My expectations weren’t met on my first visit to Jerk City recently. Before I get started, I should say I know my jerk pretty well being that I’m from the Caribbean, have eaten lots of it, and make it myself quite often at home when the mood strikes me. Given the name of this place, and its competitor next door of similar name, you’d rightly expect their jerk offerings to be first rate. Everyone at my table ordered jerk chicken and hungrily waited for it to be brought out, only to sport quizzical looks when we laid eyes on what looked and smelled like the chicken had be doused with what I still believe was not jerk sauce…. no matter what the waitress would have me believe…

Depending on who you ask, you may hear that jerk chicken shouldn’t come drowned in any kind of sauce as it’s true magnificence lies in the ‘jerking’ or seasoning of one’s meat of choice properly before grilling to arrive at that smoky, blackened tasty goodness that stands alone and needs no extra flavoring. Others (myself included) like sauce, want sauce, and do not shy away from requesting more sauce when necessary. So normally I’d be delighted to see my jerk chicken arrive with a hearty helping of jerk sauce already sitting pretty on my plate. However. The red sauce atop the jerk chicken we ordered looked, smelled and tasted like a spicy barbecue-type concoction that the waitress swore to me was their jerk sauce. Now don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t un-tasty, and I certainly ate all my “jerk” chicken because it was still about 3-star quality and their peas and rice was certainly good. BUT!! I’d recommend that jerk lovers go elsewhere for their fix, and if you decide to visit here after all it may be wise to try one of their other dishes instead. Mind that if you go later than like 8pm though, you run a definite risk that they would have already run out of a number of other things like curry chicken, and ‘hard food’ (yams etc).

Make sure you wear comfortable trousers (with an elasticated waist line) when you visit Jerk City. Serving a blend of Carribean food, beverages and dessers, this cafe which is tucked away in the middle of Soho is one of my favourites. The portions are giant sized so be careful what you order, a mutton and pea soup will be sufficient to fill you up! My regular dish is the jerk chicken, rice and peas, with plantain and coleslaw. The rotis and pineapple punches are delicious aswell.