K&J CARIBBEAN MARKET — Local services in Temple Terrace

The wait time is always insanely ridiculous. I’ve ordered a pate kode in advance numerous times and I’m still left waiting 30 minutes to an hour when I get here. They are the only Haitian restaurant I have visited that sells pate kode though. I still haven’t been able to get my hands on their lalo but I’m dying to try it. They have a nice selection of Haitian delicacies but I don’t think they check their expiration dates because I’ve noticed a lot of expired things here.

Edit to my original review that was posted 6 months ago: I actually first discovered this place around September of 2018 so I have been coming here for a while. Despite the insanely long wait times I still come when I want a pate kode. I visited this location on December 1st, 2021. I placed an order for a pate kode at 3:36pm and asked the lady behind the counter how long it would take. She advised approximately 10 minutes. I was impressed and believed her because I did visit this location back in April of 2021 and that was one of the first times where it actually only did take 10 minutes to make. At 3:50pm I went back to check on my order. They advised me it was still being prepared so I already saw where this was going. I decided that I would order a griot as well and they would both hopefully be done at the same time. I came back to check at 4:07pm. The woman behind the counter informed me "your griot is ready but we are still waiting on the pate." I asked her how much longer she thought it would be. I could see her getting annoyed with me but I just wanted a direct answer. There was another man standing near the counter who worked there and I asked if he could inform me. He came out shortly after to let me know that the pate was done but the griot is still being prepared. I told him that is not what the woman just informed me. She basically tried to make it seem like the reason why I was waiting so long was because I placed my griot order 15 minutes after I ordered the pate kode. While this is true that it was placed 15 minutes after, the griot was still prepared well before the pate kode. When I went back to ask the woman at the counter if she could confirm which one I was still waiting on she could not even look me in the face (obviously because she is a liar). When I finally got my order she threw my pikliz in the bag and it spilled. Even after that I asked them for another one and said I would pay for it.

This place has so much potential but Haitians do not know how to operate an organized business. It's also disgusting trying to support your own kind and they treat you with such wicked behavior. Tampa is expanding and I am sure there will be more restaurants that offer pate kode. In case you were wondering the pate kode was amazing (as usual) but the griot was mediocre and the banan was not fresh (probably because it had been sitting out as it was prepared before the pate). My advice: unless you have 45 minutes to an hour to spare don't do it.

I have also updated the 3 star review...

I had white rice with chicken. The chicken was very tough. I didn't know chicken could be so tough. It's hard to mess up chicken. Also, $12 for white rice and two chicken drumsticks in stew is steep, especially considering the fact that the food is served inside a grocery store with practically no seating or service. The only positive thing was that the rice quality was good and the stew gravy that came with the chicken was decent, which is all the more confusing as to why the chicken was tough and not fresh tasting. Perhaps it was left-over chicken...

Had a bad experience my first time coming. As I was cashing out my items with the cashier the price came out to be $25. There was some issues going on with the card scanner and after a few minutes of waiting the cashier showed the price and it was $35, I asked why is it that price now and the cashier said “tax”. I suggest if you want to buy some Caribbean food you go to another store. The service here was subpar and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, it seems like they are trying to take advantage of folks that aren’t...