Hardball Caribbean smokehouse bar and grill — Restaurant in Ipswich

When we first arrived no one welcomed us, we assumed where we were sitting ourselves. Ordered drinks first. One of us ordered a rum and lemonade, he poured half a tin of sprite in it, said we would keep the other half for a friend who wasn’t drinking, as he had put it behind the bar. Another one of us ordered a shot of rum and was charged the same as the rum and sprite (£5.20) I ordered a tin of coke which was from an ALDI multipack and I got charged £1.50 for. One person got told there were no clean glasses left and offered a dirty plastic cup with lipstick on the side even though there were about 20 clean glasses hanging above his head, which we pointed out. Once ordered our food the first meal came out after an hour and the rest followed sporadically between 15/20 minutes. One order came out completely wrong, was sent back to the kitchen, the owner came out with the incorrect order questioning what was wrong and said one of us must of ordered it (no one did) this then took them about 30 minutes to bring the correct order out whilst everyone else had finished. Then one of us ordered ‘stew chicken with rice and peas’ this definitely was not stew chicken, it looked and tasted like bbq chicken. Then the rice and peas was more like rice and PEA. (There was one pea) Noones food came out hot. We had to ask where our sides were. The mac and cheese was cold, the coleslaw looked like a bowl of mayonnaise and was inedible. Side order of festivals never came. The whole time there was no apology. One of us was over charged by £10 and they had to call him up on it. The toilets only had toilet roll to dry your hands and only cold water from the taps. Two of the party were sick a few hours after leaving (these two people had no alcohol and were fine previously) Also a few people could notice a feisty smell like a wet old cloth had been used to wipe the tables etc. We have previously ordered take out and actually got stew chicken that looked and tasted like stew chicken. Only thing we all enjoyed was the music. Such a shame as this place has so much potential. Needs someone who knows what they are doing to...

Let me start with the negatives because there really was not any, only thing I would say is the gravy for the stew chicken and jerk was quite oily so took away the thickness we usually like and our personal preference would be a grilled top to the Mac n cheese to add crunch. BUTTTTT, a big BUTTT. Impeccable. Flavour. Perfect. Customers service. Top tier. Front and back of house all had smiles when I walked in, easy to order was spot on time for collection. Truly tasted like home! You can partially see the kitchen as well which I actually love because I could visibly see that the front and back of house were both extremely clean which is very important . Would like to request Guinness punch, carrot and banana cake added to the menu if possibleeee but it was surprising quiet when I went and I feel like they need much more recognition so if you need any social media help to get your name out there let me know ! (I’m qualified) but thank you so much to all the team it was truly lovely and worth the 45 minute drive there and back (also was still supper hot and fresh by the time I got home and neverrrr once heard “wi nah av dat” which in itself deserves 5...

I saw this by chance whilst going to town and knew I had to try it.

The environment was really nice, it was a very welcoming place to eat, unlike most places in Ipswich.

The food was brilliant. I really enjoy my curry goat with the rice and peas. The meat was falling of the bone and very palatable. The rice was fresh and cooked perfect. it wasn't just throw together - you can taste the passion that goes into the cooking.

I would very highly recommended everyone to go here! I saw a lot of people gaze in and look at the awesome decor, ponder for a second and walk on; I can only assume this is due to their anticipated disappointment in what Ipswich has to offer. But, this is an exception.

And, at what cost? Less than a disappointing burger king... The previous day (when I was ignorent of Hardball's existence), I ordered a burger king, and didn't have much change out of £50.

Total from here was ~£30, even with an alcoholic...