Allwyn's - Jamaican Restaurant(Pickering) — Restaurant in Pickering

This is the first time ever ordering from Allwyn’s. Had a couple relatives drop in for a visit so decided to order takeout from Allwyn’s Pickering location partly from seeing the overall google review rating of 4.3 and reading glowing reviews on the Durham Eats fb group page. We ordered jerk pork, curry chicken, oxtail, rice and peas, a chicken roti and a side of fried plantain. Sadly not one out of the 5 of us who ate that evening had a 4.3 rating eating experience.

Let’s begin with the positives. The fried plantain was sweet and tender. The oxtail was tender. The person at the cash was pleasant. Not so positives: The individual pieces of plantain were very small and greasy. The curry chicken was bland and was more potatoes than chicken. Also we’ve eaten and cooked curry chicken (Jamaican born) and this is the first time any of us have ever seen red kidney beans as a curry chicken ingredient. We thought it weird. The jerk pork was ok. Not much jerk flavour, not enough smoke and overall bland and boring. The oxtail was passable as the meat was the tender and fell off the bones but again there is just something missing in flavour. The chicken roti was a huge disappointment. It might as well have been curry potato with a garnish of chicken. 2 small pieces of chicken amongst a barrage of potatoes and roti skin. It was also very dry and boring and again smatterings of red kidney beans and chickpeas. No juiciness to it at all. The meals included coleslaw which was placed on top of the meal on the left side of the container. It therefore mixed flavours with the meats making things messy and 3 out of the 5 people are not coleslaw eaters. A suggestion is to serve the coleslaw on the side similar to how yardies and beryls present their side of coleslaw. Anyhow an overall rating of 2 stars is generous and in part because the cashier was...

First, when I walk in, (nice enough, cozy feel) I noticed a bunch of teenagers from the local high school hanging out and the people running the place appear to be, what I would guess as Asians. (possibly pinoy – more on that later) I ordered the jerk chicken. It had no flavour and a mealy texture to the skin. For me, the outer skin of jerk chicken needs to have a nice dark, slightly crispy, bark to it. The meat was boneless, which might be a bonus for some, but this is where I believe the real flavor of meat comes through. Plus, there’s nothing quite like eating jerk chicken and spitting the bones out. Also, jerk chicken needs to have a kick! It doesn’t have to be killer spicy, but you need to feel the presence of that wonderful scotch bonnet heat. Unfortunately, their jerk chicken had no semblance of spice of any kind, let alone hot peppers (which lends to the pinoy background theory). The rice and peas were drier than coconut husk. I had oxtail gravy added to the rice which had the consistency of soya sauce and the flavour of mud water. The food actually wasn’t the worst part. The guy serving couldn’t be more miserable or less hospitable. Maybe his pet hamster died? For such a young guy he had a masterful scowl across his face and barely grunted when he spoke. Either way, he probably shouldn’t be in the service industry. The lady who was filling up the beef patties (probably the mother?) was nice and greeted me with a kind smile and hello while she went about her business (they should probably switch roles). Not sure where all the high praise reviews are coming from, but I would not recommend Allwyn’s for food or service. There’s a much more authentic choice right across the street at Sunrise. Every time I go there are several patrons of Caribbean descent waiting to be served,...

On my drive home this afternoon, I went in for a quick snack (Pickering location). I bought two beef patties with coco bread for $9.27. While the patties were spicy and good, they were nothing special... tasted like ones that I could get from a supermarket. The coco bread was bland and also on the dry side. Perhaps, there are better items on the menu, but I'm not running back to try.

Edit: In response to owner's response, it was my first time trying coco bread. The person at cash was upselling it when I was just ordering two beef patties for a quick snack. I asked what is coco bread and was told that it's sweet and made with coconut milk. That sounded nice, so I said "sure."

In retrospect, the person at cash did point to a picture on the wall that looked like a patty sandwich made with the coco bread and coleslaw. I agree that the latter likely would've made things better (less dry) but it wasn't offered/suggested, and I didn't know to ask. Well, now I know.

Nonetheless, the coco bread was still dry and bland... patties are like the ones you can get from the supermarket. Perhaps, one day, I'll give their "specialty" jerk...