Jerk Sou’lay — Restaurant in Lake Township

This establishment came highly recommended by my sister, who resides in the community. She warned me of wait times and suggested I order ahead online. I agreed and ordered online today at 2:30pm. She said the food might take 20-30 minutes, so I arrived at 3pm for pickup.

Upon entering, I was immediately acknowledged and greeted. I waited in a short line, then provided my name and informed staff I’d placed an order online. I was told brown stew chicken is made fresh and it would be a 7 minute wait. I very much appreciated not only being informed but the fact that this establishment has standards on providing quality food. I noticed the gentleman I was speaking with left (maybe on break). I’m unsure if my waiting was communicated to the kitchen staff. After waiting about 25 additional minutes, I decided to walk back to the window. My presence wasn’t immediately acknowledged, so I stood waiting. When the next gentleman stepped to the window, it was clear that he didn’t realize I was still there waiting for my order. I then restated my name, that I’d placed an order online, and was there for pickup. I noticed the gentleman walked over to a food warmer, where my food had been wrapped and waiting. It was very upsetting that my time was not deemed valuable enough to the staff to at least call my name over the intercom as they had done with all previous orders. Nonetheless, I thanked the gentleman for my food and bid him a good day. I immediately called my sister, told her of my experience, and said I’d never return. She urged me to speak with the owner because he’d want the feedback and would most certainly take corrective action and address the staff. Instead of causing a scene in the establishment, I decided to call. I asked for the owner, but was informed by the Manager, Tamika he was not in. She was happy to assist. I explained to her my experience, but I’m not sure she completely understood the issue as she reiterated brown stew chicken is made fresh. She then asked if my food was cold. I live in Elmwood Park. I hadn’t even looked at the food, nor tasted it. I was focused on the service. Nonetheless, she apologized and said she’d speak with the staff. In her defense, she attempted service recovery. It simply fell a bit flat as I didn’t feel she understood the real issue I wanted addressed.

Upon making it home I provided my husband and children with their meals. I ordered my husband oxtails w/ rice & peas, macaroni and cabbage (they gave him yams, which he hates) w/ a side of plantain. I ordered my children brown stew chicken, rice & peas, macaroni and yams. My husband is Belizean and makes Oxtails, rice & peas nearly every Sunday. He loved the rice & peas; However, he felt the oxtails and macaroni were bland. After sampling his food, I actually agreed. Oxtails should be packed with flavor in every bite. My sister thought maybe they had a different chef? My children (3&4) informed me the chicken was spicy. (Is it jerked and brown stew?) Anytime I’ve had brown stew chicken, it wasn’t spicy so this was unexpected. I might’ve overlooked this warning on the menu. My 13yr only was very pleased with the chicken and felt it was flavorful! He thought the rice & peas were a hit! The best he’s had. He also agreed the macaroni was bland. I was able to feed that to my toddlers. My toddlers and I LOVED the yams! My 13yr old hates yams in general, like my husband. Nothing against this establishment.

Overall, I’m unsure if this was an isolated incident, so I don’t know if I’d recommend. It took an hour to receive my food. I just don’t think that’s acceptable when placing an order online, for convenience. My sister certainly thinks so, as her food when ordered was full of flavor in every bite. She and her husband are frequent customers of Soule. I’ve heard amazing reviews about this establishment and they can’t all be untrue! I believe the combination of service and food left me feeling underwhelmed and yearning for the experience so many others have clearly grown to love and appreciate...

*In response to the owner's response:

My order was placed via UberEats delivery. This was my first, and now only, time buying from your business. Therefore, there was no way to ensure my items were correct before receiving them outside of quality checking done by an employee prior to being given to the UE delivery driver. The app doesn't tell people greasy gravy will be put all over the rice and peas; also doesn't say rice and peas is included before the two additional sides. The app doesn't even have DG drinks listed, it says Ting products; these are two different brands with different ingredients. The app doesn't tell you the number of peach cobbler rolls that comes in an order; the "s" on the end of roll (rolls) implies more than one and review pictures found online, from other customers, show more than one, so as a new customer how would I know it was an order of one of not listed as one on the UE app? It's fine though because I didn't even like the peach cobbler roll; too much cinnamon. Lastly, since businesses are the ones who list their items and item descriptions within the UberEats platform, it is the business' responsibility to properly inform customers what comes or doesn't come with each listed item. Customers should NEVER be left to guess or assume what they will or won't receive. You can avoid future mishaps with a QC person who double checks all orders for accuracy, and by updating your item names/descriptions within the UberEats platform. You may review the added pictures from the app for yourself...

$7 for 1 roll when the app says rolls? $6.10 for Ting and the wrong drink is sent? $27+ for the catfish meal to have greasy gravy put all over my rice and peas? And the owner responds to my review with what?...No thank you, I won't be back EVER!!!

You're Welcome! Original Review with *Updates:

First I have to share that I am disappointed that the peach cobbler rolls was only one roll. It's pretty expensive to only receive one when all the pics I saw online before ordering showed two; and there was little to no sauce on it as well.

*Update: I have tried the peach cobbler roll, and I'm so glad there wasn't two! Too much cinnamon! I don't recommend even if you like cinnamon. I'm a cinnamon lover and it's overpowering the peach flavor. Definitely not for me.

Now that that's out of the way... The fish is moist and seasoned well, the cabbage is excellent and very similar to how I prepare my own, the rice and peas are tender and cooked just right. One of the main draw backs that keeps me from giving a higher rating is the weird bland gravy. It's not needed and doesn't add anything to the dish, it actually is making it difficult to continue eating because it's kind of greasy; which is a bummer because I also didn't know it already came with rice and peas so I ordered it as one of my two sides and the greasy gravy is on all the rice and peas🙁

*Oh, I forgot to add that I ordered Ting (a grapefruit drink I get when ordering jerk) but I received a pineapple ginger drink of a different brand that's definitely not Ting and has High Fructose Corn Syrup instead of sugar 😡I definitely prefer Ting...

As a consistent patron over the last year, I never had complaints about this business. The jerk chicken is next level. I brag about it all of the time to friends/family and I have even tagged this company on social media. However, today was very disappointing. I was driving from Michigan back home into Illinois (northwest suburbs) - I placed an order, so either my husband or I could pick it up on the way. I placed it in his name - just in case he picked it up, and I paid and had the confirmation email sent to my email. My husband was unable to grab it (sidetracked) but I knew that I could. Within 10 minutes of my arrival, I called the company to let them know I was on the way. During the call, I was informed that my husband would have to pick the order up with his ID. I’m confused. I inform the employee that I paid for the order using my card, so I didn’t understand. He told me that it was on their website - and I just didn’t recall seeing that. I get off of the call and arrive to the location. I bring my ID and my card because it only made sense to me that the person who paid for it would be more at risk than someone whose name is solely on the order. I walked in, “Hi, I think I need to refund my order because it’s in (husband’s name) name and he isn’t able to pick it up.” The man went through the process of the refund and I said, “I want to still patronize with you all, but the order is on my card/email - he’s just not here to pick it up.” That man turned the POS around and showed me that my ordered was refunded. I asked him where the language was on their site - or even on the confirmation email because I hadn’t seen it. He said that this is due to fraud and he didn’t know where it was on the website. I dropped my head and just exited. I was super disappointed. I would’ve taken the already paid for food over my refund, but the sheer disinterest that was displayed just made me accept what was. The food here is great. They clearly don’t care either way for my little $24 and I wish them continued success. Maybe they’ll make it more logical to card the person who has paid for the food opposed to just carding someone whose name is on the order. And ensure that it’s added to the website - not just a sign inside...