Papi Chulo- Caliente y No Caliente...

Basically, hot or not? | A Restaurant Review

Before I get into the restaurant review, I wanna point out the different factors I think that makes an experience worth wild.

Firstly, I think it has a lot to do with your group or really yourself. You could be at a silent headphone party with no headphones, and you and the right crew are having a blast because you set out to have fun, while another set of people would complain that they can’t hear the music. It’s all about who you’re with — or maybe, just like the music, it’s all about the vibe.

Secondly, the ambiance of a place sets a certain mood for the experience. From the music to decor to the lighting, it can make your experience an intimate fine dining one or a lit boozy one.

Thirdly and I’m sure there are others, but most importantly, the customer service can throw off or hype up the whole experience. It's true; good service can make you feel like royalty, and bad service can have you questioning if you’re at a five-star restaurant or a drive-thru.

Papi Chulo Decor & Ambiance

Now on to my experience. Social media is arguably the best marketing tool there is right now, and the way the new Papi Chulo Restaurant in Draxhall St. Ann has been hyped up, I had to go to ease my FOMO.

When my group got there, we were low on energy having been up since 6am for the whole Yaaman adventures journey. By 6pm, we were tired, so when we were met with a server that was low energy too, and in my opinion, slightly rude in a dry, matter-of-fact kind of way, we definitely weren’t receptive.

We waited an okay amount of time to get our food, no water in sight. Like, at least throw me a glass of H2O, something to break the monotony of the dry vibes.Since we were so tired and the music wasn’t really hyping us up either, we just played two truths and a lie to pass time.

Beef Burrito Bowl

We got the food, and my food was cold—too cold. There’s nothing worse than cold beans when you’re trying to eat and there was no way I was going to eat cold beans to drive by Kingston in a bathroom-less highway with my belly. So I did the most logical thing: I stole my friend’s fries.! Which were really good and warm. I also bit on her tacos, which she and others said were really spicy, but for me, it wasn’t spicy— The tacos were really nice though, and we added the plantain to it… scrumdillyumptious!

If you’re thinking, “Why didn’t you ask for water?” or “Why didn’t you say something about your cold food?” Trust me, I usually do, but I was too tired. And the “don’t care” energy from the server made me feel like I was just intruding on their nap time. So I sucked it up, took my L, and went home. At least my L was wrapped in a burrito bowl.

Fast forward to the next day at home, I reheated my burrito bowl and it was pretty decent. I hated the rice, though—wasn’t giving me “restaurant rice”. It tasted more like rice from smady yard, but not my yard, here it’s all about that Jasmine and Basmati life. Shelly vibes, always.

Drink

Would I go back? Yes. I know what you’re thinking after that review—Yuh mad? But I feel like the cards were stacked against them that night. The drinks were really good, and I loved the decor. With higher energies, I could have had a better experience because the food was decent, and the prices were good. I paid a little under 5k for my drink, burrito bowl, and a side of plantains.

The experience was a *5/10*, but let’s see how I feel when I go there again.

Do you give second chances to bad restaurants? Let me know in the comments—because I might just taco another shot at it!