The Best Jamaican Food on Earth…read more I've been coming here forever and the food is unlike anywhere else I have ever been. I have been to Jamaica and nothing is close. I have brought friends here who live/ lived in Jamaica and they are blown away. I also lived in the Jamacian area in Harlem and never found a Jamaican Restaurant even close to this place. The staff are friendly and get the food out quickly. There is almost a couple people there and they have no problem handling the traffic. Place definitely has a vibe. Bonus it is down by Seaside Park so when it's warm enough I love grabbing my food to go and eating it in the park. Food: -Jerk Chicken This is by far my go to. If you can't handle a LOT of heat then this is not for you. 1st time my wife had it she couldn't hang but I made her try it again and again and eventually she built a tolerance and absolutely loves it. -Curry Goat My 2nd Favorite. Not too much heat and very tasty. Careful of the bones but the flavor is incredible. If you can't handle the heat of the Jerk this is a great option. -Stewed Chicken Good option. I don't get it too often as I prefer the Jerk but if I'm not in the mood for the heat or just want to switch it up this is another amazingly flavorful option. -Jamaican Patty's All of them are great Spicy or Mild Beef, Chicken, Veggie I usually get a patty with my order and rotate my choice with my mood or what looks best that day. Final Thoughts If you haven't been to Rootsman you don't know what Real Jamaican Food is. Get here ASAP!! Caution: Food is Amazing & Addictive

Before I get into the review proper, I've noticed that many older reviews had mentioned this place…read morewas Cash Only. Based on my visit tonight, they now accept card since I was able to my debit on this one. This place is primarily take-out, but there's tables inside where you can eat in if you wish. I opted to just get my food and be on my way. But before that, I do want to mention that the guy behind the counter pointed out on my visit that not everything that the menu reads was actually in stock (my visit came at about 7:30 pm on a Tuesday night). He did at least have the courtesy of telling me what was available, to which I had opted for the jerk chicken. I didn't know this upon my ordering, but apparently this jerk chicken gets rave reviews here on Yelp. I don't order this kind of thing often, and the last time I went to a place to order jerk chicken the food and atmosphere did not turn out good, so I was hopeful I would at least have a better experience here. The place itself is unassuming in a way something similar to how a hole in the wall would be unassuming. One thing I will say in this place's favor is that the price is very fair for what you get. I only had to pay $16.32 for the meal which honestly isn't bad at all. And hey, at least the employee had decent manners. Upon arriving back at the Bridgeport Station to start eating, that was when I had realized something had gone wrong. When I got to the bag I was given the food in, the take-out container completely destroyed the bag, telling me that this was not packaged well at all. Imagine if I had tried to drive this back home and then found that! They could probably do with making some sort of effort reinforcing the packaging before packing into a paper bag. To make matters worse, when I had opened the container to start eating, the food exploded all over my shorts! Not fun! But I was able to eat enough to form an opinion. As for the meal itself, the jerk chicken comes with cabbage and rice. I would have liked to have the rice separate from the chicken, but that was apparently not an option. I was kind of bummed out about that since the last time I had jerk spice on rice it ruined the rice. I will say quality-wise the food was better than People's Choice over in Norwalk. The chicken was juicy and the rice was at least cooked properly. The taste of the rice I will say did not taste much difference from the chicken, so it's definitely doesn't stand out too much. The cabbage was a wet cabbage, not to the point of mush, but maybe the next level before that. Good thing the chicken was actually good jerk chicken, even though it's not de-boned. Would I walk 20 minutes to come eat here again? If I had to. So far I'd pick this over several others if I am in the mood for Caribbean food. Just some better packaging would be nice.

IGNORE the very few low ratings. Please!…read more If you are going to take the time to take a picture, upload it, and complain, then you should take a small portion of that time and calmly explain to management your concerns, that is how things get better. I have ordered from here many times, staple being the jerk chicken. Zero complaints other than they are closed on Saturday's which makes sense. Food is delicious and you would think that you were chilling out. Everything was FRESH, which is one of my most important and challenging characteristic from any restaurant. You would think that your grandmother spent two days cooking this just for you. 5/5 easy. Support your local family-owned businesses, if not, there is cheap horrible chinese takeout around the corner. Yuck

today was my first day trying this restaurant and it was definitely a good choice. i ordered over…read morethe phone and the lady was very pleasant. when i arrived to get my food the restaurant was very clean nice ambiance in there. definitely a girls night out spot for good food and a nice vibe. customer service was excellent. the lady was very friendly. i will definitely be back. if you're thinking about ordering from here do it!! you will not regret it.

Pretty good, i got the oxtail and the Rasta pasta. The oxtail was good, they gave a nice amount of…read moregravy. The Rasta pasta needed flavor though. The sauce was bland.

I ate the food so quickly because it was so good! So happy to have found this spot. I purchased the…read moremedium sized oxtails dinner with cabbage and rice and peas. I will definitely be back.

I can't post any pictures because the food has been eaten. First time I stumbled on this nook, I…read morepurchased oxtail, rice & pea, cabbage, and sweet plantain. It was so delicious, that when I placed it down to run into Pier 1 my pooch polished it off. This far I cannot complain, and every time I've stopped in, it has been busy. For CT, this place hits the spot. Trust me, I tried a food truck which I will not mention said name, and felt like I threw away my money on the worst food, I ever encountered. I've not been disappointed, both the oxtail & curry goat fall off the bone, is well seasoned, and juicy. I will certainly be back, and I recommend to anyone looking for Yard food.

Number 1 Red Flag was walking into a Jamaican restaurant and not smelling the aroma of any food…read morebeing cooked. I simply ordered a beef patty and the meat was hard and the breading was very soft and spongy as if it was days old. Will not be returning here. I don't even see how they're still open.

Second time here. More incredible Jerk chicken. Tonight met the chef / owner just as friendly as…read morehis chef. He had me try his oxtail tonight. O M G. Fantastic! Haven't been able to eat this for years as so many use flour (celiac ...not avoiding it to be trendy) even his gravy is flour / gluten free. Local people support this guy!! His food is on an entirely different level.

I drove by it twice before I found it!…read more The jerk chicken was delicious. I'd order from here again.

Miss Nelson gave off such a lovely vibe to myself and cousin while ordering food. She let us know…read moreabout the flavor profiles and what to expect when we tasted the food. 10 stars across the board we had great service. We didn't wait long for our food and everything was great. We look forward to coming back to try something else on the menu. She had so many options of food that you could eat chicken seafood you name it it was there I felt like we walked into my grandmother's or my auntie's home to eat she smiled the whole time we were there she laughed with us and just gave great energy. The food was very flavorful just the right of spice salt and everything else. If you're looking for a great place to get authentic tasting Jamaican food look no further you won't be disappointed

First time customer the food was not good....Rice was slumped up ,watery cabbage no seasoning…read more Etc... I am very disappointed

My friend recently really wanted to dine at Lalibela Ethiopian Restaurant. I have no experience…read morewith Ethiopian cuisine, but being a Yelper who's always willing to try something new, I figured, let's go! Lalibela is located on Temple Street in New Haven. Walking inside around lunchtime, there was just one other table occupied. The waitress quickly welcomed us and brought us menus. I'll be honest, I was not sure what anything was in the menu. It is sorted into four sections: appetizers, beef, chicken and vegetarian. I went with something from the vegetarian section and hoped for the best. My friend went with the chicken and beef. Shortly after, our food was brought out to us. There's no utensils, everything is eaten by hand. We received "injeras" these are somewhat similar to crapes, primarily used for scooping and dipping into an assortment of food. You'll have to gain some experience with eating with these, if you're like me you'll pretty quickly land a stain on your garment. We received a basket full of rolled up injeras. Our plates also had a large spread out injeras. There were three scoops of traditional vegetable meals, lentils, split peas and green beans. The servings were very generous. I enjoyed the flavor profiles on all of these. They ranged from mildly spicy to a bit more spicy. Now that I have some experience at Lalibela, next time I'll be able to modify and customize my plate a bit more. I appreciate that there are so many ways to perfect your options at Lalibela, everything is very flavorful and the portions are substantial. It takes a bit of getting used to having no silverware.

My husband and I have been curious to try Ethiopian food for a while, so we decided to try Lalibela…read morefor our first experience since the chef was a James Beard semifinalist. It was a quiet Friday afternoon when we went for lunch, and the girl taking care of was attentive and nice. The yesiga sambusa was a tasty appetizer, and we really enjoyed the hummus it was paired with. The speciality platter was a great way to try several dishes from the menu, and everything we tried was delicious. It was cool to try something new and experience more earthy flavors. The injera went well with everything and helped balance the dishes. My husband also really enjoyed the beer imported from Ethiopia. So glad we visited this spot and we would definitely visit again!

Not sure if this restaurant goes by the name Family Spice or 4 Seasons Jerk Center, but either way…read morethe food was fabulous! Cozy Jamaican spot with warm, welcoming service. I was excited by the variety and ordered curry goat, salt mackerel, and ackee & saltfish--even though my combo wasn't on the menu, the owner kindly made it happen. Everything was flavorful and satisfying, with bold, home-cooked vibes. Can't wait to return and explore more of the menu.

This is a local Caribbean / Jamaican gem if you're into jerk chicken and this type of food. Always…read morehas fresh food, staff is friendly, and there's always a line during lunch time. The food is always good and Friday's are my favorite when they have BBQ Fried Chicken, that's right BBQ Fried Chicken!! They serve, chicken, fish, stew, rice & beans curry Chicken / Ox Tail. It's a small place, has a few tables inside and tables outside. The restaurant is off the main road in a neighborhood, very casual.