Address: 64 Cowley Rd, Oxford, OX4 1JB, United Kingdom
Phone: +441865249888
Rating: 4.7
based on 139 reviews.
Food Quality
Pros:
"The food is absolutely amazing for very reasonably prices."
"The jerk chicken, and it had a really nice flavour but wasn't too spicy. It was a nice heat."
"Wow, the food is amazing! I felt as if I was in the caribbean: wide selection of rums, a mix of spices and flavors, and the music."
"Delicious authentic Caribbean food bursting with flavour."
"The Trini doubles not only were seasoned to perfection they left you wanting more."
"Absolutely delicious! Wonderful flavours, beautifully presented and great portions, superb service!"
"Never had such a great balance of fragrant, fresh, spicy, sweet, and savoury before."
Cons:
"Way too sweet. Caribbean food can be quite sweet but OTT (trini doubles should not be sugary)."
"Unacceptably bad technique with the oxtail stew (shredded bone all-over it... highest price on the menu)."
"However, the portions are quite small, especially compared to the price."
"Underflavoured curry goat, tasted like lamb stew."
"Fried plantain did not really taste like plantain, I think it may have just been banana."
"The food is just lacking a little refinement and skill. A few of the dishes we had were a bit underwhelming - the lobster was over cooked and the chicken was dry."
"Didn't like the spring rolls much or rice & peas."
Service
Pros:
"Service good and I recommend the Caribbean style cocktails."
"Very competent staff, memorised our order of 5 people without making a note and got it correct!"
"The service has always felt special and I’ve never left without a smile on my face."
"The staff were great too!"
"They were helpful, polite and friendly and they checked in on us but not in an annoying way."
"The staff was Friendly, polite and attentive."
"The staff were really kind and attentive."
Cons:
"I have to give 1 star but I'd give zero for the service received numerous times trying to order food only for it to be cancelled leaving my belly mash up kmt."
"But service was extremely slow. Arrived at 8:30pm and after ordering only mains and dessert we left at 11pm and only 2 of us were eating."
"We had to keep calling for the server attention and got a few orders wrong."
"Service is very amateur, though."
"Restaurant on Saturday night run entirely by teenagers, who were fine, but obviously inexperienced."
"Throughout we felt that we were being rushed through, even though nobody was waiting."
"Very disappointing as reviews on here amazing but my experience wasn’t so at all. I had to send my food back as meat cold from starter to main could tell food wasn’t fresh and had just been warmed up."
Atmosphere
Pros:
"Great experience. Warm welcome and hosting, cosy atmosphere."
"You walk into this lovely restaurant to the sights, sounds and smells of Jamaica."
"Fantastic food, great service, very friendly, nice atmosphere, good music not too loud."
"The atmosphere is relaxed. A very, very good surprise."
"Lovely vibes, will definitely be going back."
"Very fun atmosphere!"
"Quirky place with great music and good vibes."
Cons:
"This is the biggest rip off in the history of cowley Road."
"Food is really tasty but I think it is too expensive for the value and experience. The music is usually too loud and there is not a lot of seating."
"Maybe a little too many tables inside."
"Set in a poorly lit and decorated environment."
"Parking was quite tricky, as it is on the main road and the side roads were packed."
Value
Pros:
"Reasonable prices!"
"Not overrated prices. Perfect."
"You can’t get better value for money than here, it’s so worth the visit for all of this."
"Cocktails on the expensive side at between £10 - £12, but the rest of the menu seemed fairly priced for great quality and flavour."
Cons:
"No fifth star as it is quite expensive and one of our plates was a little disappointing (Oxtail not cooked down enough)."
"A little too pricely."
"It'd be sad if their prices went up any higher than they currently are though."
"Food was alright and tasty, although indeed quite overpriced for both portion size and quality."
"Food was undoubtedly amazing. However it was quite expensive for not a large portion size."
"This is not the cheapest restaurant but it's worth it!"
Drinks
Pros:
"The cocktails we had were amazing as well."
"Fancy lush cocktails made with a variety real island rums!!!"
"Make sure you check out the great selection of rums that are hard to find outside the Caribbean."
"Food - proper bostin, rum punch - AMAZING, plus, they stock my favourite rum, Chairman's Reserve."
"The cocktails are amazing, the non-alcoholic options are great too."
"The drinks we tried were excellent... You must have the clarified piña colada."
"We have also tried some cocktails and I have to say, those guys are doing really good job in there."
Cons:
"We asked if something was vegan and the staff member asked us what vegan meant, and rather than checking with the kitchen, she shrugged."
"Was told only one cocktail was on offer to us due to it being street food night, didn’t stay for dessert as was that deflated from rest of meal."