Cravins Caribbean Grill

It’s been a while since we’ve eaten here. I get the feeling that it’s gone through another change of ownership. Service was non existent. Portions seemed larger than before but our meals tasted like the days reheat. Disappointing.

Awesome roti!
I am a vegetarian and the owner provided me a chana roti with potatoes. If you love Roti hut, you will love this place even more!!!
If you are in Markham go here !!!

I was disappointed that I couldn’t try their jerk chicken with rice. But I had it in the wrap and it was okay. A lot of potatoes, decent flavour. Very good service — polite and quick.

Really good food. Had the curry goat which was boneless. Full of meat and flavor! Really happy with that! Husband had the jerk chicken. It wasnt spicy and full of flavor. Wasn’t too dry. Really liked their coleslaw though. The person who greeted us was really nice and friendly.

Came here on a Wednesday during lunch hours at about 12:30pm and there was already a line up. This is like a food court style restaurant where you place your order at the counter and the food is served to you on an actual plate or take-​out container. You pay right at the counter when they give you your food and you go find your own table. There is a fair amount of seats for dine-​in but I got mine to go.
Jerk chicken rice and peas (lunch size $ 7.89) — no complaints here. You get 3 pieces of tender chicken. Didn’t taste overly salty like at other places. Coleslaw went well with the meal. Lunch size may not be enough for people with larger appetites like me.
Chicken roti $ 7.69 — huge meal with lots of boneless chicken. Mostly dark meat which I liked. The curry sauce was excellent and with a little hot sauce this roti meal really goes a long way. Loved the curry chicken roti.

This review of Cravins Caribbean Grill is based on their take out food alone.
3.5 Star for the Jerk Chicken which really have some heat from the dry rub! The portion for dinner size is decent with quite a few piece of chicken.
I did not enjoy Oxtail Dinner as much as the pieces were mostly bones but have a good flavour.
Good to have a decent Caribbean Restaurant for take out in the Markham area and Cravins’ food is definitely quite solid.
Would be back for lunch for more Jerk Chicken!

Right off the bat let me say this place is great, tasty Caribbean food, friendly staff, down right authentic taste. Combined with a liquor licence and patio space, this place is great during the warm season.
They have a small specialized menu with all your favourites. The food is well spiced and full of flavour, which is necessary because you’ll be eating it with rice, beans, or roti. They have great daily lunch specials, and nice choice of sides.
It’s hard to find such a place this far north from Toronto.

Nice Caribbean restaurant in Markham! It is located in the plaza at the northwest corner of Woodbine and Steelcase. It’s a little hidden but it’s really close to the country style. They have weekday specials which is about $ 1 off from the regular price. Bottled water comes with the specials.
I ordered the jerk chicken for lunch (take out). Got 2 pretty big pieces of chicken, rice, beans, and coleslaw as my side. The sauce was moderately spicy. Didn’t burn my mouth all that much but if you can’t really handle spice, maybe you should tell them to hold on the sauce. It was all very delicious and quite filling. Chicken was tender and I was told the coleslaw is really good but I found it so so. Wish I got more beans though but that isn’t something that will stop me from returning :)
The ladies serving at the counter were friendly and the place works sort of like a food court. You order your food, pay, then you can take a seat anywhere.

Overall — 3.5÷5.0
Ordered their Jerk Chicken dinner plate which had a very generous portion of rice. The chicken was moist and flavourful. Some folks may find it a bit too spicy but I definitely enjoyed the kick! The coleslaw was crisp and light on the dressing which fits my preference.
If you don’t plan on getting yourself into a food coma for the rest of the day, I recommend splitting it with another person which was just the right amount for lunch.

My company catered from Cravins a handful of time, and each time the food quality has always been great! Their must haves are: jerk chicken, jerk pork, rice and peas and coleslaw (just to name a few).
This Christmas, my company is catering Christmas lunch from Cravins. The wonderful surprise was Shawn (I suspect is the owner) actually came to our office to drop off a thank you gift for being their customer, and to wish us a Merry Christmas! Talk about awesome customer service and attention to detail!
We are all happy customers of Cravins at Marketcircle :)

Had the goat curry. was boneless tender and very flavourful… came with side of coleslaw and flavourful rice. Coconut water added nicely to this dish

the place is very hidden, can not see it from woodbine, i had to drive around the plaza to find it.
it’s mainly for take out or you can order and then sit down (lots of seats)
the stuff did not look fresh at 1:30pm maybe it’s the end of lunch already? the food was a bit warm but not hot.
the rice was really hard and the chicken pieces are really big.
i got the curry potato side.
Im not sure what it is, the rice, the chicken or the potatoes or everything but it is soooo spicy, way to spicy for me and i can eat spicy food.

One further update… My original review provided only ⁴⁄₅ stars because of the temperature of the chicken I had that day. I’ve had it twice since and it’s been perfect each time. Nicely done Cravins, a well-​deserved 5 stars for you.

I come here quite often.
Delicious, but not spicy enough.
Which is understandable due the local clientèle.
Authentic Caribbean food are by default more spicy.

Lunch special:
Tip: Eat there
I am going to be honest. I had an experience with Cravings a few months ago and it was VERY different then my most recent one. My last experience I asked a co-​worker to order me the daily special. He did take-​out and brought it for work– Small Portion. I was still hungry.
I swear that I had sworn off cravings for good– however, NEVER SAY NEVER.
Work colleagues chose to make this the lunch destination as they have the most vegetarian options– and some of the co-​workers are vegetarian.
We go in– Place is HOT in the summer — No AC!
however its carribean food– so I guess it adds to the experience.
Ordered the lunch special and asked for an extra piece of jerk leg. My plate was STACKED. I could barely finish it– howver the food was delicious.
Im glad i decided to dine in — cuz i will definately be back!!!

Went: 6:00 pm Wed June 10 2015 (11^th couple date)
Ordered: Small Oxtail Dinner and Small Jerk Chicken Dinner
Cost: incl. tax and tip $ 20
Comments: We liked the oxtail more and found it delicious, though the Jerk Chicken was very good as well. There is background music which sometimes takes away from the conversation if too loud, but it was okay here. The portion sizes were generous and the price is very reasonable.
Bottom line: I would definitely come back. Reasonable prices. Delicious food.

Food was great. I had the chicken roti which was perfect. Just the right amount of flavour and heat. Restaurant could use some renovations.

The place was amazing when the original owners were running the place. Ever since the food has changed but the biggest difference is the customer service and organization of the joint. The food is still pretty good and great for a work break however the workers are careless and forgetful. The last 4 times I’ve gone there they made a mistake. One time they told me my food was coming repeatedly and only to tell me that they ran out of jerk chicken after 30 min. Beware if you go, have low expectations!

I’ve driven by this place so many times but never noticed it. It’s quite good and very flavorful. We got takeout and I had the ox tail stew on rice with a side of curried mango. The mango was really spicy. I can normally handle a bit of spice too. My husband had chicken roti and found it spicy too… but he normally can’t handle his spice anyway.
Would definitely come back next time I have a cravin! ;)

It was hard to know what to expect from here since there’s not much on Unilocal,so friends decided to go in blind. The actual restaurant is tucked out of view across from the Country Style.
Goat roti was delicious with chickpea filling, and a fresh tasting roti which really makes the dish, as many other jerk places manage to just get the filling right.
Didn’t try the jerk chicken but looked good, and friend said it had sufficient time marinating unlike Tastee’s. Jerk pork was ok, nothing special. Ox tail stew wasn’t stewed long enough so it was hard to eat, but the pieces were of sufficient size. I’m guessing they just made it recently so your mileage may vary on tenderness.
They also have an assortment of locally made drinks including Irish Moss (tastes like Vanilla pudding; disgusting) and beet juice (exactly what it sounds like so ok by me). They also have a good beer selection and ginger beer so it’s well stocked.
Would go again, simply because it’s a take out style ordering place with a great sit down area and live music Friday nights. Food and prices about on par with other Jamaican places but much better ambience.