A Taste of Island Spice

I am giving this restaurant two stars because the customer service was sufficient, but the food was FAR from good. I went to this restaurant based on the good reviews and perhaps this was an off day for them, but first impressions are lasting. First off, the rice and beans were HORRIBLE. If you’re missing teeth and like black beans mixed with red kidney beans, you may be thrilled, but I’ve never had rice that was so soft it didn’t require chewing. To add insult to injury, I am going out on a limb and assuming that leftover Mexican food black beans were added to the rice, just odd. The salad was wilted and the jerk chicken was barely average.
Like I said, perhaps it was an off day and hopefully this negative experience is uncommon for them. By the way, being a person of West Indian descent, I know good West Indian food…

Nice clean place with tables out Side if you want to chill with friends in the summer.
It is right on the main road) Teaneck road) I parked next door no problem.
My favorite place to eat in the area Jamaican Delight had a fire (temp closed) so I am checking out other Jamaican places as a back up. I’m a big rice and peas eater (365)
I ordered rice and peas. You can get them in three different size tins small meal, medium meal and large meal. Container sizes are displayed on the wall a customer service benefit I appreciated.
I ordered the large meal size of rice and peas and a beef patty.
The beef patty was very good. The rice was good but not great. It seems like it might be made from white rice and not the more healthy brown rice like Jamacian delight. I will ask them the next time I go.
I tried two other places on Teaneck Rd, one rice was terrible the other wasn’t bad. This might be the best so far.
One negative note: They took but do not like to take AMERICAN Express. But many small business are short sighted in this way.
Golden rule — if a customer wants to pay U, let him.
Over all three stars, I can recommend them.

Jerk chicken had tons of flavors. Jerk sauce is pretty spicy. Which comes separately. The jerk chicken dinner comes with rice and beans, cabbage, and two sweet plantains. Great value and had enough for leftovers. Food prepared quick and service was good.

Island spice still lack more jamaican flavor/​spices in my opinion, their food is ok but notting about it or their service was rememberable that I would want to go back.

The curried chicken and jerk chicken are delicious. When you get the jerk chicken ask for the red sauce though. That’s what makes the chicken pop for me, if I don’t use the red sauce, it tastes too dry.

Nice size servicing for the price you pay. The meat to rice ratio is just perfect. The oxtails are tender and curry goat flavorful. Rice and peas nice and shelly. This is a great spot of you are looking for some good olé Jamaican comfort food.

I am so disgusted with the food at this restaurant. It is inconsistent and today is the straw that broke the camel’s back. I ordered stew chicken with rice and peas. I got to my car and decided to eat some. The rice and peas had a smoky smell and taste and the chicken had no flavor except for a ketchup taste. I got my money back without a problem but the folks in there who seemed to have a high stake on the reputation insisted there was nothing wrong with the food. I even ordered stew peas with white rice one Saturday and got home to discover that they had cooked it with chicken feet — ugh! When I told them that most places that won’t cook it with pigtails use oxtail they said they never heard of that. Well I know the Brooklyn JAMAICAN spots do make it with oxtails. In any event, I will not be going back to this restaurant. I give it one star because the app forces you to do so in order to post.

This place is okay. I typically enjoy Caribbean food and hole they do make a yummy jerk chicken and rice & peas, but they are a little expensive and won’t deliver unless your order is $ 35 or more all in all not a bad place but not a great one either

Went to this place Yesterday! Never again!
1. TO PRICEY!
2. The food was not great.
3. The owner was not FRIENDLY.
they small meals are 10 $ that’s crazy and the peas and rice was mixed with some other beans. Smfh

update–
experience was a lot better on the 2^nd time around although it seems i got less oxtails.
. hopefully my next visit will be different since i’m a believer of second chances. i worked within the area & always see this place & finally decided to try it. i walked in right after an older lady. we both waited for 3−5minutes since no one was at the counter. finally the lady asked the guy sitting if any1 is around to take our orders. he told us he thought we already ordered. if you work or run a food service you have to pay attention to customers. the lady made her order & i waited until she mentioned to them they didnt take my order. so the female worker didnt bother to repeat my order & ran my CC. she charged mine & older lady’s order. after another female worker fixed the CC, no1 bothered to apologize. i ordered the oxtail (large). it’s pretty good but i’ve had better since i’m not a rookie when it comes to Jamaican oxtails. Please be more attentive to customers and write down the order so you wont have to keep asking me for my order.

My family has picked up food from here several times. It’s All about the Oxtail curry. It’s soooo good. I was not a fan of the Jerk Chicken. It was not spicy enough to me to be called Jerk. The goat curry was average but, good. Definitely order the oxtail when coming here. You won’t regret it. The portion size is good too. I will definitely be going back.

The oxtails are delicious, I’m eating it rght now and enjoying every moment of it. It’s a great lil spot and you don’t have to be Jamaican to eat it.

Ordered lunch from here a few years back (I think when they first opened). Had a beef patty and some rice and peas. Pretty good and ridiculously cheap. Totally forgot about this place but thanks to Unilocal I’ve been reminded!

First off, the girl at the front counter was not very helpful. I asked what she recommended when I first got there and she said «I don’t know what you like.» I made a decision and when she asked me what size I asked what is standard for lunch and she said «I don’t know how hungry you are.» Those are basically the two least friendly and helpful ways to answer those questions.
As far as the food goes, it was very good. The large was a lot, probably more than the average person would want for lunch. I would get the small if I went back. I had the stew chicken and the sauce was rich, the meat was fall-​off-​the-​bone tender, and the rice and beans was plentiful.
Also, I am not much of a veteran when it comes to island food but they had a peanut punch in the refrigerator that caught my eye. I got it and it was AMAZING. Picture a slightly thinned peanut milkshake. Unfortunately it was a bit pricey, $ 3.75 for a 12 or 16oz bottle.

Do you want a flavorful meal, then check out A Taste of Island Spice. Each mouthful is slam-​packed with full-​bodied flavors. Just don’t be in a rush when visiting this joint in order to truly appreciate this cuisine. Try the jerked chicken and curry chicken. Yum.

Jerk chicken and Oxtail. Do it, love it, and be glad you found some good caribbean food without having to cross the GBW.

I find the food to be pretty good. I am a big fan of their jerk chicken, brown stew chicken and their oxtails. Alongside some coco bread to sop up the gravy. My biggest complaint is that I notice they are stingy with the peas in the rice and peas and I really don’t think 3 slices of plaintain is too much to ask for with a meal.
The flavor profile is on point and when I stick with the above, I’ve never been disappointed. I’ve introduced several people to this spot and every single one cleaned their foil bowls clean.
I do not advice anyone to order their fried seafood. We ordered fish, shrimp and fries there once. Lesson learned — it wasn’t seasoned, fries weren’t hot/​fresh and the seafood was overcooked.

Just OK is the best I can give this place.
Being of Jamaican descent and living in Paterson, I’ve had my share of authentic and flavorful Jamaican cuisine. I have tried this place 3 times and never been impressed. For one, every time i go it seems like they never have anything. Last time I went the conversation went something like this:
Me: «I’ll have oxtails please»
Lady:” no oxtails right now“
Me: it says you have oxtails today but ok.‘ill have curry chicken“
Lady: no curry chicken
Me: ok what do you have?
Lady: we have stew beef or stew chicken
Me: ok I will have stew chicken with rice and peas and cabbage.
Lady: we only have white rice and salad
Me: –_​–
Also, every time I go I wait AT LEAST 15 minutes for my food but when I get it it is luke warm at best. Wtf? The food is decent but I’ve certainly had much better for a lot less money. I guess to Bergen county residents this place is pretty good since I have noticed that there is not much Jamaican restaurants to compare this place to but there is a plethora of choices where i am from and I will not be visiting this place again unless I am desperate.

This place was just OK. Having lived in Miami for some years, I have had some delicious, authentic Jamaican fare.
This place seemed just OK. I can only speak for the jerk chicken dish. It didn’t have the spice that is expected from a good, jerked chicken. The rice and peas were good but nothing crazy.
There were 2 things that bothered me. 1 — The food was takeout but when I ate it almost immediately after it was barely warm (WTF ?)
Also the lady at the counter could use either some lessons on customer service skills or a good ass whooping. She has an attitude from the moment you walk in. It’s like customers are doing YOU a favor by coming here NOT the other way around. But then again, if your face looked like hers you would be mad at the world too!

I went into this place and got stared down by the patrons as I walked in. I’m used to this from going to other Jamaican places in Brooklyn. But I got the same attitude from the girl behind the counter. You know the attitude, ‘What is someone like you doing in here?’
I mean really people, my money is green, despite what color my skin might be.