876 Cafe

I’ve been here a few times. I attend the law school near this establishment and the service is always mediocre or poor. I, the only customer in the store at the time, ordered a simple jerk chicken wrap, waited 20 minutes only for the «waiter» to tell me that they hadn’t prepared my food yet because the printer machine was broken and the cook had never been notified of my order. Seeing how this is a very tiny place, I don’t see how the message was not relayed to the cook and inquired about BEFORE 20 minutes had gone by. When they finally did make my food, it took less than 5 minutes and is delicious. The quality and the taste of the food will only get this place so far. If the service of the employees does not improve, I can’t see this place staying around for the long haul. :(

I think this place is closed. We were there at 11:45 on a Sunday morning and the sign said 11:30 was the opening time. We looked in the window to see if we could see anything and we didn’t see a single thing — no tables, no chairs, no nothing. The website is still up and there are no signs indicating that it’s closed, but based on the recent reviews it sounds like they weren’t really in business lately anyway.

I met my bf for lunch one day it was later in the day around 2 PM there were a few tables with customers. We sat down and decided what we wanted. I would say the service was generally laidback which equated to slow. We placed our order after the server finally made her way back to us with drinks. We were really starving since it was so late and the wait was significant. The owner/​manager probably noticed we were getting uneasy she asked the server to offer us a beef patty, that was really nice. I had the jerk chicken it came with beans and rice, the chicken was cooked perfectly and I loved the spicy sauce. I think I would ordered next time since metered parking around there was expensive and tough to find.

It would seem really rude to give this place NO STARS but I’m kind of inclined that way. This place has been open nearly a year, but we’ve watched for signs of life as we’ve passed by, as we live in the neighborhood. There never seemed to be anyone in there (see earlier review). However, when a Groupon came up we decided to give it a try.
We called for a reservation for Sunday Brunch on Saturday — actually we called repeatedly throughout the day… always sent to voicemail where we were informed the mailbox was full. Shoulda been a sign…
We arrived right on time for our 11:30 reservation. There were three other tables occupied when we got there. We were told to have a seat and the nice young woman offered us drinks. She served us each a mimosa… and we sat… And sat… The buffet table was empty… and it remained so. In the meantime, the place filled up … So much so that all tables were filled and folks were sitting at the bar. Still no food. At 12:10 we went to this young woman to inquire what was happening (there had been no communication with any of the diners about the availability and arrival time of brunch…). Our nice young lady told us she wasn’t the chef…
So we paid $ 10 for the two mimosas and went and had brunch down the street at Pulpo — now that was a wonderful experience, but that’s another review…

I went to 876 for lunch on a weekday. The location is convenient, as it is ½ a block from the Van Ness metro. The food was very good– I had the jerk chicken wrap with plantain chips. I loved both even though I can’t remember the last time I liked something with plantains. The jerk wrap wasn’t what I traditionally think of as «jerk chicken» but it was really good anyway.
However, the service was awful. There was only a handful of people there when I arrived yet my simple wrap took 40 minutes to get, meaning I had to scarf it down quickly and couldn’t entirely enjoy it. The woman serving me (I think she was the owner) gave preference to Caribbean customers, meaning their food arrived before mine (even if they’d ordered after me) and I was completely ignored. If I’d been able to get her attention, I would have cancelled my order since it was taking so long. I’d love to go back since the food was great, but it definitely won’t be when I don’t have time to wait almost an hour for my meal.

This place sucks!!! Don’t even bother getting the Groupon…
I went there this morning for brunch, business hours say restaurant opens at 11AM, got there around 12pm, and NO FOOD was prepared to be served… I felt embarrassed!
I live in the Van Ness neighborhood and I like to support my local eateries and other business establishments, but this restaurants is a shame! Also, being of Carri bean descent (Jamaican/​Barbados) I like to think I know a little bit about Carri bean and Jamaican food. There is nothing Jamaican about the Sunday brunch, the peas and rice tasted like it was made and refrigerated overnight, the rice was dry and the beans were hard. There was some grilled fish, but I don’t know if it was Snapper or some knock off made to make me think I was eating Snapper.
I have eaten at this restaurant 3 times. Twice for Sunday brunch and once ordering dinner during the week. Don’t even bother getting the GROUPON for SUNDAY BRUNCH because the food that is advertised usually isn’t served. On top of that they constantly run out of food during brunch which makes me think that they are trying to cut cost and save food instead of serving the customer. The food from the main menu which isn’t served on Sunday leaves a lot to be desired. I had the salmon, it was dry, wasn’t fresh and just tasted BAD! I don’t know how this is called a Jamaican restaurant, my relatives would be pissed!!!

This review is a bit delayed. I came here in November for Sunday brunch and I expected so much more.
1. The food was cold.
2. They did not refill the food, so about 3 trays were empty and only had little scrapings for the last 3 hours of the brunch. If I am paying for an unlimited brunch, I want some unlimited food please!
3. The only thing that tasted good to me during the brunch was the porridge.
I am Caribbean, I love Caribbean food, and I love to support Caribbean establishments but please please, refill the food, keep the food warm, and put some of those wonderful Caribbean spices in the food! I couldn’t even say I enjoyed the food because there was no food to enjoy. FYI the brunch ended at 4pm and I came in at 1pm. No excuses. I plan on going back for dinner; hopefully, it will be better.

This review is for the Sunday brunch — haven’t eaten there any other time, so can’t speak to what else it might be like.
What can I say? The service was terrible, the food was practically inedible, and I got food poisoning.
Breaking it down —
–when we walked in, there was no hostess and when we finally managed to get the attention of someone at the bar, they led us to the table like we had three heads, then throughout the meal alternately disappeared for long stretches of time and hovered directly over us while we ate
–the «mimosas» they gave us were clearly watered down orange juice from concentrate with wine in it. Nothing carbonated about it.
–almost all of the dishes tasted like they had been left out all morning, and even the scrambled eggs were bland and tasteless
–the cantaloupe, which was the only food that looked edible, was spoiled
–they didn’t have place settings at the tables, and when I asked for a knife to put jelly on my toast (which was essentially sandwich bread that I had to toast myself), I was given a small, plastic thing akin to what’s used for sampling ice cream at Baskin Robbins
–a few hours after eating there, I came down with flu-​like symptoms, that I’m willing to bet were food poisoning.
I’ve had Caribbean food before, so this wasn’t a cultural problem. It was a quality problem.

So glad I made the trip to 876 café as it was well worth the money and the time. I went on a random Thursday afternoon about 3pm and nobody was in there except the bartender/​server. She was extremely friendly and accommodating throughout my entire time there.
I had the rum punch, and she made it strong, the punch was flavorful and the rum was smooth making the drink awesome. I will say their fountain Coke was a little flat and on the sweet side though.
Food was excellent. I started with the Ackee spring roll, which was flavorful and cooked nicely. One of my four pieces had a little kick of spice in it but I did not taste it throughout all four pieces. For my entrée I had the jerked chicken and rice. The jerk chicken was so moist and delicious, it is hard to describe, the flavors were full but not overpowering and the spices were well blended and throughout each bite. Chicken was excellent. On the other hand the rice was a little on the blah side, but it served the purpose.
Serving sizes were very generous and I was more than full and could not finish my entire meal, so I took some home to enjoy for later.
Overall great experience, I have to say I was disappointed they were out of beef patties, you can’t be a Caribbean spot and not always have beef patties on demand but other than that no real major complaints.
Definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area or even for a special trip.

Last week I was invited to a tasting at 876 Café with some other wonderful fashion and food bloggers in the DC area. 876 Café is a dining spot mere steps from the Van Ness Metro that opened a few months. It is inspired by its name which is the area code of Jamaica (get it — Dial Up! lol).
Inside 876 Restaurant
As you can see from the picture on their website, 876 is a great warm and welcoming spot that offers a true island experience. I was running late from an event that I had earlier that night and was considered that I had missed all the great food. When I arrived though, everyone was getting to know each other and enjoying the intimate atmosphere. Something great that people may not realize is that 876 is also a bit of an art gallery so the art not only adds to the great ambiance but also can also be taken home for your own little piece of paradise.
The Official Foodies :-)
While we were meeting and greeting, I was pleasantly surprised to see some faces I knew and equally pleased to see some I didn’t, including one of the two owners (who are also sister and brother), Moreen Wallace. Moreen seems to handle the front of house while her brother Michael throws down in the kitchen. The menu offers a great variety of classic Caribbean food like jerk chicken and shrimp, rum punch, and curry chicken to name a few.
Shortly after I arrived so did some goodies for us to try! First out was the Rasti:
Rasti is a Jamaican version of a Long Island Iced Tea. Since the tasting was on a Tuesday, we were able to take part in $ 2 Tuesdays when Rasti is offered for less! A tasty treat but it was blown out the water by Rum Punch but let me not get ahead…
Curry Spring Rolls
Our appetizer was some delicious Curry Spring Rolls that were filled with chicken, chick peas, cabbage and carrots. They were served with a delicious tangy pineapple chutney that made the dish complete.
For dinner we had their signature jerk chicken wraps with jack cheese and pineapple. They had a great flavor that would be great on a hot day so you could close your eyes and imagine you were on the island.
We ended with a toast with the Mango and Guava Rum Punch. I’ve never been to Jamaica but one taste and I was back on a beach.
Chef Michael came out at the end to greet all of us and we had the opportunity to thank him for a wonderful meal!
The other ladies present from Left to Right were Waverly, Myself, Trisha, Lisha, Steph, Jess & Amanda. Thanks so much to our organizer, Ijeoma (who unfortunately did not get in the picture!!).
I ended the night with one of my favorite traditions which is usually food with Waverly but since we had already eaten, we had some delicious rum punch instead.
If you like what you see here, sign up for Groupon and get their deal for 876 Café — $ 20 for Caribbean Brunch Buffet and Mimosas or Mango Moscato for Two ($ 39.98 Value). Last but not least — vote for them in the Small Business, Big Wishes Contest. Happy feasting!

**Brunch review only** I’ve been dying to get over to 876 but with the craziness of life I couldn’t make it in earlier. After seeing a Groupon for it, though, I decided to go ahead and buy the brunch voucher, just so that it’ll make me go. Part of the Groupon fine print is that you make a reservation either by calling or through opentable; their opentable site had been down for over a week, so I finally sucked it up and called for a reservation. I asked what time brunch started (guy said 11 AM), and I made a reservation for 11 AM.
Hubster and I stroll into 876 at 11:05 AM and were greeted by a staff person there; said that they didn’t open till 11:30. Umm, ok. We decided to walk around and enjoy the weather before coming back. 11:30 rolls around, and someone let us in at 11:35, saying that the food wasn’t ready yet. FINALLY at 11:45 most of the food is there (but not all of it).
Getting the food was an ordeal, but looking at the buffet, the $ 20 price tag doesn’t suffice. There was a grocery store loaf of bread (literally…it was sliced bread in a bag) next to a toaster, liver, fish, jerk chicken, rice, bacon and scrabbled eggs. The container that was supposed to hold beignets was empty for a loongg time. I’m glad I went back for one, though, ’cause that was probably the best thing I ate that morning. It was piping hot, with a crust of cinnamon and sugar… not your traditional beignet with powered sugar, but it was still really delicious. The jerk chicken was also good, although I’m convinced that it was slightly undercooked.
I’m super disappointed with our experience at 876. Perhaps their regular menu and non-​Sunday morning service is better, but after our brunch visit, I’m not planning on making it back any time soon.

I used a living social takeout/​delivery deal to order the 876 Café Garden Salad with grilled shrimp. The shrimp were seasoned so well that I didn’t even use any of the dressing. I only wished I would’ve gotten a little more diced mango.
I truly appreciated the café calling me (after ordering my food online) and confirming my order.
I’ll visit again!

I stopped in again and it looks like everything has changed. Most of the servers and bartenders that once were giving great service are now GONE. (Which is not a good sign.) There was an air conditioner unit INSIDE the restaurant, which is a major health violation. The food took much longer than normal, and I was sitting at the bar hearing such a lax attitude in the cooking area. When I purchased a beer I noticed the new bartender just put my money in the over-​sized margarita glass and didn’t even ring anything up in the computer system… so you put 2 & 2 together… at the end of my dinner I was worried about giving him my card for my meal. I got the bill back, there was an overcharge on the receipt with no origin. There are major red flags going on here.
The new menu looks substantial, but the prices go back and forth. What happened to this place? There is something fishy going on here, and it looks like that is the last time I will be coming back.

Rum Punch $ 6 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs).
Don’t punch so hard with, Great drink! I just fell in love how sweet and fruity it was. Got to order this next time.
Spicy Callaloo Spring Rolls $ 6 (³⁄₅ NOMs).
Lets roll with. Sweet chili sauce was pretty good, but the spring rolls were kind of weak. I tasted more hot spiciness rather then the filling flavors.

This is a go to place when I don’t feel like cooking.
It’s good and I’ve had a number of things here.
The pulled pork sandwich is nothing special and downright weird in that it has giant avocado slices in it. Hmmm.
The jerk chicken wrap is a little off too in that it has «roasted pineapple» chunks embedded in it. Well, that’s different. It doesn’t taste bad but when I think of Jerk chicken I don’t think of pineapples so much.
The hanger steak dinner meal is awesome as are the pork chops. The callaloo spring rolls are pretty tasty too.
From the lunch menu the cassava and sweet potato fries take me back to childhood in Africa and I can practically feel sand beneath my feet.
Overall, this place is okay but authentic Jamaican it is not and I kind of wish it was.
The dining area is very cute and I love their use of outdoor space.
It’s a neighborhood hangout and I wish them well but in all honesty it’s nothing to write about just «doable».

3 stars, likely because we got take-​out rather than dining in.
Overall, the food was a few degrees too low, and a few dollars too high.
I’m not running back to give it a second try.

I managed to make it just under the wire to take advantage of their happy hour specials (4−7PM weekdays). This was so we could try as many things as possible. My first dish was the Spicy Callaloo Spring rolls: I was not such a big fan of these. My friend ended up eating my leftovers, so it could just be a matter of preference. I just felt it tasted like deep fried broccoli rabe and I was wishing the dipping sauce was stronger to cover the taste. Next were the Jerk Beef Sliders: AMAZING. I didn’t even touch the ketchup. They were spicy and flavorful and cooked just right. The cheese and bun were also perfect. Finally I ended with an order of Jerk Wings: also very good. Heavy on the sauce, which I like, and a slow burn spiciness.
The atmosphere was overall enjoyable. When the location used to be Indian Ocean, it always seemed dark and seedy. 876 Café really managed to brighten up the place to make it seem more fun and inviting. They also had live music which consisted of some keyboards, saxophone, and steel drums. At one point they invited a guest to try the steel drums. While she was not what I would consider a natural, the whole restaurant seemed very friendly and casual, the perfect place for a relaxed weekday dinner.
My one complaint is that the tables are rather close together. I almost felt like I was sharing my conversations with the people on either side of me.

There’s a new kid in the neighborhood, and it’s a winner! 876 Café serves Caribbean fare with a «twist.» This is not your typical Caribbean joint with a walkup counter churning out jerk chicken. This is a sit-​down restaurant with white tablecloths and fun, interesting takes on Caribbean-​inspired dishes.
As the co-​owner explained, the menu sprung from the at-​home practice of her father cooking up traditional dishes, and her brother trying them out with a new spin. The restaurant is owned by this brother and his sister. From what I tried on my first visit, the results are fantastic. I bet this family’s holiday dinners are the shit.
Ryan and I started with the pumpkin soup, which guest stars coconut. It was creamy, full of fresh flavor, and had an unexpected little kick to it. Don’t overlook the garnish in the middle — polenta croutons, and they’re awesome. Ryan said it was better than his mom’s soup, and as anyone with a mom knows, that’s pretty darn serious. (He told this to the owner, and she gasped and said, «Don’t tell your mother!»)
Our entrees were both home runs. I had the pan-​seared red snapper, which is served whole. My Chinese mom would’ve been proud, seeing me pull that meaty sucker apart and strip out the skeleton. The deliciousness was a million times worth how gross that sentence sounds. The crispy skin has the benefit of all the spices Nemo got bathed in, so don’t leave it behind. The meat’s plentiful and cooked just right, but it needs the flavor of the skin to really wow, so make sure you get some in each mouthful. Oh, and look out for bones, especially if you didn’t grow up watching your mom peel whole skeletons out of cooked fish. It came with some sauce on the side, but honestly the fish was so good I preferred it sauceless.
Ryan’s entrée was a hangar steak with a coffee rub, and possibly the creamiest mashed sweet potatoes I’ve ever encountered. Order this. You’re welcome.
Our dessert winner was the mango cheesecake, which we wolfed in about 90 seconds. I didn’t taste mango flavor in the cheesecake itself (it was served over liberal swirls of mango sauce), but I can’t say I cared — it was damn good cheesecake, and there was something special going on in that crust. It was a tad chewy and sweet — I guessed molasses? Anyway, we dug it, as did the old guy we heard going on (and ON) to the owner about how it was «at least the top 3» cheesecakes he’d ever eaten. Apparently he’s eaten a lot of cheesecake in his day. We also tried the Guinness gelato, which I found a bit icy in both texture and flavor (a little watered down), but Ryan liked it.
They’re still in the midst of their soft opening and waiting on a liquor license, but they plan on bridging the gap with one-​day liquor licenses every Friday for Irie Hour (way cooler than happy hour, duh) so you can try their drinks, which are based in juices made in-​house from fresh Caribbean fruits.
In case you can’t tell, I’m PUMPED about 876 Café. Considering the entrees only run $ 14-​$ 18 for thoughtful, delicious food in a cozy, comfortable environment, we’ll for sure be back, probably with frequency.

Good luck In this new adventure. The hood needed a J Caribbean Restaurant.
We got fine service and FINE food .
. The pasta Was a fav. I like the ockee And saltfish; not ass strong as in Jamaica.
Ribs were Great.
I I found the desert to be amazingly good.
They got the 4^th star couse they are new
And tried really hard, the fifth couse the desserts were really good.

Make no mistake, I loved the restaurant that was in this space before. But I absolutely cannot wait to go back to 876 Café!
Boasting a fusion of Caribbean cuisine, it hits all the high notes of a great dining experience. The food was fantastic, with attentive service, in a quietly casual setting. There weren’t many diners when we went but the ambient noise was at a low enough level we could hold a conversation without raised voices. A definite plus for me.
Being there for the first time, I had to resist the temptation of ordering everything. Having just opened, we had a slightly smaller menu to start, with the promise of a more expanded menu after the post-​opening shakedown.
I started with conch chowder, and ackee and salt fish spring rolls. Both wonderfully flavored and nice starters to the meal (oh how I wish the chili pineapple chutney that accompanied the spring rolls came with every dish!).
Main course was Red Snapper Escoviech. Wow. Not just a great piece of fish, but nicely adorned with rice and peas, and sweet peppers. This made the meal for me. I’m such a sucker for a good seafood dish, and this was just what I was looking for.
We had to have dessert, and it was the mango cheesecake with pecan crust. I liked it well enough, but I think my wife could have had the berry medley with mango cream that accompanied it, on its own.
This is a very good start for a place that only wanted to start with a basic menu, planning to add more as it became more established. That would only be a plus to an already fantastic selection of dishes. Oh, and they’re starting up weekend brunch in a couple of weeks. It just gets better and better!
876 Café is such a welcome addition to a neighborhood that needs a dining establishment just like this!