Cabanas–Just OK

I have often written about how I prefer local restaurants over the chains, generally the food is better and the atmosphere has a more genuine feel; then I run across a place like Cabanas in Mentor, a locally owned place that has all of the problems I have with chains.  Recently relocated to 9055 Mentor Ave., Mentor, OH 44060,

Cabanas has the potential to be so much more then it is a place with mediocre food and lots of generic Islands decorations. 

Cabanas has recently moved from another location in Mentor, so the restaurant was recently remodeled and as you would expect it has an Islands theme, unfortunately it comes across as a bit cheap and tacky, but not in the good dive place kind of way.  Rather it just feels like they went out and found the least expensive nautical and island decorations and used them. 

The menu (which you can review here) is described as American and Island cuisine and while it is heavy on fish and seafood it seems to be missing any kind of genuine Islands influence, especially since while there is plenty of grouper, shrimp and other seafood on the menu, nothing is at all exotic or unusual.  I would love to see some conch or some Island Chowder, but instead there are the usual Americanized versions of seafood.  

We started with the Coconut Shrimp Appetizer and while the shrimp were plump and nicely deep fried they were a bit sweet, especially if dipped in the orange mango marmalade that accompanied the shrimp.  The portion size was ok, but as I would notice throughout the meal the food was simply presented on the plate with no garnish.

For dinner I ordered the Fish Tacos, which were actually not Tacos at all; rather this was a flour tortilla wrapped around some grouper with a small serving of lettuce and some cheese then cut in half.   The lack of presentation was really bad on this plate as it was just the two halves of the wrap on a plate with nothing else; it looked kind of lonely and sad, with noting to make the plate appealing to the eye.  The fish was cooked alright, but there was nothing to indicate that it had the promised Caribbean spice and it certainly was as far from a fish taco as I have seen.  

Service was ok, but nothing exceptional and our server seemed to be learning the menu as she was going along.  The noise level was pretty high as the place was busy. 

My overall impression of Cabanas was that they have what I call PAF – perfectly acceptable food, but I look for more then that in a place I want to frequent.  There seems to be a lack of passion, like they are trying to create an atmosphere where as long as the food is OK, people will come for the excitement.  A few tweaks here and there, especially in how the food is prepared and presented and they could present a much better experience then they currently do.  Of course your mileage may vary.