Irie Caribbean Cuisine — Restaurant in Greenville

We were up in Greenville for the day visiting the Zoo and very surprised to find a restaurant serving up Jamaican food. The restaurant itself is easy to find, just about 2 blocks off the main drag on the right. When you open the doors, you are hit with some reggae songs and various smells of curry and coconut (one of my restaurant rules is if you can’t smell the food when you walk in, walk right back out). I have a big family and we ended up ordering a bit of everything, Jerk Chicken, Jerk Wings, Curry Chicken, Curry Goat, Beef Patty, and Plantains. The restaurant was very accommodating, and they moved tables together for our large family to sit down. Shortly the food came out, first the beef patties, then the Jerk and Curry Chicken, and finally the wings and curried goat. My wife is from Ghana, and she was so happy to have goat meat! The food was freshly prepared, completely amazing with perfectly authentic flavors and spice. The jerk seasoning was just the right heat. The chicken was tender and not dried out and the goat was excellent. Many times, restaurants fail when it comes to rice. With my wife from Ghana, we eat rice a lot (not complaining – I love rice!), and we were impressed with the rice they served. It wasn’t too firm or overcooked, and I am certain there was some sort of coconut oil used in it. Regardless, I imagine they have a big pot on the fire smack full of rice with a large wooden spoon that can just as easily be used to smack a misbehaving child as stirring. The plantains rivaled my wife’s (don’t tell her 😉) and one of our older sons devoured almost all of them and then sat in a corner overcome by a food coma until it was time to leave. While we were eating, they brought out homemade lemonade to us and even some beef patties with cheese that were wrapped in coco bread (which didn’t last long at all and have become a new favorite thing). The owner was so nice and friendly, and you felt like this was a meal being eaten a friend’s house. Another cool thing is everyone that came in was super friendly, like they just dropped anything negative at the door when they came in. Just hanging out there for a little bit while we ate, I could tell they are passionate about what they do. They have the gift, not only of hospitality, but of creating incredible dishes that transports you, for just a moment, to a place far away from Greenville South Carolina. A place where none is a stranger; where life slows down giving you time to just enjoy, relax, and eat among friends. We will...

Home cooked meal with LOVE!! We were visiting from out of town and came across this hole in the wall diamond of a restaurant! Super tiny and it had all the small family privately owned vibe to it. Everything was clean with few tables for dining in. We chose to dine in since we were about to head back home.

The food was beyond amazing and delicious. Flavors were well balanced and you can - without a doubt- taste the love and care that went into the food. I had the jerk chicken wings lunch and EVERYTHING - I mean EVERYTHING in my plate was delicious. I was doing my happy food happy belly dance and seriously kept saying yum after every bite. The tropical lemonade was also the PERFECT compliment to balance the heat and flavors. The cabbage was unlike anything I’ve ever had and it was hands down delish! Even down to the plantains which I usually avoid but this- THESE plantains were a hit in my mouth!

Chef/owner Lawrence came out to greet us and you can absolutely feel the love of a home cooked meal through his dishes but also his personality. It's so RARE to feel that WARMTH from food or a restaurant but he was absolutely RADIATING it. Even the other gentleman behind the counter checked on us frequently to make sure we needed anything. They all talked to us like we were family and that we’ve known each other since forever! We couldn't ask for a better way to end our short visit in Greenville than this! THIS PLACE IS A MUST!!! Next time we are in town, we shall return!! Thank you IRIE!

Def head to the W Antrim location as they are different from the other ones. This is a family owned establishment that cooks with love and gives you the “from home with love” happy...

Came from Charlotte, NC to Greenville, SC to purchase a car but got pretty hungry. Instead of a fast food chain that we can easily pull over and munch on, we decided to try something new and local. Googled "best food around Greenville" and this place popped up in the listings. We decided to give it a try and DAYUM this place is good! Called ahead to make an order for Jerk chicken and browned stew chicken. Whomever picked up the phone and took my order was just like "ok, gotcha" then hung up without giving us a time frame when it'll be done but it was whatever because we were 15-20 minutes away anyways and assumed food should be done by then. The location and inside was a little sketchy but then the owner came out and brightened up everything. Asked us what we ordered and got it for us, made us felt welcomed. He knew we weren't from around here because us being two Asian males, I assume not many Asians live in Greenville. My uncle bought a tropical lemonade but the owner gave me one for free! Gave us utensils and wanted our feedback and thoughts on the food we ordered. First bite of jerk chicken was mind blowing! Owner offered this orange hot sauce to compliment the food that is said to "kick like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, and Jet Li" When he said that we cracked up! Was pretty funny and was true to what he said. I love hot spicy sauces and thought that orange hot sauce went along with the chicken very well. 5/5 will def come back whenever I am back...