The most incredible Jamaican food I've had outside of Jamaica! Jerk chicken, oxtails, and the most delectable mac & cheese you will ever eat in your life. Not only we get a cheese pull but you get slapped in the mouth with creamy deliciousness! They now have brunch with all these amazing cocktails, but lunch and dinner also fire as well! The owner's grandmother came out from the kitchen and explained to us each dish and what it meant to her! It was truly an incredible experience read more

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The portion size is a joke. If you get takeout they will scam you. $34 for oxtail and it's mostly bones. Rice and cabbage costs nothing to make. read more

The Grotto - Oxtail pasta - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Took my friend here for a Sunday brunch date. I made 2:15pm reservations and we were greeted and seated right away. It's a fairly quaint place with most of the seating in the backyard, which is covered. Service: it was on the slow side and the only real negative of the experience. After sitting for about 5-10 minutes, a young lady came over and told us our server would be with us shortly. After another 10 or so minutes, our server made his way to the table, said he would be our server and would be back to take our order. I had to stop him and ask his name, Deshaun E. I'll give them a pass because most tables were taken and I only saw like 3 servers, so maybe they were short staffed. Drinks: my friend had the rum punch and I had the sorrel mimosa. She enjoyed her rum punch and ordered another round. I also enjoyed my mimosa, the sorrel flavor was tasty, but I opted to sample some other flavors instead of sticking to it. I also had the passion fruit and the pineapple/guava combo flavors- combo flavored recommended by Deshaun and it didn't disappoint. Food: my friend had the crispy "jerk" wings (I put jerk in parentheses cuz nothing about it gave jerk- not the look or flavor). We asked the waiter to ensure we didn't get the wrong kind but they said it was indeed the jerk, they did taste good though. I had the mussels in white wine sauce which was SO GOOD! It was a creamy white wine sauce, like with heavy cream or coconut milk, just yummy! For entrees she got the oxtail with rice and peas and fried plantain and I had the curry goat with mashed potatoes and steamed cabbage. Both entrees were very good and flavorful, it definitely gave home cooked meal from mom/grandma. The side order of jerk pork was okay. The flavor was pretty good but it appears they used pork chops instead of the usual cut of pork that's usually used to make jerk pork. I like my jerk pork with a piece of bone and piece of fat, like all that aids in the flavor. All in all it was a pretty good experience and I would definitely go back and recommend here. read more

The Grotto - Rum Punch $14 & sorrel mimosa $11 - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

This place has THE BEST Caribbean food I have ever had! They are currently remodeling and I can't wait to visit again. Everything is tasty and the staff is amazingly helpful and polite. read more

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A nice hangout spot with flavorful food! The restaurant is pretty small, so expect a wait if you go during busy hours! The wings are a must get and the calamari actually was pretty tasty! Pleasantly surprised. The oxtail mac and cheese really hit the spot. Would definitely come back here again just hang after a long day of work! read more

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10000/10 wouldn't change a thing.. I had the best time at Grotto this past weekend. The food was absolutely delicious, it was the best brunch I had in a long time. Our server Deshaun was great as well , he checked on my table periodically to make sure we were good. I highly recommend Grotto! read more

The Grotto - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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*THE WORST RESTAURANT EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE* This is one place that I will never recommend, and wouldn't go back if I was paid to go! The entrance is very distasteful with a bar that had nothing on the shelves. There were only two tables for seating, but if you are aware, there is a seating area in the back which is like a patio. I waited a while to be seated because this night in particular it was crowded. Once seated in the patio area it was freezing cold. They had two portable heaters to heat up the place. One heater was so close to someone's chair that the jacket could've potentially caught fire because actual flames were ignited. The waiter came and took our orders for drinks and food. The drinks took forever and he came back with one wrong drink which was mine. Didn't want the drink that he had so I just said to cancel the drink all together. He never came with water for the table though we asked. He went over to another table who came AFTER us and told them he was coming back with a shot on the house for them because of the long wait. Didn't offer us the same treatment though we waited EXTREMELY long and he came to me with the wrong drink. Food was taking forever and a day. While sitting in the cold of the patio waiting a worker came with a big bag of garbage to dispose on the side door of the patio (near the patrons dining). ON ONE OF THE COLDEST DAYS OF WINTER THE STENCH OF DEATH & ROTTING MEAT Was upon us! It smelled so bad omg their garbage disposal was right near where we dined. Imagine if it was the summer with that smell that lingered! Eventually the waiter came and offered us a shot of our choice. My friends and I told him Casamigo shots. He came with the shots and we drank it and they were in fact NOT Casamigo AT ALL! It was a different cheap tequila. Once the food arrived all of our entrees were COLD! Like everything on the plate cold! He had to then take all of the plates to be microwaved! Atrocious. I will say my food was okay once heated but the service, HORRIBLE. Would never return, never ever-ever! read more

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Vibe check Ambiance: 5/5 Service : 5/5 Food:10/5 Walked in and got seated immediately in the back but our waitress was very intentive. I ordered the sweet chili wings and Mac & cheese as an appetizer both were extremely tasty. For my entree I ordered the jerk pork which came with rice and peas. The pork was tasty and tender No complaints here..... Definitely have to come back again to try some other things on their menu like their oxtails tostones read more

I love Jamaican food and couldn't wait to try this spot! When I arrived I parked on the street nearby! I walked into a dimly lit place and was greeted. Allison was my server/bartender, and she was nice! She sat me in the back area. I started with the Grotto Punch, which was like a sangria, and it was good but a little sweet, so I added some more Merlot. For my appetizer, I got the mussels, and it was delicious! I then had the stewed red snapper with rice and peas, and that was also very good! I lastly had the rasta pasta with shrimp. This dish took quite a while to come out. When it did, the pasta was good, but the shrimp was a bit salty. All in all, I had a pretty good experience! read more

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I really enjoyed my experience at The Grotto! I went a few months back with my friend on a rainy Friday evening. We were treated with such kindness. Our waitress Ally was patient in explaining the menu to us and the happy hour drink special. Ally suggested the rum punch which punched us indeed! The Wray & Nephew was hittin'! Lol. My friend followed up with a sorrel mimosa, which she also liked. As for the food, it was super tasty and well seasoned! I had the jerk lamb burger and my friend had the salmon grotto pasta. The lamb burger was superb! I've just started getting into meat again after some years and this was a nice treat! It was so rich in flavor. I wish I'd ordered one to take home. It was juicy, tangy, and cooked to perfection (not raw nor overdone). My friend liked her salmon pasta. Nothing was left behind! The restaurant has limited seating but it's always the cozy spots that I find has the best food. Ally made our chill, rainy Friday night special with her warm hospitality. Loved this new Caribbean option in the Bed-Stuy neighborhood. Hope to be back soon! read more

The Grotto - Jerk Lamb Burger - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Dinner with the family and The Grotto BK did not disappoint! We started with drinks and then the ackee tostones along with the Octail spring rolls were delicious. And then we moved to the main event of dinner which brought on Oxtails with rice and peas with fried plantain, crab stuff shrimp, steam veg and fried plantain and a rather tasty baked Mac and cheese with oxtails..... Yes we love oxtails very much. All in all we loved the entire experience and the service was amazing. read more

The Grotto - Ackee Toastones - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

BIG SIGH... I really really wanted to like ALL the things about this place. I just didn't. I came here with a group of friends for dinner on a Friday night. When you first walk in you think, this can't be it? The front of this place leaves much to be desired. It's like no effort what so ever was made to have the front of this place match the back of it. So don't be fooled by the videos you see. B/c we didn't make reservation we had to sit in that very same lackluster front. I just couldn't believe that they thought this non ambience was okay. LOL LOL As for the food, I will say I enjoyed the Mac & Cheese, the oxtail spring rolls seemed to not have the oxtail part, and the jerk chicken was tasty. I however am sure my jerk chicken connoisseur will say the jerk didn't jerk enough though. ..LOL. My friends got the salmon pasta, lamb chops, and oxtail entree's. They enjoyed their food, however one felt the oxtail dish was too salty. I must likely will not come back b/c of the ambience. That may not be important to some, but it's definitely required if I'm spending money. I will potentially order b/c the food was pretty good. :-) read more

Staff were super friendly and helpful. The atmosphere is cool. I came with my sister-in-laws for a Mother's Day brunch and we were not disappointed. The food was delicious. The appetizers and individual dishes came out at different times but it was fine with us because it gave us all a chance to taste everything. For appetizers we had the Ackee tostones, jerk, sweet chile, and Hennessy bbq wings and baked Mac n cheese. Chefs kiss delicious. For the entrees we had the oxtail pasta, jerk beef burger, oxtail with rice n peas, crab stuffed shrimp w/ mashed potatoes and plantains and another one with rice n peas. Absolutely delicious, a few people had champagne flights, and a few individual drinks. The drinks were not strong but they were tasty. The price for all of this food was fare. We were happy. Definitely will visit again. read more

Went here for the first time a few weeks ago and was very impressed! We got wings to start which had good flavor but was hoping for a Caribbean dipping sauce rather than ranch. For my meal I got Rasta pasta and Mac and cheese. Both were great! I wish the pasta was spicier but I usually prefer things spicier than others so that could just be a personal preference. Also this is one of the few spots that you can get chicken on the side which is great if you just want a bigger portion! read more

It's nothing i love more then going to Brooklyn and stopping by a Restaurant give you The feeling like your right at home. I was a party of 3 and we sat at the bar the bartender was so Kind and sweet. Her Customer service was A 1 the food and drinks was great , and this night they had hookah. The Hookah lady name was Kim and it's a small business as well, she was Very delightful the Hookah was perfect and she kept checking to make Sure we was more then satisfied that's what i mean by service was worth every dollar. The restaurant is picture perfect and The Music was perfect Please check them Out 10 out of 10 read more

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I would like to go back to this place for their dinner menu after 5pm. Their pasta sounds good. Hookah thank you!! Flavors were good and pulling nice. The service was immaculate everyone was very attentive and nice. Shrimp and grits were good but a lot of grits ratio to shrimp. chicken and waffle was crispy but a bit dry. Drinks were strong yet tasty. Very cute place. read more

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Ambiance was nice is all I can say. Service there was none we got there at 8pm left at 10pm with ONLY drinks which was warm we left before cause the food never came. They lost a lot of $$$ and customers read more

Went there for Mother's Day dinner. Reservation was made for 6:30. Food did not come out until 8:45. Several people left who came before AND after us. Only excuse was that they were backed up. But...they run inefficiently. No one to greet you...I walked over to a server to check-in. Told to speak to the bartender. Took ten minutes to be seated. Never again! read more

In the heart of Bedstuy, this Caribbean restaurant is an absolute GEM. I will admit, it's a bit unassuming from the street and if you don't look carefully you might miss the small green and white THE GROTTO sign above the entrance. Despite that, upon entering, you're greeted warmly by the hostess or bartender as the sounds of R&B, Caribbean or afrobeats play. The air is filled with delicious flavors before you even walk to the spacious covered backyard. Its simple decor doesn't take away from the AMAZING and DELECTABLE FOOD. If you don't go for anything else, GO FOR THE FOOD! It's an understatement to say the food is full of flavor. It's BEYOND that. You will be licking your plate. I promise you! I've had the food before via delivery but this was my first visit and they were consistent with the flavor. The chef cooks with love and passion. There is no way a passion-less person can cook this good. Writing this is making my mouth water. I had the curried shrimp, peas and rice, steamed cabbage and sweet plantains. I was dancing in my chair as I ate because the food was perfection! I will be returning soon or at least Uber eats The Grotto again very soon. You should too. read more

The Grotto - Guys, this curried shrimp, rice and peas, plantains and steamed cabbage was finger liking good. - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

The food at the grotto is amazing and the staff is so friendly. This is such a lovely neighborhood spot. We sat at the bar and had a great converstaion with the bartender. And we got to meet chef Mommy! What a treat. We'll definitely be back. read more

Foodies, just discovered a hidden Jamaican food in the heart of the Brooklyn area Everything here made Jamaican food lovers' dream come true. Authentic Jamaican Food in this cozy spotwith outdoor potion with additional space. Let's start with Chicken Wings just cooked perfectly flavored sauce It was worth to wait Oh! Yes! The chicken the lamb made us night SO CRAZY FRESH & JUICY & TENDER & FLAVORFUL They have the variety choose of the drinks even non-alcohol drinks read more

Outstanding food! The jerk chicken, rice and peas is the best I've ever had! Awesome rum punch! Chef Mother's hands are truly blessed by God! read more

This restaurant is one of my favorites. Their food is 100/10 but the customer service is just a bit off. read more

Today was a great experience. DAE Dae was the server/ bartender and he was amazing. He was with the shenanigans and extremely helpful. The food was amazing hands down to the chef. Nothing we ate disappointed from the Mac and cheese to the oxtail tostones to the grotto pasta and more ALL on point!!! Please have a quaint and personal experience with the Grotto you will not be disappointed. The Grotto owes me nothing!!! See you again soon NY!!! read more

We've been here 20 minutes shy of 2 hours. just getting 2 out of 3 appetizers and water finished a long time ago as well as our drinks (Pina Colada). Very disappointing, no one has apologized for the long wait time. And our entries is no where in sight. (Or if we need anything). The calamari is mostly flour with no taste, and it came cold. Never again, I do not recommend. Update: After being there 2 hours we were told our food is coming we took it to go. (Really turned off). The whole restaurant had their food except us, and we were there before everyone except 2 tables. For our 1st visit is the last, NEVER again. The food was average. Definitely the hype of social media was not met. Blaming the Waiter being new is unacceptable. He should have gotten help from the team. read more

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10 out of fucking 10 our server DaeDae & the Chef Mommy did what the fuck they needed to do! It was Absolutely amazing !! I will definitely be back again from the mimosas to the appetizer to the entrée to the ambience so the atmosphere everything was fucking amazing!!!! Traveling from Atlanta to Brooklyn and I recommend the spot 1000% if you need a bartender hit up Allison and DAE DAE read more

Great service, great food. Cute ambiance. We were greeted at the door by a lovely gentleman. He made delicious drink and food suggestions that were definitely on point. For appetizers we had ackee and plantains and crab cakes. I chose the mango margaritas and it was delicious. My meal was escovitch snapper with peas and rice. My friend had escovitch shrimp with peas and rice and plantains. Overall great experience. We will return. read more

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Let's start with the fact that when you walk in , there is no hostess to greet you . On top of this , the back seating area is a HOT BOX !!! Any additional seating is set up in the front section of the restaurant when you walk in but at least there's air there . Now , let's get to the service ! It SUCKS! The server is the hostess and the bartender or ... and the DJ ! That's right ... she's doing 4 jobs at once . We ordered an appetizer of alleged "jerk wings" that were more like brown sugar and vinegar wings ( not at ALL jerk ) would be a disgrace to any true Caribbean. On top of the fact that they were soaked in vinegar and brown sugar and n jerk taste WHATSOEVER , the order came with 5 pieces not 6 which is weird ! I mean ... there should be 3 flats and 3 drums ... and if there's only 5 ... make sure it's 3 flats PERIODT! But nope ! 5 sugar coated winglets that perpetuated a fraud claiming to be "jerk". We waited 50 mins to an hour for our food . No waitress checking in on us or informing us of anything that was happening as to why the food was taking so long . Just as we were about to pay for the wings , the waitress / bartender / DJ / Hostess brings out the over-cooked salmon that was more burnt then tender and is what pretended to be "crab stuff shrimp " that didn't have much crab at all . It was more like the shrimp was accompanied by a few sprinkles of crab meat . While the shrimp were well seasoned , the claim to be stuffed with crab is false . We spoke to the manager who claims that the reason for so many issues is that they're " short on staff" which ia a poor excuse ESPECIALLY on a FRIDAY!!!! Overall , service and food sucks ! I definitely would not recommend this place to anyone . read more

The Grotto - Crab stuff Shrimp - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Food was absolutely delicious.The plating was pretty & the food tastes great. I had the oxtail, the salad with rice & peas absolutely exquisite. Repeat Repeat Repeat. Food: 5/5 | Service: 5/5 | Atmosphere: 5/5 read more

Do you drink alcohol? This is the place for you. The space is tiny indoors. The main part of the restaurant is in The backyard ... there are heater and it's closed in the best that they wanted to do on a DIY skimpy budget. First round of drinks... I giving you y experience ... this was my birthday 3/17. J Servers are pleasant , taking your orders and bring your 1st round of shots. An hour past and you receive the Ackee Tostones there are 4 , but my party is 6... we split them because everyone is hungry . Oh my 2nd round of shots and your various alcoholic drinks as well. Laughter fills the air and loud musics begins to play. Appetizer are not coming yet, the server apologies and doesn't come back for another 30 minutes. This time the servers return with salads for 2- people jerk salmon and shrimp and Jerk shrimp. The order was one jerk salmon and one jerk shrimp. We are told the other dishes are on their way out. 20 minutes no dishes... more alcohol. Now the oxtails and brown gravy Rice and peas and cabbage and the fried snapper arrives . No appetizers: Mac and Cheese, wings and Crab cakes. The service apologizes and say there are not Crab cakes. Ok ok just bring the boneless wings and Mac and cheese. Sure no problem.. my apologies.. reply the server. Alcohol anyone? Hello, Hello... excuse me (us we try to get the server's attention). We begin eating the basic Caribbean dishes. Not bad at all , but far from authentic. Now the macaroni and cheese and the boneless wings we ordered initially as appetizers come to the table. We ask for to go dishes... no problem we were given several. whole foods small brown cartons). Note: We arrived for our reservation at 5:00pm and left the restaurant at 8:00pm. It was an experience! FYI.. I added the alcohol drinks above ... my group did not have any alcoholic drinks, and so we waited for our food patiently and every 15- 20 minutes we were ignored. It was frustrating .... Please share your experience, perhaps yours will be different. Read the reviews before you and prepare. read more

The Grotto - The ambiance - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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The food was delicious, the service was attentive, and the indoor ambiance was cute/intimate. I highly recommend the Yardie Spring Roll Oxtails and the mac and cheese. We celebrated my best friend's 25th birthday, and she had a great time. We want to come back during the spring/summertime. Special shout out to our server, Allision; she held it down the entire time. She was very kind, courteous, and creative with Mocktails and Cocktails. read more

Ive been to many food spots and I can say that this has been in my top 3 of worst experiences. Its now 6:40, I arrived at 5:08pm and ended up leaving without having eaten a thing. Ordered calamari for an appetizer with a couple rum punches. The drinks came out but no calamari. Literally sat there for an hour and a half for nothing. No update, no "the kitchen's backed up", "we're a little behind" NOTHING!!! No food for us but carry out orders are steady moving. Wanted to give this place a try and support after seeing an instagram video. The person should've listed how terrible the service was. read more

I went on date here with my Bf and the food and drinks was really good , i definitely will be coming back and i definitely recommend it . read more

The Grotto - Grilled Salmon Shrimp Grotto Pasta - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Ambiance: Tiny place with big heart! I loved the live DJ and old school Caribbean music is my fav. The décor includes a green plant wall, a few 22inch TVs and overall good vibes. Food: I stopped by and dabbled in the appetizers and a few drinks at the bar. The Mac N cheese needs more variety cheeses but the crab cakes were yummy. The Drinks were amazing! Loved the Sorrel Mimosa and Coconut rum drink. Service: Our Bartender was attentive, beautiful, and kind. We loved her. Value: We spent $75 for two appetizers and 2 drinks at the bar so the place is pricey but the quality is there. Cant wait to come back and try some entrees. read more

- So much fun! - great music - happy hour 6-9 - attentive service - food takes a while to come out initially but it comes out faster as the night goes on - bomb lamb chops - great cheap happy hour food and drink menu - fantastic mac n cheese - fantastic jerk chicken - fantastic esco shrimp - jerk pork is kinda dry - jerk sauce tastes more like bbq - free oxtail gravy with order - cant wait to go back for brunch - tasty wings read more

I got the pleasure of checking out The Grotto in Brooklyn. This place is really good. As a Caribbean, I'm usually picky about Caribbean restaurants. But this place is legit good. The food is great, staff is helpful & attentive. Which is appreciated. If you're a fan of Rum Punch get it. They don't skimp on alcohol. It's worth it. read more

The Grotto - Curried Goat Fried Plantains Mac & Cheese Grilled Wings - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

Greetings and Salutations yelpers are you ready for a Caribbean Brunch..add Grotto to your list. First it is not very large I would recommend reservations. Most importantly when dining I love interaction with staff that makes you feel they are happy you choose there establishment. Upon arriving seated within minutes. They took us to the outdoor seating..nope not for me I need my AC. Inside had tables more geared for 2 but they made it work for my party of 3. R&B music was playing so I had to ask when is the reggae and calypso session.. (I mean I'm in a Caribbean restaurant.lol) response was when do you want I'm like now and sure enough my island tunes started to play..Likkle did I know the gentleman I asked was the DJ.#winning The food. Ordered ackee and saltfish tostonas , ackee and saltfish with provisions. Can I say taste like home . Every bite from beginning to end was amazing. Note.. I asked for pepper like scotch bonnet whatever she bought made my meal 10++++. Then came the bake and the mussels.. delicious. I had a passion fruit Bellini and it was perfect.I sampled the rum punch, a bit sweet for me but it was definitely on point. You know when the rum punch have pimento seed dem.. it's ligit. All in all from the staff, the food, the drinks, and the music. Grotto BK was definitely a vibe and I can't wait to return to try the dinner menu. read more

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Came here after a horrible experience up the road at another place I wont mention.. Upon arrival we were immediately seated in the outdoor area which was empty but the dj was bumping the chunes.. We had to order through QR code which is fine. Prices was reasonable for a rum punch which was strong I couldn't finish it after ordering the sangria which tasted like cheap wine with cut up apples . Wasn't very sangriaish at all! So we only ordered Apps I ordered Henny bbq wings, seasoned fries side of ranch. Tasted well nice crisp to the wings even with the sauce. My friend had the plain wings and fries which were seasoned well she said so A-plus. And we shared an order of Jerk pork which wasn't Pork smh they gave us chicken. They stated the pork was tough so that should've been stated before they brought us chicken. I took off 1 star for that because we didn't want to eat a bunch of Pollo! Either way the chicken was well seasoned but was cold so we sent it back to be heated. Overall not a bad experience I will return maybe for happy hour because they were closing at 11:30pm and we arrived around 10:30pm. The backyard is nice has green wall for pics of course girls love pics lol... read more

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The food was okay. I've had better shrimp and grits, the mimosas will get you drunk but the service was REALLY SLOW. It took forever to get our mimosa refills and brunch is only 90 mins so we probably each got 1 refill. We spent $83 each for brunch and it was not worth it. It's $40 for the unlimited mimosas PLUS the price of your meal which is something that should be explained because we all assumed it was $40 per person plus tax & gratuity. Even getting our water pitcher refilled took forever. Getting cups took a long time too. I don't know if it'll be worth it to come back to this place again. There's only seating in their outside area, the inside area is strictly a bar so no tables there. Our server was MIA most of the time we were there, yet when it was time to pay the bill she hovered over us like we would run out on her. read more

The Grotto - Brunch menu - Caribbean Near Me - Brooklyn, New York

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Awesome baked pasta, strong (& sweet) rum punch, friendly service. The music was a bit loud, but the songs were fun throwbacks for a Sunday afternoon. People were sitting at the bar, smoking hookah; others were celebrating Mother's Day with their adult families. read more