that she couldn't make one of the drinks as hse didn't had one of the ingredient, so I had to order fizzy drink as I was worried that I will wait for my drink another 30 min. Then finally came and took the food order....., 45 minutes on the clock. The restaurant was basically empty but the staff enjoyed having a good laugh and then the waitress was only interested in one customer with whom she clearly had a NICE conversation. The food is ok but after such a long wait you simply loose the interest!

From entering into the restaurant to leaving a very positive experience. The restaurant was clean warm and welcoming. Very comfortable. The service was extremely polite and friendly. Very professional. The food was quick. Hot very tasty well prepared and all came together ( we ordered a lot) this is the best West Indian restaurant I have been in and I’ve been to many. The food is authentic and very Caribbean. Highly recommended

Been visiting palm bay for quite a while now Food never fails and neither does the service We ordered the combo platter for two which includes two main dishes and one large side and 3 small sides. We opted for the curry goat the curry chicken rice n peas (large side) 2 x coleslaw and 1 X dumplings Between the hours 6-9 the cocktails are 2 for £14!!! I love everything about palm bay real homely feel and wholesome food! Well done guys keep it up 🙌