Jay's Caribbean Cuisine — Restaurant in Lawrenceville

My only regret here is that I can only rate this place with 5 Stars because they deserve so much more in every category!

My wife and I love Jamaican food and culture and still have many very close Jamaican friends who live in South Florida. If there were one single thing we can say we miss about living in Miami, it would be our great friends from Jamaica along with all the excellent culinary options in Broward. When somebody brought in leftover oxtail for my wife at work, she texted me a picture and said we were going here this weekend. It was a one hour and twelve-minute drive one way but worth every minute and mile in the cold rain and traffic.

Location / Dining Room: This is by far the cleanest Caribbean restaurant we have ever dined. The tables, floors and even the bathrooms looked as if nobody had ever been here and the floors literally shined. They are located at the end of a small strip mall and from passing it seems very unassuming. It is definitely worth the stop.

Food: OMG, I cannot relay how great the food is, I ordered a large plate of Oxtail complete with Rice and Peas, Cooked Cabbage and Plantains. My wife ordered a small plate of Jerk Chicken. I also could not resist the temptation of ordering a Spicy Patty since it has been too many years since I have enjoyed one.

The patty was spiced perfectly; the pastry was light, flaky and excellent. All I needed with my Patty was a side of CoCo bread, and it alone would have been a great full meal.

My wife said her Jerk Chicken was spiced to her exact desire, tender and juicy and she loved every bite. Her rice and peas were topped with Oxtail gravy, and she said the cabbage was the best she ever had. I had to hide my plantain slices because to keep her from eating them.

The Oxtail was terrific, I hoped to bring a leftover box home since I ordered a large plate but I could not resist devouring the entire serving. The rice and peas were spot-on, and I had to bring the steamed cabbage home along with a serving of rice. The plantains were really good, not too sweet like you get at many places but sweet enough and done well. The Oxtail was tender, and I loved the gravy, I prefer a little more spice, but I still relished every bite.

As a side note, after consuming our meal and getting to-go boxes for leftovers, we loved it so much we ordered a large order of Jerk Chicken to bring home along with a Spicy Patty.

Service: WOW, I could not believe the how friendly and pleasant the entire staff was and how we were treated. We left feeling like our business was truly appreciated by everyone who worked there. They stayed busy with a line the entire time we visited and still seemed to genuinely care about our experience.

I wish this were much closer to home but with everything we experienced today I can see this will become a place we return to...

I happened on this place because I crave Jamaican food on Sundays after church. I have traveling further into Lawrenceville to one of my favorite places at Sugarloaf mills or a Golden Crust. I found this place which is 2.5 miles from our church. Understanding that we live a distance from the area (out past commerce), the close location made things so much better.

The place is busy ad I was not sure I would obtain the special request that I often have with my food. I requested extra gravy from both meats with little rice. When my order was done, they summoned me and handed me a bag that was already sealed; not allowing me to see what was done. Because the contents was heavy, I determined that something good had to come of it. i packed my food in the warming bad and set home for1 hour ride. When I opened the bag, I was pleasantly surprised. I had great portions of food although I had too much rice. Not the amount I requested. However, the portion side and the taste made up for it all!! It was absolutely delicious.

This is my new Sunday stop before getting on the highway for home. i am praying that what I received is not an anomaly but a norm. This is my new fav Jamaican restaurant. Kudos to you Jay. I am a hard sell and you sold me. See you never week! This time, not so much rice :-). Thank you for...

Ordered here via Uber Eats. I got an oxtail meal, a stew chicken meal, a roti skin, a beef patty and a fried dumpling. First the good: the beef patties are delicious. They came warm, the crust was soft and flakey with crispy edges, the beef inside was seasoned perfectly with a little spice. The dumpling also came warm and has a nice slightly sweet taste.

Now the not so good: The roti skin came wrapped in parchment and is cold. It does have a good taste but why wasn't it warmed before putting it in the bag. Both the oxtail and stew chicken meal also arrived cold. I had to nuke them to serve my family. The stew chicken has a pretty good taste, but I didn't like the seasoning on the oxtail. What's worse though is the meat on the oxtail was tough! I'm used to the meat on oxtails falling off the bone, with a texture that's almost silky. This was not that. I was biting and fighting to get the meat off the bone and unfortunately I didn't care for the sauce. The rice and peas tasted great but they arrived cold. The cabbage was ok but it also arrived cold.

I would probably order again for the...