Posted by The Editorial Desk / Monday, July 13th, 2009
Today marks the debut of a new, semi-regular feature, Just A Taste–an early look at just-opened local restaurants.
We kick off the series with Las Palmas Cafe, a family-run, Caribbean-style eatery that sprung up in downtown Fredericksburg this June.
Proprietors Willie Soto and Jeanette Reyes-Soto, plus their seven kids (imagine Jon and Kate without all the televised vitriol), are the lifeblood of this brightly decorated, cheer-inducing property.
The walls and chairs are painted lemon yellow and turquoise, respectively, bathing the narrow but fairly deep expanse in vibrant colors. The floor is bedecked in polished wood and tile–slick surfaces ideally suited for their Friday night salsa parties. Meanwhile, a blackboard-treated wall spells out daily specials for curious passersby.
The menu boasts a decent roster of Puerto Rican classics, ranging from traditional tostones (fried perhaps just a tad too long; here’s to hoping the arid ones I encountered were simply an anomaly) and alcapurrias (ground beef and plaintain roll-ups) to codfish salad and pernil asado (roast pork).
Lunch options include an array of value-priced sandwiches, among them a passable Cuban (roast pork needs more mojo, the ham was bland), and savory empanadas (shredded chicken put the seasoned beef to shame; now, how about working up some homemade hot sauce?).
Was disappointed there were no fruit-based batidos or merengadas sloshing around in whirring blenders during my visit. But Reyes-Soto assures me they know their way around some frozen drinks (pineapple, guava, mango and pina colada)–with more to come once they get their liquor license squared away.
Meanwhile, they also carry canned Goya nectars in a variety of tropical flavors (mango, guava, strawberry-lime).
707 Caroline St., Fredericksburg; 540-372-7256; www.laspalmascafe1.com
Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday, late-night dining Friday.
–Warren
Tags: Fredericksburg, Gut Check, Las Palmas Cafe, Northern Virginia Magazine, restaurants, Warren Rojas
Sounds fabulous! I could eat chicken empanadas daily! I’ll have to let my uncle in F-burg know about the place. Thanks!
I’ve been on the restaurant two times and the experience have been the same. The taste is not bad but the amount of food serve is not worth the price. In addition to that, they NEVER have desserts during the afternoon so you better be early for that. By the way, you owe me four side salads which according to the menu would come with our food and we never got them. Why we didn’t ask for them?? Just to gave you the opportunity to give us a good service. The appetizers are too big and expensive. For example, just one bacalaito costs $3 when you can get a bigger and tastier one back in PR for $1.50 or you can make it yourself. You guys should consider making a sampler with smaller items instead of doing the big ones. Further, every single latin person can recognize your side of FROZEN GOYA “amarillos” that anyone can buy from any grocery store, and you have them from $3!!!! when the box costs less than that. Another suggestion; for the fried chicken you should defrost it “completely before frying it so it can be more tender and juicy. The flavor was good but it was too hard and almost burn on the outside. Being this my second bad experience with you guys I won’t risk it for the third one. Sorry but I don’t think I’ll be back. I wish you guy the best and hope you can fix those things.
I also forgot, the prices are to high for just being “comida criolla” You guys should consider reducing prices.
My family and I decided to go and visit and give las palmas a try, being Dominican,having many Puerto Rican family members, and being a fellow new yorker, I could not wait and support them. We went on 3/22/010 for lunch, the decoration was very inviting, the server took us to a table, the place was not crowded there was plenty of staff..and we waited, waited, and WAITED! for about 20 minutes till someone came to ask if we wanted a drink!! My husband was ready to go, but we sucked it up..order the food which took forever to come, I had ordered a mofongo which was not fully cooked!! the sauce that comes along w/it was just awful, there was nothing authentic about it, I strongly suggest making it more authentic to real Puerto Rican flavor.
Our waitress was very sweet, but we had to ask her about 6x for extra napkins!!! asked her about Cafe con lenche about 4x!! and no we did not get the napkins or the cafe con leche, I could not believe the type of services, I don’t care how long the place has been open that type of service is unacceptable, they need to provide more training to the staff! The nightmare doesn’t stop there we asked for dessert which took 10-15 minutes!! the place was not crowded, so there is no excuse.
I eventually spoke to the manager, and she explained their machines were down, which by the way seems to be the problem for others too customers who have posted other reviews in other websites.
I was very disappointed, I will not drive 45 minutes to get there.
My suggestions to them, provide customer service /professionalism training to the staff, the prices for the dinner menu are a bit outrageous, and improve the mofongo. I wish them luck, and hope they can improve their service.
July 15th, 2009 at 11:08 am
Warren,
Thanks so much for writing an article on our new Authentic Puerto Rican restaurant Las Palmas Cafe. Im both surprised and proud to see that the word has gotten out so fast about our restaurant. We just opened on Thursday, July 9th. Prior to that our kitchen was under construction and we were only offering deli sandwiches. As of right now we are awaiting our liquor license and hope to have that within a couple of weeks. Im surprised you werent offered one of our Frozen Drinks….we have Pina Coladas, Mango, Guava & Pina Batidas, that have been a hit!!
Sorry to hear about the tostones….I will be sure to keep an eye on that. Again with us being very new it is a learning experience for all. Thanks for bringing it to our attention. Our desire is to be sure that every customer leaves here happy and full.
Thanks again for stopping by! I did get your voicemail on Monday morning in regards to getting information about our restaurant….but unfortunately by the time I got back to you on Monday afternoon you had already written your article. Please come by and visit us again!!! It would be a pleasure meeting you!
Jeanette Reyes
Las Palmas Cafe
540-372-7256