Where to Find the Best Jamaican Food In Miami

Greater Miami & Miami Beach is home to a melting pot of Caribbean cultures, and if Jamaican cooking is what you’re after, you’re in the right place. From old school cafes to newfangled speakeasies, fast-casual joints and authentic marketplaces, there’s a wide range of places where you can sample Jamaican food. Whether it’s Jamaican patties, a heaping plate of curry oxtail with rice and peas, and even unique Jamaican-Chinese fusion cuisine, here are some of our favorite places for the best Jamaican dining in Miami. 

Classic Jamaican Cooking at Clive’s Cafe

A Miami classic for Jamaican cooking for over 40 years, Clive’s Cafe is a down-to-earth restaurant behind a mural of Bob Marley in Little Haiti. Here, traditional Jamaican dishes, like jerk chicken, brown stew and oxtail, take center stage. Dig into heaping plates of curry goat, cow foot, conch stew or callaloo, served with two sides, including rice and peas, steamed cabbage and mac and cheese. Savor your plate, sip a Red Stripe and enjoy the reggae music coming from an old-school radio at this low-key spot.

Fast-Casual Bowls at Jrk!

If you’re on the go in Downtown Miami or Aventura Mall, Chef Wayne Sharpe and his team are dishing up the flavors of Jamaica in a fast-casual setting at Jrk! The menu centers around bowls, from classic jerk chicken to Blue Mountain curry chicken, jerk shrimp and oxtail, with a rice and peas base. There’s even a vegan option made with quinoa, plantains, crispy yuca and pineapple-mango salsa. Douse it with one (or more) of the housemade sauces, like the Rude Boy, the spiciest of all, made with scotch bonnet, and you’ve got yourself a feast. Jrk! also serves Jamaican patties with beef, jerk chicken and a vegan option.

Speakeasy Vibes at Mangrove

Beyond the inviting facade of Jrk! In Downtown Miami, another world awaits when you discover its speakeasy-like sister restaurant and lounge, Mangrove. Chef Wayne Sharpe has created an immersive, high-energy place to enjoy not only the food and drink of Jamaica but also the music. The menu is a modern upscale twist on classics from the island, including jerk chicken skewers, curry oxtail, whole snapper and Da’ Traditional Plate, which includes a jerk chicken thigh, rice and peas and plantains. The restaurant, with its creative rum-based cocktails, transforms into a lounge for late night revelry, with DJs spinning Jamaican dancehall music and reggae.

Great Food & Jamaican Vibes at Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen

Dishing up authentic Jamaican food and live music in an airy, industrial setting, Dukunoo Jamaican Kitchen in Wynwood invites you to “come fi di food, stay fi di vibes.” Start with Likkle Bites, like the saltfish frittaz, then move onto Bigga Plates, like the Lik Yuh Fingas Oxtail, served with broad beans, rice and peas, or the Rastaman Pasta, made with ackee (a lychee-like fruit), callaloo, shrimp and roasted red pepper. Dukunoo, which means “sweet thing” in a West African dialect, knows how to do dessert, and a slice of Caribbean rum cake drizzled with powdered sugar cane and topped with ice cream is hard to beat.

Food Made With Love at One Love Jamaica

Situated in South Beach inside the Lincoln Eatery food hall, One Love Jamaica is a fast-casual joint dishing up the flavors of the Caribbean. You’ll find all the Jamaican classics here, from jerk and curry chicken to braised oxtail, barbecued beef and sweet island shrimp, all served with your choice of two sides, from rice and peas to sweet plantains and steamed cabbage. It all adds up to a hearty meal and makes for a perfect Lincoln Road shopping break that will transport you to the islands.

Jamaican-Chinese Fusion at Jamaica Kitchen

Located in an unassuming strip mall in Kendall, Jamaica Kitchen is a family-run restaurant that’s been a staple of the community since 1976. Wife-and-husband duo Cheryl and Anson Chin, who hail from Chinese immigrants in Jamaica, cook up both authentic Jamaican cuisine and their own special blend of Jamaican Chinese food. Featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” TV show on the Food Network, this once-hidden gem is now celebrated by all. From curry chicken and oxtail to Chinese roast chicken and jerk pork fried rice, Jamaican patties and boiled dumplings, Jamaica Kitchen serves unique fusion cuisine you simply have to try.

A Little Bit of Everything at B & M Market

A Little River staple since 1980, B & M Market is a grocery store with counter service offering must-have traditional Jamaican and Caribbean dishes. Drive down NE 79th Street and you can’t miss its red, green and yellow exterior with the menu hand-painted in giant letters out front. Dishes are made until they run out of food, so get there early for the jerk chicken, oxtail stew, buttery ackee and saltfish, rice and peas, fried chicken, curry goat and homemade ginger beer.

Jamaican Patty Heaven at Hammond’s Bakery

Swing by family-owned Hammond’s Bakery in Miami Gardens for your fill of Jamaican patties and freshly baked Caribbean pastries. Made with flaky, buttery pastry dough, the Jamaican patties are stuffed with your choice of beef, chicken, veggies or ackee and saltfish. You can also take home delectable pastries, cakes and breads, like plantain tarts, guava and cheese pastries, cinnamon rolls, pineapple upside-down cake, bread pudding and coco bread. Hammond’s also serves a full breakfast, lunch and dinner menu with all the classics, from brown stew chicken to curry goat and roti.

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