Island Express Restaurant — Restaurant in Elburn

To say the food is excellent is insufficient. The flavors are robust, vibrant, and well balanced in a way you don't typically find in other types of cuisine, let alone restaurants in the area.

We got the goat curry, ox tails, and jerk chicken. It was love at first bite. After our first bite of jerk chicken, my girlfriend and I looked at each other and knew right away that we were about to embark on a flavor adventure. All the meat was succulent, balanced with sweetness/spice-but-not-too-hot, and flavorful in a way that will leave an indelible mark on my palate. The yams, mac and cheese, plantains, cabbage, beans and rice were all unsurprisingly fantastic as well. The plantains in particular had a lovely slight crisp to the edges that rounded out the salty and savory goodness of the other meal components. Do yourself a favor and get extra jerk sauce. You'll thank me layer.

They were closing early at 7 and we got there at 630 as they got slammed, undoubtedly because the other patrons shared my same curiosity about the hype or were fortunate enough to have discovered this gem of peak comfort food long before. Nonetheless the staff was very friendly and my order was ready in a reasonably prompt span.

I don't think I've ever seen a restaurant garner 5 stars across so many reviews and now I see why Island Express continues to maintain...

I heard about this place from groups and have now been here twice. I can honestly say both times the food was amazing. There are so few Jamaican places around so getting to try this style of food (relatively) close to home was a real treat.

I took a chance this time and got something I’ve never tried. The Brown Stew Chicken. Didn’t know what to expect but like other things here it was amazingly good. Fall off the bone chicken in a tasty brown gravy. I have to be honest - the great thing about this place is, the food sounds relatively plain. I mean, a side dish of cabbage doesn’t sound too incredible, right? But be prepared for the best cabbage you’ve ever had. If you’re not sure what to expect with the food, just give it a chance - nothing I’ve had here in 2 trips was anything less than amazing.

I also love that they have fried sweet plantains which is a big fave of mine. The only thing is I wish you got a little more for a “large” side but oh well.

Lastly I have to say I think this place would do much better in a different location. There isn’t really much room to eat inside so it’s more of a take-out place. I’d love to see this move to a larger location and offer more eat-in space and maybe a soda fountain.

Overall this is definitely worth the visit...

My husband and I first time trying Jamaican food and it did not disappoint! 👌🏼. We picked this place because of the high rating and it was on point. The place is small but very cool man! Very clean and the wall decorations and paint color is a vibe! It represents Jamaica beautifully. It was nice that they have sitting options for dine in. We asked the Queen at the counter, what she recommended us to have as we do not eat beef or pork (they have plenty of other options) and she said the Jerk Chicken with the Green Beans and Candied Yams and to drink the Pineapple Soda. The food came fast and it was delicious!. The chicken was nice and tender, the sauce it comes with is the star of the show for sure. The candied yams were amazing! It has a slightly sweet cinnamon flavor. The green beans were very fresh and the buttery onion flavor it had was wonderful. Watch out! that soda is addictive. Over all the experience was...