Ortanique

This place kicked MAJOR booty! And yes it is closed. So sad! BUT I just want to say we will miss you Leon and Val! We love you guys! I know this aint the last we will see of your amazing cooking skills! PEACE AND LOVE!

Jamaican beef patties are awesome. Basically a jamaican empanada is the only way to explain it. It’s a meat paste inside delicious bread pastry. Add hot sauce or coco bread with cheese. I heard they went out of business. Too bad. Friendly guy owned the place and his family would often be in there with him. Beef or chicken patties were like $ 2 and $ 4 with coco bread and cheese. I will also miss Ting which is like 2% beer with fruit juice. I’ll have to look for it. Good luck to the owner, it was a great place.

I can confirm that they have indeed closed. I dropped by yesterday for some AMAZING beef and chicken patties with my buddy and they had a sign on the door stating they were tentatively out of business.
There was an email address on the sign. Didn’t write it down though. Hopefully they can reopen in a more convenient location. Great people.

I visited Ortanique based on the reviews in Unilocal and I was not disappointed! It’s a tiny place with just a few tables. The staff are very friendly and make you feel at home. I tried their homemade ginger beer — I love good gingerale and this was an interesting concoction, but I’m not sure everyone will like it as it’s quite different from commercial ginger brews.
I asked what the favorite dish was and they recommended the jerk chicken. It was very tender and very spicy — I love spice, but often avoid it because, well, it tastes great but you pay for it later usually ;-) — however, I didn’t have any problems, a real tribute to the quality of what they do.
The rice and beans was cooked just right, and the plantains were great — especially considering that most restaurants serve they very overcooked and mushy — first time I’ve had them done right in a long time.
They seem to have a lot of regulars and are very friendly with their customers. All in all, a great little hole-​in-​the-​wall.

This is true «underground gourmet.» A remarkably scrumptious culinary adventure for less than ten dollars per person, in a small, personable dining room, where the owner tries to get to know her customers.
I brought my parents here for lunch today, so we tried a lot of dishes. We all had our favorites: I loved the tender and flavorful curried goat. My dad devoured the chicken and beef patties in coco bread. My mom and I agreed that the jerk chicken was the best we’d ever had. (And for me, it was some of the best barbeque-​style chicken I’ve had since I’ve moved from Texas.)
We downed our delicious ginger beers to try to cool the quick burning in our throats.
This restaurant has the real details of the food just right. The greens on the side of each plate are PERFECTLY cooked — just the right crispness and balance of salt and spice. The heat of the dishes is enough to get your sinuses cleared but not enough to drive you running out into the street with burning hair, etc.
The plaintains are baked, which is new to me, but the delicate texture is a wonderful addition to the plate.
Bottom line: I think I’ve found a new addiction.

This place is a must to visit. Pure Gem status in my book. Go here. I’m not kidding. Really… just read the first paragraph so you find it, then go go go go!
Finding the place:
Take a good look at the image on Unilocal,you can’t miss the door. The name is not written anywhere, but look for the big orange O on the window that looks a bit like an orange. I told everyone to look for any restaurant beginning with O… apparently, the giant O wasn’t a tip off.
Dining:
I can imagine getting a seat at the place can be a challenge. Its totally worth going with some time to kill, on off hours. By the end of the meal I felt like I had swung by an old friends living room. You can see into the kitchen, the staff comes in an out to talk to you. When I was ordering, I wanted the Lamb, but it wasn’t going to be ready for another 20 minutes. The owner told me to stick around, he’d let me try a piece before I went.
The Food:
Amazing. The Jamaican patties were crispy on the outside, and moist on the inside. Just the right amount of spice (well, my roommate Chris turned red, and almost died afterwards… but he’s a wuss when it comes to hot food. It did make for good entertainment for everyone. Memorable quote ‘even the diet coke tastes hot!’… I swear though, this is very mild food). I split two dinner plates with my other roommate. He got the jerk chicken. Not very spicy, but amazingly tasty. The other chicken plate I got was just as good. It came with rice (nothing of note) and a small serving of fried plantains (amazing). I also had a sorrell (a great blend of some root that tasted vaguely like kiwi and a hint of ginger). Another person in the party picked up a bottle of Twist (lemonade with a dab of beer). Amazing, and worth a try.
We had to leave quickly (the roommate in pain, really wanted to get out of there) so sadly, I didn’t get to try the lamb, but I will be back. I honestly can’t say enough about this hidden gem. Everyone was so friendly, quick and attentive.
HINT: If you want the fish, lamb or ox tail, I strongly recommend calling in advance. This is a very small operation. As the owner said «I’m sorry, I try not to make too much. I don’t like to waste food, and today was really busy».

This Jamaican family-​owned little restaurant is a gem! The food is simply excellent and the owners are extraordinarily friendly and care very much about the quality of their cooking.
I had a «special» dinner plate with red snapper (the whole fish) in a very spicy red sauce with onions and tomatoes, with sides of rice and beans, cabbage, and fried plantains. A lot of food, and definitely on the cheap side for the quality.
The «patties» appetizers are pretty interesting, too: some kind of dough stuffed with beef, chicken, or vegetables. You can order them with or without coco bread (delicious!). Each patty is enough for 2 people as an appetizer.
Nice touch: the home-​made ginger beer. Not your supermarket’s ginger beer :)
Will definitely go again!

Coco bread, beef patty
ziz, boom, bah
Curry goat, rice and peas
rah, rah, rah!
Fish sandwich and plan-​tains
ziz, boom, bah
ginger beer, sorrell drink
yah, yah, yah!
Salad greens and ox tail
ziz, boom, bah
frowning Latina at the counter
blah. blah. blah.

Very good Jamaican food. I’m from Toronto, where there is a huge population of people from the West Indies, so grew up with a lot of yummy roti, patties, coco bread, and various jerk meats. The food at Ortanique isn’t super spicy as I am used to with Jamaican food, but they have authentic scotch bonnet bell pepper hot sauce, so you can flavor as you please.
The friend plantains are really, really yummy. I think their large jerk chicken, the roti (usually only on Saturdays), and the jerk roast pork have been my favorite so far. I also really like the Hibiscus drink that Valerie makes in the summer sometimes. Price is great, around $ 8 or $ 9. I’m sad I no longer live in the area, and have yet to find as good a Jamaican place here in San Fran.

I read about Ortanique on Unilocal first, and wanted to check it out for a while. I’ve never had Caribbean food, but I figure that home cooking in all cultures have that domestic, made-​with-​care taste, and so wanted to give this place a chance. I live in Brookline, and so had to travel for an HOUR to get here, but it was WORTH EVERY MINUTE. I had jerk chicken, curried goat, and oxtail, as well as a cup of ginger beer. Damn, that was the best food I had had in a long time.
The jerk chicken was just the right amount of spicy, salty, savory, and sweetness. Not sweet enough to be coy, but enough to be pleasant. The curried goat was tender and very yummy, but the oxtail stole the show for me. I haven’t tasted beef so slow-​cooked and flavorful since my grandfather died. It was heavenly. I will definitely come back for more.
The ginger beer was a great accompaniment; so gingery it was like a kick in the teeth!
And OMG, I almost forgot about the plantains! They were just the right combination of tender and crispy. A hint of sweetness, and just so very good. We ordered more food just to have an excuse to get a side of plantains. Yum! Oh, and we also got a beef patty to see what all the hype was about. It was ok, similar to most other beef pastries I’ve had.
Leon, the proprietor/​owner/​cleaner/​waiter, was as friendly and enthusiastic as everyone said he’d be. He came out to talk with us and explain how each dish was made, and was a great host. On our way out, he fished out a loaf of coco-​bread fresh from the oven and handed it to us to snack on on the way home. And I think he undercharged us.
Now if only I lived nearby…

An absolute pleasure to be eating here. It’s not a fancy, wear a tie, restaurant like place… it’s a small, 2 table ‚“to go” restaurant with an unbelivably friendly staff wiht tons of stories, personality and some lovely home made food including one kick butt snappy ginger beer. you can eat a meal for under $ 10! Very simple menu. a few salads, a few starters, a few main dishes, and little sides to keep ya happy.
I came here with 3 others and we shared the Jerk chickan, Ox tail, Goat Curry, and another chickan dish. The owner/​husband even brought us some fresh made fruit bread towards the end. He also patiently spent a good amount of time explaining each dish, how it’s made, and how the place was run.
The dishes are very very home made. No fancy this and that… just the good lovely warming food. Come here with some friends to catch up… have a good time… perhaps not a place for a fancy date or for graduation… but if you liek home made food and a great personality in a comfortable environment… come here!
Space is small here, but the real jewel besides the food was the staff gleaming in smiles and curisoity. But do be aware that there are 2 small tables combined to fit 6 ppl, and a few side stools for 2 – 3 more.
It’s a bit far from the T, but parking is plentiful. We stayed until 9ish, 30 mins aftter they closed.

Good lord I’m pissed I drove by this place over a bazillion times and never thought about that giant O in the window. Well I went in last night and it was amazing. I had the carribian sampler with curry chicken, eschebew fish and ox tail. The chicken was perfect with a delicious curry sauce, the ox tail was good just not what I was expecting but I would get it again, but the fish stole the show the sauce it was smothered in was so damn good I mixed the rice in to it. Cost 11 dollars for all that plus boiled cabbage and carrots with a delicious spice. Just had the beef patty with cheese on cocoa bread on my lunch break and for 2.50 goddamn now I know why the fuggees talked about that on a verse on the score, how can dope ass lauren hill be wrong.

Novel by Kenny L.
Cambridge Jamaican Journey
*November 2007 Unilocal Bestseller*
On a cool sunny winter day, I emerged from the subterranean space that is Harvard Square T station all the way from Brookline. I looked left and right, looking for Garden St. and for tasty Jamaican that I read about on this magical place called « Unilocal». As I was walking and Garden St. turns into Concord Ave, I began to admire the nature and buildings around me. The colonial style houses, picket fences, fallen leaves of orange-​yellow hue, and squirrels running around paints a picture of this beautiful country we called the USA. One should opt to take the bus of 72, but what scenery would be missed!
As one turned left on Huron Ave and into Huron Village, an Orange O can be seen on the window. Ahhhh, warm Jamaican food awaits me indoors. But upon entering the restaurant, the cozy feeling was immediately felt. There were five tables and a counter near the window. In front of me is the open kitchen where the life is. Leon and his wife were cooking in the family kitchen. Family because that is how one would feel when you dine here. Leon wanted a place where he can really know his consumers and he was able to do by stopping by to ask if my meal was to my taste. He even had a chance from his busy cooking to talk about what he has accomplished here in the two years here. I admired the Unilocal sticker on the door and was proud to tell him I was from the pack. He in returned was very enthusiastic and even had me sign his book of guests.
The menu stimulated my salivary glands. Holding it in, I decided on the brown stew chicken with rice and peas, as well as the unique and refreshing glass of home made ginger beer. The meal was delicious to say the least; the stew chicken was very moist and flavorful, the vegetables were warm, crisp and refreshing, the rice with red beans was a delight, and the plantains were caramelized and tasty!
It is family restaurants like this that makes me appreciate life and living here in Boston. It was a long trek to get to but most definitely worth repeating. To complete my journey, I ran to Christina’s for two scoops of choco chip cookie dough and azuki bean ice cream.

Walking down Huron, I saw the sign for Ortanique a bit aways and thought to myself «not ANOTHER specialty store»…it just «Looked» like it from where I was. Was it a tomato? More Pasta???
Is that an Apple? NOT another children’s store…
As I got closer, I thought I was going crazy. Jamaican Cuisine! On Huron Ave??? Ahh… ok…Why not.
I got the jerk chicken wrap. Boy. Was it good! The chicken was perfectly cooked –not dry and not rubbery –just perfect and moist.
The sauce was amazing! It had that kick notable in most Jamaican food. Yummmy… bring me to my knees why don’t you!
I also had a glass of the Ginger Beer. It is homemade and it is basically rocket fuel. Drink with care. If you like this type of thing-​you will LOVE theirs…
The menu is small, the space is small (get take out) …but everything else is just right. The portions are perfect and the spices and colors used in each dish are colorful.
The owners are super nice and back their working at lightening speeds. You can tell they love what they do and this is their dream… they didn’t make me feel silly or uncomfortable while ordering. I will definately be coming back.
Maybe for some Ox tail?

BIZARRE that they stay open until only 7pm. Someone should call them and tell them that nearly all of their Unilocal reviews complain bitterly about this fact. Maybe you should do it. Go on, do it.
Anyway, I come here on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Here’s what you like about it:
1. The extremely nice, cool family that runs it. This is a business that is family owned and operated in all of the best ways.
2. Cheap.
3. You can get goat there.
4. Jamaican Patties with coco bread cost three bucks for a big meal and make you feel good.
5. Homemade ginger beer that makes Reed’s Ginger Beer taste like Pepsi by comparison.
A couple of weeks ago they had ackee and saltfish on special, and it was one of my top ten meals of the year. Ackee is this fascinating vegetable that looks, tastes, and acts like scrambled eggs. Pair it with salt cod and peas and rice and some tasty sauciness (and pay the kind dude behind the counter six bucks), and you’ll be in heaven.

Great food and drink (homemade ginger beer)
The only bad thing is when you’re craving their beef or chicken patties (often) late in the day, it’s a crapshoot as to whether or not they’ll still be open.

Can I just say… I’ve never encountered the stereotypical Cantabrigian until I rolled up on Huron Ave looking for some Jamaican grub.
But that aside, I really liked this place. I don’t think I’d hit it up on a Friday again, or at least I’d call for take-​out first.
When my dining companion and I pulled up, we saw through the window there were a bunch of children in the windows, so NanoMags comment came to mind immediately.
The family who runs Ortaninque is soooooo nice. They were very welcoming to newcomers, and friendly with their usual crowd.
We had to wait awhile, but the place is so small, and it was very busy. But I really didn’t mind. The owner gave my companion and I a ginger beer on the house. Suh-​weet!
Once a table cleared up, we jumped on it before it could be fully bussed. I would have done it myself I was so 1) excited for the food, 2) greedy for a seat. The gentleman bussing our table said apologetically «We’re a Mom and Pop place, and it looks like tonight everyone wants Mom’s cookin’» Awwwwww. That’s so sweet. I love this place.
Anyways, my special salad was really great — it had pecans, gorgonzola and dried cranberries, over very fresh lettuce/​greens. Nice. I had a vegetable patty on coco bread (delicious); and picked at my boyfriends rice, cabbage and plantains. His meal (jerk chicken plate) looked excellent, with very reasonable sized portions (like human size, not elephant size). When we paid, the owner was still very apologetic for our wait. She was so sweet, she definitely has our business again (maybe on a Tuesday night… or something not so busy).

I am so glad that a Jamaican place made it across the river!
The food is home made, very casual but very good! Try their beef appetizer (I forgot the name), it is very tasty.
Their menu items are limited in choice, but you can’t go wrong with any of them. I highly recommend you to try them out, but not too late in the evening. My first time, I got there after 7:30 and the place was already closed. We ended up eating at the Full Moon.

where has this place been all my life?!
i called up to place an order to take-​out and said «i’m vegetarian, what can you make me?» they are totally laid back and when i got there the woman was like «hold on a minute» while she stirred something on the stove. it’s very mom and pop. they made me curried tofu with cabbage, plantains, and vegetables over rice and beans. it was a little bit spicy and SO GOOD and at $ 7, there was enough for at least two lunches in there. I am so overly full. I also had a vegetable patty, which wasn’t what I pictured. I kind of pictured a hash brown type thing of vegetables but this was actually more of a pop tart full of spinach and spices and vegetables.
this place is WELL WORTH a visit. i would recommend going out of your way to check it out.
they take visa & master card too.

Just wanna throw my additional two cents in here. This place is indeed fantastic. But 7 pm? It’s been several times that I have raced over there in the hopes of eating some delicious coco bread and a ginger beer, but alas they are closed.
However, this has only made me want one of their tasty veggie patties more. Ortanique, you are a cruel mistress.