Island Vibes Restaurant

Brown stew chicken with steamed cabbage and rice & peas. O-​M-​G. This was the best plate of food I’ve had in recent memory. If I ever find myself on death row, this Brown stew may just be my last meal.
This food trifecta totally hit the spot. The brown stew chicken was melt in your mouth and fall off the bone soft. The cabbage was buttery, yet retained a good firm consistency, pairing well with the tender chicken and the pillowy rice. The rice was surprisingly flavorful with hints of coconut milk. It’s also important to note that «peas» refer to kidney beans in this case.
The portions were generous. You would be hard-​pressed to find both a bigger and better dish for $ 8. It’s quite the steal in my opinion, as I would pay double the price for the same dish. The service was friendly and the lady behind the counter was helpful in helping me choose a plate.
Like others have mentioned, Island Vibes is take-​out only with a very modest physical appearance (both inside and outside). They also have limited parking and are located in the Linden neighborhood (which I hear isn’t the best) As long as you know what to expect and don’t mind a hole-​in-​the-​wall experience, Island Vibes offers some great food at a very reasonable price. I will be back for sure.

I have had this place bookmarked forever, but it just isn’t quite handy for me. Last week, it was– I passed it several times, so I finally said «it’s lunchtime, and this is on the way.» Now, I need to find reasons to get back this way, because I had an incredible meal.
It is a tiny place, but there are some seats if you want to eat there. (It seems to do almost entirely carryout orders, though, and the seats were mostly used by people waiting.) Service was friendly and efficient– lots going on, a little greeting of regulars. It was clean, and the kitchen looked clean too– you can see pretty much everything. Prices are incredibly good, for the quality and quantity. Parking is iffy– the most obvious spot is on the sidestreet, but it is marked «no stopping» and probably should be avoided– I saw semis trying to squeeze through there.
I ordered the curry goat. Probably the first time I had that was at the reggae club that used to be near 5^th and Joyce, and I have liked goat ever since. This was a good version: tender, marinated meat, bone-​in but easy to eat, on top of my chosen sides: savory cabbage, and moan-​inducing peas and rice. I also got some jerk wings, which were meaty and, though ordered spicy, just barely hot. They came with another side, and I got fried plantains– tasty and crispy, nicely caramelized. I also got a beef patty just because: essentially, it is a turnover with seasoned ground beef inside, and was very good. Portable, tasty, and quintessentially Jamaican.
There is sweet potato pie in a case by the counter. It was little tartlets, and almost as moist as pudding; it’s from a bakery. There are some Caribbean drinks in another cooler. I want pretty much everything else on the menu, so I will be back: brown stew, oxtail, other curries, etc.

Branham or whatever his name is dead wrong and doesn’t know Island food because this place is the bomb! I believe he’s a bit posh.

I get their jerk chicken with rice and beans, extra spicy & extra sauce. It’s crazy good. 2 big things they need to work on: not running out of the jerk chicken around early dinner time (5pm), and making sure to go orders are ready by the time they provide b/​c my lunch break is only 30 mins and I shouldn’t be waiting 10−15mins for an order I called in well in advance. Otherwise, I recommend this place.

Most authentic Jamaican food I have found in the states. I’m from the island, and they do it right here. Do not expect it to look like any sort of typical fast casual, it is a Jamaican Cookshop, something you will see on the island! The ladies there are darling, recognized my accent immediately and made me feel right at home.

If you want something that is boring and follows every single FDA guideline to a T, find another place. This place is mom and pop and delishious. You can go wrong, ox tail, curry chicken, jerk chicken. So good. Looking forward to curried sweet potatoes in November!

The neighborhood is definitely dodgy and the parking is a bad situation, but the food is worth it. The staff was friendly and helpful, but the food is the star of the show. You might call ahead and have a friend drop you off and circle back for you, because parking is really not fun.

The food is amazing! The Oxtail is well seasoned and just delicious. I have tried everything on this menus but the fish and love it all.

I guess you can say Island Vibes is authentic Jamaican in all aspects – the food, the ambiance, and the service. Located in one of the most «hood» neighborhoods in the city, Island Vibes is a little green shack-​like structure on the corner. The restaurant looks like it was literally plucked off a block from the Trenchtown neighborhood of Kingston and dropped in Columbus. All that was missing was some old gray-​bearded, red-​eyed Rastafarian reeking of dry sweat and stale ganja sitting on the steps spouting some wise-​sounding but ultimately nonsensical diatribe.
You can smell the island deliciousness a block away. When you walk in, there’s a glass case immediately to your right with copies of pirated DVDs for sale. Points for authenticity! The menu is straightforward and simple, and the prices were very reasonable. I ordered the jerk chicken, because my Lenten vows forbade me from tearing up some oxtails. I took the chicken with two orders of rice and peas as they were all out of cabbage at the time. I was not disappointed with my meal. The food was fresh and bombaclot good. I don’t know what it is about Columbus and their Jamaican restaurants, but they completely blow Chicago’s Jamaican grub out of the water.
A solid four stars. Not a place to have a candlelit dinner with your girlfriend’s best friend, but the food’s great, the service is no nonsense and fast, and the cute light-​skinned accented gyaal behind the counter didn’t hurt either.

Island Vibes is a rare find. Their food is excellent; staff are friendly. Prices are very reasonable. It is a small local establishment that has made a great reputation for itself. My wife and I shared the curry chicken and the jerk chicken. We couldn’t have been happier.

Please No I have spent a lot of time on the islands and in NYC. so please understand that I know island food and I will keep my review short.
Location is horrible however I know the area so I was ok. the food isn’t really island food. again its hard o get island food in ohio because the fish instant fresh. what it taste like is someone who grew up with parents who are from the islands and they learned how to cook it. if you cant make a awesome beef patty then the rest doesn’t matter. there beef patty is not great. I will give it an ok rating but its not a place I will go to often. kinda pricey for what you get. not real friendly like on the island but that’s mainly because they know tourist will overpay.

Ok so my brother-​in-​law & sister took me here. The food was slappin! My brother-​in-​law ordered all kinds of stuff, I had the Jerk Chicken, it was really spicy, I loved it. I might not of ever tried it had they not swore by it, due to the fact it was straight in the hood but everyone was real cool. The aloe water is really good, I like pulp so that doesn’t bother me but my sister complained about it. I tried their ox tails and it was amazing, normally I would have been straight on that, lol…

Great Food, Nice People ! We ordered from Island Vibes for the first time this past Saturday, the food was great ! The patties are just like I remember them on my trips to the Carribbean. Not a place to dine in, but definitely worth the trip from Westerville and back home ! Will be ordering again and might just make it a Buckeye Tailgate caterer !

I got take out from here once. It is not a fancy place but don’t let that scare you away. It is not in the best area of town so if you are bothered by things like this beware. I got the curry chicken, rice and peas and mac and cheese. The chicken was very flavorful. I also like the rice and beans. It was very filling. The mac and cheese tasted bland to me, like it came out of a can. If I would change anything about the food that I had, it would be the mac and cheese. I do plan on returning to try the jerk chicken.

I heard about it, rode by it but only decided to try it based off a recommendation by a relative. I don’t stay nearby but I used to attend church in the area so I’m familiar and not intimidated by the surroundings.
I ordered the Jerk chicken with Mac and cheese and cabbage. I saw her go out the back door and grab some chicken off a grill, cut it up, and put it in my takeout container. She brushed some Jerk sauce on it and I guess I felt it was adequate as I didn’t check my meal before leaving.
Once I get home, I open the container and didn’t see any sauce but okay. I taste the chicken and enjoyed the bbq/​smoke flavor with the hint of Jerk but I was expecting more. The Mac and cheese didn’t taste right. The consistency was okay, but the flavor was bland and had a bit of a watery taste. The cabbage looked good, with corn and other veggies added to it but unfortunately it was pretty flavorless as well.
I bought it so I ate it however I probably won’t return.

I have been to Island Vibes several times. And love it! The Jerk Chicken is super. Location is a lil unnerving… But they are thriving and I can’t wait to go back.

Do not be fooled by the locale! Heart of Linden on the corner of Windsor and Cleveland Ave Great food!.This place is a carry out The kitchen is well seasoned. THEY CAN BURN (Cook).Blackened pots on the stove, counter with vegetables ready to be prepared, the stove full of simmering goodness! Nice proportions and friendly staff. Will be back!

I’ve been in Columbus too long to have just tried Island Vibes. I have been to Ena’s many times, but really, neither if them is anywhere near where I live/​work/​pass by for any reason. That said, I need to make it back.
I think part of the reason I hadn’t been before is they are strictly carry-​out, and not near where I live. But I came here with my American boyfriend because I wanted to introduce him to Jamaican food (and enough Caribbean friends kept telling me how good it was). I had the oxtail (my favourite dish) and he had the brown stew chicken. Don’t expect a super extensive menu, but expect what you get to be good. They were very nice and let my bf have a sample since he didn’t know what he was getting into. Seems some of the reviewers had bad luck with the fridge, but it was fully functional when I went, and I had a nice cold Tropical Rhythms juice. For some reason that makes me feel more like home than the food does =). We both enjoyed our meals. The food is good and reasonablly priced. As I said, I will have to make it back over…

Sure the place is dirty but look around the neighborhood– DUH! I give the owning couple mad props doing what they love, trying to make a living in an area they can afford.
They actually grill their meat outback the real Caribbean way. So if you don’t want the real Islander experience get back on your bike and ride your a$$ to Easton Mall!
That Enas place or whatever nearby were so rude we left.
So come here these people deserve you business!!!
Their fridge was messed up but they gave my drink to me for free!
Nicest people I’ve ever met working AND they gave us huge samples of everything!!!
I’ll be back tomorrow for oxtail!!!

So, I came here to see how it stacked up to my favorite Caribbean in Columbus, Ena’s just north of Hudson. How does it compare? Well, it doesn’t.
First of all, it’s strictly carryout. Nary a seat in the place. It’s dirty. It doesn’t look like much cleaning gets done. Nothing a good scrub down wouldn’t fix, but I doubt it’s in the works.
Now, if everything else had gone smoothly, these things could have been overlooked. But it didn’t get any better. I ordered the brown stew with fish. I tried to order a soda too, but every single can in their fridge was frozen. They tried to convince me that a couple weren’t, but you could feel that they were.
One plus, my food was ready fairly quickly. So I exited, hopped on my bike, and rode home. When I got the food all laid out and opened, to my surprise, the box was full of chicken. Hell, I don’t even know if this was brown stew. Is brown stew actually a stew? Cuz this sure wasn’t a stew… To make matters worse, I’m a pescetarian, so I don’t eat chicken. So in an ideal world, I would have called them, raised hell, and went to get my food replaced. But I ride a bike. And this was a rundown carryout that probably doesn’t care. And I was starving. So I ate it. It wasn’t the worst thing ever, but it wasn’t Ena’s.
I have this friend who once was a practicing Buddhist and now just identifies as such. He used to tell me about a Buddhist belief/​policy about not turning down food you are offered. That always comes to mind in situations like this. Sometimes, if a restaurant screws up my meal, I just say, «eff it, it’s what they gave me.»