Caribbean Best

Friendly customer service and nice Jamaican food! I can’t speak for the meet because I’m vegan but I just had a nice meal consisting of rice&peas, cabbage and plantain, topped w scotch bonnet pepper and I loved it! The prices are very cheap for the quality of food you get! I’ll be back. Bless!

Ok had to update my review. Had a chance to talk to the owner’s son and voiced my concerns. He assured me that everything is cooked and nothing is re-​heated in a microwave. Plus the food is a whole lot better since my past visit. I am a fan of this place.

I’m not sure if the ackee and saltfish has been reviewed. I just got some with fried dumplins, and plaintains… MMM MM MMM MMMM MMMMMMM. O M G Great portions! Belly is full and I still have some left for a full meal later (maybe tomorrow morning).I was also given a large sample piece of escovitch (?) croaker also just scrumptious.
Everything is fresh, well seasoned and oh soooo satisfying! They well know –I just love the owners. They have always been sweet and friendly to me and friends I bring there. So I just keep coming back.
My family is from Antigua and we like saltfish anytime-​especially breakfast. I’m a transplanted New Yorker, and ackee and saltfish was our usual (Mt. Vernon and North Bronx) Saturday AM meal. But here you must get it on Fridays. When my schedule permits, I look forward to it. I only wish someone would make soup and porridge everyday. It is soo much healthier than the fastfood.

Granted this was my first time eating jerk chicken — but GOOD LORD it was delicious!!! It came in the form of wings, which I wasn’t expecting, but they were so tender that I just held up the wing and used a fork to pull the meat off and it fell off very easily. Amazing flavor — not too spicy (which I prefer). Rice and beans were good — better if ate with jerk sauce. Cabbage was very soggy and not very flavorful — but again, new to Caribbean food, unsure if that is how it is supposed to be.
Hospitality was fabulous! We had placed a big order, and they cook to order, so we grabbed a drink at a bar close by. When we came back they were still wrapping it up, but offered us each a piece of fried chicken (also a wing) and it was amazing! Definitely makes me wonder if I should get that next time instead.
Only downside is that location is not very convenient to where I live or work. I’d still go out of the way for it!

3.50 stars. People are reviewing this place like it’s some kind of fine diner. Umm, it’s a fast food take out service. If you are expecting them to knock out walls so you can watch the kitchen’s every move or engaging in an act of self-​promotion concerning your alleged ability to cook better curries than this place, you’re more than likely missing the point.
For people who don’t expect to be treated like a royal prince when ordering takeout, let me briefly tell you about the restaurant. Caribbean Best is a small storefront on H Street that serves an assortment of patties, curries, and beans at reasonable prices. If you are making your first visit, I’d suggest trying their brown stew chicken and requesting extra gravy for the rice and beans.
We all thought the brown stew sported excellent flavor, but I agree with Michelle B. that the cooking method probably leads to some overcooked meats. As a result, the chicken was a bit more dry than I would have liked. I’d suggest drowning the rice and beans in the brown stew chicken gravy as it definitely tastes better that way. The accompanying cabbage isn’t as good as Jamaican Joe’s, but it’s alright.
I have had more flavorful beef patties throughout the city, but the price at Caribbean Best is a fair one (less than 2 dollars).
Overall, I’d come back to try some of the other curries. If you are looking for a cheap filling meal on H Street, Caribbean Best fits the bill.

Ordered the curry chicken w/​rice & peas. Got complimentary plaintains, and it was the most delicious meal I’ve had in a long time…
Can’t wait to go back again…

This is definitely not the best island food carryout, and it certainly is not the worst. The food has good flavor with a few problems that can be fixed with some effort.
Oxtails:
Good flavor, but lots of fat. There was more fat than meat. The oxtails were cut nice and small, but I couldn’t enjoy them with the lack of meat.
Curry Goat:
Good flavor, but tough as hell. This meat could have used a pressure cooker for about another hour. The goat had the right amount of curry and flavor, but was too hard to chew.
Jerk Chicken:
Good flavor. I was expecting portions of chicken legs and thighs, but received wings instead. The chicken was not spicy, which was disappointing and it was kinda soggy.
Rice & Peas:
Very Mushy. I assume this is because of the coconut milk that they probably used to make it… but it was still overcooked.
Cabbage:
Good flavor with a little spicy kick. I like their cabbage.

I’m uncomfortable dishing just two stars for Caribbean Best. The thing is, they’re good people there. Friendly. Accomodating. Laid back. With no seats in this carryout and the bitter cold outside, my friends decided we would just chill in their waiting area for a bit. The gentleman behind the counter then offerred a couple of stools for us to sit on while we munched on chicken patties. That’s just that good ‘olé island friendliness. But the food was not so amenable to the pallete. Their patties, in fact, was a dull yellow that I’m not used to. You expect them to be a golden brown. The plantains that I usually order were very much un-​Jamaican like, meaning they cooked before they were fully, fully ripe. And that’s not cool. Overall, if you need some Jamaican food in a pinch, this’ll do. Otherwise, Tropicana is only a few minutes away.

Best, as in the opposite of Best??? I am not a ‘newcomer’ to Jamaican or any Caribbean cuisine. I am originally from Texas and can cook better curry. I should have known when I went in one evening, and saw one man behind the counter and another lady come in (not an accent to be heard, just pics on the wall — and, yes, I know accents really don’t mean anything, but just a clue) and no one but myself and one other man was in line. Key warning — I could not smell any food, no flavor whatsoever. Strike one — curry was runny and no flavor. Come to think of it I received curried chicken, when I had ordered the goat. Strike two — oxtail was okay, if I am eating oxtail cooked with solely American spices. Strike three — I’m not even going to go there.

I am a newcomer to Jamaican cuisine, but as I work just down the street from this place, I decided to try it — a decision I wish I’d made earlier.
it’s just a take-​out place, without even a table and chairs. There’s almost nothing by way of decoration — just a counter where you give your order. But the food is excellent and comes out quick. My favorite is the brown stew chicken, which is cooked until the chicken nearly falls off the bone, covered with a wonderful brown gravy. The small portion ($ 6) comes with two pieces of chicken, along with a healthy portion of «rice and peas» (beans) or plain white rice, as well as a side of vegetables or fried plantains.
Also addictive are the beef patties ($ 1.70) — a crispy pastry filled with curried ground beef. I used to live in New Zealand, and fell in love with the cheap meat pies — these have an entirely different shape and filling, but they’re still kindred spirits.