Tasha's Caribbean & Soul Food Cuisine — Restaurant in East Orange

I'm a big fan of Caribbean food and I've had my fair share across the globe. Tasha's is hands down top of my list all time for Caribbean and Top 3 across all cuisines.

I have been here 3 times in the last 3 months and every time has been consistent and just as good as the last. Ok let's dive in:

Quality - 5 Flavor - 5 Portions - 5

Pricier? Yes, but it's absolutely worth it.

What I have ordered multiple times and can absolutely vouch for:

Entrees: Curry Chicken (Personal Favorite) Oxtail (Insanely tasty, juicy, falls off the bone) Jerk Chicken (Flavorful) Tasha's Sticky Wings (Best wings I've had in NJ) Beef Ribs - Wow... One large Rib with so much meat that fell off the bone with the most amazing sauce and flavor to coat.

Sides: Sweet Potato Cornbread (This alone could be why I come to this establishment, this is such a standout item - you must try) Regular Cornbread - Even if the SP Cornbread is not available, this is the best cornbread I've ever had. I've read elsewhere that they had dry cornbread - it was either a bad batch or a bad day because their cornbread hit every single time I went. Plantains - sweet, soft yet slightly crisp - cooked to perfection Rice and Peas - Full of flavor and very generous portion Cabbage - SO MUCH Flavor - I usually don't like cabbage but this is crazy good.

Dessert: BANANA PUDDING CHEESECAKE - If they have this, dont even think twice. Get 2 slices. One for there, the other for later. You'll thank me later Banana Pudding - Good banana pudding made from scratch Red Velvet Cake - Moist and perfect balance, not too sweet and perfect consistency.

Sauce: Their home made Hot Sauce - IT IS HOT with SO much flavor. Use with caution, start with a drop and ramp up. It gets hot, but I could buy bottles of this hot sauce.

Conclusion:

It's rare you find a place that has multiple items that are insanely good. Not only that, but it's even more rare to go to a restaurant and have top tier Entree, Sides, and Dessert all from the same place. Whatever you order from here you know it's made with love, quality, and Tasha has an amazing palette and understanding of flavors. Truly a master at her craft.

I cannot emphasize or highly recommend this place enough.

If all this didn't already seal the deal - Tasha and her husband are truly genuine and kind people who you can tell care about their craft and process. They put the energy into the food and into their customers. I was made to feel at home the moment I walked through the door and I'm grateful to have found her restaurant.

I will be coming for years to come.

Finally, if it matters to those who eat halal - the meat they used is halal and they do not serve...

The oxtails and the rice and peas are good but the sides.........hmmmm. The candied yams are not caramelized with brown sugar like they're supposed to be. They're basically just sliced sweet potatoes with brown water, sort of like yams from the can. They're not candied. The collard greens are too sour and tangy for my taste. The macaroni and cheese tasted good at the top where the cheese and the seasoning were. There's hardly any cheese or anything incorporated throughout the pasta, it's mostly tough rainbow shaped pasta with spots of cheese placed randomly through the glob of the pasta. There's almost no egg or based for the mac and cheese, just cheese concentrated towards the top with seasoning. The corn bread was a bit dry and grainy, almost like it's dipped in sand. The smothered turkey and gravy tasted good but was pretty tough and dry. It was hard to cut and I felt like I was chewing for days. The banana pudding that was $8.00 had 4 cookies that was similar to lorna dorn's cookies. It tasted like artificial banana pudding mix with slices of banana mixed in between which irritated my throat because of the chemical after effects. I really enjoyed the oxtails and I love how they don't make pork. I also like their customer service. They're very nice people and the place is pretty clean. The okra was ok but the other sides that I've mention needs more care along with the smothered turkey. Greens should not be sour, yams should not be watery, cornbread should not be grainy, banana pudding shouldn't be chemical, and the food overall needs more seasoning. Other than that the presentation is good and I like how they take their time to prepare the food. I hope she reads this and...

This place is a VERRRRY poor representation of restaurant much less a West Indian Restaurant. The day I went, they didn't have most of their menu items, which I didn't care about. I respect the fact that they still opened to make their money. BUT.... the food was NOT good. A LOT of people are raving about their Mac n cheese, and there's NOTHING to rave about. It's basic, no salt, pepper, or flavor except noodles and cheese. BBQ chicken completely drowned in sauce which is great until u pull the skin off and the meat just tastes like boiled chicken. The absolute WORST item was the yams. They were mushy, soggy, and not sweet or baked well. My friend was amazed at this place but it's NOT worth their prices. Fridge was empty, only had sodas no real WI drinks. I ordered what they had, so I can't speak on the other items. But I won't be going back. They had random people which were their so called "employee" running back and forth behind the counter in the kitchen area where was is prepared. Then she came I. With a gang of her girlfriends making a bunch of noise and being ratchet for no reason. Very unprofessional and not sanitary to have her working around food when she apparently was not scheduled for work. Best part was the guy taking orders. He's amazing, super friendly, explained ahead of time that they had run out of stuff but decided to open anyway and just make it happen..SUPER cool guy and I respect the hustle but Tasha cyant cook no proppa...