During 2020 when indoor dining stopped for several months, but takeout remained opened, Caribbean food (mostly Jamaican) went from being something I only really ate once a year at Carnival to being one of my favourite cuisines. I love the smell of the smoke rolling out of the drums, slow-cooked meat falling off the bone, and the sweet, spicy sauces. Here are a few of my top Caribbean food spots in London;
1. Jay Dees Catering
📍Notting Hill. West London’s finest. If you go early you can grab jerk chicken straight off the drum and falling off the bone. Ask for extra tissues because it’s going to get messy whilst you inhale your food at Tavistock Gardens around the corner. The gravy is so good that I could have it with rice alone. I’ve always got to get a dumpling or festival here too. Don’t come too late in the day because they’ll run out of half of the menu (like most Caribbean spots). The curry mutton is a favourite of mine here too.
2. Peppers & Spice
📍Dalston. The constant queue coming out the door at Peppers & Spice is a testament to how good the food is. I love all the dishes here. The jerk chicken comes absolutely smothered in a delicious sweet, sticky gravy. My favourite dish is probably the oxtail which comes with little spinners (dumplings) cooked in the stew. I haven’t found this addition to the dish at many other Caribbean spots.
3. Maureen’s
📍Brixton. Every Tuesday-Saturday, rain or shine, you’ll find Maureen and her small team cooking up some of the best Jamaican food in London out of her flat in Brixton. As soon as you walk-through the gate into her garden you’re greeted by a number large pots bubbling away and the smell of chicken frying. Eating-in literally used to be sitting round Maureen’s own kitchen table with regulars enjoying their soups and stews. I’ve been back twice now and tried the jerk chicken, curry mutton, oxtail and fried chicken. All the meats are delicious and falling off the bone but the oxtail and curry mutton were standout for me. Often with oxtail if it’s not quite cooked right and the collagen hasn’t broken down enough and mutton can often be tough if undercooked/dry-out if overcooked but that wasn’t the case here. The fried chicken was well-seasoned and cooked on a slow-fry so came off the bone nicely too. Maureen’s Brixton Kitchen is open from 11:00 so I recommend getting there just before the 12:00 rush. Surprisingly it’s not cash only. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.
4. Ewart’s
📍Dalston. A popular spot for Jamaican food in Gillett Square in Dalston. Nothing creates atmosphere better than drums out front with smoke rolling out. I’m always a fan of places that offer jerk pork as well as chicken. Ive tried the curry goat, jerk chicken & jerk pork. All the food is 10/10 down to the rice & peas and I like that you have the option to get two meats in a meal instead of one. They also have a number of tables out front so you can eat in.
5. New Tings
📍Brixton. I posted a reel on my favourite Jamaican takeouts in London and the comment section was full of people recommending other spots I need to try – some looked good, some not so good. New Tings was one of the good ones and had a 4.6 on Google to back it up. The main thing that makes this place different is the wide range of seafood dishes on the menu. I went for the fried fish bites on a shrimp rice as well as ox tail with rice & peas. Both dishes great. The ox tail was coming clean off the both and I loved the batter/glaze on the fish. The service was pretty unfriendly though (think more Tasty Jerk than Maureen’s). I’ll put them 5th or 6th on my Top London Caribbean Takeouts list – find a full guide via the link in my bio.
6. Tasty Jerk
📍Thornton Heath. Whenever I post this place somebody will always tell me how they were temporarily shut down due to health and safety or moan about how bad that the service is (they definitely aren’t as friendly as other spots on this list), but they do some of the best jerk pork and jerk chicken in town. I also love the set-up here how they have multiple drums smoking meat at once.
7. JB’s Soulfood
📍Peckham. A local institution in Peckham. Everything is good here but my go-to order is the jerk chicken which comes smothered in a tangy sweet gravy. There’s a few stools inside or a green next to it to your food.
8. Smokey Jerkey
📍Newcross. I love that as well as jerk chicken and jerk pork, this place also offers jerk lamb. All three are incredible and come topped with their house barbecue and hot pepper sauce which has a serious kick to it. This restaurant changed hands a couple of years ago and I’ve heard it’s not what it used to be from somebody else but I haven’t been back to try recently yet.
9. Crystal Caterers
📍Hoxton. Crystal Caterers serve out of a food truck on Hoxton Street. They’re easy to spot by the smoke coming out of the van and the queue of people out front. On Google maps they’re still called their old name, Shades Food Truck. It was £11 for this big box of jerk chicken, oxtail, coleslaw, and rice & peas. The jerk chicken is topped with a sweet & sour style sauce as well as the gravy. The oxtail meat was literally sliding off the bone. All round incredibly good food and I can’t wait to go back and try more.
10. Survivor
📍Camden. They also have locations in Dalston and Chingford but this one has the best rating. The oxtail was on point – all the collagen broken down and coming clean off the bone like jelly. It’s great that they’ve got a few tables to eat in so you don’t have hunch over a wall like Golumm too. The other dishes looked good too.
11. Jerk in Da Park
📍Waterloo. A short walk from Waterloo station/ I’m not a fan of the square brown boxes they serve in but the food here is all on point.
12. Sunvalley Jerk
📍Borough. You’ll find Sunvalley Jerk serving food outside of a truck in Tabard Street Food Market. They’re incredibly popular with local workers. They specialise in jerk chicken and jerk pork but also serve curries and stews. The jerk chicken was charred, comes off the bone nicely, and is topped with a really good house made jerk sauce. The pork was really tender too.
13. Kaieteur Kitchen Original
📍Elephant & Castle. Kaieteur Kitchen is a Guyanese restaurant in Elephant & Castle. The food is closer to that of Trinidad or Suriname than Jamaica. The owner, Auntie Faye, is a bit of a local legend and is happy to talk you through the dishes. The oxtail was a little tough but the coconut lamb was really tender. I was a big fan of the vegetable dishes like the vegetable curry and the okra. A big meal for two (which could have easily fed three) set us back £60.
14. Roti Joupa
📍Multiple Locations. A Trini takeout with restaurants in Shepherds Bush, Finsbury Park and now Stratford. My go-to order is the ‘buss up shot’ (roti) and different meat, prawn and veg curry. The doubles are also a popular order here.
15. Bokit’la
📍Multiple Locations. A French Caribbean food truck. I caught up with them in Oval where they are currently a few days a week although they move around to different markets (check their Instagram for up to date details). They serve Guadeloupen sandwiches called bokit. Dough is fried which quickly puffs up and is then filled with a spicy chilli paste, chicken, salt fish or aubergine, plantain, lettuce and tomato. They taste great. You also need to order a side of accras (salt fish fitters).
16. White Men Can’t Jerk
📍Peckham. White Men Can’t Jerk serve a modern twist on Jamaican street food. They started in 2013 and eventually settled at the Prince of Peckham where they’ve been for a good few years now. The chicken always has a good char on it. As well as the jerk chicken which you can get on rice or fries, the fried chicken wings are really good too.
17. Fish, Wings & Tings
📍Brixton. This is more of a sit-down restaurant than a takeout and feels a little bit commercial compared to other spots on this list but the food is still delicious and presented well too.
18. Cool Runnings Jerk Centre
📍Stonebridge Park. A good Jamaican takeout near Stonebridge Park station. The jerk chicken seems to be the most popular dish here.
19. Healthy Eaters
📍Brixton. Another good option for Caribbean food in Brixton. They have a large selection of patty here too.
20. Swift Caribbean Delights
📍Homerton. I went for a small oxtail, steamed veg, rice & peas and dumpling and it hit the spot. Unlike most Caribbean takeout which close on Sunday, Swift remains open.
21. Moto Roti
📍Fulham. A Trinidadian & Grenadian originally on Fulham Palace Road but now in Shepherds Bush. The doubles here are delicious – two fried flatbreads topped with chickpeas, potato, cucumber, spring onion & tamarind relish.
22. Jerk Centre
📍Tottenham. Right across the road from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. This is a much better pre-game call than the over-hyped Chic-King a few doors down in my opinion. I tried the jerk chicken but the oxtail looked awesome here too.
23. People’s Choice
📍Homerton. Another Jamaican spot in Homerton. Good food and big portions.
24. Hot Pot (Permanently Closed)
📍Shepherds Bush. Ochi is probably the most well-known Jamaican takeout in Shepherd’s Bush but the last two times I’ve visited the food hasn’t been great and the low Google score backs me up. Hot Pot is a much better option for all the classics and service is friendlier too. They closed down recently and there is a new Jamaican spot in their place so I will do a re-review soon.
25. Mum’s Caribbean Takeaway
📍Harlesden & Kensal Rise. A popular takeout in Harlesden & Kensal Rise serving all the classic Jamaican dishes. Go earlier in the day as they have run out of half the menu by evening.
26. Jeff the Chef
📍Brixton. Another solid choice for Caribbean food in Brixton. Jeff the Chef serves out of food truck just outside of Pop Brixton. I went for the jerk chicken with rice and peas which came with some cabbage too and couldn’t fault it.
27. True Flavours
📍Brixton. A few people had hyped this spot to me but I wasn’t completely sold. I found it funny that they offer pasta and rice together as option with your meat as I’ve never seen that before. The two meats I tried were a little dried out and had lost their moisture although the flavour was still there. There is always a queue of locals coming out the door so I might have caught them on an off day.
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28. Roti Stop Ltd
📍Stoke Newington. A popular Trini spot for roti. I went for the curry chicken roti. The roti was nice and big but lacking a little flavour and the chicken was a little dry. I prefer Roti Joupa for Trini food. There’s one small table outside if you want to eat there.
29. Heart & Soul Caribbean Food
📍Hanwell. Heart & Soul is a Trini takeout restaurant in Hanwell. It’s a few doors down from one of my favourite chippies, The Golden Chip of Hanwell. They serve filled roti, buss up shot with curries, rice box meals and sides. The doubles were really good and the mutton curry roti was solid too.
30. Hot Grubz
📍Park Royal. You’ll find Hot Grubz up at the entrance to Grand Union Trade Park where they’ve been for five weeks now. They’re here Monday-Friday lunchtimes only. The menu is small and half of it wasn’t available. Meals are £10. I went for jerk chicken, curry goat, rice & peas, plantain fritters, a dumpling, festival and a chicken patty. Disappointingly they didn’t have any Jamaican soft drinks. The jerk chicken was nice but served dry (no sauce house made sauces) – it just came with a small squeeze of store-bought bbq sauce from a bottle. I like mine smothered in some kind of jerk sauce or oxtail gravy.
31. Roti Kitchen
📍West Ealing. Despite only being five minutes from my house this place has been pretty hit and miss for me. The doubles have always been solid but I had a pretty bad mutton roti where the mutton was still quite tough and gristly and the curry was watery.
32. Bus Cafe (Waterloo Bus Garage)
📍Waterloo. Bus Cafe if is a greasy spoon hidden the back of Waterloo Bus Garage. Although it’s mainly occupied by bus drivers it is open to the public. As well as a fry up you can also get a number of Jamaican dishes like jerk chicken, curry goat, etc. Prices are incredibly low.
33. Peckham Bus Garage Bus Cafe
📍Peckham. Yup, another cafe hidden in the back of a bus garage. This one is hidden at the back of Peckham Bus Garage. It’s a little harder to find than Waterloo Bus Garage because there isn’t any signage. Although it’s mainly occupied by bus drivers it is also open to the public. As well as a fry up you can also get a number of Jamaican dishes like jerk chicken, curry goat, etc. Prices are incredibly low. I prefer the Waterloo cafe.
34. Ochi
📍Shepherd’s Bush. This West London Caribbean takeaway is apaprently loved by Rihanna and Stormzy, however both times I’ve been, the food has been disappointing and the service has been unfriendly. The meat on the goat and oxtail was still tough and not coming off the bone properly. If you’re looking for something else in the area I recommend going to Hot Pot for Jamaican food or Roti Joupa for Trini food.
James Dimitri 