We are staying in the Pine Hill neighborhood, just for the night, having driven five hours from Quebec City, and having had a great meal there. So tired, and weary, packing and unpaking. We had to go for a walk after being cooped up, and found Irie Vybez on Central Ave. so many ethnic restaurants nearby, but this one stood out. Good business vibe, and when we asked about her soup, she gave us a sample. It was nicely spiced, but too spicy for my wife. So we got... the curried goat. Was it ever a good choice. The goat was succulent and well spiced; not too hot, but I gave it a good shot of jerk sauce! the rice and peas were a great accompaniment, and the plantains... wow!!! The quantity is huge! We can't wait to finish it off for breakfast, before our plane ride home! It's too good to even leave a grain of rice in the dish. Oh, service was fast friendly and accurate.. we couldn't have asked for more!!! read more

The food is absolutely horrible here.Whenever my sister goes here the food has to be thrown away, it cannot even be fixed with seasonings the chicken always has a burnt taste.The service is mediocre at best. The establishments ambiance is okay.The food is genuinely horrible it taste like its hell sent please do better read more

Irie Vybez - burnt fried chicken - Caribbean Near Me - Albany, New York

I'm very picky when it comes to food and I don't leave reviews but I had to for this amazing restaurant. Everywhere I go I look for West Indian food so I can feel like I'm eating a home cooked good meal. Guess what today I felt just that. Food was on point and it didn't break the bank either. The service was great. She had patients with me as I was very indecisive on what I wanted. She kept smiling and made me feel welcomed. The ambiance made me feel like I was in Jamaica in one of those shacks when you get the best dinners. I'll be back! Oh yeah. Jerk rice was great with the butter shrimp. I don't have a before pic. I do have an after one. read more

Irie Vybez - The 5 star finished meal. - Caribbean Near Me - Albany, New York

To start off with, I never order chicken. I go for goat meat, oxtail, pork, and beef, in roughly that order. However, I had the restaurant surprise me, and I got their rice with peas, cabbage, and jerk chicken. The chicken was so juicy and flavorful that I could only guess that it was chicken by the bones. While waiting for them to prepare the food, I enjoyed that they had a couple TVs, one of which had the full menu. They also had a QR code posted, for their menu. The food was behind glass, so I could see what was available. The chicken feet soup sounded amazing, and I'll have to try that next time it's available and I'm there. The three employees that I talked to were wonderful. I've had plenty of Somali food, goat with rice, where you mush a banana into it, and eat it with your hands, so when I asked, after seeing how similar the dish looked, if it's common to eat it like. They thought it was hilarious, and told me to use a fork, and eat the banana as a dessert. While the place seems to be set up primarily as a togo restaurant, there were some tables set up, for those not looking for anything fancy. Overall, a great restaurant, and I would happily come back. read more

Im sorry this restaurant food its disgusting I purchase Mac and cheese thst tasted old hardly no cheese cabbage was grossed sweet unfavorable plait8ng where hard and dry i will never purchase have anything else from this place over food experience was a waste of money read more

Terrible service. Ordered Jerk chicken, plantain and water. Got a different order, seems like curry beef and plantain. No water or chicken! I called the restaurant they said sorry. Money gone. No compensation. First time customer, I won't be coming back! read more

Irie Vybez - Caribbean Near Me - Albany, New York

Hubby, his colleague, and I are in town and was looking for good Jamaican food as we are picky and know what it should taste like. Found this place on Yelp with favorable reviews. Restaurant is easy to find on a street with ample street meter parking and many other places to eat from other countries. I thought that was cool as I like diversity and supporting local businesses. Customer service was very good as they greeted us immediately when we walked in and nicely answered our questions about there menu items. They kindly improvised things per our request like sauce on the side, no gravy etc. My husband ordered the Jerk Chicken with rice and peas and cabbage. He says the jerk chicken was good with a bit of grill flavor. He wasn't a fan of there jerk sauce which is a ketchup based sauce. He prefers the traditional style jerk sauce which is more like a additional spices blended together. His colleague had the curry chicken with jerk rice and says both were good. This was his second time having Jamaican food that my husband introduced him to during there business trips. I ordered the Oxtails with jerk rice and plantain. Oxtail is one of my favorite dishes. I never had jerk rice before and was curious to try it. It looked good. If not, I'm a traditional rice n peas girl with my oxtails. There oxtails was just ok. Definitely needed more seasoning and cooked a little longer. The meat was a bit firm on some of the bigger pieces. The jerk rice was really tasty. Not at all spicy as I had imagined cause it has the name jerk to it. Kinda hard to describe the flavor and taste. Best I can sait's like a Caribbean spin to Chinese rice but more flavorful. I highly recommend you try it. I also had there fry dumpling which is another favorite food of mine that I hadn't had in awhile. The fry dumpling was meh as it wasn't the soft flavorful buttery fry dumplings I like and use too. I wouldn't order it again. Overall, we would try there again and I would explore other food options. read more

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Going here would be alot more enjoyable if the lady serving attitude wasn't so stink.

Been trying to find the time to stop in and grab some food! FINALLY did and was thankful Got chicken soup and curry chicken with rice and peas Appreciate the service No restrooms available but they definitely had a location available across the street to use read more

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The best Caribbean Food in the Albany area!! Made with authentic flavors, seasoned exceptionally well, and served hot with island love! It is a great place for generous portions, family meals, or for a catered event! I ordered the jerk chicken, the oxtails, macaroni and cheese all the plates were delicious, generous, presented impeccably, and made you feel like you are in a tropical paradise at the beach having a great time. If you wanted to be transported to the Caribbean, Irie Vybez lives up to the name!! read more

I really enjoy coming here when I'm craving oxtails This place is one of the only places in the capital district that you will find authentic Jamaican cooking! We used to live two and a half hours south of here so I can tell you from experience that good food is hard to find up here, especially authentically cooked and authentic tasting! Their brown chicken stew is one of my favs and my son's is the curry goat. Oxtails fall off the bone and cooked/seasoned to perfection. The portions with the rice and peas and sweet plantains it comes with, is enough to feed two people( or you can enjoy scrumptious leftovers all to yourself) you can't beat the prices for these dishes either. I love that you can feed a family of four with leftovers to go home with for under $40. read more

I started coming here regularly after my other Jamaican spot went downhill. The food is really good and authentic. Not sure why the rating is so low. If you catch them on a good day, the curry is nice and spicy and doesn't need any hot sauce on top. I always order online and the food is often ready within 10 minutes. I usually get the curry goat, so never tried their jerk chicken. read more

SMH...Food is awesome and amazing . Taste so good make you wanna slap your grandma.. Well you know what I mean.. Can't wait to visit again soon The service is slavering if you know what I am saying.. read more

I ordered the oxtail plate with the cabbage and Rasta pasta. Everything was delicious! I would have liked more oxtails but considering how much oxtails are, the price was fair. I want to try their jerk chicken next. read more

The amount of fat on my oxtails..... they should be shamed of themselves!!! Oxtails should be trimmed before cooking. It's usually good food but at 18.50 for a side of oxtails and the container is filled with fat... shame on them! read more

I bought a side of oxtail from here and the meat was not done, so I brought it back with the receipt. The guy that worked there told me even though the oxtail was hard, once I leave the store it's nothing they could do about it. Now this is not a place where people sit down and eat so what kind of policy is this! I asked him so it's okay that you give your customers uncooked food. He said well I didn't know because I wasn't here yesterday. Which doesn't make any sense. Save yourself the headache and don't waste your money here because they obviously rob their customers! read more

The chicken was good but the Mac was not good it was crunchy on the top & no cheese on the bottom & dry

Food was delicious best Jamaican food I've had in a long time. Next time we visit this area will definitely try again ! read more

Irie Vybez - Rice and Peas, shrimp and cabbage - Caribbean Near Me - Albany, New York

Good food friendly service The jerk chicken tasted like a real smokey slow roasted chicken. The peas and rice were not too heavy. Plenty of cabbage on the side. I will return read more

Wow. I was wonderfully surprised. While cooped up in Albany Med for a week, I tried my luck with this place. To my delight, it was really, really good. The oxtails were sticky and tender. The red pea soup was actually real Jamaican red pea soup. Holy crap I have not paid for take out Jamaican food in at least 5 years as the other 2 establishments in town that are authentic, have changed to the new way (old school overnight seasoning is always best) or look at you like it is a crime to enter and place and place an order. So sorry to bother you. I will definitely make sure to try it again read more

A more recent addition to the Caribbean food restaurants in Albany. Bright colors, great music & a line that moves quickly. They stay open late, the food is good & they have lots of meal options. Before Irie Vybz opened I couldn't get Rasta Pasta anywhere in the area. My go to meals are the medium sized curry chicken, oxtail Rasta pasta or jerk chicken. They also don't mind or kiss teeth when you ask for extra/heavy gravy. Amen! read more

Dear Irie Vybez, I thought of you as the best in Albany, and today I have to revoke your title. The reasons are as follows: 1.)You keep undercooking your oxtails. They are way too expensive, and too tough to undercook. Stop doing it or I'm going to start tasting my food before I leave, and asking for a refund if it is inedible. 2.) Leaving the tough part of cabbage on. Cabbage is like .59 a head and since you like undercooking your food, it's too tough to chew. 3.) Leaving Allspice berries in the food. You are to put them in a cheese cloth, tie it, and throw it in there to get the flavor without me having to pick 11 of them out of my food, including the one I bit into. If this establishment keeps serving this INEDIBLE CRAP, on top of the bad attitude other Yelpers complain about, you won't have any customers left. read more

The food is amazing, very great taste and it's worth the price, I haven't had a meal that was this good in s long time. I highly recommend this place to anyone stopping through Albany and looking for something good to eat read more

This review is about a month overdo. If you love jamaican breakfast.. THIS IS THE SPOT! First off, most places in Albany don't even serve breakfast. Secondly, its just really good! The ackee and saltfish is amazing. I usually get it with sweet potato and banana. It's nice that they serve sweet potato because many places do not! The callaloo and saltfish is very good but I've had better. But I'm also from Mahattan so the standards are probably higher than they need to be. I had the curry chicken which was very very good, but that's it so I can't speak for the rest of the food. My only issue is the staff. The young woman who served me for the morning shift was phenomenal. She was very nice, and energetic, which was surprising because it was like 7:45 in the morning. She let me try taste everything which was smart, because I ended up getting the ackee and saltfish shortly after, and I never had porridge before and I absolutely loved it!. Now the evening staff, very inattentive, and everyone seems like they are unhappy and don't want to be there. So if you love Jamaican breakfast, you can't go wrong and I'm sure the other dinner options are good too, plus this spot is cheaper than the others near by. I never order delivery, so I never have issues with waiting, and idc if the staff attitudes because it's not a sit down spot. read more

I ordered the jerk fried rice on UberEats. The oxtail was good, but the jerk fried rice was disgusting. It just wasn't it. It was tasteless, I should gone with white rice(which is usually good) read more

People who work here are not professional at all, VERY NASTY AND RUDE. They know NOTHING about customer service. So sad, we were so excited when we found this place on yelp, went and spent our money for nothing read more

Amazing food, Great staff! Oxtails perfectly seasoned, rice nice and fluffy ! Reasonably priced

I love the rasta pasta! The jerk chicken is delicious too! Everything was delicious from the goat, chicken and Cabbage. I only was surprised with the Mac n cheese thought it was regular Mac n cheese but it was spiked with a lil heat! It was still good jus wanted something not spicy for the kids. I'm definitely a fan and will be a repeat customer! The women were very nice and personable! read more

Terrible service !! I went in there the guy was more focused on his phone and then I'm by the beginning to order he's down by the register no customers like you can come closer so you can hear me wtf. Then prices for this shitty restaurant are outrageously expensive like for what. My food was gross rice was mushy like yuck and oxtail had no seasoning what a shame to call this a Jamaican restaurant. My food was the worst if anything this restaurant needs nicer employees as well the girl had an attitude when I asked if forks where in my bag it was like I was bothering her. Please go to Miss Lily's in NYC and learn how good Jamaican food is made. AVOID THIS RESTAURANT YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY HERE service is rude and food is outrageously disgusting read more

Staff are very friendly and the food was delicious. If you are looking into authentic Jamaican cuisine this is the place to go.

I was really looking forward to trying these guys. The food is great. I got to speak to the owner, he seems like a decent guy trying to make a go with a new and unique restaurant. But, the customer service was horrendous. I won't go into details, but it took many calls and many hours to resolve. The food was very good. I hope they can get their act together. read more

Listen, I've been wanting to try this place for a year. I live in Schenectady and when I want West Indian I go to albany. I was in Albany last night and stopped by and got curry chicken (lg) it was a good price and lots of food! It was so good I went back the next day for me n wifey. We got the oxtails and pepper steak, trust me it was the best food out of all the Jamaican joints...Roy's, Kenneth's, the Dutch pot...anyway I hope this place stays in business for a long time! I'll be back... read more

I've eaten here a few times and this is the first time I've been turned off. I ordered a small jerk chicken with veggies and medium jerk chicken meal with rice and plantains. The chicken was the only saving grace of this meal. Very well cooked, seasons, could've used a little sauce, but it was very enjoyable. The rice was decent, nothing special but it was fine. The plantains on the other hand were absolutely repulsive. They tasted stale and I'm sure they had been sitting there for a while. They were dry, hard to chew, cold, and very unpleasant. read more

We were walking by with our dog when an employee, engaged in sweeping the front walk, stopped and encouraged us to come in. It wasn't my mealtime but I'm always up for a snack. I asked if they had vegetable patties. Sure thing. $2.25 later, I was walking down the street eating an absolutely delicious patty. Nice crusty crust. The filling was cabbage and other veg in a creamy sauce. Leaning towards sweet, I was glad to have splashed on some hot sauce before leaving. I didn't ask to be sure it was vegan but based on the flavor I'm thinking it passes the test. Add sides of rice and peas and plantains and for $7.75 you'd end up with a great veg meal. Give it a shot! read more

Servers here are not attentive... Can't take an order properly, even though all they have to do is serve pre-cooked meals. If you're gonna order a smoothie here, watch out for the sickly sweet syrup they throw in there. Just a terrible experience. read more

First of all, SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE So a a group of students and I wanted some Jamaican food one night and we were recommended this place. So I call knowing everyone's first order. She says hello, I say can I place an order for delivery, she says "hold on" very rudely. But it's okay, I think maybe they are busy. 5 minutes later.. I'm still on hold .. then the phone gets disconnected. Then I call back and tell her it was disconnected and she puts me on a hold again, this time being 3 minutes. My patience is running out. She picks up, I tell what we all want. (6 different orders). They had run out of basically everything. I'm trying to get everyone's substitute order and she gonna catch an attitude. "We are very busy obviously y'all don't know what y'all want I'll give you a few minutes" *click. I hung up. My friend with more patience called back and ordered as a different customer. We were on the phone with the restaurant for 15 minutes.. it practically took near a half an hour to place an order. She doesn't take our address or card number all she says is she is going to call back to get the rest of the information. About 25 minutes later she calls back to ask us for the address and take the card informatio, she said they were on their way. Then it takes a whole hour for the order to arrive, and the delivery lady was not aware of where UALBANY is, and how to get around. After going outside and directing her over the phone, she arrives the bags are ripped the boxes, are broken, and the rice was DRY. Chicken was good . Plantains were bomb. Service was ass.. oh and there was mad hairs in my food: My advice is go to your local store. Make a friend with someone who can cook. Cause it's not worth it . K thanks. read more

Irie Vybez - Caribbean Near Me - Albany, New York

if you're thinking about ordering for delivery, don't even bother wasting your money or your time. I waited 3hrs for food, after calling multiple times to check on my order and being rushed off the phone, to then only hear that they never made my order and they weren't making anymore deliveries. horrible business and never ordering from here again. read more

I give this place 1 star because of one dish that really do taste very good, which is the oxtail pasta. HOWEVER they charge 2 dollars for delivery plus the delivery min is $20. I ordered at 12:30pm and its now 2:57pm and I still did not get my food. I called more than 5 times and they keep lying that the delivery man is almost here. The prices are ridiculous , the pasta with oxtail cost 15.00 and when I ask how much is extra oxtails in the pasta, she told me it's 8.00 extra. I had their jerk chicken which taste dry. And their plantains which taste nasty and dry. I only order the pasta because it does taste good but everything else is awful. read more

My coworkers and I grew hungry on a Friday night at work and decided to try some Caribbean food. We looked up the colorful menu and I rounded up everyone's order and placed the call. The gentleman who answered was very patient, thorough and helpful when I was telling him all the orders. Boom, he told me an hour and a half. No problem. The driver didn't have any change and she she forgot a few things from our order. When I called the restaurant back, someone answered with an attitude that my order was messed up, strike 1. Long story short, the rice was dry, the cabbage was not tender. The plantains were good, the meat was good, the mac and cheese had me messed up, the only saving grace was everyone else enjoyed their food. I will probably eat there again though. It was a Friday night and they seemed busy so I will give them another shot. But that mac cheese has to be on point next time read more

Be prepare to spend half your meal digging around tiny bones. Tons of flies in the restaurant. Way too loud, and good luck understanding the guy. Mostly because he is way too drunk to do his job. There are plenty of decent food options on Central Ave. Skip past this one for sure. read more