Marla C.
Yelp
I did not know that Jamaica was in Arlington. I have not been to Jamaica yet, but I know what the countryside tastes like now.
The restaurant is located in a shopping center but it is off by itself so there is plenty of parking. When my friend and I walked into Jamaica Gates, we were greeted immediately and shown to our seats. We got there at about 6, so it was before the dinner rush. And our waiter Glen helped answer our questions about the food and the drink menu.
They have happy hour from 3 - 7 Tuesday - Sunday, It was a really nice happy hour because you could pick any of the liquors from the middle shelf or their rum punch or wine for $5 and $2 off their appetizers.
I chose the Jamaican greens. They were so tasty, and I also got their brown fish stew with red beans and rice and cabbage. When I heard stew, I thought it was going to be like a soup. It was a whole fish with a delicious sauce on top of it. It was cooked beautifully and so tender. The cabbage was tasty, and the rice and beans tasted authentic.
My friend and I were there for hours because we were catching up, and the longer we were there, the busier it got.
Before we left, we also got our free dessert. We wanted the Jamaican rum cake, but they were out. So we settled for the cheesecake. It was pretty tasty considering, but I had my mouth ready for the rum cake, so I'll be doing that next time.
At around 8 PM, on Fridays, a DJ comes, and they actually have 2 DJs playing, so it started to get poppin.
They are open late and I would love to go back on a Saturday when they have live music. If you want to go to Jamaica but it's not in the budget, this is the next best option! I can't wait to go back.