Yumvillage — Restaurant in Detroit

Easily some of the BEST food I’ve had in my entire! Considering I’ve tried so many different cuisines, I was so grateful to try something that surprised and delighted me!

After initially ordering via UberEats and realizing almost two hours later the order never reached the restaurant, my friend and I called the restaurant to place a carry out order an hour before closing. The server was kind and guided us in suggesting some of their specialties/popular items. We ordered the suya chicken with joloff rice and plaintains, lemon pepper jerk chicken with ginger curry chickpeas and jerk oxtail with truffle oil greens and turmeric rice. Everything was fresh and had such equal balances of spicy, savory and sweet. The oxtail was perfectly seasoned and cooked, tender and falling right off the bone. It was my first time trying holiday rice and suya chicken, and they both had the spicy heat I love, and the chicken’s peanut and lightly sweet flavors were amazing and truly special. The coconut rice and chickpeas were a perfect balance to the spicy lemon pepper jerk, which was a perfect zing and mellow heat. I usually would devour a good meal like this easily, but I found myself wanting to savor it and save some for leftovers! This experience was well worth the two hour wait, and I’m already waiting to go back! Grateful to have such awesome food right in the heart of my city! The world needs to know about Yumvillage! And more locations!...

Really good blend of Afro Caribbean plates that come prepared as a combo or create your own entrees. I decided on the quickbite of the classic village combo that came with jerk chicken, jollof rice,plantains. Wow is all I can say! I got really good portions for a little over $13, enough for me to save for later. The spicy flavors of the jerk and rice paired perfectly with the fried plantains to tone down the spice. Each bite gives you bold flavor and freshness. The jerk chicken was really tender. All meat is Halal and they have Vegan and Gluten Free options as well. I had my food with one of their long beach lemonade to-go cocktails, it was sweet but with a nice kick that left me satisfied. Great customer service that was willing to help you decide what to order in case you can't decide what to have. The dine in style was fast casual dining which I'm not much of a fan of but it does perfect for a quick bite during lunch hours in a rush. They also have outside dining seating during the warmer months and currently still in October that is great for nice days to sit for lunch on busy Woodward Ave. Overall I'd definitely recommend Yum Village if you're looking for traditional Afro-Caribbean meals with new pairings and recipes that all come together perfectly. I did mark the food down to 4 because it seems to matter when you come on the quality of the food. Sometimes the food is not always as fresh or hot when I've come...

This is my second visit to Yum Village and I hope the owner could read this review. Please pay close attention to your staff and how they represent your business. The young man that took my order shouldn’t be allowed to work up front taking orders, greeting customers and bringing out your food while wearing a beauty supply hair bonnet. He used profanity constantly and clearly didn’t want to be there at work. The gentleman was nice, sorta helpful in between him complaining and yawning. When I rang in my order, another shocking thing I learned is that employees aren't receiving tips, so I had to cancel out the tip on the iPad and fished around in my purse to give the cashier a tip. The recommendation that I would give is to hire better staff to represent your establishment and give them their tips. It’s illegal to keep them from employees. The music in the lobby was loud, it almost unbearable. As for the food, the Jerk Chicken, it was good, not the typical Jerk taste and quality I am used to. Waited about 10 minutes to get my food brought out to me. When it arrived, it didn’t taste fresh or hot. The cut up dried chicken pieces was a tad tough. It reminded me of the chicken you get at the fast food mall Asian restaurants. None if the chicken has bone in, all cut pieces of chicken. I paid $21 dollars for the jerk chicken platter. I don’t think I will return to this spot and really wished my review could have...