Beryl’s Pepperpot

Today the food was great. Flavors were on point and quality was there. Glad to see the last time we went was not the new norm.

I visit baryls once in a while. The food is okay. The food is better in the morning as opposed to the night time.
What disappoints me most about this place is that the curry chicken
(The only thing I really like) is only sold on Tuesdays.

This is the best jamaican food in durham. West Indian/​jamaican food is my favorite… the oxtail is amazing.. I usually get it with provisions.. which means you get a boiled dumplin. Cooked banana. Yam and your oxtail or what ever meat it is that you want. it’s pricey. And the wait is aometimes Long and you get a little attitude at the counter. but I just want this food… it’s so worth it.

I’m not one to write reviews, but I just had to do so about the top-​notch service my family and I recently received from Beryl’s Pepperpot in Ajax.
My mom had just passed away and I was in Toronto from Washington, DC to help coordinate the arrangements. We needed to get some Jamaican dishes to supplement the food being provided by the caterer. After researching a number of restaurants online, we zeroed in on Beryl’s. specifically because of the number of reviews and also the vibrant photos of their food. … We were not disappointed at all.
Ms. Beryl, herself, took our order and made suggestions for side dishes. We ordered Jerk Chicken and added Festival as a side order. The food was so delicious that we went back the very same evening and ordered additional Jerk because our family and friends wanted more. We also ordered large servings of fish the day after.
Here’s the bottom line: This is a small, bright, clean, efficiently run restaurant. The workers all wear very crisp uniforms! On top of that, the food is delicious.
It’s obvious to me that Ms. Beryl functions on a very high level, more than likely gained from a previous experience in a high-​end restaurant?
I’ll be back at Christmas.

Just finished eating a large order of Jerk Chicken and Jerk Pork shared between the wife and I. We were deeply disappointed with the flavours. After reading the reviews on here we were stoked — being lovers of Jamaican food for years. In the end, what we thought would be phenomenal was just ‘whatever’. This leads me to ask the question, what the hell were all these reviewers going on and on about? Seriously, I have been to countless Jamaican/​West-​Indian joints for Jerk, Roti, Curry, etc, and this place DID NOT stand head and shoulders above all the rest. In the pool of Caribbean restaurants, this joint AT BEST is ³⁄₅. For reasons on WHY, read on.
Why, contrary to other reviewers, I found this place to be an average ³⁄₅ stars:
1) They charge you almost a full dollar for gravy on your meal — 0.95 cents to be exact. This is just unheard of. I’ve been to Ritz’s on Yonge, Cravin’s, Mr. Jerk, Tastees, Caribbean Wave, and countless other restaurants along Eglinton Ave West (btwn oakwood and Allen) and I have never been charged for asking for gravy on my order. To add insult to injury, the amount of gravy given was ridiculous and the rice and peas still tasted dry — now I know why one reviewer recommended the gravy. THIS IS A HUGE MINUS 1 star.
2) The food can be evaluated in components:
a) Jerk Chicken — they serve more of a dry jerk chicken; the flavour is on the outer skin of the meat and the marinade didn’t really penetrate the meat on the inside; the flavour was subtle and you have to almost think about it in the after-​taste to actually process the taste. Better at so many other joints than this place.
b) Jerk Pork — not bad… a bit on the dry side… nothing spectacular or praise worthy — in fact, if they couldn’t do at least this much, I’d have deducted another star.
c) Coleslaw — again, disappointing. Lacked a cohesive flavour. Good coleslaw allows the cabbage to soak up the other ingredients and become one in flavour… the coleslaw here tasted like the cabbage and the mayo had a fight and were trying to make the best of a relationship headed for disaster. I tasted grated cabbage that was wearing mayo; it wasn’t ‘coleslaw’.
d) Rice and peas — good in terms of texture and firmness/​softness, but again, it’s freaking rice and peas man… if you can’t make this to at least this level, you are not doing it right.
Overall, I think the people who buy from this place and put up these HIGH reviews are either: 1) ignorant of what really great west-​indian/​jamaican food is supposed to taste like or 2) they are related to the ownership/​management of the restaurant. ;-)
Recommendation: Go if there is nowhere else for you to go. But, I will not say this place is heavely, devine or magnificant. Why? Because it’s not. I won’t follow the rest when the rest obviously don’t know what they are talking about. Personally, this place is easily forgotten and makes me think the reviewers of ajax west indian food really need to travel into the GTA core to sample what is probably a closer representation of the true flavours of west indies.
Peace.

Giving 5 stars as it deserves it. The food is phenomenal — and the real deal Jamaican food. Very busy at lunch time (and has excellent specials Mon — Thu) which include rice and peas with coleslaw.
The staff are friendly and efficient and it is packed full of locals needing their fix of the best jerk food around.
Portions are a good size and I recommend you get an extra side order of the gravy there are three (jerk is the one I usually get), as there can never be enough sauce to go with their perfect rice).
Go to their website if you want to know the daily specials — you can order other things that are not on the special and if you want fish you need to order a little in advance (as it takes a bit longer to prepare). I have never had the fish though — so not sure how good it is — but if its anything like the rest of their food it should be a 10 out of 10 also.
Made fresh to order — sure there is a bit of a wait — but this is the real deal so go with that island time bit of attitude and it will serve you well (as good food is worth waiting for). And quite frankly no matter what the line up /​queue they get everyone served eventually and its good eatin for sure.

This is for their delivery service.
There was a problem with my order. It had been packed with another order, which was going to a different location. Guess what? I had to go to that different location to get my order. Then I discovered my order was incomplete.
The truck driver yelled at me. He became irate and aggressive when I mentioned that my order was separate and it should not have been packed with the other location’s order. He took no responsibility, saying this how it was given to him. Then when I had to contact him again to explain my order was incomplete, he still yelled at me and had the audacity to insinuate I was lying.
This is not correct customer service. YOU DO NOT YELL AT THE CUSTOMER. See how uncomfortable it is to read something in all caps? It can very well be authentic Jamaican jerk, but no need to be a jerk who is Jamaican with a loud and aggressive attitude. Specially to a small woman. Shameful.
It’s not worth it — not worth receiving 2 measly pieces of bone with a little bit of meat and dried rice from the day before.

This is my second review and I’ve been here a number of times since my first.
The food here is fantastic and the specials are great value for your money more than enough food.
The only negative about this place is that they have the same girl taking orders and dealing with people out front all the time. She lacks any customer service skills at all and her attitude is simply off putting. Today I got a large jerk chicken, it tasted great however when ordering she asked me which gravy, I was kind of caught off guard as my assumption would be that a jerk chicken would come with jerk gravy I said what are the options? She looked at me like I was an idiot for even asking ignored me hissed her teeth and rang up my meal.
I come back because I know how good the food is but the girl taking orders I’m sure has scared away customers people don’t like to deal with someone like that.
Great food terrible service.

Wow, what an awesome little joint Beryl’s pepperpot is! We stopped by based on Unilocal recommendations for some goat curry with a side of dumpling and fried chicken lunch. The goat pieces were fall off the bone tender and the curry, a perfect balance of spices without being too salty. Hubby’s friend chicken pieces were also excellent with a side of crunchy coleslaw. All at a very reasonable $ 20ish bill, this place is a real gem! I’ll be back to try out their other goodies soon.

The best chicken in Durham. Authentic and made with love and care.

Although I have been to Beryl’s now a dozen or so times since I was introduced a few months ago, I finally have had a chance to write a review.
Having lived in Toronto for the last 10 years (and the last few just a few blocks from Albert’s — one of the best Jerk places ever), I was really missing good, authentic Caribbean food. Hence my utter joy when a fellow football coach told me this place was ‘legit’. He wasn’t lying. Much like a lot of the smaller Jerk spots downtown, Beryl’s has fast, and really friendly service. They offer pretty much what you would expect from a caribbean jerk restaurant — good curries, soup, fish, and of course, the Jerk.
I would say they are generally on par with many other restaurants when it comes to the coleslaw, rice and peas, even the curries. But their excellence is in their jerk. Their jerk chicken is one of the best I have had. It’s like having a Jamaican beach party, with the hottest boy/​girl you ever met, in your mouth?
As a Torontonian now stuck in the Burbs, I really recommend checking these kids out. Make sure to take it to go though — there are like 2 bar stools, and usually a bunch of people!

This place probably has the best jerk in Durham region. Bought the jerk pork & chicken. Might be a little spicy for some, but very tasty & fresh! Peas n rice were also good! Will definitely recommend & come again.

Finally had a chance to try the jerk pork here and it was fantastic, just as other reviews that I’ve read. It’s difficult to find jerk pork, but this place was excellent. The spicy gravy was also delicious! As with most Caribbean restaurants, it wasn’t cheap and the large jerk pork was about $ 10 and mostly rice and peas.
The only reason that I’m giving this review 4 stars is because the rice and peas weren’t as good as I expected … the rice almost seemed that it came pre-​made package. I definitely try this place again, and hope that this was just a problem this one time. I’m looking forward the the one that’s opening in downtown Oshawa!

Outstanding Jerk chicken! The best I’ve had in Canada.

Been working in Ajax for a year now. Been looking a for a good West Indian/​Caribbean place– Beryl’s Pepper Pot is it! Friendly Service, Great Food, Fast, & Fresh.

If you are in durham and looking for Mom & Pops Jamaican Food Take Out, his is the place for you. Beryl and her team is awesome providing friendly & fast service.
Food is made to order from the kitchen, not sitting under heat lamps. It’s just too bad I have to travel to Ajax from Richmond hill to get my craving satisfied. Home cooking at it’s finest
Recommendations: Jerk Pork on white rice with extra gravy