12/5 (continued) Dinner at Sebastian’s Bistro
We arrived at Caribbean Beach at about 5:00 but our ADR wasn’t until 5:45. I tried to modify it in the app but since we were within the 2 hour window it wouldn’t let me change anything. We spoke with the hostess and asked if there was any chance we could get in early. She said she’d “make a note”. It was beautiful out so we enjoyed the weather and watched some turtles swimming in the water.
We received the text that our table was ready at 5:50. So much for getting in a little early. There were many empty tables as we were being seated so it must have been a staffing issue or perhaps that they only wanted to seat us at a two-top.
As we entered the restaurant the smell of fish was very overpowering which surprised me as fish is just a small part of the menu.
We were seated at a very small two top table. The server took our drink order and explained the menu to us. He didn’t mention the add-ons but I knew coconut shrimp was an add-on so I requested an order of that.
A different server brought out the spice necklace salad, pull apart rolls, and coconut shrimp. He did a great job explaining each of the dishes. He was very obviously trying to provide excellent service.
Spice necklace salad: Mixed Greens and Kale with Spiced Candied Pumpkin Seeds, Tropical Fruit, and Radish with Key Lime Dressing
My DH absolutely loved this salad. I thought it was good with a lot of unique flavors. It was my DH’s favorite thing he ate besides dessert.
Buttery House-baked Pull-apart Rolls with Guava Butter and Caramelized Onion Jam
The pull apart rolls were very good and the onion jam was really tasty. We didn’t get a ton of flavor from the guava butter. Also, the Mickey shaped parmesan biscuit was dry and flavorless.
As you can see from this photo, our table was so small that the server had a hard time fitting everything on the table and this was just the starters. I do think it’s odd to have a family style meal and seat people at a table that is way too small to accommodate all the dishes. It definitely detracted from the experience to be balancing plates on the edges.
Fried Coconut Shrimp with Creamy Chipotle Dipping Sauce
These were pretty good, mostly tasted like the coconut batter. It was actually my favorite thing I ate besides dessert. Didn’t get a ton of flavor from the chipotle dipping sauce.
Our second server then had to clear plates to bring out the mains and sides. He again gave great descriptions of everything.
Entrée Sides: Taste of the Caribbean and Harvest of the Caribbean are both served with Cilantro Rice and Beans, Vegetable Curry, and Grilled Seasonal Vegetables
Cilantro Rice and beans were okay. I didn’t notice a ton of cilantro flavor. They seemed a bit under-seasoned.
The vegetable curry was described by a couple vloggers as really just vegetables stewed in a tomato broth with not much curry flavor. We however felt this had a lot of curry flavor and really didn’t care for it.
The broccolini was heavily smoked. I liked it but it was very smoky.
Taste of the Caribbean: Oven-roasted Citrus Chicken, Slow-cooked Mojo Pork with Mango Sambal, Grilled Chili-rubbed Beef with Mojito Relish, and Sustainable Baked Fish with Veracruz Sauce
Unfortunately we felt all of these items were under-seasoned and bland. The mango in the mango sambal seemed under ripe so it didn’t add any sweetness or flavor to the pulled pork. The white fish was flavorless. The chicken wasn’t warm and we didn’t taste any “citrus”. We didn’t taste any chili on the chili-rubbed beef. Overall it was just very bland mediocre food which truly surprised us. We really expected a lot of flavor from this meal and it was just overall lacking.
Our Celebrated House-made Coconut-Pineapple Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream
This was great as always (we’ve ordered it before at Banana Cabana). I know a lot of people say it’s better than ‘Ohana. And, while our portion size was definitely better than the one we got earlier in the week at ‘Ohana, we honestly don’t notice a lot of difference. Both are very tasty. Unfortunately for me by this point in the week I was just way too full to have more than one spoonful. My DH got to eat all the rest and was quite happy with that.
So, our first time at Sebastian’s Bistro wasn’t great. We expected a lot more from this meal. I know many people say it’s better than ‘Ohana but based on this experience we couldn't disagree more. Perhaps it was just an off night but between the fish smell, the tiny table and the mostly bland food we won’t be coming back any time soon. Service, the salad, rolls, and dessert were good but beyond that there wasn’t much to recommend it.
Up next…checking out the Boardwalk at night
