Island Vybz Cafe

There’s nothing I hate worse than pre-​ordering food and it’s not ready when I arrive. I did a GrubHub order and it gave me a time. I showed up about 10 minutes past what my email confirmation said and my food STILL wasn’t ready. In fact, my jerk chicken was still on the grill. I ended up waiting around an additional 25 minutes. I was NOT pleased.
So why the 4 star review?
After I got home thoroughly pissed that I had to wait so long after ordering ahead, I took a bite out of my jerk chicken and all signs of anger vanished from my body. Y’all, this chicken was so good! It had that perfect char-​grilled taste and the seasoning was spot on. I had the peas and rice with extra gravy on it and they did not disappoint. The portion was fairly large too so I was able to split it up and have leftovers twice.
Bottom line, if you plan to order ahead via GrubHub, ignore the time they give you and estimate about an hour or so. This is not fast food. But it is absolutely delicious.

Oh you Unilocalers, what a sneaky find. Here I am craving jerk chicken and within 10 minutes driving distance is this 4 star Caribbean café. No stone unturned huh. I work in the area and this gem is a welcome breathe of fresh air. Scattered among the usual fast food joints in Halethorpe is the awesome little Carribean café. The aroma is hard to miss as you are driving down Wilkins Ave.
Island Vybz doesn’t have a lot of space but the food I’ve had so far is great. I walked in to sound of Jamaican accents and immediately knew that I was in the right place. I ordered the large jerk which came with a healthy amount of smoked delicious chicken, rice & peas, steamed cabbage and this awesome sweet, spicy bbq like sauce. Music to my taste buds, sweet, spicy, smoky heavenly deliciousness. The actual chicken wasn’t too spicy, I’d rate it average as far as spicy factor but the flavor is on point. My mission is to provide you with a review for as many items on the menu as possible :)
*Edit
I ordered the curry chicken it was only okay. From my experience I’ve never had great curry from a Jamaican place. They will usually have it on the menu because it falls under the Caribbean food umbrella but that doesn’t mean it’s their forte. Find the place that has an chef of Indian descent and you have a solid shot at finding great curry. Coco bread is on point and pretty tasty.
Chill disclaimer: Be wary of small bones in the chicken dishes, the way they cut up the chicken is interesting and you will on occasional chow down on a small piece of bone so navigate carefully.

I have been driving by this place for a while. It always smells good. They cook their meat on an open pit grill. Finally stopped by. Had jerk chicken and ox tails. The food was so salty I couldnt enjoy it. I could tell that it would have been very tasty if it wasn’t so salty. On the positive side, I watched a young lady make a beef patty sammich. She put her beef patty on her cocoa bread. I will try that. So I will go back again.

Went there with coworkers jerk chicken is off the meters it’s hot and fresh with a spice. Workers were very nice and patient and wasn’t stingy with sides. When you pulled up grill was smoken from the chicken in grill. Place is small but not bad. You defiantly should try this place out ! My coworkers enjoyed there food as well curry chicken and curry goat after much office was on quiet mode after lunch that was unusual.

Best Jerk Chicken I’ve had in this town for years, and the fried plantain was heavenly. Friendly guy behind the counter, and a great bang for your buck. Next… the curried goat for lunch today!

I absolutely love this place! Do not go here if you wish to have an extensive menu. I have had the curry chicken, curry goat, jerk chicken and the oxtail. I love them all! Oxtail is my favorite. Very reasonable prices, huge portions and the customer service was excellent. This is definitely a small, hole in the wall place. If you can’t handle that, it’s not the place for you. I saw a review that said the curry chicken tasted like airplane food. Since when do they serve curry chicken on flights? I think that man needs to lay off the hot sauce and appreciate real food or get his taste buds checked.

Food was acceptable but won’t be running back at all. Curry chicken tasted like airplane food.

Bottom line this place is a uglyduckling with food that will have u busting a U-​turn to get back here …

Wanted to try something new yesterday so I picked this place. Ordered a large oxtails with white rice and a chicken patty. Both was good. Will order from here again.

I had the curry chicken and it was amazing. The meat fell right off the bone and it was seasoned to perfection. I believe the menu is limited because the shop does not have a formal kitchen. The owner uses a grill outside and various crock pots. Truly great food and definitely worth the stop. This place is strictly takeout. They have a bench outside that overlooks Wilkens Ave. which probably isn’t ideal scenery for some. So if you plan on having a sit down meal this isn’t the place. If your in the mood for some great takeout but don’t want Chinese food yet again Island Vybz is where you want to be.

Aw, I need to get this place’s rating up. Each time I get on GrubHub I think, «Hm, maybe I should get something besides the curried goat this time. …Naahhh.»
So that’s the only dish by which I can rate the place, but it’s just that good. Get the large size so you get a satisfying amount of the meat.
Friendly service. Nice atmosphere.

I was excited to give this place a try because I love Jamaican food. However, this place has been a disappointment. The customer service is nice and friendly but for me it ends there. The menu has coffee listed but this location doesn’t offer it. My friend ordered curry shrimp from the menu but this location doesn’t offer it. My sister and I were going to try the saltfish (you know, Jamaica’s national dish?). Guess what? This location doesn’t offer it. The menu is literally the size of a post card so at this point not much else is left. At least the menu says this location doesn’t serve breakfast like another location does. I’m a vegetarian (which is also a well known practice for some Jamaicans) but there aren’t really any vegetarian items offered. So unless I want to try their coco bread or a vegetable side item, and that is if they offer it at this location, I won’t be enjoying any island «vybz» here.