Island Cafe

The Food was excellent… I had a combo plate with Brown Stew Chicken & Oxtail w/​rice n lease cabbage n sweet sweet plantains… Jerk Chicken Spot on… Now if ur mouth is sensitive to spice be careful… Out of everything we ordered so far I Loved the Brown Stew chicken the best… Everything is good…

I want to preface this review with the fact that we are still planning to go back to actually try the restaurant.
That being said, I had probably the oddest experience at an establishment I’ve ever had. We showed up around 7 pm on a Wednesday and the place was empty– devoid of anybody. After calling «hello» a face peeked around the corner in the back… he cautiously approached us and didn’t say anything. We asked if we could sit down and his response was «what kind of food do you want?». We told him that we hadn’t yet looked at a menu– but could we sit down and do that? He didn’t answer.
At this point my boyfriend asked if we could leave, but I was determined to try the delicious food I had read about. So I decided we could sit down and we did just that. After a bit of menu perusing we were thirsty for a beer– and could see the selection on tap, as well as a fully stocked bar. My boyfriend got up to go ask the gentleman if we could get beer and his response was «no». A bit more irked my boyfriend asked why not. We finally were told that the bartender wasn’t there and that was why he actually couldn’t serve us alcohol or food (not really sure his role in the restaurant?) It was then that we decided today was not the day for us to try Island Café.

This place is magic. I don’t know if it’s a bar, a restaurant, or a dance club, but whatever it is, the food is ridiculously good.
I tried their jerk chicken, and it ranks among the best jerk I’ve ever had, even in the Caribbean. It was hot, smokey, spicy, and delicious.
The interior was crazy, though. There were tables like a restaurant, but absolutely no clients. There was a huge bar, and a dance floor. When we asked our waitress where everyone was, and why were the only people eating at 7.30 on a Friday night, we were told it was still «very early.»
I’m guess it’s a bar that serves kick ass food.

This is an unexpected little gem of a Jamaican place. We went there by accident one day when we tried to go to Domku and Domku was closed. What a welcome surprise. We both had the jerk chicken and the portion was enormous for a really low price. The chicken was really delicious and juicy, probably the best jerk chicken I’ve had in a long time (I miss the Caribbean community in Brooklyn where I grew up). We also had the plantains, which were very sweet and ripe.
Our waitress was super nice as well. I felt like I was in someone’s home eating a really good homemade deal.
They have a good sized bar as well and live music on the weekends. We’ll have to come back sometime for that.

The food was good, the prices were good, the staff was friendly. We had brown stew and jerk chicken. Very tasty. Also, the mixed drinks have a lot of booze. We used a
coupon, so ended up getting a great deal. Be warned though– this seems like more of a bar than a café. We were the only customers there for an early dinner, the service was real slow with the staff getting ready for a busy night. Our waitress actually left during our meal, but the bartender finished serving us and was very friendly. I suggest calling ahead to make sure they are open before you go.
ps– the beef and chicken patties are great.

Honestly~ this may be the best curry chicken I’ve had in a long time. But more impressive? It was served hot & ready within 5 minutes.
I rolled up with a friend around 1:00am~ looking for food (open late) in this area is rough~so it was excellent to find some good eats. The music was sweet (and loud~ there were two DJs spinning with a few people on the dance floor), the food even better, and I would love to stop by again.