Jamaica Jerk

Delicious food, friendly family service.

I love jerk chicken but not their jerk chicken taste that I was expecting. I asked for the dark half of the chicken wings and thighs .they gave me the wrong order. they have me drum sticks and thighs. A very simple order they can’t follow.

I went to their previous location on Howard pretty frequently. I saw that they reopened and had to check it out. I am happy to say that the same people are running it and the recipes have not changed. The jerk chicken is great and their wings are perfect as well as the tastiest macaroni and cheese.

This place is PERFECTION.
The jerk chicken is the most delicious jerk chicken I’ve had in the Midwest. So moist and very balanced!
The stout ice cream is TO DIE FOR (as for the super strong version). Grapenut icecream is also incredibly delicious, as is the rum cake.
I wasn’t a big fan of the rice and peas, but when everything else is so yummy, who cares?

So disappointed. It was not worth the drive from the city. Certainly not authentic Jamaican food. The salt fish, Johnny cakes, sorrel and grape nut was the only thing I enjoyed. The plantain was good too, but how can you mess that up. The seasonings were off. I had Brown stew chicken it was not good. The rice and peas and cabbage had a bad after taste. I was very disappointed

We were so happy to see that Jamaica Jerk reopened! We used to eat at the Rogers Park location pretty often. It’s warm atmosphere and perfectly spiced food make it a favorite place to go in the winter. We went there last night for dinner and the jerk chicken was as good as ever.

Ate their recently with some friends originally from Jamaica. Food was delicious from start to finish. It was great to have a unique dining experience without having to travel to the city. The owner and his family went out of their way to ensure we enjoyed every course of our meal. The entrees included sides and salad which was a pleasant addition. Returning there soon to celebrate a family birthday based on the enjoyable first time experience.

Jamaica Jerk keeps getting better. We used to go to their prior location on Howard Street. I am half Jamaican so when I seek out Jamaican food at the restaraunt I’m looking for the best in food quality, selction and service. Checkout their menu online. Some of my favorite menu items include… curry goat, oxe tail, jerk chicken, brown stew chicken, etc…

I was very pleasantly surprised. As a Jamaican I know authentic and I was expecting OK but not necessarily terrific. Wow. My wife and I ordered the curry goat… it was the best curry goat I’ve ever had after years and years of having it. It was lean, not bony, not fatty. A tad spicy perhaps but the gravy was fantastic. The white rice was appropriately sticky, just right for soaking up the gravy. The fried plantain was sweet and just the right texture. The sorrel drink was also the best I’ve ever had, ever. Just a hint of gingery flavor, red, rich, a little like pomegranate juice. Topped off with mango ice cream made right there, it was fantastic. OK so the ambiance isn’t quite perfect. They don’t have a liquor license. But the service was fast enough, portion size is quite large, the proprietors are friendly, the place is clean, the price was attractive. I would highly recommend you give it a try.

Ehhhh… very mediocre!
So I was toolin’ down Dempster when I noticed a new Jamaican place opened up across from Herm’s. Awesome, I love Jamaican food! So I put it on my list of places to make sure I hit just to try them out.
The atmosphere is serviceable but nothing special. About what you’d expect from a run-​of-​the-​mill suburban just opened and can’t afford the good stuff yet restaurant. Nothing wrong with it, but you’re not going to be wowed going into the place with the décor.
The dining room was empty at 6PM on a Wednesday, which I thought was strange. Ken’s diner just down the row in the strip was overly mobbed by comparison. That creates competition for parking, but there’s a public lot just ¼ of a block north that you can park in, which eases the pain greatly unless you’re handicapped.
It feels strange to write that a Jamaican place is bland on the spices but that’s exactly what this place is. You know how there’s a difference between spicy (tastes good) and hot (chemical heat)? Jamaica Jerk doesn’t seem to know the difference, and serves food that while it’s chemically (and temperature) hot isn’t actually all that well spiced. I had the jerk chicken (since for some reason the jerk pork was not available) and while it looked like it was jerk chicken it was mainly just hot not spicy. (If I’m being truthful, it really wasn’t all that hot either.)
The big problem I have with Jamaica Jerk is the value, though. I had jerk chicken which was a bit more pricey than usual, and the portion size wasn’t skimpy but was far from generous. My wife and an unlucky friend we brought with both decided on the seafood combo, which was $ 20 for three shrimp, a couple of fish sticks, and a crab cake. There’s just not $ 20 worth of seafood there! (Barely $ 9 worth of seafood there any place else!)
Additionally, even though the restaurant was completely empty when we went and no takeout orders were served, it took almost 50 minutes from the time we ordered until we received our food. One has to wonder if the cook ran out to buy the ingredients the moment we ordered. When we were served everything was hot so it wasn’t sitting around, but no idea what caused the large delay in food preparation.
Hate to compare it to the other Jamaican place in town but when you serve the same style of food the comparison is inescapable. Hands down after eating at both I’d eat at De Jred 10 times out of 10 before I’d eat at Jamaica Jerk again. It’s not that Jamaica Jerk is bad per se, it’s just not great and barely eeks into OK territory; the combination of relatively bland spicing, a very long cook time, and low-​ish value for your money is just not a winning combination.

Tried sever items take out from here. All the food was cooked well, my only issue was with the Brown stew chicken being a bit bland. The Jerk chicken was the best, most moist jerk chicken I’ve had. The Conch Fritters were great, my only balk being only having 3 to an order. The Curry goat was very good, prepared very well and served boneless, a huge plus! Sadly the dish was lacking with what I could describe as «not enough stank on it». Maybe seasoned too mildly, maybe they clean their pots too well, I don’t know, some dishes I like a little funkier. In any case, Jamaica Jerk has earned a return visit from me.

Stop in Jamaica Jerk New Place in Skokie for take out. Very inviting Dining Room plan to come back and eat in. Food was fresh authentic LOVED the Saltfish & Johnny Cakes, they were sold out of Conch Fritters so I will be back! Curry Goat was Delicious and portions was large. PS Staff was Super Nice!