Ottawa Foodies

Amazing place to get the real flare of the Caribbean. SLOWEST service I have ever experienced but it is part of the style of the joint. Plan to eat out for about 2.5 hours or call very far in advance if you are getting take-out. I love the goat Roti. I once got the Jerk Chicken Roti and I almost died it was so spicy; be warned if you do like spicy food. The fried plantain is really good, and you can get a side of yogurt which makes the dishes a bit less hot. I like the Sorrel much better than the ginger beer, it helps to have something sweet to gut the spicy.

The new location is somewhat unfortunate as it is difficult to get to and in an unattractive part of town.

I stumbled across this place by accident while I was having my car worked on. I grabbed a roti for take out and ate it at home.
I was surprised at how BIG a serving it was. And the flavors were amazing. the roti itself had a nice texture and complimented the spicy filling.
I have not had a lot of Caribbean food before but this sample makes me want more!

The goat curry my boyfriend ordered. He loved it but thought there wasn't enough of it, which was okay since he had to help me finish off the huge roti that I ordered.

Beef roti platter and ginger beer. Delicious and filling but very very spicy! I ordered the mild roti and it was still very spicy for my taste.

We enjoyed dinner here with friends. We shared an appetizer of grilled shrimp in Creole pepper sauce ($11.95). This was served topped with strips of roti skin. The shrimp were small and didn't really look or taste grilled but that was just fine -- the sauce was so incredible all we really wanted to do was dunk the roti skin into it.

The rest of our meal was good too but that Creole sauce was the high point. Next time I'll want to try either the kingfish filet in Creole sauce or the shrimp Creole meal. Anything with that amazing Creole sauce!

I have been away on vaca for two weeks so I am a little late in posting this review.
Our Supper Club went here on Wed Sept 12th for our 7th outing. The main reason we chose this place was because I had gotten an advance copy of the new Entertainment Book and sadly Caribbean Flavours no longer have a coupon in the book. SO we figured we better use the coupon while we still can!!

My bf and I had been there several times pre-fire, but the other two couples had never been. The new location is more spacious but does not have the same charm as the old location. The server we had (there is only ever one) was fantastic. The place was packed as it was, but then a group of about 15 people came in who seemed to know the chef and just stood around drinking and as each table emptied they took it over. It seemed like some type of church choir group or something, because it was a customer’s birthday at one table and when they found out, they all stood up and started singing happy birthday to her - awesome!!

All that to say that with a full restaurant and 15 people standing around, the server was attentive and cheerful and did not forget anything we asked for. When we asked what ginger beer and sorrel were, she brought us EACH (5 of us), a shot glass of each to try. Really nice.
Anyways, the food as usual was delicious and very nicely plated with a variety of sides. Dishes ordered were: the curry goat, the jerky jerky chicken (very hot), the chicken roti and the marmalade chicken (which I think is a new dish), and chicken curry. All meals were hot, delicious and freshly prepared.

Most dishes can be ordered mild, medium or hot except the jerky jerky, the marinade for this must be prepared in advance or something.
The chef seems to do it all alone so make sure you are not in a hurry and are not starving as it takes a while to prepare each meal.
Well worth the wait!

went there on Saturday nite with 3 friends ..first time :)
Food is awesome!
I had Jerk Chicken Roti Platter(comes with soup and side dish), one of my firends had Beef roti, another friend ordered Jerky Jerky chicken breast, and my boyfriend had goat curry dish. all is great!! but...VERY SPICY!! NO KIDDING!! i wish I could order mild in stead of spicy!

a bit of pricey though...$90 for 4 main course plus one ice cream...I am going back anyway :)

CF is, indeed, back in biz., serving up the same great food as before: the rotis are to die for!

The new Carling digs are bigger and seem like they'll be a bit warmer in the winter.

And, they've now got St. Ambroise Pale Ale on draft, a quality choice in its own regard, and a good complement to many of the menu choices.

Mmmm.. I might have to try it.. that's right near where I work!

Rumor has it they are back open for business! New digs at 1659 Carling.

My goat roti platter ($19.95) was accompanied with veggies, fried plantain, rice and peas (off camera), and a bowl of simple but tasty vegetable soup (off camera). The veggies were pretty good but of course the star was the roti. The roti skin was like a super comfort food -- hearty and satisfying with a nice round (buckwheat?) flavour. The stuffing of goat curry with chick peas and potato was also very nice. Being a roti virgin, I asked for a "mild" level of spice and ended up with something that could have been a little hotter. Still, there was enough flavour that I appreciated being able to eat the whole thing without burning my face off!

Wifey's beef roti platter ($17.95) was strangely spicier than mine, even though she asked for "mild" too. The not so great thing was that the chunks of beef were incredibly tough, almost to the point of being unpalatable. The bigger pieces needed to be chopped up with a knife lest they form an unchewable lump in her mouth. I tried some and it was like leather. The flavour was very good but texture was nasty. Since nobody else has mentioned this I would guess that we just had bad luck with our cut of meat.

Mmmmmmmm Goat Roti.

The Man here is top notch !! I even put him up against any roadside vendor in Jamaica.

But, after the move to the new digs, the Goat Roti went up from $9.50 to $11.95 (25%) and the Goat Roti Platter went up from $15.95 to $19.95 (also 25%). What's a Po Boy gonna do ?

I know .... space out the vists to The Man !!

My expectations were high and I was not disappointed! They brew the ginger beer in-house and as a result it is less carbonated than the bottled Jamaican-style stuff. It was also less spicy than others I've tried, likely due to a lack of artificial non-ginger spicing agents.

This drink is very sweet and is seasoned with cinnamon -- a nice touch.