where to start.... service: our servers took long to tend to us and we had to call them to bring refills. when I thanked her for the refill she said nothing. the food: pastelitos: decent, more sason but still ok. Churrasco (skirt steak). this was a very chewy meat and it's was not properly grilled, seems like they seared it on a pan. my rice had a burnt after taste and smell. the beans........boring wife's food: tostones where not properly pressed and then dipped back in the fryer, they just chopped the plantain and fried em! chichrron de pollo was ridiculously bland. that batter was like a KFC chicken rip off with no flavor. this dish should be tangy with chicken that is marinated. conclusion: not worh it. the only way people would like this place would be if they have not eaten at la casa de mofongo in the Bronx in NYC, or la roca in providence Rhode Island. this is a poor showing of Dominican food. if you are impressed with this food then your palate is probably impressed with the mcrib from Micky d's. or maybe it's been a decade without having any kind of Caribbean food and this your first time eating it in a while I apologize to all the Dominican moms I know out there for how bad this place represented your food. can I give minus/negative stars to this place? alex reyes, you are nuts for liking this place you should be ashamed and you should know better! punta Cana? more like punta caca! Honestly A Yugoslavian blind paraplegic could make better Dominican food! With that said, I gotta run cause this bootleg dumbminican food is making me perculate and I have about another hour before I make it home. in the words of my dr brothers LA CRETA coñazo! read more

I noticed great reviews about this place and decided to have lunch with a friend. The décor was okay for a Latin restaurant, the music adequate and overall the place looked clean. We were quickly served, however the food took over 20 minutes to arrive. My friend ordered pork in sauce with rice and beans (arroz moro). I ordered mofongo filled with pork (carne frita). Let's talk about my dish since this is where problems started for us. I thought the portion was a bit small considering this is after all a Dominican restaurant. I believe that I have seen a fair share of Latin food related restaurants living in Miami since 92 and during my youth years in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. In fact, two days ago I stopped by a Dominican Restaurant in Miami and they are truly known for tasty food with generous portions. The mofongo at Punta Cana was dry with chunks of plantains still unmeshed, which is essential when preparing mofongo. There was no clear color sauce or boiled garlic water to mix with the mofongo. I cut just a piece of pork (carne frita) and immediately noticed an unusual odor coming out of the meat. The pork was rotten!! I notified the waitress who in turn notified a waiter who looked like a supervisor and he stated that he was going to call the manager. The manager never arrived so the supervisor offered me to take the dish away and bring something else. I ordered just a side of rice with beans. My food was taken out of the check, however now that I think about it, the entire bill should have been complementary. Back to my poor friend who ordered pork with sauce, he immediately stopped eating. His food was not comp. I will not return to this place. There is common sense with operating a restaurant and a cook plays a big role on what comes out of the kitchen. He/she must try what they prepare to check for flavor and cooked level, nothing sophisticated, but it must be done to keep customers in mind. If a cook won't eat it, then why should customers have to? read more

I went to Punta Cana at 8:30 or so on a weekday evening and had a really nice dinner. The place was pretty empty given the lateness of the hour, but service was fast and pleasant. Even though it's located in a seedy stretch of South Blvd, the inside of the restaurant has a nice atmosphere for a sit down dinner. The food was definitely interesting, maybe a touch on the bland side, though -- but I'm not sure if that wasn't just a result of what I ordered. The mofongo (plantain hash) was something I'd never tried before, and with it I had a crab creole dish that was very tasty. Dessert was flan which was, well -- flan. Hard to screw up. I would definitely go back and try some of the other specialty dishes. read more

This is a great place to visit and eat if you want that Dominican vibe. Living in La Romana for years, it's always nice knowing there is a place near by that I can go to get that environment. The food is great and the service is also. read more

Just left this place and we were very impressed. The staff was exceptionally friendly and our server was fantastic! We had Quipes and Mofondo with their house made sangria. My husband asked me why we had never been here before and I had to remind him that I had suggested it several times...he just wasn't ready for something new yet. Lol. Anyway, nice job y'all and we will be back soon! read more

This place is great. Best mofungo ever --- the mound was textured with crispy, fried pieces of plantain integrated within the traditional mashed up plantain chunks. I could eat that all on its own. I ordered it with the fried pork chop, which came with the traditional gravy --- delicious. The maduros and boiled yucca were prepared just the way I like it. The garlic sauce for the yucca was potent . . . but again, that's just the way I like it. read more

The food was greasy and obviously microwaved. The place was empty, freezing and the service was sad. They even tried to deny my coupon, I'm guessing because they don't make enough money as is. read more

See Julio review below. VERIFY YOUR LINE ITEMS AND RECEIPTS. YOU WILL LIKELY GET DOUBLE DIPPED. Their food is OK - won't go there again. When you get your receipt - they automatically include the 15% tip. When you give your credit card - they will bring back the receipt to sign with the line item on it for gratuity AGAIN OVER THE TOTAL THAT ALREADY INCLUDED THE GRATUITY - so if you don't pay attention you will have paid a 34% gratuity. YOU HAVE TO PUT A ZERO IN THE GRATUITY LINE. However they will no provide you the original line item receipt anymore. This is clever deception and also I don't respect restaurants that automatically add gratuity - it defeats the meaning of the word : it is earned for service. So now I won't go there again! read more

I stoped by this place and I must say the food was authentic. I grew up eating Dominican food and this was on point. I had the carne guisada with rice and beans with some tostones on the side. I also had a chinola (passion fruit) shake which was good. The price is very very affordable.it all came out less than $13.00 (lunch special). The staff was nice and struck up a conversion during lunchtime. If i lived closer this would be a spot i would visit often. read more

Ohh I think I frequent Punta Cana enough to be considered a regular. While the food might not be the best tasting latin I've had, it sure is hearty. With a variety of different lunch time meals at $7 you get your dollars worth and it sure beats a large #2 at Mickey Ds! read more

Good food, great service! The waitresses are always helpful and funny. Love the white rice, fried plantains, fried yuca and pork.

One of my professors told me Punta Cana is one of his favorite restaurants in Charlotte and encouraged me to to check it out. I met my boyfriend there for lunch and we both commented that we'd each driven past it hundreds of times, but neither of us had ever been in. It always catches my eye because of the palm trees out front and the green lights at night. I had the beef with black beans and rice off the list of lunch specials. He got the Cuban sandwich. The servings are very generous!! My beef was tasty and reminded me a bit of pot roast but with different seasonings. About half of the pieces of meat on my plate were tender and delicious, but the other half were rather gristly. Since it was such a large portion, I wasn't too bothered by this. My boyfriend's sandwich was amazing, and he said it was the most delicious Cuban he'd had here in Charlotte. We will definitely be visiting again to try other things on the menu! read more

See all

While working a coworker of Puerto Rican decent informed me that he was looking for a great Italian restaurant in Charlotte I also informed him that I really miss Spanish food and if he knew of a good Spanish restaurant. I gave him the address of my favorite restaurant Villa Francesca and he gave me Punta Cana, It was a good trade on both sides. This place is great and it reminds me of the Peurto Rican and Dominican restaurants in New York. My son and I went the first time and we took my wife the second time both times were great. If you like Dominican and Peurto Rican food this is the place the owner Don Moral and his staff are great. read more

I am from NY and loved the restaurants that has dancing and food, this place has both but the waitresses are horrible, they seem like they are mad at something, but I did notice that on a table that had all guys they were really friendly (our table was all girls). With alot of competition around they should re-evalute there waitresses, the place also had a funky smell and it wasnt food smell. In short, bad service...bad smell. read more

When twice.First time my food was awesome. I had Mofongo with Shrimp and it was delicious. Had a piece of my favorite Dominican cake and it was a little dry but still good. I decided to treat my husband on Sunday and what a disapointment. My husband ordered Mofongo with chicken and it was terrible. Dry, cold and the chicken was overcooked looks like to much time in a microwave or the fryer. My Mofongo with Carne Frita was bad too.the meat was hard, overcooked, like rubber. My husband's chicken with my pork could bounce from the floor back to the plate to explain exactly how bad it was. We ordered an appetizer of Chorizo al Carbon, that by the way it is deep fried not on the grill as the menu said was the star other the evening. Don't be confused, it was the fallen star. Terrible. It looked like poop on a plate. So over fried you could not bite it. We had to return and ask it out of our check. A piece of one of my favorite drsserts would have highlighted the evening, but no cake available that day for a busy Sunday. We'll not be going back for now, it was a beautiful Sunday wasted. I will definitely give 5 stats to our server. She was nice, helpful and under all the mess she was calm and always with a smile. read more

Punta Cana - Caribbean Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

See all

Yes for the Owner of Punta Cana Restaurant South Boulevard NC when choosing a place to eat and dance, I do not advice choosing this place. If something were to happen to your things or your own safety, the establishment is not in the best intentions to help, as it happened to me. My auto and condo keys were taken in plain view of security cameras, and no help from the owner review security tapes the very next day. read more

Punta Cana - Caribbean Near Me - Charlotte, North Carolina

Great place on South Blvd. Lunch special is $5.95! The juice is great, I had passion fruit. I got a pork dish, yellow rice, and yellow plantains and it was a great combination. Other items I enjoyed were the steamed bread appetizers, chicken empanadas, and the green plantains dipped in some kind of vinegary garlic concoction. Can't beat the value! read more

I'm a fan of Dominican food, and it's really hard to find. When we come down to Charlotte, we definitely hit up Punta Cana! From what I read on Yelp, a lot of people in Charlotte are looking for it too! This place is easy to reach off of I-77 and appears to be in a old Wendy's building. The decor and atmosphere inside are of decent quality, while the food is of very good authentic quality! We had the baked pork, which was tender, flavorful, and had some crispy bark! We also tried the stewed beef which was tender, lacking fat, and a nice spice to it! We had a side of Moro Rice which rocked; as well as sweet plantains! Top this off with sampling a Cubano which was tender on the inside and crispy on the outside from toasting! A definite four stars and guaranteed of seeing my third return soon! read more

Here once before and the food was very good. I came here today and it took forever to even get service. So I left

Moro with pernil, chicken and beef empanadillas...and a side of mayooketchoo... punta cana NEVER disappoints

I absolutely love this place!!! My co-workers introduced me to this place for lunch, and I am hooked! The pork, the plantains, the sangria are all fantastic!! Very affordable and fresh, amazing food! I want to come back for karaoke on a Saturday night sometime soon!! You must eat here!! read more

Being a Dominican myself and growing up with parents that owned a Dominican restaurant in NY , I was excited to find a place in NC that would bring me back home. Well ... Spoiler alert ! As bad as I wanted to like this place , it didn't give me that warm fuzzy feeling of home. The food was just okay ( that's blasphemous to ever say about Dominican food ) it's my favorite kind of food ever and I felt a little sad inside especially my stomach :'( ....two stars for effort I guess read more

Love this place! I'm from southeast Florida and miss the diverse food options there so finding Punta Cana made me feel at home. The food is awesome, resonably priced, and the staff is always super friendly and accommodating. The chicharron de pollo was disappointing, however I highly recommend the stewed chicken or pollo ala plancha as both were super yummy! I will definitely be back. read more

Wonderful great tasting Dominican food!! The Mango margaritas were the best I've ever had.

Omg the moving is greattttt. There steak sandwich is great. I heard they have a get parties on Fri -Sat.

Finally some good Caribbean food! Our whole table had Stewed Goat, Rice with Red Beans and fried Plantains. Every bite was flavorful and the portions were huge. The Music was great and the server was a pleasure. We were also delighted that the owner came to check on us. read more

I try to eat here when I'm in Charlotte. Authentic food, big portions, great staff, and super clean. Be sure to get a meat pie appetizer for $1.25, so good. We got some to take home for breakfast. read more

I went here last night with the hubby and it did not disappoint. Unfortunately it was 9:30 on a Saturday night... So in the middle of our meal they started with the loud music and bright lights that were right in my eyes, no warning, no offer to move us. Kind of rude. But the food? Was delicious. Pernil pork, gandules and combo rice with plantains... It was the best Spanish food I have had in Charlotte. My hubby is PuertoRican and he ate all of his, and then my leftovers. We waited 15 minutes to be seated and (I kid you not) 30 minutes on our food. The service was SLOW bit they were really busy so I can accept that. Not the place to stop for a quiet dinner on a Saturday night, or if you are in a hurry, but if you don't mind sacrificing a little for authentic Spanish food, this is the place for you. read more

The food here was so delicious! The waitresses were sweet as pie and super attentive. Had the Mofongo with fried pork, rice and beans, along with their yuca fries and guava cake which was so moist and delicious that it had me wishing I'd taken some to go. Try this place if your ever in Charlotte, trust me you'll love it! read more

Went here with a friend for dinner. I had the fried boneless chicken with yellow rice and sweet plantains. My friend had the stewed chicken. She said it was good and tasty. Our sever was nice, however there was a language barrier. It was difficult for her to understand us and difficult for us to understand her. We had to repeat ourselves to ensure she understood us or tell another server. The highlight was the pina colada. It was so good. I would definitely recommend this place. read more

This is a Dominican spot but serves Caribbean plates from Puerto Rico, Cuba etc... Having been born and raised in Puerto Rico, my wife and I always search for caribbean places like this when we move to a new city. Having just moved to Charlotte 2 years ago from Chicago, this was the first place we ate at. Big fans. Food is very authentic and reminds us of home. Decent prices and they serve way more than enough. I recommend the white rice and red beans with fried pork chops and tostones (fried plantains) as a side. read more

I love love love Punta Cana. I am a hispanic from the Caribbean and I love my native food. I was so happy to find this place a few years ago. I wont go into detail abotu the service because they're sometimish (I know that's not a word lol). Some days they're really good. Other days they're not so good. My experience always seems to be good until a person of the Caucasian race comes in or a Hispanic who fluently speaks spanish comes in. They down goes my service. Anyway I dont want to make it seem worse than it is. But you should definitely try it out. the mofongo, mangu, queso frito, longaniza, pastelillo, pollo al horno and pernil !!! My in laws love the stewed shrimp that comes out in a little silver pot. Great place to eat at guys! read more

Just left after having some of the worst service I've had in a long time. They sat us then forgot about us for about 15min then came and got our drink order and again forgot is for another 15min. Then came back for our food order didn't write it down and came back 10min later asking what my husbands entree was again. Then disappears and services my husband first and I don't get my food for another 10min and comes with the wrong side dish. We never received our appetizer and decide to give it to us as we are leaving. Don't get me wrong the food was good but the service was horrible. read more

The food is good but you need to check your bill for they will try to add other things that you didn't order so be aware before paying

I am a regular at Punta Cana and I love the atmosphere and the service. I've never had a problem with the service or anything else for that matter. The only bad thing I can say is that is preferable to eat at the restaurant than to do take out but other than that it's great. The desserts are to die for and Saturday nights are a lot of fun too with their karaoke nights. read more

Horrible service. Wish I could leave a 0 star. Came here with my family for lunch and ordered a grilled chicken breast (which comes with 2 sides). When I finally got my order the chicken had so much salt it was inedible. They took the chicken breast back, no apology, no "would you like something else", nothing, just said will bring back to the kitchen. At this point I have no meal and have to wait for my husband to eat (his food was ok, far from great just ok). We asked for our check and were "kindly" informed ONLY the chicken would be taken off our bill but we would still have to pay for the 2 sides that it came with!!!! Our waiter said it was her job and she would get the manager. We are still waiting for the manager as he/she never came. Mu brain can't still comprehend this. I ordered a meal that comes with 2 sides, the main thing in it is crap but hey the sides that it comes with are ok so eat them without the chicken and we will charge you for 2 EXTRA sides now. I didn't even touch my sides as they were to eat WITH the chicken!! An apology and taking my meal of the bill would've been just fine. Instead unprofessional waiters were chitchatting and looking at us from the register like we'd done something wrong. Unfortunately this was one HUGE disappointment. Worst customer service EVER!!! read more

I tried this place out with my mother last Friday night. It is one of the few restaurants in Charlotte open past 10PM on a Friday night. The staff was friendly and welcoming and we were seated right away. However, it took a little while before our waitress came over to the table and it wasn't overly crowded. But once she did, she was so friendly and accommodating. We ordered the stew chicken with yellow rice and shrimp mofongo and a side of platanos maduros. Unfortunately, they ran out of yellow rice so I end up getting white rice. The stew chicken was good but the mofongo was very good. Keep in mind...it was my first time trying mofongo. We had sangria which was really delicious! The music was an awesome bonus too! The only reason I'm not scoring this restaurant higher is because I had a check-in coupon for 20% off that I wanted to use but they would not accept it. The waitress told me the owner said he never "approved" a Yelp coupon. Apparently, I was one of a few other people who tried to use the same coupon and was denied. Personally, I think they need to call Yelp and get this option removed or just honor the coupon. Otherwise, this is a good spot for late night 'real' food. read more

One of the few Dominican restaurants in the area, food is decent service depending on the day can vary, but overall a good place to eat when you are in the mood for some Dominican food. read more

THIS PLACE IS GREAT. 2 huge plates of food, 4 beers, 2 people 30 bucks. The service is great and the place is spotless.

Loved every moment, great food that brought back good memories from back home. I recommend to any Hispanics in the area to come here.