CAROLINA KITCHEN 800 Shoppers Way, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774

"Ordered thanksgiving meal and the line is out the door. The process is disorganized and there is no one from the restaurant providing any information. Sadly from many patrons in line this seems to be the norm. We had an 8:30 pick up time. It’s our own people who provide us with the most deplorable service sometimes. This is the first and last time patronizing for me and my family. Updated: We never got the turkey we ordered ahead of time and paid for. After waiting in line for 45 mins I spoke with the manager and the manager Ms Beau took our information and said she’d call when the order was ready. Never received a call. Went back around 1:15 and was told at 1:30 it would be about 45 mins. So I guess the turkey was not cooked. So why did they advise people to come if the items wouldn’t be ready. Someone from the restaurant called and asked if we had the order. We told them no and when we asked if the order was ready they said no it would be about 50 mins. This was around 3 pm. We went there to find out what’s going on. After three trips still no turkey! That pickup was the most inept thing I’ve ever seen or encountered. They had paperwork in a notebook and it was mass confusion. The manager gave a refund. They ruined thanksgiving. We had to scramble to make alternative plans. This place is a complete joke. ETA: I know see the owner uses the long lines from the holiday order pick up as advertising and marketing. That is so disingenuous and dishonest. Pictures posted of lines out the door or long lines of people but what they don’t tell you is that the lines are long because of incompetence, disorganization, and mismanagement. No wonder the Rhode Island Ave location is now closed."

"The food, although much too salty for my taste, is tasty. The service is alright, however I would rate the service better, if the servers exhibited better training. Some of them do not handle the food in a manner that is appealing, in my opinion. They get sloppy. They throw the empty plastic food containers around; sometimes they fall on the floor. I'm not sure if they are being reused or not. I have heard the servers use foul language. I'm not condemning them for how they talk; just for allowing patrons to hear it. I also saw a server scratch his head while wearing plastic gloves and continued serving food without changing gloves. I asked him not to prepare my food. Again, the food is good, but I would like to see more professionalism."

"Definitely some good comfort food! The jerk chicken was the most tenderest chicken I’ve had in a while. The yams were yammin! The Mac-n-cheese can compete with some of the best. The lemonade was bussssssiiinnnn! Definitely had to double back for seconds. Also got the fish and chips for the kid. You will have to be your own judge of the greens. They were cut a little too large for my taste but they did have a good taste. Would definitely recommend and try again."

"If you like that Home-Cooking, Soul-Food, Southern-Comfort type meal this is definitely the place for you! This was truly the best food we've had at a restaurant ever. It was simply delicious!! I cannot recommend this place enough. If you see this place, stop by and grab a meal. You will not be disappointed and you get SO much food for the price!!"