Caribbean Grill — Restaurant in Maryland

Reviewing mostly because I saw some recent low reviews and wanted to add my positive experience to the mix.

Ordered on Uber eats for delivery and got a melange of items including a goat roti, a piece of kingfish, a couple fried dumplings, a chicken patty (beef wasn't available on Uber eats for some reason), a.piece of cocobread and the honeybun rum cake.

Goat Roti - I've only ever had the roti from Teddy's (and it's been a while) but I'd say this is on par. Nice roti skin and good, fairly mild filling with goat, potatoes and chana. Would recommend.

Kingfish - this was just a small piece, side dish they have available with an escovitch sauce. A little dry maybe but I liked it and the sauce was great and spicy. Would recommend but wish the fish was less dry.

Fried Dumplings - a little cold by the time they got to me but that wasn't the restaurant's fault. I think fresh these would have been fantastic. Really strong outer fried shell and ever so slightly sweet. Would recommend, especially if you're eating right away.

Chicken patty & Cocobread - I lumped these together because that's how you eat them and also because they were both a bit disappointing. Patty was kind of dry and, honestly, I couldn't really tell that there was chicken in it. It was just kind of mush. Pastry and flavor were both just okay. Bread was a bit dry too. Probably could have benefited from a microwave at my place but I was so hungry I just ate it straight away. Neutral on my recommendation here, I'd try it again before passing judgement.

Honeybun rum cake - it's exactly what it sounds like, tastes like a honeybun with rum. Very light....

So I ordered a combo oxtail and curry goat which was $27. They literally gave me 4 pieces of each and 90% rice and veggies in the bowl. I go back and talk to them about it and the big bald cook wants to 1.tell me to put in a mask (which i had on the first time and i understand the regulations so i had no problem wearing one but he wasn’t wearing one either?? And he’s the cook??) 2. He gives me an attitude and tries to be condescending because I’m unhappy with my order. I didn’t even want a refund but after dealing with him I just asked for my money back, which he was also getting upset about. You could’ve just given me a couple more pieces but instead you threw out the entree and gave me a refund so you ended up losing MORE money.

The female cashier was really polite and helpful the whole time though. The food is not even worth the price. They need to do better overall but as A Jamaican, i know how cheap we can be but as a business, they need to watch how they treat their customers and also give us what we pay for.

Then I went to Jamaican country kitchen (picture below) AND THEY HOOKED ME UP! $20 for LARGE! And the cashiers...

My first thoughts upon arriving at this store at 12:30 in the afternoon, which for me is lunch time, was that it looked clean. There was a man who worked there sitting on a chair and talking on the phone. When he saw me he waved hi and then got up to go behind the counter. So, I'm thinking, good, he acknowledged me and and is going to see about my order. A woman came out and took my order and payment. I saw that there were covered foot trays behind her, so again, all looked good and clean. However, after getting my food I realized it was NOT fresh. The cabbage had wilted and there was a slight odor to the food. Like, it might have been days old. I decided to still give it a try and NOPE this food was not good. I ended up throwing it away. I've had the pleasure of eating plenty of Caribbean food in my life, as my parents are from the Islands, but this was a piss-poor showing of what Jamaica has to offer. This is why I do not mess with Caribbean restaurants in the DMV. I wait until I go to NY to get real Caribbean food in Brooklyn, NY or thereabouts. I won't be going back to...