The Dutch Pot

I like to think that I’ve refined the making of various forms of rice and beans into a fine art. The family that runs the Dutch Pot shows that I’m just deluding myself.
I can make rice an beans at home, on the cheap, anytime I like. But I can’t do it quick.
When you’re just looking for a quick bite near Lark St., skip the local pizza shops that sell cheese for $ 2.25 a slice and grab a side of plantains, or some mac and cheese here, or some rice and beans. It’s all under $ 3. You won’t regret it.
Add a «Genuine Jamaican» carbonated-​fructose drink and STILL keep it under $ 5.
This is unreal.

Very polite man working the counter to accept orders over the phone and in person. I ordered two servings of the jerk chicken meal and it was very tasty!

Excellent Jamaican food in Albany. The jerk chicken was a bit dry, but still good. The curry chicken was excellent. And their Mac & Cheese is as good as it gets.

Prices are within reason. Food is ok, not the best Jamaican I’ve had but its also slim pickings for this area. Woman is RUDE definitely could work on her customer service skills… maybe she was having a bad day but her attitude was unacceptable. Service could be faster

First and last time coming here. I called to place a to-​go order of macaroni and cheese and a beef patty was told that the beef patty would take a half hour to make, so I decided not to order it. After deciding that I really just wanted mac and cheese, I showed up and thought I could just order a quick side. No joke I waited a half hour for a small side of macaroni and cheese. If I knew it was going to take so long, I would have ordered the beef patty also. The customer service sucked — one of the employees was at the counter watching How To Get Away With Murder instead of helping me. The side was so small that I honestly don’t know how it could have possibly taken a half hour to make. On top of that, it wasn’t even good. The place itself was dirty and no one was wearing gloves so I hate to think what goes on in that kitchen. Never again.

Best in town! Rasta pasta, garlic shrimp and plantains a must have! Unfortunately the jerk chicken was too dry twice – great flavor but too dry. Delivery is excellent.

We ordered the garlic shrimp with rice and plantains. And it was packed with flavor! The star of the show was definitely the spicy tamarind sauce. The plantains get a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ too! If you’re opting for delivery remember that there is a $ 15 minimum.

Food was absolutely delicious! My kids had the beef patty and coco bread which they both loved, my husband had the rice and beans with oxtails and I had the stew chicken with rice and beans both came with cabbage which was very good. We order the food through Unilocal,and it came exactly at the time mentioned. I will definetely order again.

This was my first and last time here! I just purchased two mild beef patties to go. They gave me their last two, and they were terrible! When I got home I discovered two partially stale beef patties with some dried meat crusted on the outside of one of the patties; while the other was completely hollowed out with a big dark hole down the middle, and barely any meat inside… and let me mention again, stale!
Instead of saying the last two mild beef patties were unsuitable, the man decided to sell them to me. I just moved to Albany and I am looking for a good Jamaican place, and this was my third attempt so far. I would’ve been a good loyal customer, too bad!

I really loved the food! I ordered the curried goat with cabbage and mac & cheese. It was delicious! My husband order a burger which was also very good. We brought home some beef patties which I am going to have to say where my favorite. Best I have ever had!
My only complaint is that it did take an hour for our food to show up…
If you have sometime and are looking for some delicious food I would recommend this place.

Dinner took two hours to arrive. Maybe more? It’s not here yet. Restaurant kept saying it was on its way, but we live blocks away, it doesn’t take that long to walk the food over, so clearly not true. Disappointed. Can’t speak to the food, as it’s not here still, but this was our first attempt to order from Dutch pot and likely our last.

I love their food, today’s delivery left a lot to be desired. Placed the order at 11:14 AM, order was supposed to arrive 12:10 — 12:20, didn’t arrive until 1:15 PM. They did throw in an apology when I called for the third time, and a free 2L of ginger beer, but one of my coworkers had to leave at 1:15, and ended up going hungry. The packages arrived with some container tops broken, and liquid spilled over the inside of the bag. The sweet potato fries fell through the bottom of the bag, when the bag was picked up.
Outside of the delivery, the Oxtail, Curried Goat, Escovitched Fish, and Plantains are my four favorite things to get there. I typically go through a stack of napkins because of the heat level, but the flavor is amazing. The sides are all quite good, the sweet potatoes and mac and cheese are addicting.

Best tasting jerk chicken I have had, it was smoked so that was something new for me, so good, and the rice also had the flavor, big meaty portions of chicken as well, opposed to some places where there is a lot of bone chopped up.
Service might be a little slow but the food was worth it.

Came here again for lunch special! Once again I was amazed at how delicious the food was. Customer service was great! I had the oxtail dish with rice and beans, and cabbage! Everything was perfectly cooked and seasoned. The cabbage was awesome. Oxtail was perfect! Next time I will try the goat curry! Feel like you can never go wrong no matter what you order here!

The food is excellent.
Service is EXTREMELY slow, and I’m talking watching paint drying in walls slow. Seemed like there was a sizable disconnect between the person taking orders and the kitchen. I just can’t give it a higher rating :(

Wanted to give this Jamaican spot a try and it surely did not disappoint. The gentleman working behind the counter was very nice and answered a lot of my questions about the cuisine, as I am not too familiar with Caribbean foods.
My friend ordered the Stew Chicken with white rice and side of macaroni and I ordered the Curry Chicken with rice and beans and plaintains. We ended up sharing our meals and were very satisfied with both taste and price. The chicken was fall off the bone tender and sufficiently spiced. We agreed that the rice and beans were definitely more special and appropriate than just the plain white rice. The macaroni needed just a bit more flavor but otherwise creamy. Lastly, the plantains were good and starchy!
They also have mouth watering items like coco bread, coconut shrimp, beef patty with cheese, ackee, roti, and even curried goat! I might just try everything I can in time!

I go here quite a bit. This place have very good food and when they tell you it is spicy like the goat or jerk chicken, it actually has a great kick. This was a lunch spot I would recommend if you have time. They cook a lot of the side dishes and main courses for a long time. If you are trying to get in and out in 20 minutes, you might be annoyed. If you come with the mindset that this place essentially 2 people doing everything, you will leave happy. Just be patient. They will serve you with real plates and silverware if you eat there although there are only a few little tables.
Most people do get take away, however being that I worked near by, I ate there. My I highly recommend the large oxtail, and the goat if you want spicy. The sides are very good as well. Rice and beans come with just about every platter but sometimes I get cabbage, plantains, mac and cheese and all of it is good.
They very much deserve the four stars on the taste of the food, but if you want some super service or are not patient, you wont like this place. If you want some great food, be patient and enjoy.

I have never had authentic Jamaican myself, but if food in Jamaica tastes better than the Dutch Pot, take me there immediately!
The food here is always delicious. You can tell because most of the space here is taken up by the kitchen, so their focus is on food. I’ve come here multiple times in the past, and I’ve enjoyed the jerk chicken, curried goat, and oxtail. All the meats practically fall off the bone and are spiced perfectly. I like their rice & beans and fried plantains. I pretty much order those two sides exclusively with my dinner plates. I also always get a patty of some sort (I’m partial to the spicy beef one).
Notes: They serve everything to order, so you know it’s fresh, but that comes with a wait time. I would suggest ordering ahead of time by phone or internet and picking it up to eat at the restaurant or for takeout later. The dining area is quite small — there are about 4 small tables and 4 stools facing the street. In the spring/​summer months, they have tables set up outside too. But it’s not the greatest place for groups larger than 3.

At first the prices seemed great, until the food came out, and we saw what you actually get… Sides with the mains are small and plain. My jerk chicken salad was mostly iceberg lettuce, with three small pieces of chicken. The chicken was almost inedible: super dry and tough! I had to drown it in scotch bonnet pepper sauce for any flavor and in the hopes of softening it up. The only truly good item was the curry patty, something like an empanada. It was perfectly flaky and savory.
Maybe they were having an off day? I hope we didn’t just get overcooked chicken that had just been sitting around and reheated when we came in mid-​afternoon. It wasn’t busy around 2 pm, but if you come rush hour with a group, it could be a problem. There are only two small tables and a very short seating area by the windows, so it’s probably better to take this to go.

Stopped in here on the way home from a long road trip to Vermont/​Canada. Food took a while to cook, but the people are really nice and accommodating.
I had the stewed chicken (small) and it was amazing! Really tender and flavorful. Side of Mac n cheese which was deliciously cheesy with herbs in it giving it a unique taste (no velveeta here!). Friend had jerk chicken which was huge serving of yummy. Great blend of spices.
Happened to be the best meal of the trip!