Island Flava in Ottawa

Incredible food, really great service

Best of the best Jerk chicken poutine Food : 5/5

Delicious.

Really nice staff! Unfortunately the jerk chicken is closer to being stew chicken with jerk seasoning.

Should change there name to NO FLAVA

Best lunch spot near Rideau. Good quantity for price and great quality of food. Curry goat, oxtail and chicken poutine have all been verified to slap.

Top notch food served within 10 minutes everytime

Excellent service and delicious food I recommend without hesitation. We ate two days in a row

I ordered 2 plates of Oxtails and a side order Oxtails. The food had no taste whatsoever, it looked like a meet dip in water, no spices , the rice is awaful, will never order from them again or referring people to this place. Not worth my money.

Fantastic food, and amazing business owners in the community, Always giving back. Food

Absolutely, hands down, the best Jamaican food in the city

Visit Ottawa every few months. Was excited to try this spot. HORRIBLE. Worst jerk chicken I ever tried. At the price point the quantity is already horrendous but the taste was AWFUL. I never tested such flavourless jerk chicken in my life. Oxtail was terrible, chicken was horrible and rice was clearly overcooked. Never again. Smh i had such high hopes Worst island spot of all time. Do yourself a favour and get ANYTHING else.

Delicious food & lovely staff

The most disgusting, flavorless swill posing as Caribbean food! How dare you !!!! The oxtail stew turned my stomach at the first bite. It was obviously seasoned with salt, pepper (maybe) and pressure cooked until it became almost gelatinous with the gravy itself looking and tasting greasy and unpalatable. Ugh! Into the garbage it went! My husband gagged on the curried chicken roti. Ditto. Garbage! It had no curry flavour whatsoever. It was dry. It was cold. It tasted stale and off. Oxtail is a traditional slow-cooked, delightfully seasoned Jamaican dish for which there is no shortcut. It must be well-seasoned with fresh and dry herbs and other ingredients and marinated overnight in the refrigerator. Thyme and Scotch Bonnet pepper! For the love of Jah it must have at the very least have those seasonings. You must remove the marinade and sear the pieces then add back the marinade and cook slowly for as long as it takes to tenderize the meat and bring all those herbs and spices to a crescendo of flavor. Island Flava is a sham. The chef does not have a clue about Jamaican food or curry dishes. Please get a clue and stop ruining the reputation of our food! On a positive note, the service was actually polite! That was a pleasant surprise in a Caribbean restaurant!

Jerk chicken poutine is PERFECT amazing price and friendly service are the added bonus

The curry chicken roti was AMAZING. Highly highly highly recommend!

Jerk chicken to die for

Nice food

Real Caribbean feel! Warm customer service and always smiling. Thank you for the atmosphere and great food.

Best jerk chicken in Ottawa. check it out!

We recently place a catering order for a company event, and everything was delicious, fantastic and met every expectations promised I go there for personal meals often enough but the catering was amazing, the food portions were abundant everyone had plenty of food and everyone went for seconds so you can imagine the quality If your looking for good food they have it all, good balanced meal hitting gym macros? YUP! get a platter with the curry chicken and you will eat good Looking for a good, low cost meal that hits the cravings? Get a curry chicken poutine and a grace soda! Better than subway but cost less! These guys are doing it right and serving the community in the best way possible! And award winning! Won 5 FACES award in Ottawa!

This is my go-to place in Ottawa for the Roti and chicken curry. Lots more to choose from. I like how the curry here is not spicy as those I have had from the East. It was a different taste all together. My friends, as do I love the patties. Thank you for bringing a little Island flavor to Ottawa.

Kid-friendliness: Super friendly

Solid spot. The jerk chicken is great and same with the oxtail

Vegetarian options: The food was very delicious and well portioned.

Good times.

Cheap and delicious!!

Picked up catering for my husbands birthday and the food was absolutely delicious! We loved everything, curried goat, jerk chicken, plantain and rice and peas. I could not be happier with the food and service!

This place always slaps

Takeout only. They don t have tables or chairs. I didn t know before going would recommend going to the CF Rideau Centre food court if you need a place to sit. Food is great overall and the roti is huge. Very filling and full of flavour.

One of my favourites in Ottawa. Great lunch specials and delicious food. My go-to is the Jerk Chicken combo

The most comforting food. Lunch specials is only $7 for such a big filling portion. Me and my colleagues eat here for lunch multiple times a week. Really cant be matched or beat on taste. Our favourite is the Curry Chicken which comes with rice with beans and salad

I ordered jerk chicken but it tasted like something else. No jerk spice kick, very blunt taste. Sucha a disgrace

I randomly found this place wandering around and man, I feel lucky to have found it. Absolutely fantastic food, I got the curry goat, perfectly seasoned and cooked to where it falls off the bone. The service was also really good, the man behind the counter was really friendly. Id recommend one of their mango tropik spash drinks as well, next time I come to Ottawa I WILL be coming here again.

I just left 20 minutes ago. If I could give an overall rating, I would give it a -52. The main reason I went there is because of the name I wish I had checked the reviews first. I order their curry chicken ( shxt ) one of the worst actually the worst Caribbean restaurant ever! I also orders rice and peas and season goat because there was not one hint of curry. And a next thing which restaurant doesn t have white rice or fried chicken ??? How are y all staying open ?? People People check reviews prior to entering establishments. The next time I out here straight Mcdonalds . Go get a new chef ASAP

They offer an affordable lunch special, both the curry chicken and jerk chicken are good options. It seemed like the curry had a bit more meat though.

Chicken curry is a real solid choice.

I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone the service is great, staff are very pleasant friendly thats it Its hit miss with Island Flava sometimes the food is good others times its not they warm it up, even been cold. old food served up from who knows how many days. I find quality of there food is gone down hill disappointing for Carribean cuisine know for flavor spices, distinct taste smell to it. Family from the carribeans I am in tourism,hospitality . Food isnt always fresh nor is it made everyday order roti not fresh the ends of the roti where hard unedible, salt fish, potatoes etc where leftover old, extremely dry, bland,that taste,look when person leaves potatoes in the fridge for more then a day. The rice was old,dry not sticky or that moistness when you cook rice, the beans where old had no roma or flavor. The salad didnt appear to look fresh had that color to it when its old. Curry chicken etc isnt made fresh everyday. your food isnt cheap even put the prices up I understand where in challengeing times where all trying to survive everyones trying to save just suggestion why cant the food be made fresh everyday keep record of roughly how many customers you have give or take few go from there. Better to give good quality food people enjoy thats fresh has smell (aroma) distiinct flavor, taste when you bite into it. Disappointment when your served old food from the day before etc Vegetarian options: Does offer few choices very limited

Good food at bargain prices

They have the title of The best poutine I am avid poutine eater I can say it might be true because their poutine is freaking good. Food

Great service, awful food

The food is delicious, good service, and reasonable prices.

Best curry goat, the closest I ve found that my grandpa made. Everything on the menu is excellent. Thank you for tastes of home for all these years & decades

I really liked my potato roti, only the spices were unequally distributed with the bottom half missing the spices.

I love coming by for the lunch special which is around 6.99 +tax, great deal and fair portion. The jerk chicken is my favourite! Spicy but has me coming back for it every time. Both workers are also very kind and it makes me happy to tip this place.

I was in Ottawa 3 days/2 nights. Went there twice. Chicken curry & roti is wonderful, I could live on it! Plantains are great and the salad dressing is nice!

staff here are amazing. so friendly and just over all amazing people. food here is just as amazing!! Food

Ordered for 19 people Goat curry was my favorite Everything else was also delicious Thanks chef Antoine Food : 5/5 |

I love the curry goat roti and the beef patty.

Excellent food and service

Had the goat roti, gotta say that was really good!!! Should have asked for some curry on-top though!

The curry chicken was so good! Super nice staff too!

Most amazing people, even when living in a different province and or city this is my go to for oxtail,curry chicken mmmmmm Kid-friendliness: The chef has always treated my kids and younger family with the utmost respect the staff is always friendly

Great food! Rotis are some of our favorites

Bought for the first time yesterday. Lived in the Caribbean and travelled to many islands, and can confirm that the food is quite authentic.delicious, spicy and tasty. Owner super nice and helpful. Will definitely go back. Oh! The spicy beef patties are delicious ..

We got the goat curry and oxtail meals. Both delicious. The owner was super friendly as well!

The jurk chicken taste terrible, hard taste like its been sitting out for days ,the rice they put so much grave its like soup. Could not eat. Food

Say thanks to rob

Absolutely delicious. The portions were pretty big and the flavours didnt disappoint. Ive never had such a great experience at a takeout place in my entire life. Everything was super well seasoned, the meat was tender, 10/10. Ill be coming back here for sure.

Fresh, seasoned just right meals. Im never disappointed.

Got the jerk chicken roti and it was not good :( disappointing because this place has such high ratings!

I had the jerk chicken poutine. I didnt like it at all. The spices (I think curry too) were too overpowering. Other than than would have been great.

REAL gravy!

Amazing food , good portion and good price. Fast service too.

Amazing food! Huge portions! My go to place:)

Wouldn t let me order take out because I had my companion animal with me. Even after I presented my doctors medical note and her registration they wouldnt serve me because I didn t dress her with the vest. Too bad, smelled pretty good

They never answer the phone. WORST customer service I ever received.

This is the best restaurant in Ottawa.

Best Caribbean food in town, just had catered platters for a family reunion, highly recommended

Been around forever super friendly cashier. if you call in and pick up they will have the food ready. New parking infront or park around the corner to avoid a ticket! Open late and food portions and price are very fair. Ask for spice if you can handle it. Spice it up!

Best of the best

Found this hidden gem in downtown. Loved the food, their curry chicken is amazing. Wouldn t disappoint !

Favourite place in ALL OF OTTAWA to get a jerk poutine. Honestly everything on their menu is sooo good they haven t changed everything about their food is consistent they just keep getting better and better. The service is super warm and friendly makes you actually wanna leave Canada to go to Jamaica what I m tryna say is it feels like home. Which is what you want when going to a Jamaican restaurant all these other places in ottawa can t compare

Amazing lunch special for the best price you can possibly find in Ottawa!!! Right down town, too! Cant get any better

Amazing food and really good sorrel drink! I never know what to choose from the menu because it is all so good!

Very fast service, delicious

Has the boneless jerk chicken. Was great. Fresh pressed mango juice was also really good too.

The best food! Ive been going there for the last 5-6years and am always amazed! 11/10!

We tried this restaurant since it was close to the hotel we stayed at. I was pleasantly surprised. The roti was fresh and tasty, the filling was seasoned and had just the right amount of pepper

My boyfriend and I drive in from Montreal for their jerk. I m obsessed with this spot and am so happy it lasted throughout the pandemic. A real gem!!

Island Flava has been our go to place when we need a roti fix. Great food, great value & super service.

Absolutely amazing

Tasty and filling meal. The spicy goat curry was great although it could have been spicier.

Randomly stumbled in there during a trip to Ottawa but was blown away. Food was delicious and we got our order super quick Staff was super friendly. Will definitely go back

Some of the most delicious oxtail I ve had in a long time. Fresh rice, juicy plantain, refreshing salad, what more can you ask for! Only thing I ll say in criticism is the patty was obviously not house made, but I won t hold that against them. Rock solid hole-in-the-wall authentic Caribbean food, would recommend!

Stopped by for the $6.99 M-F lunch special. Their curry chicken was tender and amazing. The jerk poutine (not part of the special) also tasted great and was very filling. Will certainly be coming back to perhaps try the sorrel.

Great food for the bucks...friendly service

SPICY! But the good kinda spicy. My friend, who is an Ottawa local, recommended Island Flava for jerk chicken and boy, she did not disappoint! We ordered the jerk chicken dinner, extra side of plantains, and beef patties everything was flavourful and decent sized portion of rice and peas! My only complaint is the side salad as I would ve loved (the traditional) creamy coleslaw as a side. Overall, I d highly recommend Island Flava for authentic Jamaican food!

I ve been eating here since I moved to Ottawa

Im so sorry I said that you wrapped your rotis wrong. Thank you for the soul food I will come whenever I am in Ottawa thank you. Much bless

My first time having jerk chicken and Caribbean cuisine. I am very impressed with the service, quality, price and portions. Will be back for more.

Tried for the first time but not a fan of the unique taste of their goat curry and the jersey chicken

If you want some mouthwatering chicken curry that will remind you of home, this is the place for you! I had the chicken curry roti and absolutely everything about it was comforting and felt like home. Highly recommend, they give you so much chicken too! I m gonna let the pictures speak for itself because it s sooo good.

The to-go curry vegetable roti saved the day. The food is good, service friendly, knowledgeable and fast. Parking is a little tricky across the street, otherwise I m happy!

Great food, big portions, fast. Love the curry chicken.

Poor customer service! Very rude over the phone!!!! Very rude!!!! Don t go here!!!!!

Jerk chicken combo was delicious and fairly priced.

Best chicken roti with rice and peas in Ottawa. Always enough food for two meals!

Had the curry chicken roti, so delicious!! Chicken was super tender and flavourful.

Was recommended this place and was not disappointed. Had the Jerk Chicken and Curry Goat, could be a little spicier but overall was great! P.S. Picture doesnt do it justice

The Boneless Jerk Chicken Roti is absolutely amazing. One of my faves when I m downtown and hungry. Super reliable, a bit pricey, but the service is always friendly and consistent.

My favorite spot for take out. Love the curry chicken roti and oxtail. Plates are generous size and prices are good.

Great to have a Caribbean spot downtown Ottawa. Unfortunately for spice and flavour lovers the food falls short of where it should be. The owner is from Grenada, land of spices, yet you dont taste any of this in the food due to the excessive amount of salt added to the food. Its really sad that restaurants think by dumping mass loads of salt to food makes it tasty. The curry chicken eats like it is almost pickled - very sad to see another restaurant think taste = lots of salt. Unfortunately I can no longer support due to the heavy salt and lack of spice/flavour.

Jerk Chicken Poutine. That is all.

Lennox runs a hidden Caribbean gem. Rotis are fresh and flaky, the chicken melts in your mouth. Eager to try other menu items.

Fantastic meal tonight, ox and jerk....lots of gravy. Must try in Ottawa!

Jerk Chicken Roti was amazing

Amazing friendly welcome by the owner! Food was great, curry goat was melt in your mouth and jerk chicken was perfect. Ill make sure to stop by again when Im in Ottawa!

Best Caribbean in town. No doubts about that. And always lovely and sweet ladies working up front. Eat here.

Had curry chicken and oxtail, was tasty. The only complaint is that they do not offer the option to purchase roti skins as a side. I do not like eating wrapped Roti.

The goat roti is soooo good. + fresh juices made by island Flava a must in ottawa

They have the best rotis and give you a surprisingly generous portion for a good price, though it tastes a little overly salty. Service is also INSTANT in some cases

I would give 4 stars. I asked for extra spicy and they denied me, even though I offered to pay extra. Chicken roti is average here. I miss the Trini and Guyanese roti in Toronto. No such thing in Ottawa that Im aware of. Edited a few hours ago. I threw up. Not cool.

Always delicious! I make the trip to Ottawa just to get some of that oxtail. Generous portions and even greater prices!

Always tasty and friendly...

I wish I liked this place because its such a great location, but the food was awful and overpriced. That marks the only time I let Haitian leftovers last long enough to expire in my fridge. I didnt want the rest...

Hands down the best place in all of Ottawa to get Carribean food! Customer service is absolutely wonderful! They always have great music to enjoy while eating your food, The family that runs this place are absolutely amazing people! You will never be disappointed coming to this restaurant.

Always great service good music and last but not least great food on the go

good carribean food!

Food and service is always great.

Island Flava made me feel like I was back in Jamaica. Unbelievably good curry chicken and jerk chicken. The spicy is spicy! Can t wait to go back. Thanks Island Flava for bringing Jamaica to Ottawa

rude and unfriendly.

Tried their curry chicoen roti tonight and it was phenomenal! Great service, very friendly and fast. Cant wait to go back!

This place has Great customer service and a small cozy environment but thats it. The food on the other hand is absolutely tasteless. Now I dont eat meat so maybe the meat dishes are different but that is no excuse for the side dishes to be so bland and flavorless because they are the same things being served with the meat main dishes. The rice, curried veggies and salad had little to no flavor. The fried plantain had the most flavor and thats just sad. I dont know how this place has been winning the award for being the best Caribbean restaurant in Ottawa for the past 3 years. Maybe its because its in a place with a lot of foot traffic or because of there great customer service which has me having a hard time writing this review but I must tell the truth. 2 places that in my opinion, has the best Caribbean food in Ottawa are Nu Caribbean and Caribbean Grill.

Great food!

Their lunch special is great! Succulent jerk chicken along with rice and beans and a salad for a reasonable price!

They have no Uber eats, no doordash, no skip the dishes during this pandemic. Goes to show how they put their customers first. Guess it s Lil Negril island Grill. They hands down 5 .

Okay this place is amazing I drive from Brampton to here just to get food and the porridge is the creamiest never had a lump in it and there chicken and the rice is seasoned to perfection this place never disappoints me. Thanks for providing great food!!

Just had the jerk chicken roti. Wow. Great flavour and very filling. Worth stopping in. We will go back.

Good Caribbean food

Staff at the counter was very friendly, so too the customer waiting for his order. Being new to this spot I asked for his opinion and he suggested the mix plate. Curry Goat, Oxtails, Rice, salad and Plantain. The food was decent and I give Island Flava 4 stars and not 5 because the I found it a bit expensive (coming from Toronto area where we have a ton of Caribbean take-out joints), the curry goat had a poultry seasoning finish and to be honest, if youre charging me upwards of $20, 2 pieces of oxtails (mostly bones) and 3 pieces of goat is not cool. BTW, the freshly made mango juice is on point. Fix that poultry season and youll have a repeat customer here.

The best jerk chicken!! My boyfriend and I were in Ottawa looking to order dinner and stumbled upon this place. We ordered the jerk chicken meal and boneless jerk chicken meal and it was amazing! Plantain was also very tasty. When were back in Ottawa, we will definitely be back here!

Good food, reasonable price. Goat curry is excellent. Too bad they dont sell rotis separately. No eat-in at the moment. Very fast service.

Friendly staff with great customer service. The food is good too. Not a long wait. Currently, dine in options arent available, only takeaway is. Definitely recommend to get a nice Caribbean meal.

Great service and awesome food.

I ordered a small oxtail. I did not enjoy it at all, I had two bites and threw the rest away. I should have followed my instincts and not ordered it. There was no flavor and the rice and peas was nasty. The rice grains were huge- too much water was added to cook the rice, and there was absolutely no flavor. My brother in law is here from Jamaica and said that this is the worst food hes ever had since hes been coming to Canada. Please do better because this is not it.

Amazing food. So good. Friendly and welcoming!

Loved the oxtail, chicken roti, and patties!

Great food, preferred the Rice and beans over the Roti. Getting chicken bone stuck in the roof of my mouth dropped it a star. :)

best food in the city

Love the pressed fresh juices, my new place to get Caribbean food

Everything bless!

Real flavors of the Caribbean, a super friendly chef... a treat but be careful with sensitive palates (spicy!!)

I do recommended this restaurant to anyone who loves caribbean food or who wants to try something new. I purchased a curry chicken and roti and it was delicious plus the take out service was fast too.

Great customer service good food.. If you are in Ottawa have to support our caribbean people..#1

Great food, really good flavor, not too salty like most Caribbean restaurants

Today was my first visit and ordered 2 rotis (Saltfish and Curry Goat) to go. Service was quick and the food was great. I will be replacing my old COVID lunch spot with Island Flava. I want to continue supporting Ottawas Caribbean community with my business. Next time I might try the specific lunch special to try the rice & peas.

Had the jerk chicken poutine today and it was great! I have also had the curry chicken roti which was also great! My wife and I always enjoy the food from Island Flava it is great!

A lot of different nice Caribbean meals options.

We have been enjoying Chef Antoine s creations all the way back to 2008!! His first restaurant was Ottawa central- Merivale Rd. Many times enjoyed Island Flava downtown Otown. In fact was just there this evening- treating my little still sister for her Birthday!!! I am an old dude... rarely use the overused omg vernacular.... BUT OMG . The Goat Roti tonight was 100% IN DEE POCKET MAAN I AM TELLING YOU. My Sis was blown away. Lil inside story - 1St time ever that Grenada Roti OUTDUE my Guyana Roti!!!! Island Flava I can die a happy maan now.... wait!! But not before we can go back to Island Flava many more times. OH OH!!! Wait!!! The fresh mango juice !!!! Took me right back to The West Indies... eatin fresh ripe mango directly from the tree!!! Awrite!! I bow down

Amazing food and amazing customer service

Best jerk chicken roties ever!!!

Best curry chicken roti in Ottawa!

At best.

I order a spicy oxtail dinner and it was excellent! I eat many times at this place and all I have eaten so far was delicious. The serving is fast and the food presentation is very good! Keep up the good work guys!

Been here a few times good food and good portions.. definitely recommended. Do remember you re downtown Ottawa high tourist area business area fair prices .

Super friendly people and the food is straight up ridiculous. Unreal how good this place is

Amazing Caribbean food for decent prices, and easily accessible near the market! Curry Chicken Roti is insanely good

I was there today and never again.

Food is as tasty as the name. I had a great lunch there

Came to visit ur beautiful city from Toronto, food was excellent, will come back again

Good portion size and well seasoned, I ordered the oxtail dinner Decent dirty rice, small mixed salad, fried delicious plantains and beef oxtail, meat portion could have been a little more generous as it is 75% bone anyway..... Will definitely visit this place again as I know the jerk chicken is also a high demand item from the menu Restaurant is quaint and simple, reminds me of a local roadside eatery in the islands.....

Excellent food. Would definitely come back for more.

Good food, good portions

Slice of heaven in Downtown Ottawa. Its the flavours and vibe from home that were just what I needed when I went there. Friendly staff, delicious food that tastes like it would in the Caribbean (specifically Jamaican, for me), Caribbean (Jamaican) drink products, soca/reggae music, beef patty.... The experience here made me happy today. If you miss the flavours of home, check them out.

SO good! I ordered the oxtail for takeout and it was amazing! So tender and juicy with wonderful gravy for the rice and peas! If youre staying downtown, skip the fast food at the mall and walk the extra block to get some real food!!

That jerk chicken sauce is undesirable! So sweet and savoury. Friendly staff as well!

Great food & I love the fact is open late in the weekend until 3 or 4AM.

Amazing food and great host!

Love this place! BEST ROTI ever!

My go to place for authentic Caribbean food.

Not bad.

So delicious.

Good and quickly served

The oxtail meat was gelatinous and had great texture. The portion size was smaller than expected even though it was the large size. The fried plantain and salad was alright.

My favourite Jamaican food in Ottawa. Very flavourful while being decently priced. I really like the lady at the front as well

Great food no parking.