Jamaica Place

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Apparently as of right now, I’m the duke of this place with 5 or 6 check-​ins. I have no complaint. The food is a bit pricey for just bbq meat, but I won’t complain about the flavor. So many times I’ve made the mistake of ordering food here when I’m hungry and end up with a whole chicken, a beef hot pocket and side dishes to finish on my own. Eh… fatty status.

Wow — hidden gem. My new favorite place after discovering their very authentic oxtail stew which they serve with plantains, salad, and their yummy bean rice. $ 13 for the dish is definitely worth it b/​c its 2 meals for me for sure.

The chicken was just ok, but the rice was totally undercooked and not edible. Had to throw it out. $ 14 for this crap. Can we say over priced???

Theie curry goat meat is the business, but they have too many bones in it. Tried the oxtails and it was good just tiny pieces which I didn’t care for. Overall, its a good place to eat but their are better places.

Had the ¼ jerk chicken meal and a Jamaican beef patty with a pineapple soda. The chicken was decent, although a bit tangy for my taste. And the beef patty was too spicy, I remember having these when I was a child and they were never spicy. Nonetheless it was very good. The rice and beans and plantains were decent. For the price, it’s a little on the expensive side. The service was slow because only one person worked there at the time.

Why would i pick Jamaica Place over the other 20 plus different places inside of the Emeryville Public Market? I probably would not again to be honest.
The chicken as many have said on Unilocal was just dry and the seasoning was not all that. I was expecting a little kick but there was none. Rice and Beans were average but the Plantains were pretty decent, the only part of the meal i enjoyed.
I just feel that there are too many better options within 20 yards from this place (which is in a corner all creepy by itself) that i would not pick it again.

Well I am from a town where there are a lot of West Indians including my family two generations out of Barbados so I have had a lot of west indian food.
I have only tried the curry chicken and jerk chicken. The curry chicken was good but the jerk chicken was not. Curry had plenty o flavor and was just like home for me. The jerk was bland and my ¼ chicken white meat was dry. I got the hot sauce (not really that hot, but it’s all relative) and I tasted that familiar scotch bonnet pepper taste but it was the only flavor on the chicken.
The sides were nothing to write home about the best were the plantains, the rice and peas (as west Indians call it) was not very flavorful and the salad was dreadful. To be fair though I have never gotten a good salad at a west Indian restaurant I think it just decoration. lol
I got a beef patty and it was baaad the meat was not flavored correctly it was just bad.
I wanna try the brown stew chicken and the oxtails, will update when I do; but I would go back for the curry chicken.

This place is a must have for a person who’s actually from the Caribbean and understands what the food should taste like. I’m sold on the ox tail, flavor feel with beans and rice that are a great compliment. I especially like the girls who understand that when I’m dieting they remember to skip the beans and rice and substitute with salad. The only down side is that patties which aren’t quite as tasty a I’d hope for. And the price is a tad on the higher end for a small plate. The jerk chicken is pretty good. I recommend this place for a good quick eat.

What a BIG Disappointment. There goes the neighborhood!
Another negative review, i hate to do it but im just keepin’ it Real.
Ive had my share of good Caribbean cuisines but this «Jamaica Place» doesn’t cut it. If youre a first timer and curious about Jamaican food, I dont recommend it here. hop on the dumbarton towards menlo park to a place called back-​a-​yard caribbean. well worth your bucks’
Ive had good caribbean ox tail before so I decided to try it here. i ordered the dinner meal and a beef meat pie. it comes with red beans and rice with some greens on the side. all came out to be around 13.99 with no drink.
Dont get me wrong, It was a good amount of food but the taste. That taste was coming from a totally different direction. it was a head on collision with my taste buds and all was totaled with no insurance which led to this bad review.
the oxtail and its sauce tasted like mud. yes, i said it. Mud!
youre asking, how do i know what mud taste like? oh ive tasted mud in my younger years on the playgrounds and such. Im usually not one to describe food like this but im just telling you how i see it.
i took a few bites and couldnt go on. noticed i said, a few bites not just one. the beef meat pie was on the same boat, stale cookie crust with slurry beef that was piping hot inside. i cashed out 13.99 and called it a lost. i didnt even have a drink to wash out the nasty taste from my mouth because it didnt come with the meal!
basically, all im saying is make good quality food and people will come back. i myself, personally will be keeping my distance.

Ordered the ½ jerk chicken; which was way too dry for consumption only because it had been sitting on that heat lamp at least three hours. Bland. order hot sauced, but boy. I couldn’t feel or taste any heat at all. In tasting the «rice n peas» which is really over cooked rice with simple boxed Cajun seasonings and red beans, someone in that back kitchen doesn’t know Jamaican food.
Beware: When you do order, you are given a plate of food where then you can add Jamaican condiment «flavorings:. The flavorings looked interesting but also looked so dirty that I didn’t dare putting any on my salty dry «jerky» chicken plate.
This place used to be at least a «hit and miss», but recently, it seems its all miss. Pass

Since I went to Jamaica a while back I’ve had the hankering for jerk chicken. So walking into the huge food court and seeing a sign for Jamaican food I was super excited.
I ordered from the simple stand, the cashier was neither nice nor rude and very soon my order was up for my ¼ chicken meal. Ehhh. .. . it was quite a large piece of chicken but it was pretty bland in taste. I asked for the mild but still there wasn’t any spice at all and really no flavor. Pretty moist chicken though and plenty of it. It comes with rice and beans which were crazy bland and salad that was fresh but bland as well.
Just overall really bland and jerk chicken is really supposed to have some spice and flavor. And at over $ 8 for a plate, while filling, wasn’t cheap

The only thing that makes this mediocre food stand noteworthy is their Jamaican meat patties. They had a similar variation of crispy yellow pouches of joy at just about every pizza parlor near where I used to live in upstate NY.
I used to call them Beef Pockets.
They’re spicy, delicious, and on par with my NY favorites. But besides that, the jerk chicken I’ve tried there has been dry, and they aren’t exactly the friendliest stand at the public market.
So next time you’re at the market, and need a nice $ 2 side dish in addition to your greasy [insert ethnicity here] noodles, give the old Jamaican meat pocket a try!

Every time I’m back home in Oakland I eat at Jamaica place. I usually get the ¼ Jerk chicken meal with hot sauce. You can’t go wrong with this meal unless you don’t like spicy.

When this place first opened it was like a fairy had waved her magic wand over the city of Emeryville, bestowing the delicious flavors of authentic Caribbean cuisine upon us.
Sadly, the freshness and quality of the food seemed to dwindle… and so did my visits. On a fluke I stopped in about a month ago and decided to give Jamaica Place a try after a very long hiatus. Boy was it tasty! The food was fresh and so so flavorful.
«Wow, the fairy is back in town!» or so I thought. So this past weekend rolled around and my ruthlessly picky Caribbean husband and children were hungry. «Let’s go to Jamaica Place!» I exclaimed.
Against their protests I dragged them, kicking and screaming. How embarrassed was I to find that the food had yet again taken a nose dive.
It was not fresh, it was not flavorful and it was not even slightly good or even warm for that matter. Even the rice and peas lacked the slightest inkling of taste…
Jamaica Place is very inconsistent and currently its not good or edible. So until further notice, I will dine Caribbean elsewhere.

UPDATE: BOOOO. went there on 1÷26÷08 and my fish was drenced in vinegar. Some woman was the cook… Your stars have been revoked.
Visited last week after a long hiatus due to my food seeping through the cheap ass containers. The food has improved, but the patties are still wretched. Had escovich fish, bought Curry Goat and Ox Tails for parents and we concluded that there must be new cooks there. Will see if they slip again, but they’re on a good run now.

I work in Emeryville so alot of my co-​workers often eat at The Public Marketplace. I had never eaten/​tried Jamaican food before but was interested in possibly trying their Ox Tails. I knew I didnt want to buy them because what if I didnt like it. I asked it I could have a sample (if you know the Public Marketplace you know they have samples galore) and the guy got offended and asked «Why?!» When I told him that I might not like it he seemed irritated but still gave me the sample. As soon as I put it in my mouth he asked «Do you want or no?» I thought to myself, hell no I dont want it when you’re not giving me the chance to even taste it first. But i replied back (in his same tone) «NO!» I would never eat here. Anyone with a nasty attitude like that is not worthy of my presence nor money!

OK here it is from a Jamaican gyal in San Fran. I have been living in San Francisco for three years and dying to find some flavor of home. My husband found «The Jamaican Place» after much research online. Poor thing, I think he was feeling awful that I was so far from home and had no Jamaican culture around me, except for some hippies with dread locks saying «Irie man and Bob Marley.»
My experience of the Jamaican Place was great! I love their rice and peas. It tastes just like back home. Their curry chicken, Jerk Chicken, and Curry Goat is wicked as well! I won’t say it is as authentic as back a yard but it is the best I have tasted in San Francisco. The patties, Oxtail and Eschovietch Fish are not the best. Actually quite bad… But I can live on curry goat and the other dishes… If you want good patties you need to visit Art’s Jamaican grocery in Oakland but for cooked food this place will «satisfy my soul» for now. Their dumplins and festival are pretty good as well. I have made it a weekend tradition to cross the Bay Bridge with my family and go for a home cooked meal at the Jamaican Place. I love di ol’ woman in di back, she reminds me of the vibrant women of my island… So much mouth and nuff vibes… I give it 3 stars!

I never had jerk chicken or jamaican food before i came here. I liked the jerk chicken it has its own flavor to it. I eat alot of chicken and this place makes some good chicken. I like the dark burnt parts those are my favorite. I dont know why i dont like chicken looking white. I always want it more on the darker side. I had the red beans and rice and that was kind of different for me, but i liked it. If you have never tired anything jamaican before you have to try this spot out.
Service is cool.
3 Stars for Jamaica Place

Next time I come by I hope they say something cool like «Ey mon, wha’ u wan t’ get? It not going to come jump off da stove an into a plate for you, all by itself mon. Hurry up, mon, people wai-​ting for you to order some ting. or you jus’ wan to stand there look pretty all day?»
Now that would be cool. I’d buy a whole big arse plate of jerk chicken if they were extroverted and humorous like that. But then I wouldn’t think I was in the East Bay anymore. alright enough on that rant.
People really are nice here, don’t get me wrong, they are just kinda. i dunno. introverted?
i’d like to rate this place higher but most of the time I walk by (and maybe it’s just me) everyone seems to leave the counter and go back to cook some imaginary food on the grill.
Okay, granted I don’t have much experience with Jamaica other than music and ganja, but yeh the jerk chicken is the thang to get here, and I like dark meat. The patties, meh, not really a patty person. the daily combos are cool ideas and price is comparable if not reasonable.
I did the daily special which was $ 6-​$ 9 depending what you get, well add a drink and make it a plate and I walked out of there $ 12 on the bill. Ouch! But it was good. It was Wednesday. Lots of broiled chicken, and the fluffy rice side was yummy, and the plantains were soooo yummy. Mm, meat. carbs, and sweetness. It went well with the ginger beer I had.
Though, ginger beer isnt beer… but beer would have been good too. I’ll just shutup now. So if you want oxtail or jerk chicken or other Jamaican fare, this is the best place to get it in the public market. They also have plenty of seating and a TV for those that like to watch CNN while they have lunch.