Bryan L.
Yelp
Eating Kelly's Jamaican left me disappointed, and confused. Before coming here I read the positive reviews on their Yelp page, so I'm not sure if I just had a bad experience or that I don't have a taste for Jamaican food. So right of the bat, I'm not an expert on Jamaican food, but I will try to give you an honest opinion of the restaurant as best I can.
The outside and inside of the restaurant are not much to look at. Paint was peeling from the walls and the food behind the counter was left uncovered, slowly waiting to be eaten. But I can't complain, some of the best restaurants I've tried don't have time to care about looks and decor. I came in on a Sunday evening, so many of the food items were already running low or sold out. In fact, it seemed like half the menu was sold out at the time, including corn bread, mac and cheese, and jerk pork. Luckily a fresh tray of jerk chicken was pulled out, so I ordered that along with the rice and peas and the famous spicy cabbage. My friend opted for the curry chicken, rice and peas, and plantains. The plates normally come with a free slice of cornbread, but they had ran out by the time we came. We asked if we could substitute it for another slide, which the owner refused.
The food was given to us lukewarm, a big red flag. The jerk chicken was seasoned well, lots of smoke and spices permeated through the meat, pretty reminiscent of meat straight off the backyard barbecue pit. The spiciness was manageable, maybe like 7/10 spiciness for a normal person. I definitely had to make a few trips back to refill my water cup. The thicker white meat was understandably tough and bland, as the meat was only seasoned on the outside. But fall off the bone/melt like butter tender? Absolutely not, I had to go back to ask for knives to specifically cut through the meat.
The curry chicken was tender and juicy, but lacked flavor. It tasted like a soupy Japanese curry, like those prepackaged mixes you find in the supermarket. All I got was a faint taste of curry powder and a lot of chicken tendon. The rice and peas were fine, just a little cold. It tastes pretty good if you drizzle a little bit of jerk sauce over it. This was the first time I've tried spicy cabbage, and I don't think it's my thing. It was hardly spicy, just cold, sweet, and mushy, something you'd expect to find in an elementary school lunch. The plantains, on the other hand, were great, sweet and crispy just the way they should be.
Overall, I didn't think the quality of food was worth the $12 I paid for. If you come earlier and overlook the condition of the restaurant, then maybe you'll enjoy the food here.
