MJ’s Grill

This has by far been my best experience (in Philadelphia) as far as Haitian cuisine. Let’s begin, shall we?
First off, I had the taste for some Haitian food, so where is the first place I looked? Unilocal,that’s right. But guess what? I spent a good 15 – 20 minutes trying to find the place with the address above, turns out the address above is wrong, and the new address is: 5738 Old 2^nd St Philadelphia, PA 19 120.
You welcome.
This left a nasty taste in my mouth and I was beyond famished, but I wanted to hold out for my Haitian food. So I did a little research (thanks to google) and found the correct address and was on my way. The restaurant is in a shopping plaza, the signage reads Mymes (I think) and the whole time I was looking for an MJ Grille, I happen to find it by accident as I saw three young men (with thick accents) go into what looked like a banquet hall, so I followed my instinct and followed them and I was right.
As soon as I get there, the bar was packed, I wasn’t quite sure where or how to order, as I didn’t see a menu placed anywhere, but I noticed there were tables and chairs and people were eating. The young man taking orders knows English and Creole and can help those who don’t speak the language with their menu. He/​She will read off to you what they serve/​have. So, let’s get down to business.
Pros:
1)They had griot! Yay!
2)The server/​bartender was very attentive and helpful regarding what they sold
3)Food was fresh/​cooked to order (I had to wait, but didn’t mind)
4)By far the Best Griot (in Philadelphia)
5)Medium platter was $ 10 (included salad, griot, and plaintain) and was very filling
Cons:
1)Called a few times and no one picked up the phone (This is when I was trying to find the place)
2)While waiting on my food, I noticed the phone rang a few times and the phone was picked up half of those times
3)Signage Reads Mymes, not MJ’s Grill so it makes it hard to locate
4)Upon entering, if you aren’t familiar with the place, it doesn’t look like a place where you can order food, but more of a banquet hall type vibe
5)No Menu — How do I know what I want and all that you sell?
6)Only 6 pieces of Griot for $ 10.00, I felt they held out on me as far as the entrée of the platter and it felt like I was getting a small as oppose to a medium
All in all, now that i know the correct location, I know to show up as opposed to calling because the likelihood of someone picking up the phone is slim to none. I have an idea of what I will be ordering next time… GRIOT, but I will opt for the large instead to get the bigger portion, my pockets may not like it too much, but my stomach and taste buds will be very grateful. I will definitely be visiting again. The food was yummy and fresh!

With all the hype I thought the food would be better. I was so excited to order there and was very disappointed. They do not give much food. service is horrible. and on top of that, that food was not on point. There are definitely better carribean/​haitian spots in the area.
— Disappointed Customer

The food is good and probably the best Haitian food in this area. The service is probably the worst.
The griot has always been cooked perfectly and the legume is always tasty. Sometimes the turkey is fried a little too hard for my tastes.
The food is 4.5−5 stars. Service is 1 star.

Hatian spot by 5^th & Olney. A friend picked me up some tassot dinde (turkey) last Friday and it was on point. The grocery (7 Brothers) I go to is a few blocks from there, so I stopped by after tonight and got a large griot platter [$ 11 (Medium is $ 8)].
The griot was also delicious. First off, their marinade is decent… it really came through, especially on the tassot. The meat itself was done very well. Very tender, and crispy on the outside… of course the fatty pieces rule the world.
The diri djon djon was also very tasty. They put peas in theirs… I liked it.
My only issue was neither tassot or griot or came with piklis?!! Maybe you have to ask for it.
I’m definitely heading back. The question is what to get next. Tassot Kabrit or Lambi… or both… with a side platter of Legume:)
Bottom line: Go here… it’s yummy.