Maracas in Toronto

We visited this restaurant to go to before the Kensinton Winter solstice parade at 7pm. We arrived at 5:30 pm and ordered shortly there after. Two hours later we started to get our food. Several times we asked staff what the progress of our meals was, we were told that they were close to being plated. At the two and a half hour point most of our party still hadnt had their orders served. We missed the parade and most of the solstice celebration. When most of my party started leaving I asked the progress of my order ans was told it was ready. The Roti had more skin (that was very dry) then filling, the beef was gristly and tough, there were two small slices of potato and a few chic-peas. Food was not good value and service was the slowest Ive ever experienced.

Food was terrific. Owner was warm, friendly and knowledgeable. Will definitely be coming back!

Amazing place. Cheap drinks good food and amazing customer service.

Great tiki-themed bar to grab dinner or just have drinks. Lots of cocktail options, specializing in rum based drinks. Also have a variety of mocktails to choose from as well. Drinks are all reasonably priced and have some great food to choose from too. Recommend the poke bowl or tacos that are cheap and tasty.

We came for dinner and its a quant lil spot. The team was short-staffed with a full house so our food took much longer than anticipated but the owner was apologetic and very sincere. The food and drinks were well worth the wait! I have to commend the service as the owner voluntary offered a discount without any prompting given the tardiness of service. Good food, good music and sincerity of an experience - will definitely be coming back to this spot!

i have been here several times and the owner and staff are the best. i will always stop by when i am in the area.

Loved it! Food was so good! Really recommend this place.

The best doubles in the city! The vegetarian and vegan bake options are amazing and the owner takes his time to make sure everyone has something that they are going to love.

Visited in Sept 2019. My friends and I were excited to find this place (we are all from the Caribbean) but unfortunately once we got our meals, we were spectacularly disappointed. The food had no flavor. No spice, no salt, nothing. It was bland and boring. Maybe we got our hopes up too high. I would never go again.

One of my favourite spots. Wish I lived DT still to reach more often

Amazing food! Thank you for adjusting your business during COVID-19. We ve enjoyed every meal and look forward to visiting the restaurant when things are back to normal.

The manager is a great guy proud to call him a friend.

Tasteful and authentic! I adore Caribbean food and those guys somehow add an Asian flair! The jerk eggplant Bao was one of the most tasteful treats I had lately! I had an issue with my order (due to my fault), they did their best to accommodate me! Really looking forward to having their food again!

RATS. So. Many. Rats. Disgusting.

LOVED THE DOUBLES wish i got 2

Vibe was bumpin on a Sat afternoon. The people that work there (incl. Chef) are great and super friendly. The Doubles were amazing!!

Delicious food and an amazing patio! Definitely check them out!

Real good vibe, is like being back home

Recently moved to the neighbourhood and decided to try this place, as i was eating in front of the restaurant, i seen RATS coming out of the restaurant. Dont go to this place !! Read all the other reviews that also mention rats. Im surprised this place is still open.

If u need washroom best place to go its really clean but not for food

Was 5 stars before. I decided to bring friend here for doubles. My first time, and second and third were great, was plated nicely and was fresh. I supported maracas by telling my friends how good the doubles were and how much love went into the cooking here. Yea, no we got some doubles just slapped on a plate and handed to us, was disappointing. I wont go back. I tried to get a pic but it just looked worse on camera. Owner needs to keep the same energy as when they first opened this location

Wish I would have read more of the reviews before getting food from here! The cleanliness of this place is severely lacking, and so is the customer service. Food was mediocre at best. Multiple customers have also written reviews complaining about RATS which I saw myself while there. Absolutely disgusting, cant believe it hasnt been closed down yet by the city... AVOID.

1 star is even too much for this place.

Placed a pick up order for my family and it was the worst mistake, I refused to take the order because of how the place looked and the food did not look appetizing at all also very bad customer service I wouldn t recommend this restaurant . The food looked like it was thrown in the bag like garbage. Waste of money.

If I could, I ve give 0. I had take out from this restaurant a few days ago and got Bake and shark and some doubles, the food was tasteless and it made me feel sick in about a hour or so. I felt horrible for the rest of the day. The restaurants gives a unclean appearance, and it seemed as if they dont practice cleaning measures. Nobody was wearing masks, I wish I hadnt got food from Maracas. Save your money and go somewhere else..

Always great vibes here and amazing food! The chef puts so much energy and care into every dish and it really shows! Great spot!

Worse take out experience ever

Such an amazing experience, I was concerned about visiting Toronto due to Covid but when I spoke to Maria she took my order and had it ready for curbside pick away from their lunch time rush of individuals waiting to try their food. The server had a mask on when giving me my bag of doubles (which were ah-mazing!!) as well as their bake and shark! Would definitely recommend going back for more, they had an awesome vibe and great food

If only zero stars was an option. This restaurant hires people, uses them, and then refuses to pay them! No respect for anyone and has the worst attitude. Not to mention the level of cleanliness inside is so questionable, especially during times where extra cleaning and sanitation is key. Do yourself a favor and keep looking for where to go today.

The owner here is extremely rude and unprofessional. The food is sub par. Will not be returning.

Its unfortunate that many businesses are taking a hit during covid, but the owner of this restaurant owes former workers and has decided to not pay his staff for weeks of work. i cant continue to support this place if its not paying its workers! Doug is a greedy man!! cant believe this is even allowed

The bake and shark took me back to being at the beach in Trinidad. Everything is super fresh and the taste is even better than you were thinking.We cant wait to come back!!

Delicious, big doubles. Great vibes.

I dont really write reviews as I see them as quite pointless to say the least.. unfortunately this place left me no choice as I was absolutely disgusted by the service and blown away by the filth of this establishment. This place is a complete and utter disappointment. Further more we see no reason why anyone would visit let alone dine at this horror show.

The Bake and Shark was delicious. Reminds me of Maracas Beach. I will definitely come back again. Thank you

Jerk Chicken was AMAZING and truly the best doubles I have ever had!

Hi everyone, First review. I had a great experience at Maracas. They are very friendly. The DJ plays great tunes. And the doubles are delicious. Thank you to the owners and the chef for making this food delicious. First time I have had jerk in the bake.

Have you ever heard of a restaurant that kept running out of things? Imagine you made an order with the anticipation that you are walking out of there with what you asked for....but then as you wait for the time it takes for a pebble to become the rock of ages they eventually tell you.... Sorry it eh have no pumpkin....dah alright?........then as years come and years go....the PNM change to UNC and back to PNM....trust me thats how long it felt waiting for the order minus the pumpkin...they eventually say...it eh have no more roti.... Yuh want rice..... My heart is broken.... Ill never return to experience disappointment like this.... All ah wanted was some pumpkin ...curry chicken and buss up shot....and I eh get none... Shame

We were in the area with a group and stole away to try the best doubles in Toronto and sadly it was not. We ordered 2 doubles to go - tell me why this took 30 minutes with two dine in guest on the inside that were already served their food? I went inside twice to check on the doubles and on the second visit saw the chef in the back put two bara, on some wax paper, a spoon of chana and a squirt of sauce. If this was so easy -why couldnt you do this first? I understand if there were orders that maybe came in over the phone before us - but for 2 double that takes less than 2 minutes to put together - come on man. Also $5 for a doubles was way to steep, the place that I usually go to is $2.50 and is way faster and fresher. When we opened it up outside to take a bite (as anyone knows the best doubles is eaten fresh), we were so disappointed. The barra was too oily and crunchy - likely fried for too long. The chana flavour was good, reminiscent of a true trini doubles but with all the other cons - we will not be returning. Service was poor.

We visited once after seeing a feature on Caribbean one TV...then kept returning (Over 1 hour commute) because the food and experience is just that good!! Bravo for presenting our food with such flair and flavour!!

Went for doubles & stag, a little pricey but best doubles I ve had in Toronto. Will definitely be back!

Great place, authentic doubles. They are legit. The jerk chicken took me to a place where unicorns run free. Prices are very decent. Would definitely rather have my red stripe and jerk here over anywhere else.

Let me start by saying, I ll be back to try this place again. This spots got tons of potential but needs some serious revisions on detail, prep, service and communication. What attracted me to this place was they serve Bake & Shark. I was so pumped to have one of my favourite meals. Me and my girl arrived at about 2:00PM after lunch rush and the restaurant had about 3 tables being occupied. The hostess/waitress greeted us with enthusiasm and told us that the wait time for food would be about an hour. A little puzzled, I said wtvr and took a seat at the bar to crush a few Stags (ain t nothing better than Stag beer and Trini food). The waitress proceeds to tell me the fridge isn t cold and the stag is relatively warm..... in my mind I m saying so why is the Fridge full of drinks fill a cooler behind the bar with ice and keep drinks cold for customers or move the product to another fridge LOL. Simple common sense. After 35 minutes at the bar. I m simply observing some severe miscommunication and slow pace between 2 servers and a manager. It was like nobody knew what to do, there was no delegation or rush to get food out of the kitchen ASAP. Meanwhile, my mango Chow is being prepped for about 30 minutes as a simple garnish on the side of my plate. This should be prepped the night before or first thing in the morning for a days rush, not on the spot. Finally, after just over an hour our jerk pork Poutine arrives. Pork was super tender and flavourful, everything else was cold to the touch. The Gravy wasn t even steaming, straight cold. Next up, bake and shark: It was great, I was very happy with the flavour, texture and all around zing. Defiantly worth the extra time. Only thing I would suggest is to offer more toppings that were accustom to in Trinidad for variety but all around I was very Happy. I ll be back and I m sure the first few weeks is always a bumpy road. The 5 star potential is there and I ll be giving it that once Maracas gets its bearings rolling. To the Chef, keep making great food dude. Be vocal and run that spot, make sure people are moving and always attending to clients. :)

Nice touch of Trini cuisine and vibe in the heart of Kensington Market. Tasty spin on Doubles and Shark and Bake. Chef made the pepper sauce, a treat!

An absolute must try for anyone in Kensington market. The food is great, authentic and will leave you satisfied and wanting to try the rest of the menu. So happy to have a place open later in the market that is serving great food. The interior is very modern, clean and the service is fast and friendly. I will definitely be returning and urge anyone who likes Caribbean food to try this place out. Thanks again!

Good Trinidadian food, enjoyed the beef and goat dhalpuri, pumpkin choka, and oxtail.

We saw this place as we were walking through Kensington and decided to pop in. Food is delicious - great spice! And well priced!

The food was great and the service was very friendly. Just like back home.

One of the best jerk chicken Ive ever had

Great new spot with an awesome crew and great deals on food. The doubles were awesome and cheap!

Maracas is Great If you love Caribbean food particularly Trinidadian culture and Cuisine. Great friendly staff and delicious, mouth watering,belly filling food with a Live steel pan performance while you dine.

Good food. Nice vibes. Super friendly and accommodating staff. Been twice already and recommended to everyone who would listen. Will def go again.

The food was pretty good especially the fries, highly recommend. The only reason why i gave it 4 stars is because the service was really slow.

Great atmosphere, friendly friendly staff!!! Food not only had a great presentation, portion sizes were large, food was fantastic!!! Definitely recommend for anyone looking for authentic Carribean food!!

The doubles are to die for! Cocktails are strong but tasty. Cant wait to go back to try the other items on the menu.

Curry goat with rice and peas was fantastic. The doubles was not the best I ve had in Toronto. Music and service both were excellent. I will definitely return and try another menu item.

Update: Decided to give this place another try and ordered the jerk chicken roti for take out again. It was pretty decent this time around (there was about a leg and thigh worth of chicken inside). The hot sauce had a nice flavour, and the chicken was nice and smokey, but a little dry compared to the last time. In terms of taste, this place seems to be among the better of the Carribean restaurants in Kensington, though there might be some issues with consistency. Worth giving another shot Original Review: Not recommended. Ordered the jerk chicken roti, and while the taste was fantastic the amount of chicken was pathetic. For a $12 roti there was less than a chicken leg worth of jerk chicken inside. This could have easily been among the top Caribbean restaurants in Kensington, but as it is youre better off eating at one of the others.

Amazing food! Great staff and atmosphere! Have visited a few times, owner is friendly and kind and all the menu items taste great! Cool spot and vibe in kensignton, always stop by when I m in the area.

Feels and Tastes like Trinidad.

If you want so-so Trini food this is the spot. The chefs have a Canadian palette, not Trini. I gave the spot a chance twice, First with a sada roti and chokah, and neither tasted authentic, I should have known when i saw another customer order a frybake and shark and the frybake was white, not golden brown . The second time I ordered a veg roti and honestly it would be better labeled as a rhodee, not a ROTI. It tasted like the the chef never tasted a proper curry in their life . On the flip side the doubles are the best doubles youll find in kensington market. And probably the one thing they really nailed in terms of Trini cuisine. The hosts are friendly and the decor is nice.

Amazing food. Flavours and seasoning were just right and when you want something spicy it comes spicy!! Plus the atmosphere is very welcoming and feels fancy without the pomp. Definitely will be coming back!

Excellent food and atmosphere. Very friendly staff. Will definitely go back again!

Food was amazing, but the service could use some improvement. I understand when a catering event requires all hands on deck but having to wait for 30 mins+ for food while the rest of your table has already got theirs is unacceptable.

Great jerk chicken

Like what another reviewer said, the chef has a Canadian palette not Trini. I ordered doubles a few times since they opened and its just not authentic. They charge $4 for one doubles, a high price that justified if done correctly, right down to the condiments added but even those are bland. The pepper sauce has no heat, tamarind is watered down and only once i got their substitute for cucumber chutney (mango)... even when I asked on two separate occasions. I doubt that most people leaving 5-star reviews have been eating Trinidadian/West Indian/Caribbean food long enough to a true judge of how good/bad it is. Its new and different for the area but far from where it needs to be.

Don t know why some one would write anything but 5 stars the food can not taste like home (Trinidad) we are in Canada s love this place and only want them to succeed.

Felt as doh I was in T&T on the beach eating the bake n shark, best in Toronto

Hands down the best doubles in the city. The staff are always so welcoming and friendly. If youre ever in the area, definitely drop in for some doubles, Shandy and some good vibes!!

The restaurant was really good, had very good food and a wide variety of options on the menu. The service was good and staff is very friendly. Definitely recommend!!

Excellent jerk chicken, nice service and jiving music... Recommended

Doubles was very good.

Amazing authentic Carribean food. Brought my close friend who is from Trinidad and Tobago, and is a chef, he was blown away by the quality and authenticity

Great food

Loved the food and atmosphere. Very great service. Great if you want to try something new.

It was ok but food wasnt super flavorful. Pricey but not a lot of food on the plate. Decent vibe.

Maracas is a great restaurant. Friendly, clean and affordable

Best doubles outside Trinidad! Service and quality are here! Food tastes great! Stag beer! Nice inviting atmosphere. If youre lucky you will be seranaded with the sounds of sweet pan while you dine!

Amazing food. Friendly service. Fun drinks. Great music. I highly recommend the doubles and well honestly everything we ate was amazing. Order the mash it up drink...youll thank me

I have tried just about everything on this menu I have yet to be disappointed. Delicious food. Exceptional service. Doing the Caribbean food scene proud!!

Great food

Weve been to MARACAS twice in one week and love the food, and warm and friendly service. Kudos to Chef Douglas Ling for adding a touch of Trinidad to the already cool vibe of Kensington Market - a perfect location for this restaurant. As far as the food goes, we were very impressed with the doubles (served on a plate with hot sauce on the side - smart! The JERK BAKE is beyond delicious - well seasoned chicken thats not too spicy inside a perfectly fried bake thats soft and crunchy to bite into...what a yummy option this is!!! Overall, this cool and cosy restaurant has great energy, a talented chef, great staff, nice music, and a mouth watering menu Trinis and non-Caribbean people will enjoy. I highly recommend checking out MARACAS and take your Canadian friends there like I did...theyll love the food.

Amazing, authentic Trini food with great vibes. A must go if youre in Kensington!

Try jerk chicken with bake bread and mango chow ll never go wrong

Food wasnt up to par. The bake was good tho.

Best fry bread Ive ever had, I have no clue how they make it so light, its delicious.

Terrible service. Maybe understaffed? Didn t clean the tables properly. Service was slow. Food was decent.

Solid food, good prices. mango chow was great, doubles was on point, would come back and bring my trini fam.

Really dont think the people leaving 5 star reviews have had Trinidadian food before cause this needs to be reworked. Maybe I went on a day a different Chef was there because my doubles really wasnt up to standard, way too much turmeric and curry powder in the Channa, not even curry Channa should be that heavy. The Bara wasnt bad, Ill give it that but also $4 a doubles and its barely where it should be. No thank you! The place is named Maracas and for that name you really should be serving excellent quality of bake and shark, since when do trinis add a batter to their shark and fry it that way? We typically use just flour and season it up. This was too greasy for me, the bake was alright....it was light but the dough is overworked because it is quite chewy and before you season the meat, you should take off the parts where theres a lot of blood on that fish, even though it had some good green seasoning on it, it smelled because of those parts of the fish. The curry goat tasted good but again too much curry powder, you dont have to compensate for flavour by adding so much curry cause its so unappealing to the palate as all the spices werent cooked out properly and that granular texture is left in your mouth. Somehow when they were putting food in my boxes things fell all over and just got a dry wipe. I actually saw the guy do but I was hoping the cloth was wet. Its an open kitchen but so cluttered and they didnt seem organized. I think they need some help in that area. I know theyre kind of new, Id say try them out and see if you like it. That being said the young man in the front was a delight and very hospitable. The atmosphere is really nice and the bathroom was clean. I like to support my people but I will be honest about my experience. See pics as reference.

Huge portion for the bake and shark. Absolutely delicious. Will be back soon to try the oxtail

The poutine and plantains were great. I had the jerk chicken roti and it was just okay, a lot of dry roti covering otherwise really good chicken. Service was okay. I sat downstairs which is like a converted basement suite and it was a little weird. I also got a gin mango drink that was really good and came smoking in a shark cup which was cute.

First time eating here was also my last. Terrible service.

Love this Caribbean spot!

Always a great time n staff is fantastic

The food here is absolutely amazing. Ive eaten west Indian cuisine my entire life and I can say this is hands down some of the best Carribean dishes I ever tasted. Great atmosphere with friendly staff! Anytime Im in the area I will definitely visit.

This place is incredible. Ive tried the oxtail roti and the curry goat bake and they were both outstanding. I love the atmosphere, it feels like youre on vacation, and the owner is a truly wonderful person who treats his customers very well. Check it out, its worth every penny!

Awesome food, great vibe/ambiance, lovely staff and a sweet owner. Also, the cocktails are fun!

Theyre legit. Most stush bake and shark Ive ever had. Was delicious.

Good vibes. Good food. Good drinks. Good staff. This place is a gem. Would go back every day if I could.