Jamaicaway Restaurant & Catering

Everything I’ve ever eaten here is absolutely amazing. Their soy is to die for! They have the best soy in the entire city. Their portions are huge. A small will fill a grown man. Nice quite place for lunch for those stressful work days.

I will say the food is very good at this restaurant, however they lack communication skills and professionalism. I spoke with the owner about possibly catering my wedding rehearsal while I was in the restaurant. She advised me to call her but did it provide me a number to do so before I left. The next day I called the restaurant to speak with her in more detail about the rehearsal and if they would be able to cater and host the event. She told me to text her on personal number with the information about the event and then she would speak with her son about if they would be available that evening to cater to my event. I sent her the information. Nearly two weeks passed and I still didn’t hear anything back for her. So I reached out to her again to follow up. She apologized and said her general manager would email me. She did and then she asked for the same information that I already provided to the owner. It then took about another week for her to send me the quote. After that email, I advised her that I wanted to have the dinner at the restaurant as I had already told the owner that. She followed up with an email stating the owner said that they could not accommodate my request since the acknowledge the Sabbath and won’t have staff to work the night of my event. Why didn’t the owner tell me that initially? This took about a month of going back and forth when it didn’t have to had I been told this up front. Too much back and forth all to be told you couldn’t accomadate my request. A complete waste of time…

This little out of the way place is a hidden gem. I come to town several times a year and normally stay at the same hotel. Today I went out the back door instead of being steered to the «popular hang outs». What a treat! I’ve had the blessings of extensive travel throughout the Caribbean… and have spent many happy days and nights in Jamaica. This brings back memories. I had the Goat Curry… perfectly spiced along with a memorable portion of peas and rice and sweet potatoes. My only regret is telling people about this place because once they discover it the wait to be seated will be a drag. Staff was friendly, accommodating and lightning quick. I will make this a pilgrimage destination everytime I come to town.

Walked in expecting to order a chicken roti (only the farmers market location offers those), and was disappointed. We were the only ones in the restaurant-​should have been out first clue. Pretty sure the food was microwaved (could hear the beeping and closing of door from the kitchen). The food was ok, at best. Too salty in general. Oh and by the way no alcohol. Prices made up for the mediocre food and ambiance.

Just Ok. We got the spicy jerk chicken and the brown sauce chicken with sides of beans & rice, collard greens & green salad.
Pros– The jerk chicken was tasty.
The server refilled our drinks several times.
The chicken was very tender
The food came out quickly but we were the only people there so…
Cons– The brown sauce and the collards were WAY over salted.
The server dropped our food & didn’t now which was which & suggested we stick our finger in the sauce & find out what it was… whaaat?
Also we ordered white meat for one dish & dark meat on the other but just got a jumble of both.
The «herbal» raspberry iced tea was sweeter than kool-​aid.
Meh-​The beans & rice were nothing special.

FANTASTIC FOOD!!!
I have eaten here a few times & I love it.
The service was very good and the food was superb.
Good vegetarian options too.

Great food, for $ 8 you can get jerk chicken/​curry chicken and two sides such as collard greens, fried plantains, mashed potatoes. For $ 13 you can get an oxtail plate or goat. The food here is amazing and good quality if you’re looking for some rich and tasty food while at the Farmer’s Market.

I can’t believe I have waited this long to try Topanaris/​Jamaicaway. This place definitely is not receiving the recognition it deserves. I would bet this is because of location… as it is sneakily tucked off of West End near the AT&T store. There is limited parking on the street and also limited parking in the back of the restaurant.
So I have certainly had my share of Caribbean/​island food having spent some time living in T&T. I have to say it is just as good as my Trini mom’s cooking. Like %^*& good. I know I tend to give a lot of stars (being a huge sap and what not). But seriously. It is expletive good. I had the curry goat with rice+beans and collards. The curry goat portion was huge and perfectly cooked with fall of the bone meats. I also believe the goat was locally sourced. The collards were perfect. I typically don’t expect much from rice dishes that aren’t made with jasmine rice. but I have to say. the beans and rice were slightly sweet and complimented my curry goat perfectly. I also had a side of the sweet potatoes and pineapple. It was a nice way/​dessert to end a perfect meal. My dining mate had the jerk chicken and spoke highly of his dish. However, I have to say, mine was better. I can’t wait to go back to try the oxtail. I can only imagine the perfection.
Service: Great and our meal came out super fast. Plus she high fived me.
Price: Meat dishes are $ 12 – 16
In short, grab a ton of friends (there are a lot of available tables) and come here STAT. Bring vegan friends too as they always have a vegan option! Vegan protein braised in coconut sauce. Yum.
Thumbs WAY up.

This is for the 19^th street location.
How this place was disappointing, let me count the ways:
1. Slow service and not great: the server was nice, but the place was not that busy and it was painstakingly slow, over an hour. Also, it was difficult to get the attention of the staff for simple things like water refills. Finally, when the dessert was brought out dirty plates from our lunch were not taken away and just left at our table.
2. Menu items: We came in with a
$ 15 coupon if we spend $ 30, almost everything we asked for besides our entrees (meat patties, rotis, desserts) they were out of making it super hard to get up to $ 30.
3. Food: the BBQ chicken and Curry chicken were ok, but the sides were very bland and tasted like processed food (canned green beans and box mashed potatoes). The carrot cake was store bought and drizzled with Hershey’s chocolate syrup on the plate, not appealing or a good flavor combo.
I went to Jamaica for my honeymoon so was excited to try this place and hopefully get some authentic Jamaican food, but alas was discouraged and I will not return. I have heard good things about the farmer’s market location (from triple D fame) so may give that a shot, but not sure.

THE GOOD: I love the food at this place. It is delicious and the restaurant usually has great ambience. I’ve brought many friends here with the hope of generating business for the restaurant. The spicy jerk chicken and Johnny cakes are my favorite. You always feel healthier after eating this delicious food. They are also terrific caterers if you need something unique for an event.
THE BAD: The only thing preventing me from giving this restaurant 5 stars is the service. On slow days, you get top notch service. The staff know my name and treat me exceptionally well. Unfortunately, the restaurant is extremely disorganized on days when it’s busy and this has to change. Today, I had to wait 15 minutes for a glass of water once because only one waitress was working the entire restaurant. Then my order came out completely wrong (dark meat instead of white meat, no johnny cake). I didn’t say anything at the time because it would have created more chaos in an already frustrating environment. I just paid and went on with my day. Jamaicaway, I love you, I believe in you, and I want you to be a Nashville staple for years to come, but you’ve got to get more organized or even the loyal customers like me will stop coming.

Love the food! This location has better ambiance than the Farmer’s Market location. The curry goat and mango chutney chicken are my favorites.
I’m almost hesitant to post my review because then the secret will be out.

Favorite lunch spot. Delicious mock meats and all sides are vegetarian. Beautiful old Victorian. Why is this place never crowded?

Wow, this place was such a great find! I have eaten here twice and will definitely return soon. I had the Spicy Jerk Chicken the first time and Oxtail the second, both came out promptly and were perfect temperature. All entrees are served with 2 sides. Had the fried plantains both times because they were delicious. Would definitely recommend the Johnny Cake as a side too. Service was excellent!

I am so happy to see this outlet of Jamaicaway on Hayes Street because it is just a few blocks from my office. A co-​worker and I braved the cold and made the trek earlier this week. The building, if I am not mistaken, used to house Mambu.
The atmosphere was airy and cozy. We were immediately seated and perused the menu. I settled on the curried goat with rice/​beans and the sweet potatoes. Thankfully, I ordered the smaller plate because there was so much food I could not finish my meal. But I certainly wanted to!
The goat was tender and delicious. I’ve always been a fan of goat with the exception of the smaller bones; however, that is not the fault of the cook. The sweet potatoes were delightful and perfectly cooked while the rice/​beans were a fabulous accompaniment to spoon up with the incredible curry sauce which the goat was in.
Service was prompt and efficient — not at all rushed.
Now I have a great new place in rotation for lunch! I am tickled that I have this option here in Midtown and that I do not even need to get into a car to do so.

Food is phenomenal and lovely décor. So happy a new place that serves fresh and delicious Caribbean food is so close to Vandy! Great place for lunch meetings too.

Jamaicaway Restaurant has 3 locations– the Nashville Farmer’s Market, Cool Springs and in Midtown. They’ve been in Midtown for a while but under the name Topanaris. The owners decided to change the name to Jamaicaway 2 weeks ago for the sake of making the 3 restaurants seem more similar and preventing confusion. Its basically the same great place. They have oxtail, curry chicken, spicy jerk chicken, goat, tilapia, salmon, and vegetarian entrees. They give large portions and its delicious! I’m so happy to have found this place. I don’t know of any other Jamaican restaurants in Nashville.