Unmissable Caribbean cuisine in London

We’re starting off this guide with an exciting choice! Planning any evenings out anytime soon? If you do, you won’t want to sleep on this cocktail bar! Trailer Happiness hosts the finest original and classic cocktails with a Tiki twist. We recommend trying the Hell in the Pacific, made from Gosling’s rum, Maraschino liqueur, grenadine, fresh lime juice and pomegranate molasses. Or there’s The Cotton Mouth Killer, made from Don Q and Wray and Nephew’s rum, apricot brandy, Galliano liqueur, blue curacao, fresh lime, guava, and apple juice. Or if you have some friends coming with you, why not try a sharing cocktail like the classic Zombie?

Some of you have probably heard of this fantastic Caribbean franchise before, but for those who haven’t, Turtle Bay is inspired by Caribbean street food and great cocktails – a combination anyone can get behind! Turtle bay provides almost unlimited dining options; it even does bottomless brunches, which are all the rage at the moment! We recommend the garlic pit prawns served with grilled roti flatbread from the starters section. For a main, we recommend a classic jerk chicken with spiced fries. Follow this up with a poached pineapple for dessert, and you have a great sample of a few different areas of Caribbean cuisine.

This restaurant operates out of the heart of Brixton and makes great efforts to use local produce from local businesses. The owner and founder, Brian Danclair, is a community figure and excellent chef, so you can be sure you’re getting a delicious meal here. The menu features what you would expect, lots of fish and wing options! If you fancy a fish main, we recommend the creole fish stew served with rice and peas, pineapple, mango, ginger chutney, and coleslaw. If you’re not a fishy person, get an oxtail stew; it’s a classic Caribbean dish you won’t regret trying.

This chain’s first restaurant popped up in Notting Hill, being passed the torch by the Mangrove Club run by activist Frank Crichlow in the 1960s, a meeting place for the black community. The Rum Kitchen’s mission statement is to honour this past and take the spirit of inclusivity and joy into the future. 

The Rum Kitchen is also a food kitchen. With multiple locations across the UK, this franchise can fill your belly and provide your favourite tipple! We recommend a Wing Wing Dinner, four double jerk bbq wings, skinny fries and house slaw with a rum old fashioned, so you can truly get the best of both worlds. If you are a veggie, no worries. You can swap out the wings for a halloumi bun with portobello mushroom, mashed avocado, scotch bonnet mayo, and salad served with skinny fries.

Curtis Caribbean Grill & Specialty Cakes serves just that, and the cakes are what drew us here. Three to look out for are Jamaican fruit cake, the rum cake and the coconut cake. Other menu options to consider are one of the vast selection of Trinidadian roti, an oxtail set meal (set meals come with a choice of plain rice or rice and peas), jerk chicken set meal, or a curry mutton set meal.

Finally, you can get punches here too. There are plenty of options like fruit punch, peanut punch, pineapple punch and sorrel and ginger punch. The sheer amount of unique options here really makes this place stand out.