The Best Caribbean Restaurants in NYC

Miss Lily's

Miss Lily’s is arguably the coolest Caribbean restaurant in New York City, with its dancehall decor and old New York City storefront. Best known for Jamaican classics like jerk chicken and stewed oxtail, I tend to go for fab remixes like jerk salmon, jerk ramen, jerk corn, or hot pepper shrimp, plus an ice cold brew off their Caribbean beer menu: They have Carib and Stripe, but I generally go for a Guinness! 

The Islands

The Islands is a well-loved restaurant serving classics like oxtail, plantains, and curry goat served atop rice and peas. For a hearty lunch or dinner, I’d add okra with cod fish, jerk leg of lamb, or stew peas to the lineup. Pair your meal with sorrel, a flavorful beverage made from hibiscus flowers, cinnamon, and ginger, which is what gives this juice its pungent bite. 

Suzy's Roti Parlor

For my weekly roti fix, I almost always order from Suzy's. My go-to is the curry goat, ordered buss-up style with extra pumpkin or butternut squash and both pepper and tamarind sauces. Their flaky paratha roti skins transport me back to my childhood in Trinidad and my father’s platin (a type of cast-iron griddle) on Linden Boulevard. I’d strongly suggest eating roti like we do back home, unwrapped, dipping the buss-up into flavorful curries, stews, and chutneys. 

Gloria's In & Out

Another local institution, the third-generation, family-owned establishment Gloria's is a must-stop for visitors and Brooklynites. While curries with roti are some of their most popular items, Gloria’s is also known for their Trini-style street food like pholourie — fried split pea fritters served with tamarind sauce. It’s best served with mauby, a bitter beverage made from bark with a hint of anise. 

Linda’s

Located in the heart of Little Caribbean on Bob Marley Boulevard, Linda’s Restaurant is a venerable institution for authentic Caribbean breakfast like carilla & saltfish. My Guyanese-American friend and neighbor Pam swears by Linda's white pudding, a herby sausage made of rice, milk, and plait bread, often eaten during the winter holidays, paired with a traditional Guyanese pepper pot, an Amerindian meat stew flavored with cassareep, cinnamon, and Demerara sugar. 

Likkle More Jerk

With their lineup of chicken, beef, or veggie patties with coco bread, Downtown Brooklyn’s Likkle More Jerk has to be on your list. Their Likkle Tings mini meals are perfect for lunch, with smaller portions of jerk pork or curry chicken with sides of rice, cole slaw, and oxtail gravy — a Caribbean delicacy.  

Savvy Bistro & Bar

Savvy takes classic Caribbean flavors — jerk, guava barbecue — and applies them to easy-to-transport, easy-to-love dishes like burgers, chicken sandwiches, and wings. It’s all delicious, especially when paired with a homemade Savvy lemonade. 

Caribbean Vibes

For more Afro-Caribbean staples, sample Caribbean Vibes. Goat head soup, also known as mannish water or goat water, is a hearty broth prepared from goat parts, ground provisions, dumplings, habanero, and pimento seeds. That’s the standout. 

Vee's Restaurant

Vee’s serves authentic dishes like stewed kidney and cow foot that showcase the rich Creole cuisine that’s rooted in Afro-Caribbean history. During rainy days or colder months, order fish both, and cow or chicken foot soups.  

Royal Cuisine Yard Food

For late-night limes and weekend family gatherings, my preferred restaurant is Royal Cuisine Yard Food. Their catering menu has tried and tested, family-approved dishes like whole jerk wings, rasta pasta, and full pans of jerk chicken with spicy sauces that you can pair with D&G, Ting, or peanut punch — a flavorful West Indian milkshake made with milk, Guinness, and peanuts. 

Island CZ

If Ital (Caribbean vegan) is your preference, pull up to Island CZ, a long-standing Jamaican restaurant in the heart of Crown Heights on Franklin Avenue. With healthy remixes that include stewed tofu, curried soy, or callaloo served with a healthy portion of vegetables and provisions, this corner cafe also serves up Jamaican-style wraps and reggae pasta with oxtails in a creamy Alfredo sauce. 

Jerk Off The Grill

With its extensive menu, Uptown favorite Jerk Off The Grill serves up jerk salads, burgers, and tacos alongside standout classics like brown stew chicken and jerk chicken. Pair any meal with West Indian-style baked mac and cheese or crisp steamed cabbage. Go for a perfectly baked vegan patty in a turmeric-flavored crust and a Kola champagne, cream soda, or sorrel for an authentic Jamaican experience. 

Snatch & Go

Snatch & Go is a well-loved favorite for “meals in a glass,” like their nutty seamoss-based Body Perfect shake, the Cleanse Me Up vegetable juice, or the Paradise smoothie with mango, pineapple, and strawberries. Other things to try are the Fish & Chips menu where you can sample Maracas Bay-style shark, Guyanese Banga Mary, or Caribbean red snapper. Don’t forget the homemade Snatch & Go sauce. 

Good Hope Restaurant

For a traditional Jamaican breakfast, Good Hope is a must. Their red herring breakfast is typically enough for two with a healthy portion of sides ranging from ground provisions like green banana, boiled plantains, and fried dumplings alongside fried breadfruit and bammy, a gluten-free bread made with cassava. Good Hope also has a power lineup of traditional Caribbean pastries and candies such as tamarind balls, peanut cake, coconut drops, sweet potato pudding, and black cake. 

Shelley Worrell, based in Brooklyn’s Little Caribbean, founded I AM CaribBEING and writes about Caribbean food, culture, and lifestyle.