De Islands

It took a while for me to write this review. As soon as we walked in, there was a loud sewage scent emanating from inside. I mean, the scent was so awful, and it seemed no one else could smell it. One of us had to use the bathroom and inside of it was very dirty. It looked as though it had not been cleaned in a long time — I was very scornful of it.
The cashier had a salty attitude at first, not sure why. I have noticed this is a trend among the reviews, so maybe they need some training.
The food was good and the portions were BIG! You definitely can’t leave there hungry. I recommend the pumpkin rice, it was lovely. The rice comes in a soup container… its so fulling. The mac pie portions could stand to be a little bigger, but tasted nice. The coleslaw portion is huge, can be shared between 2 — 3 persons. I didn’t like the steamed veg, too much shredded cabbage. The plantains were a hit and miss but the portions were good and could be shared between 2 people. You definitely need to try the festivals and peanut punch.
The wait time for food is not long, we were all happily surprised.
Overall, if they were to rectify the scent and maintain a clean bathroom, then I would happily return.

Every time I’ve passed this place, the line is always massive. That has always deterred me from going in. One late night it wasn’t that bad, so I stopped in. The food in this place is incredible! I ordered oxtail, rice and peas. They serve everything in these 16 oz styrofoam containers, so if you’re like me and don’t like your food to touch, it’s perfect!
I’ve been back a few times.
As long as I’m in the area, I’ll frequent this place. Just after hours to avoid the crowds.

Ok… So, this restaurant was a recommendation. I ordered the stewed chicken roti… A-​MAZ-​ING. First off the roti skin comes separately wrapped with the meat and potatoes in a separate container. Not already wrapped as with most other restaurants.
The stewed chicken was seasoned well… A tiny bit of a kick, which was perfect for me. The roti skin was huge and the chicken was tender. YES a nice size portion, if I wasn’t soooo greedy I could have saved some for the following day… or even shared with someone. Taste buds differ but this restaurant is worth a try.

I love the brown rice and festivals. That’s my order all the time to the point the cashier sees me and automatically makes the order for me.

I was surprised by the food, it is actually pretty good. Sadly my impression of this place as always been that it was a fast food version of Jamaican food. And it is but the quality is the same as if you went to a neighborhood shop. What’s good about the layout of this store is that the menu is completely organized and easy to order from. The service is okay, l mean it’s better than the local shop. I got the jerk chicken with rice and peas and came with a festival and a drink. They have several side items to choose from as well. Good portions. I are for 2 days.
I’ve also had the soup, very good and hearty like grandma made it.

Most West Indian restaurants in Brooklyn are small and cramped. Not so with De islands. It is relatively spacious and the wait is not too bad.
They have excellent curry goat and curry chicken. Their portion sizes are relatively large as well. The cassava fries are very good and I get them every time I come here.

Impressed!!! I was recommended to try this place out since I wanted a quick bite. At first, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pick up (what I assumed to be) «fast food» (I’m thinking the typical popular Caribbean fast food chains because of the look of the restaurant). I decided to try it anyway and sample many things off the menu and I am thrilled I did. The food is nothing close to fast food and actually taste better than many of the Caribbean restaurants I have been to. The food reminds you of the island favors you usually only can get from a Caribbean household. And the best part is they are extremely generous with the portions provided. If you are reading this review and considering to order food from here, do it! You will not be disappointed.

Living in Brooklyn most of my life I’ve had my share of West Indian food spots that I truly love, in addition to their culture, music and men. LOL. I stopped in De Islands which isn’t too far from where my mom lives and ordered some take out. It was lunch time and there were one or two people on line. The place was clean and decorated in festive and island bright colors which was cool. The smell of all the yummy food was great as I tried to figure out what I wanted. I eventually decided on the curry goat, rice and peas and veggies which was delicious and fairly priced. I wanted some festival but they didn’t have any.
The three stars are for the customer service. I don’t want to say as typical in NYC but you see it more times in our city than others, poor customer service, The young lady behind the counter looked at customers as if she smelled something sour and just wasn’t friendly at all. Shoot I don’t always like my job but you have to play the part while you making your money. That one employees «stank look» wont stop me from returning when I am in the neighborhood to get some decent Caribbean food.

It was average. I have had better. They were not very friendly but that’s the norm.

This place is ok! That’s all I have to say about it. Basic West Indian restaurant. The lady at the register had these long crazy lashes on that distracted me from what I really wanted to order. Jerk Chicken! Any way the food wasn’t really that great. The goat had lots of bones and they didn’t add enough pepper to the goat. Scotch bonnet to be exact. The festival was delicious though. I wouldn’t go back again seeing that the curry wasn’t on point. I believe if you can cook curry you can cook anything. Thanks for the festival!

Very good restaurant! I had oxtail and callaloo rice, and my brother had jerk chicken with rice & peas. Very good — we enjoyed our meal! I’d go back there again if I’m in the area. Highly recommended by us!

My wife asked me to bring home some jerk chicken and after a quick consult with Unilocal,I found De Islands restaurant, about 1.5 miles from where I was working. Street parking on Flatlands Ave was not possible, so I parked at a hydrant around the corner and said a quick prayer.
First impressions: a very clean, well lit, large space, with an extensive menu. I asked the lady at the counter what would be the best combo of jerk chicken, rice n peas and cabbage, and she recommended the quarter jerk chicken, with rice n peas and cabbage as sides. I also got the seasoned fries and cassava fries, both which looked good. After about 4 minutes, my food was ready and I was back at the car, no parking ticket in sight, Thank God.
I got home and was not disappointed by the jerk chicken or the sides. The chicken had a good spice level and did not even need any of the jerk sauce they provided. The two sides were very large, enough for two or three meals. The rice n peas was good and the crunchy cabbage with shreds of carrot was very tasty. Both types of fries were good but since they had cooled down on the trip back home, were not fantastic.
The staff working there were helpful and efficient and I was really impressed with the space. It’s always nice to see a clean, well lit restaurant. I will definitely be back to sample more from their extensive menu.

The place expensive, then serve little food and call money. food unhealthy, Jerk Chicken have lots of oil, burnt up, they advertise rice, achee and salt fish, and always out of it. The drinks water down
curry goat and roti .2 piece goat and 3 piece potatoes.

As you walk up to this place the smell of their sweet jerk catches your smell-​buds. The service was polite an helpful. The place is clean, bright and welcoming. The jerk chicken was juicy and tasty. The jerk sauce is SO GOOD and just the right measure of sweet and spicy. The fries were perfectly seasoned and not too salty. Overall, it was an excellent experience and I’m glad I found this place. I only recently discovered jerk, but I see it’s one of those foods that «when you gotta have it, YOU GOTTA HAVE IT!» Glad this place isn’t far. $ 27.50 bought me too much food for three people. Looking forward to trying more of their excellent food. Excellent!

Yummy Jerk Chicken and I LOVE their Jerk sauce… sweet & spicy!
Try their cassava fries; they’re to live for

The first time I dined here, I was met with the sadly typical rude, disinterested customer service I’ve come to anticipate from most Caribbean fast food restaurants. My most recent visit last week was surprisingly refreshing… like a Red Stripe at a beachside BBQ.
The curry goat and callaloo rice was much more flavorful than I expected. There are plenty of side options and enough combination meals (mosty Curry _​_​_​_​) to be a regular here for my Caribbean fix.

JUST love their season fries with jerk chicken. Will be coming back to try the jerk fish

I’ve been going here since it opened, their rice and beans is not the best but their pumpkin rice is. Make sure to Always ask if their sweet plantains are ripe before ordering, I had the experience of them cooking me unripe sweet plantains that taste like green ones.
I usually dine in, it’s a really clean place and the staff is pretty friendly once you get pass the cashiers supper long eyelashes and odd make up choice of colors. Although prices everywhere are rising this place prices have sky rocket and to me the food is not worth the over priced small portions. So I haven’t eaten there for a couple of months resorting to Spanish food which is just as good and well priced for their massive portions on Flatbush and Beverly. But if you do go here I recommend the curry goat it’s well seasoned and moist.

There’s probably no need to take the L train and the B6 bus here, as I did, since there are other places with adequate jerk chicken and surly service that may be closer to home.
The chicken had a nice coating but was of the unsauced variety. The sauce was on the side and I have to give it credit; it seemed too sweet at first but slowly built up a fiery feeling. Pumpkin rice was decent. This was the only the second time I recall that I’ve had festival; it was almost like a donut.

Very affordable… Great deals… Real Jamaican food… If you haven’t eaten Jamican food before, then this place is a must go. The best part is if you confused what you want to purchase to eat, they would offer you a sample to try before purchasing. They welcome you to their home, because they want to make sure you come back.
Top notch food, staff and attitude.