De Island Breeze Caribbean Restaurant & Lounge

This was my 1^st time here for Valentine’s Day with my son. I like that my service was fast, my waitress gave good customer service. The music was great & the vibe from the staff was warm & inviting! I almost left before giving the place a chance, because the event that flier said there was a Valentine’s Day Dance & there were not to many people in there! I’m glad I stayed & gave the place a chance. I got there a little after 10pm & the waitress was kind enough to let my son & stay and dine in! That’s the type of service that will have me coming back & letting other people know about this restaurant. The loud music didn’t bother me, because I like my music loud. It was like a club & restaurant vibe in there. The food was so delicious from our appetizers to our main dish! I ordered collard greens, ox tails & rice. My son ordered curry goat, rice & collard greens. They ran out of plantains so we didn’t get to try that. However the buffalo wings with blue cheese sauce on the side was so delicious; that I ordered a 2^nd order to go. I also ordered the coconut shrimp, it was so yummy! I didn’t care for the Brown dipping sauce on the side. I opted for the blue cheese dip for my coconut shrimps. After eating my son enjoyed getting our electric slide on & doing our thing on the dance floor! Lol There didn’t need to be a huge crowd for us to enjoy ourselves at De Island Breeze! I will definitely be going back again as customer & referring others to go! One thing that took the 5^th star away was the strong smell of bleach, hey at least they clean up the place! I notified one of the staff & they were nice enough to spray some air freshener to accommodate my concern. Now that’s good customer service!

The food is really really good. Every dish from the appetizer to dessert was absolutely delicious! Place is pretty nice too, good vibes. Service kinda runs on island time but it’s cool cause the food is so worth it.

I love this place! Anything I’ve eaten has been delicious. I recommend the oxtail a and stew beef.

We went last Saturday night. The food was good.
1. As an appetizer we shared an order of jerk Chicken. It was Good, not great. Not spicy enough.
2. I had the oxtail stew. I’m not usually a fan of oxtail, but this stew was yummy!!! It was very flavorful.
3. My hubby had the Escovithched Fish. He enjoyed it.
Service was a little slow, but not too bad.
I would give this restaurant a 3.5 Star Rating, if possible.

My, how the mighty have fallen. De Island Breeze used to be the spot to go to for great food and great service. The is still pretty good but the service is horrible. Long wait time, items listed not available and no smile or a thank you. Looking for a new spot. I’m thru!

I am hooked on their oxtails stew and I usually call ahead and order it as take-​out. I dined inside in the past and found the service to be extremely slow even when empty. The restaurant has a nice Caribbean décor that includes bright colors and an island feel. The staff is also very friendly.
I also enjoy their curry goat and jerk chicken wings.

Had food over the weekend. Rice was dry and hardly any peas in all 3 of our dishes. Jerk chicken was not good. Last time there. There’s better elsewhere.

I’d give this place 2 ½ stars, but that’s not an option. My husband is Jamaican and we appreciate good Caribbean food. The food here was just OK. I had the Stewed chicken with rice and peas and plantains and cabbage. My husband had jerk pork. Certainly not the best I’ve had. It wasn’t bad, just nothing I’d go out of my way for. Service was SUPER slow. Long waits for the food as well as the check.
We went over to the lounge to have a drink and hear some reggae music. The drinks were good. Hubby had Guinness, which you can’t get everywhere. And I had a great Pina Colada martini. The female bartender was great and had no problem hitting my drink with a little more umph. The crowd was sparse. The DJ was OK. It wasn’t bad.
Bottom line, I would come back to this place more for the bar and music than for dinner.

As for a lounge the Music was very boring, DJ sucked, no Good crowd, no seating, basically pay a cover charge to order drinks could have done this at a bar or pub, friends of the DJ and workers are locals and basically walk in for free, I guess to fill empty space and have u think there’s a nice crowd. NEVER AGAIN

Dhalpourri Roti not made fresh… put in microwave to warm up… then served… there is another Caribbean place where they make the roti fresh…

NIce place, friendly waitress and good drinks. However, I have had better oxtails. They did not meet my high expectations. Maybe the other dishes are better. This is my first time. So i am only speaking about the oxtails.

They are awesome! Closest to caribbean as you can get. I love Angela! She cooks the Dahl puri’s and roti. I always buy a dozen frozen to bring home with me. I live about 30min. Out the area. I’ve always had the goat curry n roti. It’s my fav. So is their jerk wings! The biggest plus for me though is the caribbean mini shop they have attached to the restaurant which have everything I usually want and I go there specifically for the Guyanese chowmein. Suggestion; call to make sure they’re open before u go there! Sometimes they are closed even if their business hrs. Say different. I was there on a Monday. The sign says 10am to 9pm. It was 11am and they were closed. Wasted 45mins to get there to turn back around. Disappointing.

Takeout — pork with jerk sauce: pork was cold (!). Rice with beans was OK. Was looking forward to this place but … won’t be ordering from it again.

The nicest of the Caribbean restaurants I’ve tried in New Jersey, and so far my go-​to spot. Although a little dark (most of the lights are off whenever I visit), the restaurant is spacious, painted in warm colors, and relatively clean. Staff are warm, very friendly, and efficient. They recognize their regulars, which is a very nice, welcoming touch. Decent, Americanized West Indian food, notwithstanding the lack of heat and traditional flavor, which is very disappointing. For example, I don’t think they use any coconut milk in their rice and peas, and quite clearly it’s made without using a scotch bonnet. It’s also always dry.
Items that are done well: plantains, black cake, and their raisin pastry rolls. I love that they have traditional Jamaican sodas! Unfortunately, they’ve been out of sorrel, my favorite rum drink, each time I’ve asked, so no comment on that front yet.
As with all Caribbean restaurants, they are veg-​friendly. If they notice you aren’t ordering any meat, they’ll offer to make a veggie platter for you, even though I don’t believe it’s listed on the menu. I like to get mine with callaloo, cabbage, and rice and peas.
Overall, a nice place, but if you’re looking for authentic Jamaican food, head in to New York, or better yet, make the trek to the Bronx! Dere everyting is irie, mon!

I love me some ethnic food bring it all bring it often! It’s not easy to find a dine in that serves alcohol Jamaican place around central NJ, but thanks to Unilocal I found my new go to Jamaican sit down with a bar baby.
Upon entry you’ll immediately notice the Jamaican feel and or appeal with burnt orange and deep yellow walls. The reggae music is jamming albeit slightly a bit loud. A sizable dance floor to your immediate left next to a 6 stool bar. Seating to the right with well over 40 capacity with individual and group tables.
I started out of course with a beef patty completely devoid of grease because they bake not fry, nice flavor but could use a lil bit more beef and some heat. I gotta hankering for oxtail unfortunately whenever I see it on the menu it’s virtually impossible for me not to order it and of course devour while sucking out the marrow, gnawing on the grizzle and then licking my fingers to my wife’s chagrin. The oxtail flavor was absolutely sublime I’d rate them right up there with any oxtail I’ve ever had flavor wise now the size of the oxtail was around smaller to medium size I typically like a little bit more meat on my bones but there was ample supply and very tender. Oh it’s easy for me to forget while pontificating about the oxtail, rice n beans were cooked perfectly the cabbage was a nice touch and the two plantains on the plate were yummy. The lunch size portion was just right.
Most lunch dishes are around $ 10 & $ 14 + for dinner. Did I mention they have a bar with all kinds of wonderful martinis and mixed Jamaican rum drinks mmm mmm. They also have several options for Jamaican type sodas and drinks I had to go with milky Irish moss which is very much like eggnog served from the bottle not homemade. The service was friendly and very attentive.
I will be back and so should you maan.

I always LOVE coming to this place whenever I have a serious craving for JAMAICAN food! I always get the Curry Goat or Cow Foot Stew and LOVE it!
The staff is always friendly and helpful, the portions are generous, and the prices are reasonable! Worth coming back again!

Food is great, there is no doubt about it. Whether it is the lamb, goat or beef, there was a lot of meticulous care done with all of the entrée items. Major difference with Jamaican food over Indian is the lack of using yogurt with the food preparation. That’s okay because I have a girlfriend who is lactose intolerant and that’s another reason to go back to De Island Breeze ;)
Be ready to spend a minimum of $ 35 – 40 for a party of two. It’s not cheap to eat there but well worth it.

Food was okay, too much on the bland side which was surprising since Caribbean cuisine is generally not so. We recently returned from Jamaica and weren’t exactly expecting authentic perfection in Somerset, NJ. Service friendly but slow.
Large space, cheerful décor with big dancefloor in the attached room looks inviting for weekend dancing. A night time visit might be the thing to make for a better review.

The food was good. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. I had stew beef, white rice, caabbage, and plantain. I drank Ting. I’m used to my mom’s cooking (Jamaican) so that’s my main comparison. Basically the food was bland, but there aren’t that many Jamaican restaurants so it’s a nice place to go to.
Service is good, prices aren’t bad, and it’s a nice atmosphere.

We stopped in for breakfast this morning.
Jim got the saltfish and bake (fried bread) and I had the saltfish and ackee with fried dumplings.
I wasn’t sure what ackee was, but thought I’d try it. It looks like eggs, but is tender like foie. We guessed that it might be fish liver. No clue, but it was so good. A little like tender butter beans, yet they melted in my mouth like foie. I decided not to think about it until I polished the whole thing off.
The salt cod was tender, flavourful, with a few bones, but not the least bit dry. The fried dumplings were slightly smaller than a tennis ball each – so good. Bake was gently fried, with a soft, doughy interiour.
After finishing our plates (and asking for a bag of unsalted plantain chips to go, plus an extra bag for the dumplings), we asked what ackee was. It turns out that it’s a fruit that may be poisonous if not prepared properly. Really? All I know is that I will be ordering this again.
We each had a drink, and are preparing for a mid-​morning nap right now.
Such a gem, with sweet, relaxing service. I’ve upped the rating to a 5* because the food is fresh, delicious, and a great reminder of our holiday in the Caribbean.