These are the best Caribbean restaurants in the city right now.
Kwizinn
Where: 4030 rue Wellington, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: While its chef Michael Lafaille works with a lot of Caribbean classics, there are tons of fusion plates on offer both at its Verdun headquarters and its uptown express counter. That means there are just as many plates of griot and lambi (conch, or sea snail) as there are lobster poutines and plantain burgers. Make a point of diving into their rum menu while you’re there.
Kwizinn website
Seasoned Dreams
Where: Multiple locations
Why You Need To Go: Known as the home of the jerk chicken poutine thanks to the chefs who’ve passed through its doors, Seasoned Dreams has turned into a great place for great Caribbean eats both traditional and inspired late into the night. That means jerk chicken, well, everything: Tenders, wraps, burgers, you name it. They’ve got good griot and oxtail as well.
Seasoned Dreams website
Kamúy
Where: 1485, rue Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Taking Caribbean cuisine to new heights with every new dish he comes up with, this restaurant from chef Paul Toussaint in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles is the best way to try it all. Everything from the jambalaya and griot (pork that’s marinated, braised, and then fried) to smoked ribs and seafood platters—plus some amazing cocktails—make this a serious contender for the best of the best.
Kamuy website
Palme
Where: 1487, rue Ste-Catherine E., Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Caribbean food at Palme is wide-ranging and delicious, bringing together tropical dishes from across the world alongside some signature dishes unlike any other restaurant’s. We’re talking jerk salmon with black mushroom dijon rice, coconut curry shrimp, and fried chicken — the list doesn’t just go on but shifts with the seasons, making no two quarterly visits the same.
Resto Palme website
Tropikà l
@tropikal_restobar | Instagram
Where: 3426, rue Notre-Dame O., Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: This restaurant in Saint-Henri is an embodiment of new heights for Chef Jae-Anthony Dougan. Constantly exploring everything that Caribbean cuisine has to offer, the menus here go from the traditional to the creative. Trinidadian street food platters and classic jerk chicken are paired up with pasta and mac and cheese topped with all kinds of options. Be sure to try the Truth speakeasy in its basement, too.
Tropikà l website
Boom J's Cuisine
Where: Multiple locations
Why You Need To Go: From roti filled with beef, chicken, curry goat and more to patties and loaded plates of jerk chicken, oxtail and saltfish, it’s no wonder that Boom J’s been able to expand from its original 2013 location in Pointe-Saint-Charles to a newer spot in Ville-Émard. Always striving to add more new dishes to its menu, this one’s a must-try in the world of Montreal’s Caribbean restaurants.
Boom J's Cuisine website
Lloydie's
Where: Multiple locations
Why You Need To Go: What first began as a Caribbean food manufacturer and supplier has become a string of restaurants in Montreal that serve some of the best menus in town. Buckets of fried chicken and macaroni pie go great with their range of poutines both regular and meaty — but the best way to eat here is to grab patties to go with plates full of jerk chicken, oxtail and more that come with all the fixings.
Lloydie's website
Pikliz
Where: 4210b, rue Saint-Jacques O., Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Blending the worlds of Haïti and Quebec in one Saint-Henri restaurant, Pikliz and its owners Akim and Abdel Acacia have packed a lot of flavour into a small restaurant. Crispy Creole shrimps, chayote salads, Haitian marinated and stewed goat — whatever on their menu piques your interest, it’s definitely going to impress when you take a bite of it.
Pikliz website
Maison du Cari des Caraïbes
Maison du Cari | Website
Where: 6892, av. Victoria, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: An absolute classic for cheap food in Montreal, the loaded rotis and plates from this counter-style restaurant are hard to beat. They’ll make everything you order as spicy as you like, from mild to blisteringly, table-pounding hot, and if you still find yourself hungry after your first order? Get one of their doubles. That’ll break your belt.
Caribbean Curry House website
Le Jardin du Cari
Where: 5554, boul. St-Laurent, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Combining all kinds of Caribbean eats with Guyanese specialties, this long-standing Mile End restaurant makes all kinds of rotis and curry plates as well as things like chow mein and fried rice. All of that helps set it apart from other restaurants in town, but when you factor in their low price— where no dish breaks the $15 mark — you’re going to eat really well for less here.
Le Jardin du Cari website
Mango Bay
Where: 1236, rue Mackay #201, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: It’s one of the best Caribbean restaurants in Montreal, and you may very well have walked straight past it when walking around downtown. First opened in 2001, it’s since charmed a lot of locals and tourists thanks to long menus combining island flavours with Mexican and American cuisines, evidenced by dishes like fajitas and burgers as well as roti and mango chicken.
Mango Bay website
Casserole Kréole
Where: 151, rue de Castelnau E., Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Don’t let the size of this small Haitian restaurant fool you; there are a lot of big flavours here. Griot and curry are among its main areas of focus, but it’s the huge platters they put together that make it worth bringing a group of people with you to eat it all up. We’re not joking about those platters, either; if you’ve got a big party coming up, they have a whole separate menu for banquets and beyond.
Casserole Kréole website
Fourchette Antillaise
Where: 5968, rue de Salaberry, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Many consider this top-notch restaurant in the Cartierville neighbourhood to be one of the best places to have Caribbean fare. Maybe it’s because they keep it super simple here, as your average visit is for table d’hote menus centred on things like griot, goat, jerk chicken, and more. Its biggest attraction is its Sunday buffet, but take note that you have to make reservations in order to take part.
Fourchette Antellaise website
Comptoir Plaza Creole
Where: 6670, rue St-Hubert, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Sometimes it’s the smallest and most understated of places that’ll give you the best food (and for the biggest value, too). Plates of fritay (an assortment of fried food), mac and cheese, BBQ chicken, and griot are just some of the dishes this counter and grocery store serves up, packing a lot of flavour into a menu that’s shorter than most. Don’t leave without an order of upside-down pineapple cake, even if it’s for later.
Comptoir Plaza Creole website
Tropical Paradise
Where: 5208, boul. Decarie, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Jerk chicken plates, Trinidadian double platters, crispy jerk chicken sandwiches, rotis—if you love curries and jerk spices, then you need to try this place as it explores just exactly how many ways they can be explored. Oh, and the caramel and mango doughnut bites they make are out of this world.
Resto Montreal website
Casse-Croûte Sissi et Paul
Where: 2517, rue Jean-Talon E.
Why You Need To Go: This restaurant from Elsie and Pauldy Victor is all about big plates with even bigger flavour. Specializing in Haitian cuisine, it’s a 20ish seat spot where you’ll eat super casually and cheaply. Hence the mention of ‘casse-croûte’ in the name; it’s an easy-going place to grab some griot, accras, maybe some goat curry, and you’ll have enough to last you for an entire day.
Sissi et Paul Facebook
Méli-Melo Market
Where: 640, rue Jarry E., Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: At this Caribbean grocery store and restaurant, you’ll find a lot of delicious recipes for Haitian jerk chicken and griot made from marinated, braised, and fried pork shoulder for super affordable prices. It’s been a home-style institution in Villeray since 1984, and the amount of time it’s been around should be proof alone of why people love it.
Meli Melo Market Facebook
Greenz
Greenz Restaurant | Website
Where: 395, rue St-Jacques, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: Take one look at the menu of this casual diner-style spot in Lachine, and you’ll immediately see that it’s big on comfort eats. Stews and curries, patties, plates of grilled shrimp, chicken wings and rotis are all available, and all of them numbers among the best in the city. It’s all super affordable as well and served in such a way that it’s a great to-go spot for anyone working out of the west side of the island.
Greenz website
Lucki Delite
Where: 4816, av. du Parc, Montreal, QC
Why You Need To Go: You only need two words to convince anyone to come with you to this restaurant: Caribbean sandwiches. Served on fluffy slices of coco bread, options like jerk chicken, jerk squash, ad pork ribs are among their top recipes, but there are the occasional specials like Dominican accras to try out as well to seal the deal.
Lucki Delite Instagram
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
American actor Danny Glover with standing among employees in Haitian restaurant Kwizinn Verdun.