Jerk Machine at Ft Lauderdale — Restaurant in Fort Lauderdale

I’m torn about this one because I see the potential of this restaurant, but I need to go based on the food I received.

I got a combo plate of jerk chicken, curry chicken, rice and peas, steamed cabbage, and a side of plantains.

For the good part, the portion size was very generous. The rice and peas was well seasoned and delicious and the steamed cabbage was perfectly cooked and extremely tasty.

My problem lies with the chicken. Both the jerk chicken and the curry chicken, both brown meat (which I prefer personally), had an unbelievable amount of bones, to the point that it was unpleasant to eat. The ratio of bones to meat was just completely off. Almost every single bite had pieces of bones in the rice and I kept having to literally spit out bones throughout the meal. The curry chicken came with basically bones and fractions of meat here and there.

The taste of the jerk seasoning and the curry were really good, but overshadowed by the sheer amount of bones. I don’t know if this was due to the butchering of the chicken which caused the bone fragments to be incorporated in the dish. And finally, the plantains were inedible, completely rubbery and most likely had been fried and left under a heat lamp for a very long time.

Overall the taste of the food was good, the rice and cabbage were delicious and the chicken, although quite fragmented, still had a good taste. The plantains, possibly fresh out of the fryer would have been a different story.

I’d give this place another try potentially. The food had potential, but they just missed the mark with my order...

I discovered this place a year ago by complete accident. I was door dashing to earn extra money because I just moved in. At first I wasn't too prepared for the food. With the person I delivered to being ethnic Jamaican and saying it was the best in Fort Lauderdale.

I went ahead and gave it a try. The staff were awesome, but I always ordered with Doordash app because I was too busy to do it any other way.

This place fed me through a dark time in my life. I was having health problems that almost killed me, I was far away from family, going through a breakup and recently lost my dear pet cat. On top of that, compounding work and stress. Yet even then, when I got the food It would instantly cheer me up. It's good food, the women are kind and you'll not find any other place like it.

My favorite was the dark meat plate. Get extra jerk sauce for both the chicken and the rice. You'll be in heaven your first bite in.

Unfortunately I can't find any other place like it. I had to migrate north with my job and so far I'll probably never find a jerk chicken place this far up. Definitely swing by or order something from here. You can't pass up Ft Lauderdale without trying some REAL stick to your ribs, delicious Jamaican food. I promise you'll never find a place like this anywhere else. In FL or in the rest of the country.

The one thing I wish I had a chance to try was the oxtail. My favorite food is oxtail soup, so I imagine it would be...

They say looks are deceiving. But in this case it was a positive thing. The food was really good. Staff was welcoming and pleasant. My only issue was the temperature of the food. It was definitely Luke warm. But flavors were on point and I will return. Portion size was good. Price was just right. I got the Jerk Chicken white meat with rice and peas withs trw chicken gravy on the rice. My man and his mother got Curry Goat. They both enjoyed their meal. There was a silence while we were eating, which meant we were enjoying our meal. The Jerk chicken wasn't too spicy.... the jerk sauce was. So I mixed it with BBQ sauce and it was perfect.

On first impression of the restaurant......the exterior....well....looks a bit dilapidated. Inside of the restaurant.......needs upgrading and renovation. I didn't use the bathroom so I can't comment on that. I'm usually a very superficial person when it comes to the look of a restaurant. I'll just walk right out if it looks unpleasant. But this day I was hungry.... and I'm glad I gave it a chance. It was probably one of the better Jamaican restaurants...