Trini Vybez Restaurant and Bar

Hello Hunny Bees!! 🌻🐝 👑 💛💕It's your girl Hunny back with a review of another local small business. So when we walked in it was quiet 😔 no Caribbean music, Soca nothing!! I'm Trini so I was expecting to lime. The staff was warm but seemed a little scattered. Me and my sister was having a sisters outing. We ordered as much as we could to try everything. The food was okay we did the brunch menu so I probably will have to update this review by trying out their dinner menu. We asked them to play music they put on afrobeats which is a little strange for a Trini spot so we asked them to change it to Soca and it was on from then. We ordered drinks the drinks were good not strong but good. I will try them again but check them out it's a beautiful place, the parking sucks but it's DC! 😭 I will definitely return in the summer so I can give them time to match the Trini Vybe 🔥💃🏾🎵

So it’s hard to find some authentic trini food in DC. So this was a yes for me immediately! So I ordered the drink that had gin in it from the get go and enjoyed it. Got the pholourie and was just so happy! Authentic and warm. Asked for some mango chutney on the side and was told it’ll be extra. The menu says up to two sauces and says no where about an additional charge so that was kind of confusing but had to pay so did. But I loved the basket! We also got doubles. Again flavorful and authentic. Loved it as well. Now this meat platter is one for the books. Where else we gonna find this for under $40! I got the goat chicken and oxtail and this comes with rice, cabbage and plantain. It was amazing! It was sooo good! I really enjoyed everything! One of their drinks even has a little light up show! My friends enjoyed their drinks and we also ordered some tasty green tea shots which were super yummy! The bartender is super friendly and makes great drinks! She’s a great addition to the place because you know we love some drinks! The walls are red so this made me feel at home Room for improvement is there server. I mentioned this there as well. He just needs some more training- there was confusion about orders, how to insert them in the machine- we ended up writing our orders on a piece of paper. Then like asking for something required a reminder and it just slowed us down a lot! I feel like with carribean places you know I give grace lol but there was only like three other groups in there- not a huge crowd so if it was any more people I could see more people being unhappy. When it came time to pay there was issues with the machine and my total was way too high after everyone closed out and the bartender stepped in to rectify the situation so thankful for her. If the food wasn’t perfect I would probably give a lower rating but I can’t with the food tasting as good and authentic as it did! I will definitely be back! We also had ran macaroni pie and I asked for a side of oxtail gravy! Again 10/10. Columbia heights can be super busy so be mindful of the time you go (like I should’ve never been driving in Columbia heights around five knowing all that traffic!) but I did find street parking so there’s hope!

I just got back from Jamaica and was excited to see the Jerk Chicken on the menu. It turned out to be the BEST, most flavorful jerk chicken I’ve ever had. The meat was so tender!! The friend plantains were delish, as was the Mac N Cheese. The Roti w sides (bussupshut) was fun and flavorful—best Dhal Ive ever had as well. I know it’s a lot of “best evers” but I was that blown away w the quality and taste of the food. Service was great. I washed it all down a Rum Punch 😋 Thank you! Ten stars!!

Highly anticipated because I have been walking past it for months and it did not disappoint! We got drinks and appetizers for happy hour and I am so excited to come back for more food. Everything was so delicious, the drinks and staff were really amazing!! I desperately need this place to stay open selfishly so please go support them!

10/10 BABY!!! i love it here. food is amazing. kelli invited me here and i dont regret traveling a hour here !! i am 21 my mom is 40 and she enjoyed herself as well!!! the drinks are 10/10 food 9/10 only because i i wish there were more on the menu but its okay to try different food service 10/10. Shout out to nicki your amazing !

Trini Vybez has is an absolute must-try! Whether you’re planning an intimate date or a fun night out with friends, this spot is perfect. I went on a Sunday night and was surprised by how quiet it was—honestly, it caught me off guard. But once I had the food, I couldn’t understand why this restaurant wasn’t packed to capacity! I ordered the mixed platter, which included oxtail, curry chicken, and shrimp, paired with cabbage as my veggie side and bussup on the side. Every single bite was spectacular! The portions were generous, and the food was definitely shareable. I left feeling full, happy, and thoroughly satisfied. The drinks were just as impressive—tasty, balanced, and perfectly complementing the meal. Everything about this place, from the flavorful food to the relaxed ambiance, exceeded my expectations. Trini Vybez deserves so much more recognition. If you haven’t been, do yourself a favor and check it out!

The food here was above and beyond what I expected. Not that I thought it wouldn’t be good. Just didn’t expect the explosion of flavors from each dish I tried. I had the doubles and goat rice platter. I’ve never had doubles and curried goat with so much spice and depth of flavor before. Highly recommend this restaurant. The curry is amazing. Will definitely be back. Service is a little slow but they are a new restaurant so they gotta work out the kinks. Again, highly recommend.

Found a hair in my pepper roti so that kinda spoiled the meal. But ot had a nice taste overall. I have to praise the customer service, it was amazing! Definitely a place I'd go back for the atmosphere and vibes.

So I have actually tasted this before and thought it was so amazing I need to go to the new restaurant! For me the service was excellent. I mean there was only another couple at the time I visited but also the food came out quickly so huge plus! And the restaurant is spacious and casual so enough space for large parties. Overall I enjoyed it but there are a couple things that fell short! I ordered the chicken roti platter. 1.The roti! It's a very small portion served in a small coconut shaped bowl compared to the amount of food you got on the platter. I thought more was coming and unfortunately it was balled up in shredded little pieces that were kind of dry and i couldn't eat it properly with my sides. I thought maybe I had a bad batch but my friend had the same portion and complaint. Unfortunately no pic of that. 2: Honestly the plating is meant to be aesthetically pleasing but it was very hard to eat bone-in chicken out of a bowl on a saucer full of more bowls with a knife and fork. It was better when I took it to go and had a plate at home. Please reconsider this for the diners experience. 3. The doubles was my fave! It's a small app but very delicious and had a slight kick to it.

I guess this place is just now reopening because the restaurant was empty. Although we were the only patrons in there, the DJ was rockingggggggg!!! Every song he played was a bop. The food was . This was my first time trying Doubles and It was so good. If you're a fan of chickpeas and curry, it's a great starter. I had the mixed platter with curry chicken, curry shrimp and oxtail with basmati rice and spinach. It was sooooooo delicious. A healthy portion so I was able to take half home. Parking is horrible so brace yourself. I'm going back for sure!

If Caribbean cuisine is the latest food trend in DC, I'm here for it. This location I think used to be some kind of coworking space. It is a multilevel space that they've made into a nice restaurant with good views for people watching and music with a lot of air horns. The Trinidadian menu offers several vegetarian options, revolving around chickpea and lentil creations deriving from Indian influence, but this place also offers tofu. The ginger tea I ordered didn't really hit me the way I was hoping, and it was overpriced. The platter I ordered was impressive. While you could certainly look at these dishes and think you were getting Indian food, the spice mix definitely is from the islands. There might have been some scorpion peppers or something of that ilk in there, but in addition to being spicy there were astringent and sweeter flavor notes as well. My platter included greens and pureed pumpkin as well as lentils and chickpeas, and the torn up bread, named after a "busted up shirt" was a delicious way to mop things up. I deem the place a success and I hope they grow and tweak the menu a little bit, but by all means keep the recipes they're using now.

As a Trini, born and raised, it's always a joy when a new Trinidadian restaurant joins the food scene in the DMV. The decor is black and red; a direct call to the colours in our flag which I found to be a nice touch. As noted by members of my party, you could tell that a lot of thought and attention to detail was put into the conception of Trini Vybez Restaurant and Bar, from the colour scheme to the little coconut serving bowls that housed the Pholourie and the Buss Up Shut. Everyone we encountered were friendly and accommodating; from the host to the bartender. I was pleasantly surprised by the extensive drink menu that included drinks from back home (Shandy, Apple J, Peardrax). There was even an in house Sorrel, which I opted for and it was delicious. For appetizers we had the Pholourie and Doubles. I enjoyed the crunchy exterior of the Pholourie, but found the inside to be a bit too chewy- it was definitely not a consistency I was used to but the taste and the accompanying mango chutney was yummy. I have a similar critique of the doubles (which makes me question if the batters for both dishes are the same). The flavours of the filling were on point and very authentic to back home. The barra, however, was a tad bit stretchier in consistency than I am personally used to. The star of the show was the buss up shut and the accompanying pumpkin. It was so nice- I had to order it twice-- literally. I had left over curry and pumpkin and decided to box it up while ordering another buss up shut on the side to take home. Could the portion of the buss up shut be a little bigger? Yes. But that is my only critique. It was finger-lickingly (yes, so good I have to make up an adverb) authentic that even writing this review is making my mouth water as I recall the taste. If I said I would return solely for the Paratha- it would not be a lie. But I am intrigued to try other dishes on the menu- particularly the Macaroni Pie! I look forward to making Trini Vybez a regular of mine and plan to recommend it to anyone in search of some really good Trini Food.

We ordered to go from their website. This was my first night having Trini food and I'm hooked! Based off of the price ($36), I thought this would be enough to split for 2 people so I was a bit let down just by the quantity, but the food itself was delicious! The oxtail and curry chicken are to die for. Best spinach I've ever had! The plantains were also the perfect amount of sweet and savory.

So it's hard to find some authentic trini food in DC. So this was a yes for me immediately! So I ordered the drink that had gin in it from the get go and enjoyed it. Got the pholourie and was just so happy! Authentic and warm. Asked for some mango chutney on the side and was told it'll be extra. The menu says up to two sauces and says no where about an additional charge so that was kind of confusing but had to pay so did. But I loved the basket! We also got doubles. Again flavorful and authentic. Loved it as well. Now this meat platter is one for the books. Where else we gonna find this for under $40! I got the goat chicken and oxtail and this comes with rice, cabbage and plantain. It was amazing! It was sooo good! I really enjoyed everything! One of their drinks even has a little light up show! My friends enjoyed their drinks and we also ordered some tasty green tea shots which were super yummy! The bartender is super friendly and makes great drinks! She's a great addition to the place because you know we love some drinks! The walls are red so this made me feel at home Room for improvement is there server. I mentioned this there as well. He just needs some more training- there was confusion about orders, how to insert them in the machine- we ended up writing our orders on a piece of paper. Then like asking for something required a reminder and it just slowed us down a lot! I feel like with carribean places you know I give grace lol but there was only like three other groups in there- not a huge crowd so if it was any more people I could see more people being unhappy. When it came time to pay there was issues with the machine and my total was way too high after everyone closed out and the bartender stepped in to rectify the situation so thankful for her. If the food wasn't perfect I would probably give a lower rating but I can't with the food tasting as good and authentic as it did! I will definitely be back! We also had ran macaroni pie and I asked for a side of oxtail gravy! Again 10/10. Columbia heights can be super busy so be mindful of the time you go (like I should've never been driving in Columbia heights around five knowing all that traffic!) but I did find street parking so there's hope!

Ordered a mixed platter for pickup and was soooo happy with my decision. The food tasted so good. It felt homemade and I couldn't stop eating it. The spots fairly new but I'll be trying to come back for sure when I'm in the area.

I honestly wanted to love this place, but I wasn't impressed and I'm really sad about it. I ordered Doubles which are my fav because they are specific to Trinidadian places. They were lackluster, at best. The chickpeas were hard, almost inedible and the dough was extremely chewy like it wasn't made fresh, and it had that reheated bread texture. One was $11, with gratuity, the normal price for Doubles is $2-5 . I will stick to Sunrise Caribbean on Georgia Ave ‍‍. The only good thing I have to say is the aesthetic is cute and the Bartender was super sweet, but their system wasn't equipped to take cash, which was also weird and inconvenient for a place that has three levels, a service fee, automatic gratuity and a bar.

Natalia First..your defensiveness is pretty clear. There's ZERO accountability. If you can't take feedback, then i would highly suggest you go work on that because in the restaurant business, I'm sure you will receive a ton. I never screamed at anyone and I have several witnesses to attest to that. I asked if it was possible to change the music because it was a restaurant called "Trini Vybes" and you're playing classical music. Again..identity crisis. All he had to say was "no we can't change the music." But rest assured I never screamed at anyone. In addition, again all you had to say on the phone is we can't accommodate a party of 11 because we don't have the staff. Honesty goes a long way as well as integrity when running a business. I tried to check out the space before coming but the pictures online are deceptive and I don't live in the area. If rude and entitled is going to a restaurant spending well over $500 and hoping for actual good service and an experience for an 80th birthday is entitled, well then I guess I'm entitled. Also, tell me where on your menu or on your website does it say there is a "cake fee." So after the fact is when you want to bring that up? You had ample time to tell me that was an issue when we asked for cake plates. But your lack of accountability for the experience we had (waiting for hours for drinks, needing to grab plates ourselves, having your staff touch our food with bare hands, dirty tables everywhere and your person saying..oh sorry..I didn't even look at the Ipad to know there was going to be a big party coming in.) and your refusal to even acknowledge that there were missteps is really disappointing.

I ordered from the catering menu for my birthday party and everything was delicious! My family members from Central America and the Caribbean co-signed everything except the plantain (they are so discerning, they could tell the plantains had two different flavor profiles based on ripeness; they didn't love it, but they didn't hate it either). I'll be a repeat customer.

My wife and I just happened to stop by because we were hungry and boy were we in for a treat. I got the goat roti and rum punch. The goat, spinach, plantains, and chickpeas were perfectly seasoned and succulent. This was easy the best Trinidadian food I've ever had. The ambience was definitely up to par although it seem to be a slow day. The waitress and manager on duty were also very professional knowledgeable and friendly. I will recommend this place to all of my friends and family. Thank you.

All I can say is OMG! The food is so amazing! Every bite is delicious! I had to stop in the middle of my meal to write this review. Do yourself a favor and please visit this restaurant.... It is such a vibe.

Really happy with everything we ordered here. Doubles, Fried Plantains, Stewed Spinach, Pumpkin, Dhal, Bussupshut, and a chicken that was stewed to perfection. Loved the food!

I am really of mixed emotions writing this review. I didn't want to write it initially, but was pretty ticked off when I first wrote it. After an intervention by the owner things worked out fairly well. After two days of eating Thanksgiving leftovers I decided to order from this new restaurant. The good news is that the food that actually was delivered was tasty and well prepared. The bad news is that only a portion of my meal was delivered. I ordered the mixed platter, that comes with three meats, chicken, shrimp and oxtail. It also comes with a vegetable. In my instance the vegetable I ordered was spinach. When we opened the bag upon delivery, we discovered only two of the meat dishes were in the bag and there was no spinach. The initial response was denial, and saying everything had been delivered. I knew that was not the case because I was looking directly at my meal. Later that evening, after reading my initial review, the owner of the restaurant offered to replace the missing items. I appreciate her for doing the right thing. She and the young woman who answered the phone when I called to complain clearly understand customer relations. I very much appreciate the owner acknowledging the mistake and offering to correct it. By the time I saw her offer, however, it was too late for our dinner and, candidly, I didn't want to bother her or cause a new restaurant owner additional expense. I'll order again in the future and maybe get to taste the oxtails and spinach then....

Amazing food and atmosphere here! Hadn't had Trinidadian food before, its great. Our server, JP, took great care of us. We live in the neighborhood and look forward to returning again soon.

Amazing dhalpuri, aloo, and chicken. The platters were awesome definitely going back!

new place. everything was so good. Cannot recommend it enough. Get the roti and chicken- hit the spot!! Nikki was the best!!!