Islander Carribean Restaurant and Lounge

This place is nothing special. Crab cakes were horrible all bread and mushy. Fish soup was ok but I wouldn’t get it again. Over all not the worst place but wouldn’t come back

I have been coming to The Islander for many years. I started eating here when they were in Adams Morgan and I remember the roti being ridiculously delicious. I have moved away from the area, but every time I come to DC I try to stop in.
On this particular visit the waitress was very nice but the shrimp roti was a disappointment. It was quite salty and did not have much shrimp inside. Hey, I guess anyone can have a bad day.

This food was flavorless & it was very warm inside the establishment. I spent a great deal of money on bland Caribbean food. & I love Caribbean food.

Good happy hour prices during the week, the food service tends to be spotty. Overall good vibe and a relaxed place to have a drink in after work.

Mixed feelings about this place. The waitress spoke to me in a condescending manner. I ended up not liking my food so I didn’t finish it and didn’t want it in a to-​go box so the waitress came back out and asked me what I didn’t like about it (um, none of your business) and that «we have to figure something out with the bill» (just charge me for the food, it’s really not a big deal. Ended up not charging me for the plate which is nice). It was all too confrontational for my dinner tastes so I won’t be going back. Which is a shame because the potatoes are tasty and so is the roti. The owner was walking around and she seemed nice enough. Oh well.

Haven’t been here in a while but I dropped in one crazy rainy night with the DC flight crew kinda because we wanted roti and mostly because we were tired of trying to look cool while getting soaked.
The waitstaff was veru nice and we had the place to ourselves for the most part, minus a few youngsters who couldn’t seem to figure out if they were really on a date or not.
Shrimp curry was actually pretty good with just enough spice to keep it interesting. As long as I had plantains and sorrel I was fine. The potato curry was good too but ironically I don’t think any of us actually ordered roti.
Solid food, nothing absolutely breathtaking or heart-rending…but definitely a welcome spot to sit-​down to reminisce about the old days.

ok place, nothing too spec and do not order crab cakes in the jerk restaurant. would not rush to go back any time soon

Delicious. Nice family owned and operated establishment. Calypso shrimp, ox tails and more. Love Miss Addie!

I used to enjoy this place back when I first moved into the area, but my last few visits were disastrous. The food is mediocre and overpriced and worse of all, the service is horrendous. Please avoid.

I’ve eaten there many times and have enjoyed much of the menu. It has the best goat roti I’ve ever had. The accra is delicious and when the menu says «X» item is hot or when the waitress says it’s hot you could believe what she says. I have a high tolerant for spiciness and it’s legit heat. It never overwhelms the flavor of the entrée you’re eating but it’s hot.
The service is a bit slow however I’ve been treated with respect and with pleasant smiles but the service is slow. It can be a turn off and I can easily see why some folks wouldn’t be keen on going back.
Since I have thing for goat roti I guess I’ll go back from time to time.

Delicious, service was a bit slow but atmosphere was laid back. Clean, great food, our server was a sweet heart, however she seemed to be the only one working, covering multiple tables.

Now closedown–
I have been coming here for many years over 7 and it seems that lately there is an air of rudeness that has been coming from most of the staff at the Islander but I’d have to say that the bartender has been tripping all together. I usually give a place 3 strikes and you’re out but since most of my peps go there on Fridays I would still go there. But after this past Friday I’m done! Not only did the bartender over charge for drinks but so slow fixing and getting the drinks!
I’ve had the food a couple of times but it has never been good — the wings are just ok the wings tasted over cooked and the pineapple chicken breast meal was the worst thing I’ve ever had — the breast was so dry and tasteless. When you try to complain you get attitude from the staff which is ridiculous. When we would go there to get our kickers (the Islanders drink specialty) we go somewhere else for food — we haven’t eaten there in over 3 years; the food just is not worth it when you have so many other choices nearby.

I’ll start with the positives, the waitress was very nice and the Caribbean kicker is an excellent drink. The kicker is potent, tasty and will give you a nice mellow buzz. Finally the outdoor patio is a nice place to sit, relax and people watch on U streets.
Unfortunately that is it for the positives as the food was less than impressive. I had the pineapple chicken entrée, the chicken was on the dry side and the pineapple flavor was lacking. I’m going need more than a piece of pineapple on top of the chicken to qualify it as pineapple flavored. I will admit the rice was decent.
I could possibly see myself coming back to grab a quick Caribbean kicker but I’d pass on the food options.

This place reminded me of one of those restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares… I could totally hear Gordon Ramsey having a fit if he saw some of the things I witnessed here.
We only came here because of the Hip Hop Bar Crawl on U Street yesterday. Management was disorganized and hadn’t planned what specials were going to be for the crawl when asked. Everyone had a big question mark on their face so they asked an older lady (who I am assuming is either the owner or manager) behind the bar and she just whipped up something off the top of her head. Once I saw that, I knew then this was not going to be a good experience.
We ordered appetizers (fried shrimp and jerk chicken) and it was horrendous. Shrimp was definitely not fresh and the chicken overcooked. It was like they heated it up in the microwave because the overall presentation/​taste was embarrassing. When I go to an Island restaurant I want fresh meats, tropical spices, tangy veggies… nothing about this place reminds me of the islands.
Once they got the drink special situation worked out, the served us in this cloudy glassware which clearly looked like it was from the Dollar Tree. You want me to pay how much for that? YUCK! Rum Punch was $ 12 is pricey (and after compliants they switched to plastic cups) but it was the only good thing about this place.
Most of the servers were older black women with some nasty attitudes. The younger ones didn’t want to be bothered and ignored patrons as they waited for long periods of time to get served. Some walked out to the next bar and we soon followed suit.
Would I visit here again, NO! This place really needs to be on Kitchen Nightmares and it’s a shame because it had so much potential. Don’t waste your time or money!

This place was awesome. I felt welcome as soon as I hit the door. Great food, great drinks, exceptional staff. This is now my go to chill spot when I’m in the city.

The best rum punch EVER! That is all I have to say… well…one more thing… I got toasted on one rum punch so they are very generous with the rum! I haven’t tried the food but will definitely go back for the drinks!

I’ve been in here a few times and somehow avoided the food until just recently. Every time I come here we subsist solely on «Carribean Kickers» which is a pink concoction poured from a gallon jug that will put you on your a&& with a quickness if consumed too quickly. For $ 8 a pop it’s good bang for the buck if you’re looking to get turnt quickly. Unfortunately it’s not a very tasty drink. My friend once tried to order one of the other specialy cocktails but the waitress flat out told him it sucked (her words) as it didn’t even have that much alcohol (again her words!). We didn’t need to be told twice!
The only food i’ve had here is the jerk chicken wings which were very spicy but after clearing that hurdle they’re actually quite tasty. At $ 8.50 for 7 wings that’s a bit pricey but not outrageous.
I’ve also stopped by during karoake (Friday nights) which is has been a good time. Usually the tunes are more modern R&B with some classics from the 80’s thrown in as well. Most of the customers feel like regulars and get along well with the waitstaff/​bartenders and everyone is always in a good mood when I roll in here.
There’s probably better spots for Caribbean style food in the vicinity but for a solid drink and solid karoake, Islander is worth a try.

My friend was looking for Caribbean-​style red snapper for her birthday. Being the tragic pan-​Caribbean super-​groupie that I am, this normally would have been an obvious suggestion. But over the years, I had walked by the Islander, seeing the restaurant full of hungry-​looking people, wondering if they actually served food, or if they just have happy hours with live music… where everyone sits at food-​less tables. Other reviews have mentioned the speed of service, and my dining companions wondered out-​loud how long it was going to take after 20 minutes, but it was actually much faster than I expected… about 25 minutes.
I enjoyed it… they had a snapper special! It came with fried shrimp (YES!!!), rice and peas, fried plantains, and choice of «vegetable» such as collard greens (?), curried potatoes, cabbage, and salad — for $ 15.50. I would have preferred callalou, but not for the $ 6 they charge. The fish was small — the shrimp was needed to make this dish remarkable. It was not exactly what I was expecting, so I am still on a quest to find a better Caribbean-​style snapper. Nice size portions in general — you will not leave hungry. I found the prices to be a little high, in general. My dining companions enjoyed their drinks — they had cocktails in the $ 8 – 14 range. They ordered multiple ones, and it was not happy hour. They have $ 5 «homemade» ginger beer. I had sorrel for $ 5. It is Trinidadian-​style though; I prefer the more gingery Jamaican-​style sorrel.
The service was good; attentive; friendly. I asked a lot of questions, which he pretty much answered (I can be difficult in that way.) A woman came out (owner?) to ask how we were enjoying the meal. Nice touch. I look forward to trying more things on the menu. It’s really 3.5 stars, but I feel like being generous.

Nice little chill spot. LOTS of regulars and familiar faces to be seen in/​around the U Street Corridor, especially at this place. Popular for karaōke or bar-​hopping, «Islander» gives off good vibes.
The Exotic Mango Wings were a really good shareable appetizer. For my entrée, I chose the King Fish. Yum! Our waiter was kind and offered plenty of good suggestions for food and beverage, which was helpful since we were both first-​timers.
There are some good Half-​Price/​2 for 1 Happy Hour deals (Islander Signature Cocktails) that are a must.
Flip side: This place could definitely use a fresh coat of paint and some modern décor. It has the potential to be «fancy», but the food is good enough to ignore that and come back for more.

It’s embarrassing that I have lived so close to the Islander and never been, but we were always waiting for a special occasion, and only our imminent departure from DC seemed like an adequate one. Some of the food is good. I especially liked the roti (it’s wrapped around the filling like a burrito– not the presentation method I expected).
Service was friendly but sloow. This would have been forgivable if we had been given fruity drinks to sip– but they forgot our drinks entirely. By the time we saw a server again, it didn’t seem worth asking for them. (They still appeared on the bill, though.)
It would have been at least three stars if I’d had a rum punch.