Chef Reece Kitchen — Restaurant in Davie

My husband and I are Jamaican and went to try Chef Reece Kitchen since it’s the most convenient location for us. We had high hopes and were satisfied with our meals. The portions were generous. Our family of 4 were able to have lunch and still enough leftovers for dinner as well.

Katana was friendly and helped answer our questions about the menu and pairings. The restaurant was clean, bright and had seating both inside and outside. There was a dish of hard candy on the counter which was reminiscent of my grandmother’s home. There was a 15-20 minute wait for the order, so next time we will probably call ahead and pick up. It was nice knowing that our food was being prepared fresh to order versus other nearby Jamaican restaurants which almost offer buffet style service. I enjoyed one of their bottles of natural juice while we waited. The mango passion juice was sweet and refreshing and felt like I was back home drinking fresh fruit juice.

My husband enjoyed his oxtail with rice and peas. The gravy was rich and flavorful. My kids enjoyed the baked macaroni and cheese. It was cheesy and had a good texture- not soft or mushy, but also not crunchy (they don’t usually like baked pastas). The fried chicken was juicy on the inside and had a crunchy skin/crust. The jerk chicken was not spicy, so not what I’m used to, but also good for us since it was also something our kids could enjoy. The chicken was juicy which was nice because many places tend to dry out the meat when trying to impart the charred flavor. Next time, I will try it without the gravy to see if it makes a difference. The jerk BBQ wings were crunchy even with the sauce on it. The Cajun fries were crispy and well seasoned, but not spicy so my kids enjoyed them. The steamed cabbage was tender but had some bite to it - which was perfect because after being reheated for dinner it still was not overcooked.

We...

I’ve heard a lot about this place, so I decided to check them out. I ordered the oxtail pasta, jerk chicken entrée with mac & cheese and coleslaw as the sides, chicken wings with french fries, and barbecue sauce, and the salmon salad (Not pictured). Also had their ginger lemonade (Not pictured). -The sauce for the oxtail pasta was way too thin, and leaked all throughout the bag. Cream sauce (be it a béchamel, or coconut milk based) should be thick enough to coat the actual pasta. Also lacked any real flavor. The oxtail, while cooked fine, was sweet, without any other real flavor/seasoning. -The salad with honey garlic salmon was really good! The salad was nice and fresh, and the salmon was seasoned and cooked well. I’m a little disappointed that they don’t have a House-made vinaigrette, but it would have been a welcomed addition instead of store-bought dressings. -The jerk chicken lacked jerk flavoring. Not sure if it was prepared on a gas grill, or charcoal, but I really didn’t taste any charcoal/ smoke flavor. Also, it was a little bit more dry than I anticipated, understanding that jerk chicken generally can be slightly dry. The mac & cheese was OK. My child enjoyed it a lot more than I did. The coleslaw was pretty good, though I’m not a fan of minced coleslaw. Also would’ve preferred bit of dried mango, versus dried cranberries, and the coleslaw. -The chicken wings were OK. Not really seasoned, but look like they could’ve been roasted/cooked on a grill. Barbecue sauce tasted like your basic Storball barbecue sauce, but it’s OK. -Ginger lemonade needed more ginger, and lemon flavor for me.

I love their story of starting from a little kitchen in a local gas station, and I’m proud of the success that they’ve had, but overall, it was underwhelming. Outside of the salad, I wouldn’t order any of those items again, and I’m not sure if it would be worth...

I heard of this place on social media. And being down in So Fla for work often I thought I’d try them out cause I was craving oxtail. So after reading all the reviews and researching this place, I decided to give them a try. I ordered the oxtail pasta and lemon pepper wings with french fries. I placed the order using their online service because of all the reviews. They say that they are really busy on a Sunday and I did not wanna wait to pick up my food.

The portion size was good. I think there was a little more pasta heavy than with the oxtails. For the price I believe more oxtail should be on the plate. But I have no quandaries on the flavor of the pasta or the oxtail. I am not a huge fan of spicy food and I was looking for regular southern oxtail, with this being a Jamaica restaurant, I was concerned it would be too spicy. It wasn’t. It had the perfect spice the perfect flavor. I wish they were a little more tender however it was not too hard to work the meat off of the bones. Plus, it gave me the ability to suck out all the flavor off the bone in my little guilty pleasure.

The lemon pepper wings were probably some of the best wings I’ve ever eaten in my life. Fries were fantastic. I also got a side of sweet plantains and they were as other places very usual very OK no complaints.

I will return to this restaurant again, even though it’s 40 minutes from my hotel because there are other items on the menu that I want to try. I paid $25.99 for the oxtail pasta and I think $13 for the wings and fries and $3.99 for the plantains. Even though I ordered online for pick up, I did leave a tip and because of the service I am so glad I did. Total spent was $52.43. Kind of pricey. But isn’t everywhere...