Brenzels Caribbean Cuisine - Lewiston

This is a difficult review. But please read the whole review and you will see why... We went here for a late lunch, around 3 pm, and the place was basically empty, other than two gentlemen at one other table, who were finishing their meal. It seemed fine at first, though I did notice that the place was very sparsely furnished, the tables not prepared or set, and honestly did not look like they were really open. The waitress, who was, overall, pretty great, considering, came and gave the two of us one menu to share. Then the cook (I assumed, maybe he was the owner) came from out of the kitchen and basically tried to convince us to order certain foods. When I asked questions about the menu, he was very friendly, but tried to lead me away from what I was interested in, or that is what it felt like. Then he left and went back in the kitchen, at which point I started hearing loud conversations, which eventually turned into yelling and arguing, that continued through our whole meal. When we finally ordered, which took a bit, to when we got our check took almost two hours. As I stated before, we were the only sit down customers in the place. A family came in not long after us and placed an order to go, and were still waiting when we left. Someone else came in at some point to grab a called in order, and in talking, I was told that these guys are always slow, and that this was not just a fluke. So here is why I gave them three stars instead of one. The food was TERRIFIC! I mean just wonderful. I ordered the ackee and salt fish with fried dumplings and wow!! Yum! My husband had the island veggie soup, we had some fried plantains and it couldn't have been better. And they had j chicken on special that truly was special. It was the best j chicken I have ever had, smoky, tender and flavourful. Even the drinks were delicious, house made strawberry lemonade, and and orange ginger lemonade. My God, if it hadn't been for the ridiculous situation, it would have been an amazing meal. So I guess my take away is this. If you have a few hours to waste with no kids, or are local (we aren't) and can call ahead, try this place out. Their food is AMAZING! But if they can't figure out how to get food out in a timely manner, I don't imagine they are going to make the long haul.

Delicious and authentic! The staff is super friendly and very nice. The food is phenomenal and you'll be asking for seconds.

I was very excited about a Caribbean restaurant in Lewiston! Growing up in South Florida with plenty of Caribbeans, my expectations were high and it's very clear that someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing. The food was delicious and unique for sure. But I couldn't help but think it could be better and that they may be holding back to accommodate the local palate. The J Chicken was good, but not nearly as spiced or spicy as I was expecting. It had a spice to it but subtle compared to what I am used to. However I was very impressed with the smoke flavor, like a real grill or BBQ was used!I will certainly be eating here again!

Love this place. Excellent service, the restaurant feels meticulously clean, and their j chicken is incredible. Definitely one of the best restaurants in the area.

Great food and extremely nice!