Queen Trini Lisa — Restaurant in New Orleans

As we walked into the restaurant we were greeted by a lovely hostess and sat promptly to a window table.

As we walked to our table we passed a very enthusiastic and happy young lady talking to another table about the menu and other things. It was very exciting when I learned that that was Queen Trini and that she was the one who was going to be cooking our food. She was smiling, enthusiastic and joyful.

Right after we sat at our table she came and talked to us. Her enthusiasm and love for what she does was immediately apparent and as refreshing as my hibiscus tea. It's rare to find someone who is so excited and happy about what they do. Anyway she gave us a quick guide of the menu, and when she found out it was my first time she even went and got a binder with the pictures of all the different dishes. Thoughtfully and excitedly she explained all of the different dishes, flavors, and textures. She was more then happy to answer any questions we had. She was very excited for us to try her food and could barely hold back her passion for good tastes.

She gave us a few minutes and we ordered all at once. We ordered the Hibiscus tea to drink, then the Doubles Box, the Coco Breaded Fish Sandwich, the Fried Plantains, and the curry chicken.

The Hibiscus tea has cinnamon in it. It is also sweetened with cane sugar. It is southern sweet tea meets an interesting and refreshing flavor. I highly recommend.

The Doubles Box was the first thing to come out. This dish is phenomenally good. The turmeric flatbread is light fluffy and crispy, while the curried chickpeas bring bold and exciting flavors, the cucumber finishes it with light and refreshing notes. The dish by itself is amazing. Then it comes with three sauces. I don't remember what they are, but put all three on a bite of this dish and it's a flavor bomb. Get this dish.

The fried plantains are what is to be expected. They are lovely and delicious. A little sweet a little savory just delicious.

The curried chicken comes with 2 sides and plantains. We got the Caribbean style spinach and the island stir fry cabbage. This is a massive plate of food. It must have had 3 or 4 chicken thighs and 2 drumsticks. The chicken is covered in a delicious flavorful curry. The meat falls off the bone. The sides add wonderful complexities. They are both super delicious. The spinach is cooked down and full of flavor. The island stir fry cabbage is crunchy and fresh. All the sides, including the plantains go great with the curry. My mouth is watering as I'm remembering this dish.

If you named the Coco Bread Fish Sandwich, Bruno, I would still talk about it. This thing is awesome. The bread is light and toasted. The fish is perfectly fried in a light cornmeal. The pineapple is super fresh and tasty. The plantains just win. The tomatoes add just the right touch. This sandwich is awesome. It also comes with two sauces. Use them, you will not regret it. This sandwich has all the flavors that you want and is not missing anything. Get it.

As I was wishing that my stomach was larger, Queen Trini came back and asked how everything was. She was absolutely lovely and reeked of good vibes. We closed out, left and we will be back again soon.

This restaurant does not serve alcoholic beverages. I am not sure what their policy is on BYOB. I would feel comfortable with kids in there. They are on every delivery app that you could wish for.

This place is a small business founded by a hard working and enthusiastic woman. You can tell every moment that she is trying her best to pull herself up by her bootstraps and live her dream. If there is a place that we should all be happy to support it should be here. She even has solar panels and an ice machine in order to help the community out after hurricane power outages).

It was awesome food in a great atmosphere with very good vibes....

I learned about this place from TicTok, so my family and I decided to dine in while in town for an event. The service was very good! The owner, Queen Lisa, came out and spoke with us. The menu is small, but that gave me the impression of “quality over quantity”, which is always good in my book! Here are the Pros and Cons: Pros: -Wonderful customer service. Owner was super friendly, and engaging. While walking out, the staff thanked us for coming in. -clean and neat dining area -Fish and Chips: very flavorful and fried to perfection! 10/10! -Jerk chicken: The sauce was very flavorful, however…we found it difficult to enjoy due to the high number of tiny bones we ran into while chewing. -Island stir fry cabbage: Delicious! Just the right texture, loaded with flavor,10/10! -Rice and peas: also delicious, but they were not as hot( in temperature) compared to the other food items on the plate. -Oxtails: I came to the restaurant wanting to try the oxtails. When I did not see them on the menu, I asked the waitress if they still served oxtails. She told me yes, but only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s. Lucky me, I there on a Saturday, so I ordered the item. Delicious sauce! Meat was flavorful, however I personally felt the oxtails could have been just a tad bit more tender. -Curried chickpeas on flatbread. I ordered this item to go. As a token of the owner’s appreciation, this item was on the house! The flatbread was light and flaky, paired well with the chickpeas, cucumber, and sauce toppings! Got the spicy sauce, was a little too hot for me. Next time I will try the mild sauce option. Overall, was delicious, 10/10. Cons: -Location: Leaves much to be desired, but the best places to eat are usually off the grid! -Even though our waitress was super duper sweet, she was very soft spoken. We had to ask her to repeat herself pretty often, even after asking her if she could speak loudly. -I was verbally told of the oxtails only served on certain days. However, that information was not on the menu. It was a good thing I asked, otherwise I would have never known the restaurant serves oxtails. My advice is to add the oxtails to the menu, along with the specific days they are served.

It was me and my family’s first time visiting Queen Trini Lisa’s Island Soul Food Restaurant. We all agreed the next time we are in town, we will...

We ate here for an early dinner after flying into town. Coming out, we felt like we had just had a home cooked meal at a close friend's place. Lisa (the queen) and her son CJ are both wonderful people who quite literally made us feel at home - easily among the most friendly and comfortable dining experiences I have ever had, even cointing places where I am a regular.

This is all well and good, but how is the food? Divine. We ordered the doubles box, the CJ special, and the sorrel tea. I wholeheartedly recommend all three! The doubles are really quite beautiful - lovely turmeric bread that is fluffy and soft adorned with curried chickpeas and fresh cucumber. When seasoned with the various chutney and sauces that come with the dish, these beautiful parcels light up with beautiful and overlapping flavors. Each bite is a little different, and that makes it exciting. I got the hot option, which may not be for the faint of heart.

The sorrel tea is not to be missed! It is sweet, vibrant, and both warming from a lovely cinnamon note yet refreshingly cool. Kind of reminds me of a gluhwein... but for 85 degree weather.

All this said, the star of the show was the CJ special. Jerk chicken or curry chicken? A real dilemma... so why choose? The plate comes with a filling amount of bone-in beauty. On the jerk side expect a light spice, sweet, and unctuous. The curry chicken though - it reminded me of the curry my grandmother used to make, and which I have been trying unsuccessfully to recreate for years. My wife even commented, "This tastes like the curry you make, but better." She is 100 percent right, and to have that experience again brought back memories.

My family really enjoyed the hospitality that Lisa and CJ offered us. I hope everyone reading this can make a stop in to enjoy their wonderful cooking and...