Marks Caribbean Kitchen — Restaurant in Kitchener

Ended up at MCK quite randomly one recent night (first time out for dinner post-quarantine) when the place we planned to go to was closed and Mark himself waved my partner and I over to his patio. Here's my review of dinner on the patio (please read the whole thing):

Location: this area of DTK can be questionable at the best of times, and with indoor dining not yet allowed, patio dining is the only option. I would guess that the patio out front is a very recent addition. There were only 3 tables so as to allow for physical distancing so this was good. Street noise was a bit unpleasant - loud cars racing along King St. A few of the local sidewalk dwellers made their presence known but were not a nuisance. There is a bus stop and municipal waste bins right beside one end of the patio which is a bit unpleasant (diesel exhaust during dinner + waste bins = yuck). Overall, location for patio dining gets a C or C-.

Food: Given the location, my expectations weren't high. Well... O.M.G! My expectations were blown out of the water. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! My partner had the beef curry and I had the jerk chicken. Portions are more than ample, presentation is beautiful. and the flavour. Wow, I can't say enough about it. The food is simply outstanding. We most certainly had enough for our dinner then leftovers for lunch the next day. We both had to stop ourselves from overeating because it was so delicious. Overall for food I give an A

Price: for the amount of food you get, you cannot beat the price. Dinner for two plus lots of leftovers was just around the $40 mark. Overall for value I give an A.

Service: the young lady serving the evening we were there was very pleasant, and very helpful for suggestions to a couple of 1st timers. There was one point at which I began to think "I wish our server would come by again" but literally as I was thinking that she came out to check on everything. Overall for service I give an A-.

I can't wait until indoor dining is available because the interior looks lovely and I am definitely going...

It appears that the lady at the counter is not interested for people to dine in. I understand the vaccination verification is mandatory, but she has taken it to a different level. I ordered food well in advance after my verification and was waiting for my wife to join me and my little one. I was served my portion and at the same moment my wife came in.. she showed her vaccination proof. Unfortunately she was not carrying her photo id (DL) but she showed her the credit card with her name on it and even the picture of her driver's license from the email which clearly had her photo and DOB. I just had one bite in my mouth when my wife entered but the lady was not courteous enough to understand the situation. She stood rigid and did not entertain us. Tried to show her that the vaccination proof email is also from govt and the credit card.. despite of the fact she created such a ruckus and fuss about this situation that we had to leave without eating.

Can't comment on food quality as I gave it to a homeless person down the street because I already paid for it ... but the lady really did her best to spoil our lunch despite of the fact that we were vaccined already.. I believe in supporting local businesses but this kind of behavior was really disappointing. Spoiled our mood for the rest of the day. FOR SURE NEVER EVER GOING TO THIS RESTAURANT AS THEIR ATTITUDE REFLECTS THAT THESE GUYS ARE NOT INTERESTED FOR DINE INS BUT ONLY INTERESTED FOR TAKEOUTS. I WON'T RECOMMEND DINE IN HERE... YOU WILL BE INVESTIGAED IN A WAY THAT YOU...

This was my first time at this restaurant. Definately doesn't have the taste of true Carribean food. I ordered the oxtail. That was no gravy it was in. Pure watered down. Tasted like wine in it. There was no flavour to the food. I was told it has a nice kick for spice. None at all. Even the amount they brought me wasn't enough. Their hot sauce they make isn't good. Mine is better. The meat doesn't taste like it's soaked overnight in the fridge before browning it. It wasn't browned enough. The meat stuck to the bone. When I cook mine after I brown it I place it in my slow cooker and set it for 8 hrs. Mine melts in your mouth plus you can get so much flavour from the bones. They could of added carrots and onion and scallion and finger dumplings with broad beans. They really have no idea how to season the food. Also they had no thyme in it or pemento. Now the rice and Pease too no flavour. It needs to be seasoned and pepper and scallion and thyme need to be added. I don't even think they use coconut cream. The cabbage tasted gross. I kept eating it wanting to know what they put on it because that's no Carribean food. The small little piece of plantain too thick and not cooked well. I see the place isn't empty and they have lots of Uber deliveries but would I give it a second chance. Never. The server was pleasant and the place is clean. Just another restaurant trying to cook westindian food but they don't have it in their blood how to cook. I may be German but I've been cooking Westindian food since I was a...