boogaloo

a swingin' little place. i'm embarassed to say it took me 7 years to finally try this place, but we were glad we did and it was worth the wait. the famous bar with the swings is a true novelty, but we elected to sit at a table. the atmosphere is a bit dark, when the place is filling up you're gonna be cozy with other patrons, but none of that bothered us. we arrived on halloween night, just before the dinner rush, and all the staff were in costume. stephanie was our server and she was friendly, prompt and very helpful in choosing dishes. we decided to just make a meal out of small tapas plates, but the soups, the cajun tenderloin and the paella all looked like worthy entrees for the next visit.
on this trip we started with the plantain tostones which had a nice texture and mild sauce; the wasabi pea encrusted tuna was outstanding, although possibly misnamed. there is no "encrusting" here, but just great ahi tuna with a wasabi sauce and garnish of gossamer thin tortilla strips that burst with flavor on the tongue. the jerkchickenwings were meaty, not greasy and the sauce was very good. the sauce on the bbq shrimp was even better--we would eat anything doused in that sauce! and the dessert was a nice cake with caramel sauce that was just right as a finisher. all that and a couple glasses of wine for $55. not bad!

we went last weekend to boogaloo. it was our third visit. it was very disappointing. i'm not very picky but the food was downright terrible. jambalaya was mushy and the jerkchickentasted like it had no jerk seasoning at all. and the mango coleslaw didn't have mango...it was just basic ole coleslaw. we love the atmosphere and the food has been great in the past but we probably won't be back. it wasn't even mediocre.

one-hit wonder, unfortunately. initially went bc of a well-timed groupon. food was great, loved the plaintains, loved the jerk chicken, loved the atmospher. so when my parents came to visit stl, i thought i'd bring them here to try something different. boy was that a mistake.

menu had been changed-it was a ratty, torn, 8.5x11 computer printout, and the selection was just as ragged.

we opted for the lunch buffet. i was disgusted and embarrassed. there were only cold scraps, and the kitchen staff showed no sign of replenishing the line anytime soon. we had to flag a waiter down and ask. they finally got around to doing it, but merely threw somechickenin the microwave for about 30sec. how do we know? it was warm on the outside, frozen (rock hard) on the inside. who does that?! we left, disappointed. unfortunately my parents insisted on paying for that mess.

went a second time, to use my last groupon, for dinner. again, unimpressive. long wait, bland food. when asked why the jerkchickenwas different from our first visit, we were told that the chef was probably a chef from our original one. again. . what?! any quality restuarant's cardinal rule for success is consistency. this is severly lacking here.

boogaloo, stick to being a bar. your swing-chairs are cool.

great food, lousy service. i've been to boogaloo a few times and love the bar and food, but the service left a lot to be desired. it took us forever to get seated, and even though there were a few tables that could have been pushed together to accommodate our group on the restaurant side, we ended up eating on the bar side with all of the smokers. our server came over and promptly took our orders, but never asked for drink orders. i had to get her attention to get water, and my friends had to flag her down later to order more drinks from the bar. my seat faced into the kitchen, and we could see her just hanging out in the kitchen, chatting with other staff members, so it would have been nice if she had been more responsive to our table and checked on us a little more frequently.

i ordered thechickenand andouille gumbo and the cubaniche sandwich. the gumbo was excellent and well-flavored, just the right amount of spiciness. i would have enjoyed it more, though, had it come out as an appetizer, instead of with my food. at most places i've been where i've ordered soup or other appetizers, the waiter asks whether i'd like it to come out first or with my meal, otherwise it usually comes out as an appetizer. if you order the soup, you may want to specify that you'd like it to come out first. because i was trying to eat both the soup and the sandwich and fries while they were hot, i didn't fully get to enjoy everything as much as i would have liked.

almost everyone else in my party got a version of the jerk chicken, either the halfchickenwith plantains or the jerkchickensandwich. i tried some of my friend'schickenwith plantains and it was excellent! the food is really great, and i was pretty satisfied with my portion sizes for the cost. based on my experiences, and by the other reviews on this page, i think they need to spend more time training their staff to be more responsive to customers. i'd go back for the food, but probably not at a peak time or with a group larger than 4.

friday night we played a little groupon roulette and headed out to boogaloo. first impression, it's a cute little bar. original art for sale lines the walls. swings instead of barstools sound like a good idea, but when you're a little tipsy… the novelty wears off. i expect several people fall on their ass trying to get back into the swing every day. of course, they're probably the same folks that would miss the barstool too. average meal cost was around 10-20 per plate.

since we didn't make a reservation, we took a table in the smoking section. they put us next to an open window, so we were cold, but at least the smoke wasn't over powering. it was definitely a bar type atmosphere. it was loud, cramped and smoky. if you're looking for an intimate evening out, this is not the place to go.

my guest ordered the pork chop with mashed sweet potatoes and i had blackenedchickenfettuccini with cajun alfredo sauce. when the meal finally came out, it was pretty apparent that mine had been sitting . it was luke warm with dry noodles and even drier chicken, i wasn't impressed. the pork chop was better, i guess the kitchen didn't plan out the timing very well.

we had extremely poor service. we were in a cluster of 3 tables. the server came to check on the other 2 tables frequently and ignored us unless we were able to catch her on the way out and ask for something. the only time she proactively came to check on us was at the very end when it was clear we were done, then she tried to upsell more drinks and dessert.

my overall impression was less than stellar. i could see hitting this place for happy hour on my way to bigger and better things, but only if i were in the area.

delectable and friendly. i found myself here on a quiet tuesday night and i have to say this is a great place for a business traveler to eat alone. i sat at the bar and the service was fast and very friendly, and the few locals who were there were quick to strike up a conversation about their favorite menu items. i ordered the jerkchickenwings which had a lightly spiced dry rub and came with a savory coconut rundown sauce that while not entirely authentic jamaican were still very good. for my entrée i ordered the jambalaya which turned out to be your standard red - chicken, andouille sausage, and shrimp jambalaya. it did not disappoint. i was stuffed after all of that, but intrigued by the ravings of one regular i had to try the bread pudding for dessert. it was excellent, but i had to stop myself after only eating half of it as i feared i was going to put myself into a food coma! if i lived in saint louis, this would be one of my regular haunts! great food! great service! i give these guys an a+.