6.1/10Caribbean
AI-generated summary
The goat is the dish here, curried and falling apart, and even people who hated the meal say so. The and the bread course get named next. It is $145 for three courses, and that is where the argument sits, with plenty calling the rest underseasoned or plain for the money. Skip the chuleta can can, people keep saying it is too fatty.
“In terms of supplements, the Coconut Turnover is wonderful while the Chuleta was alright (needed some citrus.) Favorite dishes of the night were the Pepper Shrimp and Goat with everyone else loving the Breadfruit Tostón (curse my cephalopod allergy.)”
H3
“I thought the food was mediocre at best - and that’s before considering the price. Which was, looking back, almost incomprehensible for what we received.”
H3
“the bar snacks/drinks at Kabawa (in the old Ko space) were fantastic and made me super excited for the main dining room. A+ patties, interesting small dishes (a savory whipped smoked fish creme brulee to spread on cassava chips was particularly interesting, along with some of my favorite okra I've had in years), and great rum based cocktails”
H3
“That being said the shrimp dish that everyone raves about and orders we found to be grainy and unpalatable. Ditto for the mushrooms- very basic and the green banana component was a confusing pasty, gummy block. Our cobia was sliiiightly overcooked but it had great flavor (loved the broth) and the goat was delicious.”
H3
“The bread course was the best course, which is unfortunate. The rest was meh and I can’t see the justification in the price.”
H3
“Something about walking in for a 3-course $145 dinner put me in a weird headspace and as great as the goat was, the meal never got me back. The NYT waxed poetic about the tamarind—I thought it was clunky.”
H3
“I had what I would call a subpar meal there.”
H3
“It was really enjoyable! Very fun atmosphere, insanely nice staff, and exciting to have flavors you don’t normally get in fine dining. I’d say the winner was my goat entree which was melty, properly spicy, just fantastic, but my husband’s steak was the only slightly boring thing we had.”
H3
“We had an egg dish that was delightful, but their Chuleta Can Can was like 65% fat. I dunno how anyone could eat the whole thing without trimming off like half of the fat. It made me feel a bit nauseous.”
H3
“Kabawa has incredible service, a fantastic cocktail menu, and the dishes have sophistication and creativity (even the patties and coco bread at their bar), as well as some more unusual ingredients, that you won’t find at a hole in the wall.”
H3
“But my god, the duck sausage is a banger.”
H3
“The dishes are just not inventive, interesting, or flavorsome enough to justify the price. Duck sausage and goat where just nice. Matrimony as dessert was just ridiculous, no attempt to elevate it whatsoever.”
H3