Tropical Jerk

I’ve been a customer since 2008 and over the course of years the prices have increased which is to be expected however the quantity of food has decreased. The price for the sauce has increased , bread no longer comes with dinners, tacos are skimpy and they always run out of items like fish or string beans. The food is delicious most of the time but the portions are not worth the price increase. The service is always okay and the atmosphere is basic as I always order take out. My issue is the cut backs on the portions and price increases.

Food was great but the service was not there at all. I ordered a half chicken white and it SAID it comes w Mac and cheese and greens, I got it and it only had chicken so I called and they basically responded like ‘what do you want me to do about it’ !! And the least they could have done was apologize and lmk nothing can be done but they responded in an oh well type of tone so if you get the 1/2 chicken white online do expect it to come w anything

Horrible, horrible horrible experience. This used to be my favorite restaurant up until now I called in yesterday and got the most worst experience ever. The lady act like she didn’t wanna talk to me take my order or like she didn’t know nothing on the menu. She kept hanging up on me when I called back because I told her she was being disrespectful. I pulled up to confron and she turned her back on me. She act like she didn’t want to take my order. I would not recommend this restaurant to anybody or I would not recommend giving them ANY OF YOUR MONEY!!!!

Asked for no gravy fish is overcooked and dry just nasty don’t door dash your food from this place

If your ordering the curry goat be aware your being charged for a bunch of bones. I am not exaggerating the fact that I literally have to scavenge my plate like a rat for some meat. Charged 15$ and I’ve only gotten little pieces of meat not even enough to fill 2% of my stomach. I am pissed. And this isn’t even the first or second time they do this. So I’m going to just leave this review here do you can save your money too. Unless your a hyena who eats bones too, go ahead. Let me not even get started on the lack of rice and beans to go with my lovely plate of bones. I just went ahead and put it on a plate. Don’t let the pic fool you 😄😒 Edit: tried it again 3 years later today. Curry chicken dinner Bland. Old plantains 🙂

I have been eating at Tropic Island for a very long time. The quality of the meal and service has gone down completely. My dinner tonight was horrible. It didn't have all the ingredients, and the pieces of fish were the worst and the cheapest..I will not be ordering the only dish I eat from Jamaican restaurants. Very low quality!

They should’ve stayed shut down. Said it was a 15 min wait 40 mins later I still didn’t have my food. When I asked what the hold up was they said the yams will be 7 more mins. I said I’ll swap to Mac. “It’ll be 5 mins to swap” ….. I had had enough at that point and asked for a refund. It took 10 more mins for a refund. He took my cash app said he couldn’t find it (how?) then asked for my number to Zelle me…… im convinced he took down my info to pull a scam cuz before that he said he needed my physical card for the refund even though I used Apple Pay. Absolutely won’t be going back. I should’ve learned from my last visit when the cashier fought a customer.

The food is fantasticalawesome- yes i made this up. I purchased the jerk catfish, very well seasoned and sweet potatoes with just right sweetness and seaoning. Cashier, always polite amd smiling. Love it love loveeeee it

I was in the area so I decided to stop by because I like the food at the 79th street location. The food was decent I guess for lunch special but the sides seemed stingy and it didn't even come with slice of bread. Meat was tender but rice and Rasta corn was dry.

Disgusting! No seasoning was used. Macaroni had hardly any cheese on it and the cabbage and chicken had no seasoning whatsoever

Hands down the best Jerk Chicken in the South Suburbs, and the Jerk Catfish when they don't run out. The only thing is the yams can be a tad sweeter for my taste.

Worse food. I have never had a jerk salmon salad that was only salmon, lettuce and cheese. Plus you charged me almost 20 for it. Yall should really be ashamed of yourself. Then this sauce on the salmon is disgusting and not even jerk sauce.

I ordered two whole chickens and I got home and there was 1 chicken in 2 packages. I am extremely upset that they gave me this and they closed before I got home so I don't have enough food to feed my family. I was a loyal customer but no more! This is the second time they have shorted me on food.

I'm sorry to say this went from being my favorite spot for Jamaican take home to a place that is a super spreader that I can no longer support. Signs on the door require customers to wear mask and encourage social distancing, however, there isn't any enforcement. I've come countless times to witness people jam packed inside the small waiting area, with server all NOT wearing PPE, and based on the attitudes displayed by these individuals, they don't care about their own lives so the lives of others are a nonstarter. This evening, I came in for a pickup, and I noticed food handlers without mask and gloves and in the waiting area several maskless individuals, one of whom was talking loudly. Can't do it any longer. Great doing business with you for the 24 years I've been in Chicago.

Some of the best jerk chicken around! Whenever I'm craving jerk and in the area, I find myself visiting either this location or their new one in Munster. Sauce is spicy and delicious and the chicken is always cooked properly.

3/29/23 I visited the Tropical Island in Munster,In called in the order at 5:37 pm only to get there and they can't find my order looked for it 10 minutes later she says we cant find it what was your order. No apology or our mistake just what was your order as she proceeded to write it down again. I said thx but no thx l dont have the time.

OMG!!! This place (the Calumet City location) ALWAYS get it right!!! I spent A LOTTA time in JA & if you want AUTHENTIC Jamaican food, DO NOT pass them up. The food is soooo good... almost decadent!!! Thank Ya'll Tropic Island Cal City!!! Ya'll always get it right!!!

the food is horrible the ms mac &cheese is made with the powder cheese. the jerk sauce was even nastier I always go to no cobbs next door so I wanted to try them for the first time wasted $20 &lunch break one bite of everything made me mad

Jerk chicken was so juicy! Loved the yams and mac and cheese. Will definitely go again. There was a bit of a long wait but I understood that it was a holiday and they were short staffed so I wasn't upset, didn't mind waiting. Overall the people were nice and the food was definitely worth the wait!

I was excited to finally see a jerk place in Indiana and decided to give their Munster, IN location a try on calumet. I ordered the oxtail lunch special. First red flag I seen the lady making the food and then it took another 15 mins before I actually got it. Once I got home I realized from the melted container that she made the food and then sent it to the kitchen to be warmed up. This was the sorriest oxtail meal I've ever seen. I basically could've placed an order for sides. The oxtails have little to no meat on them. Very disappointed and now I still have to find lunch before going back to work.

Tried this location for lunch while visiting the area on the recommendation of a friend. We decided to place our orders online, pre-pay & set a pick-up time. Once we arrived at the location, there was still a 50 minute wait on our food! We were told catering orders were heavy, which caused the delay. I have little patience for excuses as I am a hungry, paying customer as well. The food itself, once it was received was packaged securely and neat. It was fresh & hot once I got it home to eat. The servings were plenty. I had jerk catfish, rice & beans, cabbage & garlic potatoes. All of which were tasty. I have no complaints on the quality or taste of my food. The wait however for an online order for pick-up was excessive. I might visit again, but there are other similar restaurants in the neighboring area that I highly recommend more.

ONE OF THE WORST JERK PLACES I EVER BEEN TO... FOOD was F$cking terrible... I had to go buy some food after just so i could eat, thats how bad it was .. I ordered jerk chicken Alfredo that had a bunch of small pieces of bones in it to the point of almost choking on it. My wife ordered a Mixed Jerk chicken dinner, cabbage was terrible mac and cheese was Azx like disgusting and the rice was dry ... Please shut this business down they have no reason to be Ripping people off by paying for unseasoned, nasty , and not properly prepared food. Focking food was disgusting asl ...I Just ordered from them Today 5/18/2023 .. sh!t was horrible me and my wife is pissed ... PLEASE DO NOT BUY NO FOOD FROM HERE .. I usually support black businesses buh this one needs to go out of business with that nasty a$s food

Headed to Chicago??? Stop off in Calumet City for this actually real actually real Jamaican food. Here's how you tell if the place is authentic...they don't serve tacos, pasta, or any other stuff that isn't native to Jamaica. We had the curry goat and oxtail and per usual, it was great. The flavor, the juices, the rice and peas, the cabbage...all amazing! Don't go here trying to dine in with more than 2 people at a time. This is a to-go spot. Grab your food and eat in your car. Eat in the close by park. Eat in the shopping plaza parking lot...just eat it. You won't be disappointed.

I have to change my greaat review because lately things have not been the same... I was giving it the benefit of the doubt but why are my plantains burnt? Not crispy or anything but burnt to the taste. Then we got a catfish dinner that looked more like a catfish lunch. I think it would be important to open your food before you leave in the future but now I I'll be finding a new business to support

My fiancé' ordered a catfish and jerk chicken dinner and it took forever. When she gave him the food, she said fresh food takes time. What a joke, the food was semi-warm drenched gravy. The green beans had carrots as filler and they were over cooked because the beans fell off the fork. The spaghetti was okay, but the jerk catfish was sweet and drenched in gravy. I absolutely hate food that has sugar added. If you go here, be prepared to wait a long time and be reminded fresh food takes time. Also, the food has tons of sugar. You want great jerk, but bad CustomerCare go to Caribbean Jerk Palace.

They catered my brother and his wife wedding and omg omg the food is of the chain super delicious I went back to all three locations and

Catering ordering for a themed destination bridal shower was perfect and was ready on time! Guests asked where the food was from.

Delicious food every time I have not had any issues. Prompt service friendly staff I highly recommend it.

Tried them again last night. It's still a NO! Food still mediocre. Cook time is still lengthy

Please order before picking up. I had to wait almost 40 mins for my food when I walked in. The front desk lady was nice but please pay attention when they charged. She accidentally charged me for a dinner when it was lunch.Lucky I said something and they were nice to refund me the difference. Had to wait a while for my food which was kinda a bummer.They did however pack my food well and my food was still hot by the time I got back to work.I really wish they had a take out menu so you can order prior to picking up. I would go back but not if they wait is that long. Food was good and good size portions.

One of my favorite jerk spots. They have large portions (see that how you want), you can choose ANY protein for the combo dinner, which is great because I'm accustomed to not being able to choose a fish or oxtail, they're very friendly. My only issue is that they're not the fastest with service. 10 minutes means 20-30, lol. Be sure to call and confirm your order if you choose to place your order online. I'm definitely a regular there!

I ordered the Dark Jerk Chicken Dinner. It came with about 4 pieces of chopped dark jerk chicken, red beans and rice, & 2 sides. I picked mixed greens and plantains for my sides. After ordering, it was prepared in less than 20 minutes. The food was fresh and hot. The jerk meat was tender. The jerk sauce was spicy but not too hot. The greens were seasoned well. I didn't really like the plantains, they were not sweet enough for my liking. The red beans and rice was ok but it I prefer more beans. Overall good customer service. This was my 1st time. I look forward to trying other things in the menu.

Grub hub messed up the order and they helped fix the issue quickly. The food was delicious one of the better Jamaican places in the area. Only complaint they were out of beef patty's.

This is one of my favorite jerk locations! The food and service are excellent!!! Love the wings and cabbage!!!!

There was a little bit of a wait for my order. This is my first experience with this restaurant. I was satisfied by the amount of food in the jerk chicken dinner. The taste was not as pronounced as I thought it would be. You might want to place your order in advance over the phone or internet.

This place has great Jamaican food, short wait and easy to find location. I called to order a catering size amount of jerk chicken, curry goat, peas and rice and salad for a funeral repass starting in an hour and they were able to accommodate at the last minute with no issues. Everyone asked where the food came from and were pleasantly surprised that there was a location that close on the south side.

I wish I could rate this restaurant with NEGATIVE 5 stars!! OMG it was horrible! I had the oxtails and they were small, overcooked and burnt. The macaroni and cheese looked like it was made from a box. Absolutely no flavor! Seriously, I wish I had just stayed hungry then subject my stomach with this crap. Never again.

Best jerk chicken I've had, cool owner as well! I go here pretty regularly always best to call ahead as they are busy at peak times.

These people are so incompetent its ridiculous. Called in an order at 1245 and was told it would be 20 mins. Didn't ho until 45 minutes later because as we all know they're the most inefficient at their jobs so I ran some errands then proceeded to go pick up food. Got there and was told order was not ready....waited outside for an additional 20 mins and the man at the door was too indignant to go ask the back for an eta for my order because at that it had been over an hour and 15 minutes for a 20 minute order. Simply ridiculous.....

I wanted something different to serve at a party we were hosting. I love Jerk chicken and decided to get a small tray for those who like spicier food. The chick and the Jerk sauce were AMAZING!! Everyone who ate it couldn't get enough. The gentleman at the counter was friendly and welcoming. The only complaint i have is that I ordered on line several days before. I set a pick up time for 2pm. I didn't leave the until almost 2:30. Though the food was worth the wait, i had several other stops making me late for my own party. But again the food made up for it. I just know next time to order it for earlier

Fast and delicious will definitely be back. Prices aren't bad and cashiers are friendly also!

Tropic Island in Calumet City catered an event I attended this past summer and the food was so good that I decided to have them jerk my Thanksgiving turkey. The meat was moist, flavorful and falling off the bone tender and the taste was perfect - not too spicy. They did a good job and I will definitely return for more jerked goodness. The service was good too. Right on, Tropic Island!

The jerk chicken was amazing! My son ate a whole chicken by himself. The oxtails had great taste but a little tough. The meat patties were great and spicy. I will return.

I don't live far from this place and the food is good. But my time is more Important than "good food". I gave this place 3 tries and each time it took FOREVER! This last time at 3 pm on a Saturday I ordered wings, "we ran out of wings" . Ok let me have three patties, 20 minutes later I asked for my money back and so they went to check "oh here they are" . During my wait the cashier told every customer "no wings and we don't have sourdough bread or any bread to go with your order." If you value your time, skip this place!!!

Horrible service! This people seriously need to improve their customer service! First my wife call to place an order and they keep her on hold for 20 minutes! When she was on hold she can hear how they were just chatting and laughing ignoring the customer they leave on hold! After 20 minutes they just decided to hung up! She call again and before to explained that she was keep on hold for 20 minutes they hang up again. This was already a sign about their shitty service, only because my daughter want it to try this place for first time and my wife called again. Finally, this third time someone was able to take the order. When we get there I get in to pick up the order. An old lady ask me if I was picking up an order without greeting me (no surprise after the phone experience). I gave my card to pay and her internet wasn't working and she ask me if I have cash. I answer that I don't use cash and she dare to ask me why!!!!!! I was about to answer that's none your dame business! But I controled myself because she was an old lady. I politely told her that we are in the middle of a pandemia and it wasn't a good idea to handle cash because of the germs spreading in the cash. The stupid old lady still keep arguing that I don't know anything because I was younger than her. I was just puzzle about her big non-sense mouth!!!! Never coming back to this shitty ugly place with stupid people that don't value customers!

Very good jerk chicken restaurant prices are decent very nice people orders are always on time over the phone

Ordered a jerk chicken dinner took two hours and my order wasn't right. they are vary impatient and told me not to order online no more because I will never get my order.

I usually don't give bad comments but this by far is the worst restaurant I have ever came across. I called in a order they said would take 30 mins I got there in 45m. They said when I got there just another 15m. So 45 mins later they told me that they were out of what I ordered. I waited for nothing. Never again!

The food is really great here. It is not at all overly salty like some other Jerk places. The chicken is definitely JERKED not baked. The skin on the chicken is crisp and not too spicy. The sauce on the side is always on point (if you like a lot f spice). They also have a great variety of sides to choose from. My fave are the candied yams, rice (which comes standard with each meal) and corn. Always great and always on point. They also have another location on the south side that doesn't disappoint either.

Instead of saying they don't have white at the time they give dark meat with little pieces of white! Mac was not fresh at all . Very inconsistent!

The reviews about their customer service is so true. Order over the phone and right after I placed my order they hung up the phone. Went to go get my food about 20 minutes later and they had to look for my order. The quality of the food wasn't that bad. I had better. Few days I thought I'd give it another chances but nope. Only this time I didn't get food. I called to order wings and the guy who answered the phone said "we don't have no wings" and hung up. Didn't even me give a chance to ask for anything else. I honestly don't understand how we're keeping places like this open. Customer service goes a long way.

Hands down some of the best jerk chicken I had in a while phenomenal food greatly priced with fast service check out their lunch specials

The food I'm here is delicious! I'm my opinion the best jerk in the area. However the service is extremely slow. Even when I call the order in or place an order online I still have to wait at least 10 minutes to pick up my food after I arrive. That is the only reason I gave 3 stars instead of 5.

I called my order in, they said 20 minutes I took my time gave it about 35 minutes. Called from the car before I went in to make sure it was done there was already 2 people in there who had already placed their order...I'm the only one standing at the counter the lady turns her back and start preparing orders for people that weren't there but kept stopping to take orders over the phone..never asked if she could help me or what I needed. As she's taking orders over the phone she says she's be with me. I said I'm standing right here how are you taking orders from people over the phone when you haven't helped me and I'm right here. Anyway I told her she could keep my order and I'll keep my money...I can't spend money with people with NO customer service and so disrespectful and you're spending your money with them...it's a million Jerk Places and I'm here trying to spend money with you I just don't get people. I'll NEVER SPEND MY MONEY HERE!!

When I tell you that this is my FAVORITE NUMBER 1 Jerk spot ever! I use to always go to this spot when they were located on 79th & Euclid. I was never disappointed then or now. I didn't like the one off King Drive. It just wasn't the same to me as the one that was located on 79th, when I found out that they moved to Calumet City I was very happy. My attitude is.....FOR GREAT FOOD WILL TRAVEL!!

First time here so I wanted to see how authentic the food really was. I ordered the combination dinner which consisted of two kinds of meat. I wanted oxtails and curry goat but they were out of goat so I opted for chicken. The guy who took my order was very helpful. I noticed everyone who came in after me ordered ahead. I'll remember that next time. Took about 30 minutes ordering in. I ordered callalou and plantains as side items. They ran low on callalou so the cashier offered me cabbage to make up the difference. When I got to my hotel and opened the carton the spices and fragrances met me almost immediately. The ox tails and chicken was very flavorful and smoky. The rice and peas were not dry like most orders I get. The plantains were charred on one side but still were tasty. The Chicken tasted really authentic like it had been smoked and not just marinated and cooked right away. Overall I was very pleased and will definitely make this place a regular stop when I'm passing thru.

I Tropical Island Jerk. I am a regular there & I have NEVER received bad service nor food. Every time I go my food is FRESH & DELICIOUS.