Uncle Joe’s

Okay, on my way to pick up my lunch order, I hope it does not take an hour for me to receive it. Well, the experience today was great! Thank Goodness!

Great food and Great service. The food here is off the chain. I’ve being trying get to this place for months. It was definitely worth the wait and the trip.

I’ve never had a dream problem with my food here. It’s always been delicious and on point. From the jerk chicken, to the catfish and down to the curry goat… they won’t fail you! Only downside is that it does take a while for your food… even for a jerk chicken salad, but that means that your food is being prepared fresh and I’ll wait for fresh GOOD food any day!

This place is great. Jerk Chicken is delicious and will definitely be back soon for more. Greasiness of the sides surprised me a bit – like the rice is smothered in gravy so be aware for that. Not much for ambience but they have some tables if you want to eat in. It’s probably a good idea to call ahead if you’re doing take-​out.

My oxtails were super fatty, and hard to enjoy. Everything else was okay but not super memorable.

The jerk chicken was spicy and moist. Excellent since this is what most come here for. i got the half chicken. The catfish was only ok and nothing special. Beef patties were good and spicy. Shrimp dinner was also spicy and good. The wait is ridiculous and it looks like calling in well in advance is your best bet. If you do that its definitely worth it. I wouldn’t just walk in though.

One of my fav restaurants! Amazing customer service (particularly the District Manager) great food! Large portions! I highly recommend eating here at this Hyde Park location!

Food is good. Service is terrible. I called in for a pick up meal and they said it would only take 30 minutes. I came in after 45 minutes to pick up my meal and it still was not ready. They told me 3 – 4 minutes and 10 minutes still passed by. They need way better customer service. Period.

Awesome Jerk Chicken and beans and rice! Place is definitely a carry out location. You will wanna call ahead if you can, we walked in and ordered and it took 25 minutes to get our order. Everyone else were picking up there phone orders.

So overrated… this place is dirty af, first of all. Nothing’s clean and the bathroom is horrendous. Secondly you have to wait FOREVER and a day for whatever you ordered, be it large or small. Thirdly, it is much too expensive for what you get in the end. A meal served in a styrofoam box should not cost $ 15 unless it is sprinkled with gold flakes and diamond dust. I eat here only because someone I love likes to eat here.

Love the oxtail fat and all. I also like the cabbage and red beans and rice. My husband loves the jerk chicken also. First time I went the man on the phone was very patient and kind. Second time lady on the phone was rude but it’s always busy. Dear Lady please smile it’s not our fault your life has led you to the cash register taking orders.

This place is INCREDIBLE. I could eat this jerk chicken for DAYS AND DAYS. I used to live on the north side of Chicago but was back in town visiting with a friend. One of our Lyft drivers recommended this small shop on the south side of town, so a few days later my friend and I found ourselves tucked away in the corner of Uncle Joe’s Diner with a delicious side of Mac & Cheese. This is one of those amazing local spots that you won’t read about in the Trib or the Sun-​Times, but trust me – this is the spot where the locals go.
I also thought the woman behind the counter was extremely friendly. She was greeting each customer by name and was very friendly when answering the phone, despite the phone ringing off the hook.
Can’t wait for more jerk chicken! Chitown, I will be back.

I like the music choice and ambience. The food took a while to be prepared but I think it’s fine, it was good. I would probably call ahead of time next time. I ordered the jerk chicken dinner. It came with white and dark meat chicken. I liked the dark meat more, it also seemed to fit better with the jerk sauce, which was flavorful, gingery, and not too spicy. i’m not a huge white meat chicken person though except for chicken strips
the dinner came with rice+gravy+kidney beans, which was pretty good, but not particularly special. we got the side of cabbage which was similarly just fine. these two things were nice to have though to accompany the spicy jerk sauce/​chicken. the plantain on the side was really good. I’d order a side of those next time
i would definitely come back. the prices are not really fast-​food, it’s probably $ 10 – 15 a person. at dinner time. but the dinner i got is definitely more food than I could finish, so if you split with someone it’s pretty cheap.

Now don’t get me wrong, the meal itself is always a 5 star. However, the customer service here is horrific and I couldn’t let them get away with it any longer.
We arrived and ordered our food around 7:15pm, and did not receive our food till 8:15pm. Mind you, there aren’t a lot of people in here so there really is no excuse. We received our food and it was great. But now I find myself sitting here as we speak waiting for a check I asked for 15 minutes ago.
If you are looking for some great jerk food, this is the place to be. But if you are a stickler on customer service, this place will have you irate.

So I made the mistake of coming here after I came back from Jamaica a week prior. I had just had delicious food in Jamaica and had a taste for Jerk Chicken. Big Mistake! The food was NOTHING like the great food I had in Jamaica and did not taste authentic at all. The food was sub-​par and the amount they gave you was not that large. Maybe if I didn’t know what real Jamaican food tasted like it would have tasted better, but since I was aware this food did not live up to my expectations. I am not going back.

So, I decided to give this place another try. Really only because it was raining out and I didn’t feel like walking all the way to Ja’Grill. Boy I wish I would’ve walked to Ja’Grill. First off I’m not sure what new management they’re under but they need to get the old one back. The woman at the register was pleasant and friendly. Honestly that’s even why I’m giving this place a star to begin with.
I ordered the curry chicken as I’ve ordered plenty of times before and was expecting yummy goodness. When I sat down to eat once I reached home I was shocked. Besides the portion size looking like something a toddler should eat, the food was horrible. The chicken was salty and dry, the rice was dry, and the cabbage was bland. Seriously how do you mess up steamed cabbage. I walked back to uncle joes and asked for an exchange.
Then I got the jerk chicken and figured you can’t go wrong with this. WRONG this was even worse than the curry chicken. The jerk chicken tasted like the rotisserie chicken you’d buy from Costco. It tastes great if rotisserie chicken was what I ordered. I ordered jerk chicken and there wasn’t a thing jerk about that chicken. The rice was still dry and tasteless, with just extra gravy poured on it. I had to re-​season and re-​cook the whole meal over. I only criticize this establishment harshly because I know what their food use to taste like. I frequented this place twice per month and was never disappointed. Now since the past 2 month, they’ve really dropped the ball. They either need to change up their recipes or hire better cooks. I officially can say that this place will never get my business ever again.

If Black food establishments could consistently ensure:
A) there wasn’t an extreme wait to order food, as well as wait for prep (especially orders placed more than an hour ahead of pick-​up),;
B) orders weren’t wrong so that people have to constantly check their purchases before they leave; and
C) correct and current menu pricing were maintained
…it would be a refreshing alternative to predictable under-​performing standards.

Uncle Joe’s cleaned house a while ago & made a concerted effort to improve customer service. The service is dramatically better & the grub is a bit more consistent.

If there was a negative I would do it. First time came here waited over an our and was told they were out of food that they weren’t. People after I had ordered were getting food I ordered. Food was okay but cold.
2^nd time… Today I come in an order 4 little wings and a small Mac and cheese. No Mac and cheese yet. Okay. Just the four wings fine… I proceed to wait for 45 minutes for four wings… Everyone is getting orders left and right and eating and finishing AFTER my order. Sick of waiting ask for a refund they magically appear within 30 seconds of asking. Rudely asked do I still want a refund. Hell yeah I do. O and mind you people were getting Mac and cheese in orders after I was told there wasn’t any made yet. Never the hell again.

I tried the BBQ jerk chicken it was good, but I’m not too sure I like Jamaican food that much. This was my first time trying that type of cuisine, but I’m giving this place four stars because the cashier was really friendly, and welcoming and you definitely get your moneys worth. Maybe I’ll try it again but I’m fine for now :)