Simmer Down Caribbean Cafe

Hit the spot in a big way. Got the curry and the tofu meals. Insane value for such large portions of healthy delicious food. Beans and rice were awesome, seasoning in both dishes was great, and the salad dressing was phenomenal (need a recipe). And save for 1 dish entirely vegan! Can’t wait to come back again and again.

Amazing food. Super fresh and healthy and delicious! Great prices. Owner super friendly too – you can call in ahead of time and it will be there for pickup. Love it!

Kudos to Patrick and to his food. I stopped by last week on a cold blustery day and had a chance to talk with Patrick AND eat his food. This is the Gold standard for food trucks in Humboldt County. Food isn’t cheap but the quality, portion size and owner’s attitude more that offset it. I love hot and spicy and Patrick had a large assortment of sauces and condiments. But, as I discovered while eating his fish dish, every item was perfectly seasoned and I needed to add nothing more. That was a first for me in any of my food truck experiences.
Bottom line: patronize this place as it is a jewel that must stay here!

Delicious fritters and awesome aioli sauce! Hope they get enough business to stick around, it’s a worthy food truck to stop by!

so delicious! Jamaican patties with local calalloo, ginger brew or soursop juice, corn fritters, yam fries… I could just list the menu if you want me to haha. Besides the delicious carribean food the dude who runs the place is super friendly. Irie vibes for sure!

Great food and service. It’s healthy, mostly vegan, reasonably priced and the portions are large. They take card which is great! I will def be going back for lunch again.

I have eaten here 4 times and have not been disappointed. The service has been quick and courteous. The portions are generous, the food always seems fresh, and there is a nice mix of flavors, spicy, tangy, sweet, savory. I think it’s great to have some fairly unique cuisine among the abundance of Mexican, Asian, American, pizza, etc. The different hot sauces are all delicious too.

Best corn fritters ever, like hush puppies with bits of corn! Such a treat with the house made Cilantro Aioli. Love the spice of their fish dish, yummy fries and awesome to get a Ting to drink (tastes like squirt) without flying down to the Caribbean. Rice and peas are the real deal to boot! I look forward to many more meals at Simmer Down!

Wow! This a must check food truck on G & 7^th off the plaza of Arcata. I had the cashew burger and corn fritters with cilantro aioli. The whole meal of on point and is very fresh and super tatsy. There was even a slice of heirloom tomato on the burger. I will definitely be eating here again and this will be my Arcata spot to eat for healthy unique meal. Plus I still need to try the fish dish and yam fries! Make sure you try their house made hot sauces!!!

I love everything at Simmer Down. There is a good variety for a food truck. My husband likes to spice it up with one of their homemade sauces. He likes it hot!!! My favorite is the corn fritters!!! To Die For!!!

I was very excited when I learned about this place, because I’m a big fan of Caribbean food. Unfortunately, it was quite a letdown. The food here is incredibly bland. I ordered the Ital stew, which also came with coconut & red bean rice, grilled plantains, and a salad. The meal was visually appealing, but one bite of the stew revealed that it was virtually tasteless. No spices had been used, or if they had they were completely imperceptible. I don’t think there was even any salt. The plantains were limp and soggy. The salad was just lettuce, a tomato slice, and some raw onion, coupled with a drizzle of sickeningly sweet dressing which im reasonably sure was not house-​made. The coconut & red bean rice was the only good part of the meal — good texture, nice subtle coconut flavor.
Overall, the main problem here is just the shocking lack of spices. The stew had a good consistency and texture, and the vegetables seemed fresh, so its a shame that it was so underseasoned.
I won’t be eating here again. If you prefer blander food, you might enjoy this place.