Angela's Caribbean Cuisine — Restaurant in Vernon Hills

I dined here for the 2nd time ever! First dined here on 8/20/2025 for lunch; had their amazing Cajun Chicken Dinner and vowed to come back! Well, today, I returned! Took a late lunch and could not decide what to order since ALL the food looked delicious! So, I ordered both, the Spicy Pork Dinner and the Chicken Stew Dinner; I chose for sides, the Spicy Rice and Cajun Rice, Mac N Cheese, and cabbage for both dinners. Plus, they each came with a corn muffin! For dessert, I ordered 2 of their cute, tiny home-made cakes. For drinks, I ordered 2 cans of Code Red Mountain Dews! Angela’s sweet, personable, and good-humored mom, took and put together my order and advised me on today’s menu options! Angela, herself, popped out of the kitchen and let me sample a new dish she was in the process of creating: the Rasta Pasta! (It was spectacularly delicious—just like ALL the incredible food I ordered today!) I will DEFINITELY be back for more—especially when they start serving their Oxtails Dinner and their Spicy Caribbean Sausage Dinner! (They told me to call first, since both take quite some time to make!) This food stall is BY FAR my absolute FAVORITE in the entire food court! It’s also 1 of the few reasons I love going to the Hawthorn Center Mall (the other reason is the Fast Fix Watch Repair Kiosk downstairs, where I get all my watch batteries for my many watches in my collection)! It’s in a nice, clean and airy spot in the food court and the mall itself. Plus, there’re a lot of seating options and even nice booths along the back wall! So very glad Angela’s is in the mall...

Let me start with, I rarely write reviews unless a place is terrible OR it is PHENOMENAL.

And lemme tell you, this place is phenomenal! I've never had the pleasure of eating Caribbean food before, and this was my first experience. I recommened this by far for the first timer delving into the world of delicious Caribbean cuisine.

The woman who served us at the counter was one of the friendliest and knowledgeable people I've had the pleasure to meet and be helped by.

I tried the jerk chicken dinner (which includes two pieces of chicken and 3 generous helpings of your choice of sides [I chose the red beans, cabbage and peppers, and the mac 'n cheese] along with some sliced plantains and a piece of cornbread).

Everything was fresh and hot and seasoned gorgeously. The woman who helped me even refreshed the pan of jerk chicken AND the pan of mac 'n cheese before she served up some generous portions. I was genuinely touched and VERY impressed at the care taken for the food.

The other highlight of this amazing visit and delicious meal was the side of Habanero sauce that was given. Their menu lists mild and spicy jerk chicken, but the woman said it ended up being wasted as it didn't sell well. So they stuck with the mild and offered the sauce so that folks could use to make it as hot as they want. And my god the sauce was DELICIOUS. It was honestly closer to a slaw because of how nice of a crunch it offered and the nice bite of heat and vinegar. But it paired PERFECTLY with rhe chicken.

All-in-all, I HIGHLY, H I G H L Y recommened this place! I will be coming back again...

This is truly a hidden gem, and I am quite stingy about usage of that word. I got a whole lunch box that was loaded with goodness for a reasonable price. I was served by Angela (?) herself, which felt like I was visiting an auntie's house. Empanadas are fried fresh when you order, so sometimes you may have to wait a bit (as there may only be 1 person working). But the wait is worth it! I ordered 2 extra empanadas (curry chicken and chorizo & rice). That day, they also had an empanada with jerk chicken & Mac n cheese stuffing in the same empanada...wow! Will have to come back for it.

It's located in the food court of...