Jambo Grill

I have to preface this review by saying that I love this kind of cuisine so when I discovered Jambo, I was elated to find it near when I shop. I noticed that the reviews are kind of all over the place with both the food and service so I decided to roll the dice. And I have to say, a lot of the bad stuff is right on the money. We walked in and were acknowledged by a sign that told us to seat ourselves but it took a minute for us to be noticed by anyone else despite the fact that the restaurant was nearly empty and there were several staff just sitting at a table on their phones or playing cards. After we sat ourselves a young lady came and brought us water and menus with a quick 'hello' and then left without another word. We then waited and waited and waited. No one came back after about 15 minutes when we discovered a QR code on the table that linked us to a way we could supposedly order to our table. We tried to do it, only to discover that the prices and options didn't match the physical menu and several items tried to upcharge us for things that were supposed to be included. After about 25 minutes since we got our water the young lady eventually came back and offered to take our order which we had to repeat multiple times. We asked a couple of questions but she seemed confused by our questions so we gave up and just ordered. About 20 minutes after ordering, our appetizers and one of our entrees arrived at the same time without the food for my wife. The person who brought it to us inquired about whether my wife also had food and she told him she did and what she had ordered. He clearly looked confused and walked away. Almost 15 minutes later her food arrived, which meant that mine was cold since I waited for her to get hers so we could eat together. I have to say, the food was actually very good but it was extremely overpriced for the offerings and setting. Typically I would expect African comfort food to land about $10 cheaper per plate, at least given the presentation, quality and setting. Our server never came to our table again through our entire meal until long after we had finished and were getting quite impatient waiting for the check. We never got a single refill of water throughout our meal, which is unforgivable when eating spicy food. As has been said numerous times in negative reviews, an 18% gratuity is automatically added to the bill. Personally I think this is a disgusting practice but I expected it based on the reviews. What I didn't expect was that they went further into what, quite frankly, feels like a scam. When they bring your receipt to sign, the final bill does not show the forced gratuity on it (even though it is included in the price on the bill) and they have another line requesting an additional tip with suggestions for an additional 15-20%. I am absolutely blown away by this money grab attempt. Anyone who isn't paying close attention will get tricked into essentially a 30-40% tip on any already overpriced bill. While I was very hopeful that this place would be wonderful, I won't be back. Decent food does not make up for poor service, crazy prices and questionable billing practices.

Great food and great service. I had the pepper soup and fufu plus the beef patties. My husband had curry chicken, rice and beans, and mac and cheese

Honestly was one of the best times I’ve had with my family here. More people should know about it. Would recommend. One thing I would change would be the servers consistent coming back to check for drinks but that’s it, still an amazing experience

I really wanted to love this place because it's different from a lot of the restaurants around here in Hoover, but I was mostly disappointed with everything except for the atmosphere of the actual restaurant. The food was just fine. I got wings covered with sauce and fries, and both were lacking in flavor. The fries tasted like unseasoned frozen fries from the grocery store and the wings only had flavor from the BBQ sauce. Maybe my dish was a dud, but I'm not curious enough to find out by going back to try something else.

Everything was good until the bill came. The bill included an “Mandatory 18% gratuity. I paid it but it will be the last time. As I sat there eating I considered mentioning the place to a group of guys I eat lunch with several times a month, but the “Mandatory” thing ruined it. When it is mandatory it is no longer Gratuity, it is a service fee.

First time here service was horrible food was cold they didn’t complete our order

I dont always write review and especially bad ones but Went there and half the Menu was out. Wasnt told of additional items missing until after we had Ordered appetizers. Basically choices were between 3 menu items at this point. The food took almost 1hr 15mins . We saw other people being served before us, even though they came after us by 20minutes. Food arrived and let's just say what a disappointment. The white rice and the Mac n Cheese were stuff u find in boxes from Walmart. As many already mentioned the meats were more bones than meat and were not at all tender. For the almost $80 for 2 people..I would expect better. Also the water had a soapy taste to it.