Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine

Great authentic place. Live Raggae or Jazz on the weekends. Service was friendly & the food was great!

The 3 stars is ONLY for the food… it was great!.. Oxtails and veggies were awesome… When we FINALLY got it… this was only my 3^rd time there… no issues before. but tonight… it’s like they kept forgetting about us. we watched table after table get served that came in after us. AND there was only 3 of us at my table… .once we could get the attention of anyone. they were nice but… it was very frustrating to be treated as an afterthought … If I didn’t have a Groupon. I would have left after the first 30 minutes at the table with no menus: -(

Terrible experience. Here’s why.
I ordered the Rasta Pasta. It was not what I expected. I have had this dish at other establishments and it is rich in spices and flavor. This was very bland. Pretty much cheese melted on pasta. The only thing good was the chicken. I’ve had better at an Italian restaurant and at a Jamaican spot in ATL. Quality at those places is 10,000 times better
Service was terribly slow. We waited a long time to receive the check. A very long wait where our waitress did not acknowledge us.
When she finally does, our check was higher than what the menu stated. THE MENU ONLINE HAS DIFFERENT PRICES THEN THE ACTUAL MENU. After I ordered my food, the waitress left with the menus. She came back and asked if I wanted chicken or shrimp. I said chicken. Mind you, I didn’t request meat initially and didn’t realize that it would be extra for the chicken. Later, I find out that adding chicken is $ 3.92 (in researching why my bill was so high, I went online to see the price of my meal and online it says it is a $ 1.50 to add meat NOT $ 3.92). Do you see the size of this dish and the amount of chicken given???
There’s fine print on the menu that says ‘prices subject to change without notice.’ Really??? My husband and nephew’s orders were $ 1 more.
I challenged it because what the waitress did was wrong. She should have made me aware that adding chicken would be extra, seeing as how I didn’t ask for it in the beginning. Needless to say, I will not be returning. Guy needs to retract and take his picture down. Like one reviewer said. ‘This is a place for regulars’ and people the owner knows.
Edited to add: I’ve been feeling sick from the «Rasta Pasta». This is the first I’ve ever felt like this toward a restaurant.

Eeewww lawd I hated giving this place 3 stars out deserves more.
This places needs a «Bar Rescue»
I visit here frequently but these last few visits service absolutely sucked!
The food and music was amazing. The crowd was relaxed … it was definitely date night at Jamaica Gates.
At our last visit we had to sit ourselves after standing for 10 minutes next to a sign that said wait to be seated. Then the server took literally 10 minutes to come take a drink order.
Then eventually the server explained that over half the staff quite on same day, and they’re were having a tough day.
It kinda felt like one of those restaurants where only the regulars are welcome.
But what bothered my the most was when the DJ gave a shout out to the owner and chef who was chilling at the bar… I wished she’d came around and checked on guests instead.

I typically come to this place craving only one thing. The jerk pork shoulder. Definite will take care of the spice that I need. One area of improvement would include a wetter version of the rice and peas, as they are very dry. I always order extra sauce just to have enough to get those rice and peas down. About to try some new stuff today, the jerk shrimp and the fried tilapia Jamaican style.

Good service. Takes a while for the food to come out but it is packed with flavour. So it’s worth the wait. I love the jerk chicken and shrimp. Definitely will come back again and again

Great home style Carribean food! Yeah mon
The staff is great as well. Very hospitable. Highly recommend

Every time I come to Texas I have to stop by Jamaica Gates. The food is too good to pass up. If your ever in Arlington and good food is what you crave… stop by here. I can’t get enough!

Let me say mon the band had me rocking like I was at a private beach party in Jamaica mon, shout out to the band.
The restaurant is quite small so that gives you an intimate dining experience but don’t plan on having much conversation when the band is playing of course and don’t be afraid to get up and «whind» either! The décor is simple, no frills.
The service was very slow. My friend got there 15 minutes before I did, ordered herself a drink and then waits… and waits… and waits. About 20 minutes into me sitting down I waited for the server to come take my drink order and to no avail she never came. I decided to just go grab myself a drink from the bar. I ended up flagging another waitress down and asked her could she serve out table since the other waitress seemed disinterested in us.
The food was «meh.» We had the Kingston trio and we were underwhelmed by the dish. They give you an option of three meats. We went for the goat, oxtails. Needless to say I probably won’t make any special trips to eat here.

First experience at a Jamaican restaurant it was pretty good just a little pricey. Loved the live entertainment and the atmosphere.

The food isn’t horrible, but it isn’t great. We went on a Saturday and waited about 45 min to be seated before leaving since it was so busy. Figured it was busy because of the live band, which may have played a small part in that, but we went back on Sunday where there were about only 5 tables seated including ourselves and we found out the reason why people weren’t leaving is because the service is SO SLOW. They had one waitress/​hostess, and the food took about 40 minutes to come out. I never got a refill for my drinks and all our dishes were subpar. Glad I had the Groupon to try it out or else I would’ve really regretted it.

4 stars for food, ambience and service. 3 stars for cleanliness and noise. And 5 stars for them being true to their Jamaican roots. Lunch buffet has very few items but totally worth a $ 7 groupon. But I would spend any money to have dinner and enjoy some reggae while chomping on the ox tail or whole fried fish with a group of friends.
I first went there just because Guy Fierri (the diners dive ins and drives guy) had visited them a few years back. And i ended up visiting them often after that. The evening servers are friendly. I wonder if they can make the space more acoustically correct. Any sound engineers who want to volunteer?

One thing I look for when I’m reading reviews on-​line is a recurring theme. Several people saying the same thing. In this case, it’s slow service and food that is ok for what it is but not for what it’s priced. This is definitely true of Jamaica Gates.
Jamaica Gates is notoriously slow. Incredibly friendly but notoriously slow. They also tend to get things wrong. But they don’t really do a whole lot to compensate you for having first taken so long to get it to you in the first place, then getting it wrong. Then taking a long time AGAIN with the correction.
We’ve been there 3 times now, and each time the food took forever, wasn’t really hot, and there was something wrong with one of our orders. That’s not what you expect for the prices they charge at Gates.
BUT! We’ve been 3 times and will be going back again. We like the place. We’ve identified it as one of the spots we like to go on date nights. Why? Simple. For us, it’s about being able to catch some live music in a laid-​back, cozy spot while we have a bite to eat and a nice drink. For that, Jamaica Gates is awesome.
They always have live music there at night, and because it’s a smaller, more intimate space, there’s not a bad seat in the house. We’re always seated quickly and we’re always up-​close and personal with the band. If you go out for live music often you know there can be a lot of hassle and fanfare involved. Cover charges, valet parking, reservations, the likelihood you may be seated in some spot where you can’t even see the band.
None of that exists here. It’s really, really easy to come here and just sit back with your boo and enjoy some live entertainment. And while the food may disappoint, the drinks never have so far. So, how you feel about Jamaica Gates may depend on what’s drawing you there.
If you’re looking for an amazing food experience you may be disappointed with long waits, incorrect orders and food that doesn’t arrive hot. If you’re looking for some place to go sit back, sip on something and watch some live music, Jamaica Gates delivers.

I saw this place on diners, drive ins and dives website. There was no wait, and it was empty to be honest. I was immediately greeted when I walked in and pretty much had my pick of where to sit.
I ordered the trio at the recommendation of my waiter. It was a great choice because I was able to try multiple things without having to get three different entrees. The portion size was perfect, it wasn’t a large portion but just enough to be full and satisfied.
The jerk shrimp was cooked perfectly and not super spicy like other jerk I have had. The curry chicken was falling off the bone. The only negative I would say is there was alot of bones. The oxtails were great too, tendor and very flavorful. This is a place I would definitely recommend if you are in the Arlington, TX area.

I’ve never actually seen a full episode of Diners, Drive-​Ins and Dives, and I had never had Jamaican food before Jamaican Gates. It’s amazing, but it took my wife and I two tries for it to «click.»
So on our first visit we ordered the 5-​piece Portland Sampler, Curry Mutton and shrimp Rude Boy Jerk. It was easy to find seating for two (though the restaurant does fill up the later you come in — if you’ve got a large party, definitely call ahead for a reservation) and our waitress was super nice. We kept asking her what stuff on the menu was and she was very patient with us.
Lights are low, and on both our dinner visits there has been really pleasant live music playing. Lots of guests watching the bands with a colorful drink in hand. A short wait after ordering we got the 5-​piece Portland Sampler, and a longer wait after that we tried our entrees. Definitely a new experience; our food was *very* spicy, savory, and the favors linger and have a great aftertaste. I wish we had larger servings of the excellent appetizers, but the entrees offset that and we left satisfied.
Our second visit was even better than our first, in large part because we knew what we were in for. I had the Oxtails and a coffee, and I couldn’t have been happier with either.
Tips and suggestions:
— Entrees are sizable, but the appetizers are actually just appetizers. Plan on ordering an entrée if you’re at all hungry.
— The food isn’t fast-​food fast, so plan on sitting down and settling in a bit.
— If you’re at all into coffee, try the coffee. Heck, try the coffee if you don’t normally like coffee.
— We used a
coupon which brought the price down a bit, and a couple other reviews have mentioned Groupons. If you do get a deal, use it as an opportunity to try new things.
Writing this review has made me hungry. The food and flavor palates were pretty unfamiliar at first, but once you develop a taste…

Food– 5: I got the oxtails and hubby got the jerk chicken. We also got some patties to start with. The entrees come with 2 sides– I got the rice and peas and stewed peas. Note that when they say «peas», they mean «beans.» Hubby got boiled dumpling which was NOT GOOD. It was like hard boiled dough.
Service– 2: Our waiter was really nice. But after our entrees came, it took 40 minutes to get our bill and dessert. I have no idea what happened; he was there was a wait in the kitchen. Doesn’t matter though. We won’t be coming back to this restaurant because of how long it took. I mean, we have to pay a babysitter for date nights and to waste almost an hour made Mama an unhappy woman.
Drinks– N/​A: we got got beers– I got Blue Moon, he got Red Stripe.
Wait time– 5: no wait. We came on Saturday at 6pm.

Upon my second visit to Jamaica Gates in almost a year, I can see why folks are coming back. Delectable entrees, such as the Kingston trio and the Red Stripe chicken, coupled with Jamaican lemonade (a bit too much brown sugar) and side orders of house salad with balmisic vinaigrette, makes these choices meals worth remembering. In addition, the meals weren’t terribly filling, and the server demonstrated excellent customer service.
Almost always, check in with Unilocal in order to obtain a free dessert item promotion.

It took awhile for our food to come out, maybe 20 – 25 minutes. But hot damn! It was worth it. Food was SO fresh. They literally prepared right then and there. I could taste the deliciousness!
3 side appetizer with plantains (so good), chicken wings (best I’ve ever had) and meat patties (they were ok but my friend loved it!)
Jerk chicken strips ordered — so much chicken! Huge chunks
Free rum cake for check in
Jerk shrimp ordered –the brown sauce is so good! It taste like crawfish sauce but so much better

100^th REVIEW! I just did 9 reviews so JG can be my 100^th review.
I’ve been wanting to eat here for awhile and finally decided to give it a try! We ate here for lunch today. Unilocal says that they open at 10:30, which is wrong. They open at 11:30. Glad I checked their website before I drove there. I was at their door step at 11:25 ready to grub though.
They let me in at about 11:35. Everything wasn’t ready yet. We had to wait awhile for our food. 30 minutes maybe? I don’t know. It didn’t bother me. It’s homemade! Good things come to those who wait. Luckily, there was a TV to entertain my kids.
Jamaica Gates is pretty big inside. There are pictures and posters of the Legend Mr. Bob Marley. There is a stage for live music. They have all the flags of the countries in the Carribean.
I got the Portland Sampler. It comes with jerk shrimp, plantains, and sticky citrus wings! I loved the jerk shrimp. So flavorful. The plantains were amazing. The sticky citrus wings were good.
I got the Rude Boy Jerk Chicken. It comes with two sides and I went with the cabbage and veggies. The cabbage is different, but I liked it.
Did I like my food? I inhaled it. Only bones and little pieces of red bell pepper left.
My daughter got the fried catfish with white rice and hard dough bread. The catfish was good. Not fried hard at all. The plain ol white rice was even good. The hard dough bread was great as well! My son got popcorn shrimp.
For Dessert, we got the Chocolate Rum Runner cake! Dessert is free when you check in with Unilocal!The cake was soo good. Light, fluffy, and sweet.
Will I be back? No questions that I will be.
I want to try the Curry Chicken and Curry Mutton among other things. I bet they are amazing sopped up with the hard dough bread!!!

Drove all the way to Arlington to have the experience and it was so so.
server Dwight, food warm, service time average, beef patty was great & best of what I had. Bahama mama good, curry chicken could use more flavor and spice. Friend had jerk chicken and said it was good.