Roti being made at Roti Joupa Rob Greig
London's best Caribbean takeaways
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By Zoe Kamen
Posted: Wed Aug 18 2010 -
Where to find good, fast, Caribbean food – jerk chicken, rice 'n' peas, roti, ackee and saltfish, patties and drinks Editors note, 07/09/10: This list of recommended, tried and tested Caribbean takeaways you see here first appeared as a sidebar in our Notting Hill carnival issue in August 2010. The intention was to highlight the best ones within striking distance of the Carnival. We are well aware that Caribbean takeaways are found in all parts of London, so if you have any specific recommendations, we'd love to hear about them - and will visit them in time for the next time we publish a feature on Caribbean takeaways.
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Cottons
55 Chalk Farm Rd, NW1 8AN (7485 8388/www.cottons-restaurant.co.uk))
This smart Caribbean restaurant also does takeaway. Call ahead with your order or sip rum at the bar while you wait – the friendly barman blends some potent cocktails. Pepper-pot beef stew and fresh dumplings were the highlights from the restaurant menu for us, though it did take 40 minutes for the restaurant-quality food to arrive, and the bill came to more than £20 per head.
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Jerk City
189 Wardour St, W1F 8ZD (7287 2878/www.jerkcity.co.uk)
This hotspot in Soho for Caribbean takeaways always has a queue out of the door at lunchtimes. Among the dishes we can recommend are the curry roti dishes (such as mutton or prawn), and the saltfish and ackee. Despite the name, the jerk chicken is disappointing when compared to the other dishes. Around £10 per head.
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Ochi
226 Uxbridge Rd, W12 7JD (8742 9620)
Dyed-in-the-wool west-London haters have been known to travel across town for a taste of Ochi’s meltingly tender and succulent jerk chicken. Dumplings stuffed with ackee and saltfish will keep us coming back for more, and the rice ’n’ peas (with proper pigeon peas) with a hint of coconut was excellent. No wonder there’s nearly always a queue out the door. Around £6 per head.
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One Stop
17 High St, Harlesden, NW10 4NE (8961 6151/www.onestoprestaurant.co.uk)
Bottles of Ting (grapefruit soda) and soursop juice are kept under lock and key at this late-night Harlesden dive bar. It feels more like a bar than a food destination, but the authentic cooking lived up to its great reputation. Our favourite was the oxtail stew, with just the right chilli heat. Stewed peas had more pig tail than kidney beans, and the jerk chicken packed a hot punch. Around £7 per head.
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Roti Joupa
12 Clapham High St, SW4 7UT (7627 8637/www.rotijoupa.com)
This takeaway’s not a looker, but the highly skilled chefs here have raised the bar for roti in London. This Trinidadian staple of a wholewheat flatbread wrapped around fillings originates in India but Trinnies have made it their own. The open kitchen means you can watch as they wrap to order. Try the ground lentil ‘dhalpoorie’ roti or the ‘bus-up-shot’. Around £5 per head.
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Yours’N’Mine
37 Chamberlayne Rd, NW10 3NB (8960 9044)
The friendly staff wear their hair nets with verve at this sit-down restaurant and takeaway in Kensal Rise. Brown stew chicken had us nibbling every morsel from the bone, and the plantains were crisped and sweet, though the ‘hard food’ – boiled plantain, cassava and dense dough dumpling – is more of an acquired taste. Around £7 per head.
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Yum Yum
312 Ladbroke Grove, W10 5NQ (8968 1477)
At the north end of Carnival route this little take-out and caterer really is yum. The lovely ladies here know how to bake, and are known for their patties. The one we tried had flaky, delicate pastry and a tasty curried vegetable filling. Go early if you want to try the jerk chicken patties because they sell out. We consoled ourselves with sweet and soft festivals (fried dumplings), banana fritters and own-made drinks of sorrel and peanut crush (our top recommendation – assuming they’re not sold out). Around £7 per head.
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19 comments
Tickle Me in West Norwood is without doubt the best West Indian takeaway in London. Just give it a try, I can't believe nobody has mentioned it. The peppered steak is amazing. There is also another Tickle Me in Balham.
Just try here and see for yourself.
Im sorry, but i disagree strongly with some of the comments on here, particularly about Roti Joupa. That is a fantastic food shop where everything is cooked and prepared infront of you. The service is also very good. The main problem they have is the size of the shop and the staff they have. It is a family run business so everyone is related and gets over crowded because its the best Trinidadian food in England. I highly recommed it to anyone. The food is always delicious and fresh.
i need stew takeaways
I agree with everything that Eat, Drink and be Merry said, I have been to most of the places mentioned here and have been quiet disappointed. I am still searching for that place which is consistent in all areas, when I find it I will tell you, could be a long wait though! I did go to a place in Brixton in the Arcade which wasn't opened for long & is now closed down, it was the closest chicken/meat roti dinner I have had in this country since childhood. I have had a lot of rubbish which normally ends up in the bin very quickly.
really disappointed in your choices. I used to live in bush and Ochi is average at best. Roti Joupa is even worse. If you want good caribbean food. The Spice & Nice Bakery in Camberwell/cold harbour lane (they also run the amarylis pub - best jerk oxtail i've ever had), is the place to go. The prince of wales pub in camberwell does great jerk pork. The best caribbean food is in south london. brixton & c'well.
try rhythm restaurant on park road hornsey n8
food, service and cost was good
Hummingbird on Stroud Green Road in Finsbury Park's been my favourite Caribbean food in London for years...
I think, and assume by most off the comment on all of time outs food reviews that Time out needs to employ some real food critics?
Most food recommendations on here are really bad?!
I think some of the above posters have been critical of the restaurants listed because the reviewer has ignored a large chunk of london.
I have eaten in Cottons and its delicious. The portions are gigantic and flavours are great. The service in the islington branch was fantastic as well.
I do agree that since this is a takeaway listing and not restaurant listing that to ignore areas like dalston and Brixton seems bizarre.
There is a great stall in walthamstow on Sundays only where a man cooks delicious fritters and supplies a home made chilli sauce. He is worth visiting for this one item alone. He makes delicious sweet breads as well.
In spitalfields market is another good caribbean takeout which I would have thought would have made the list. Since its east CENTRAL.
Listing the already well known places is a little weak from a journalism point of view. You should have collaborated with others in the know.
So Tottenham and surrounding areas have none!?! Try looking at the reviews on London Eating for the dreadful reviews of both food and service of places like Cottons. 0 out of 10 for effort on this article Zoe. Must try harder!
Most of these Caribbean eateries are highly overrated. Although my cravings for West Indian food take me to these places, I find that beyond the initial excitement, the dishes are usually bland, disappointing and overpriced. I've had a few experiences of buying food that was stale, re-heated and spoiled (you don't get the foul odour until you've paid for the meal and walked off). Jamaican dishes are particularly tricky, with any homeboy turned caterer overnight selling jerk chicken for 5 and 10 quid a portion especially at Notting Hill. My advice - get some Caribbean friends to cook authentic cuisine for you at home or catch a flight to Trinidad and Tobago for the best in Caribbean dining. The service at Roti Joupa is rotten, I hate the feeling of being squeezed and jostled by hungry and impatient patrons who shout out orders to the timid staff ahead of others. You can't tell whether the restaurants on Uxbridge Road are operational or shut down. Kimo's in Stoke Newington has a decent buffet, but not great on service and ambience. Jerk City is cool and welcoming, but you pay more for the location than the flavour. Being such a discerning eater, I usually settle for my own stewed oxtail, curried goat, curry chicken, stewed beef, fried fish, pelau (peas and rice cookup) which are tops lol! Too bad for y'all who like to eat but cyah cook!!! Do be careful when selecting Caribbean eateries, hygiene and sanitation are important and you don't want to wake up with food poisoning, diarrhoea or a churning stomach...The food goes down easy but the exit could be painful.
Or Brixton? Herne Hill? Peckham? etc etc etc???
Brown Eagle just up past the Lord Nelson pub at Wood Green N22 should get a mention - tasty stewed chicken, curried chicken, rice'n'peas - much more too! About £6 per head. Excellent!
@Benn - looks like reviewer may have had a limit on their Oyster card usage. Hard Times at Universal House...
You haven't included Quashie's Roti Hut, which used to be the old Roti Hut on the Uxbridge Road. Far better than Ochi's!