Dunns River Restaurant

Overall pretty good! I had the oxtails and rice and my boyfriend got the jerk chicken. We both loved it! A small is more than enough for one person. I got a side of plantains and ocho rios wings. The wings were too sweet but the plantains were perfect! The sorrel was too much for me though it had too much cinnamon.

This was my first visit here. I normally don’t prefer Jamaican food at all. Because my cousin likes it we went around 9:30pm. Although it is open until 1am, I didn’t expect to see how busy and packed it was. When we came in, there was no organization. People that had already ordered were in the order line or crowded all around the register. After we finally got to order, we waited for almost 20 minutes as we watched people get angry for waiting or exhausted from the wait. One lady came after U.S. and immediately went up to the register to order. After a two minute wait, she started asking the people ion the register to get her food out first so she could go. Of course the owner told her she couldn’t do that as she continued to argue that her child’s daycare has been calling her since 6pm and she needed to go? I don’t see how it’s her fault that her child’s daycare called 3 hours before she got to dunns but I guess it worked. After the long wait, we finally left after getting the food. I drove home which is 30 minutes away and sat down to enjoy my food. Except, it wasn’t what I ordered at all. I was actually allergic to the peppers that was in the order and couldn’t eat it even. Plus it was fish which I don’t like to begin with. Overall I don’t think I would try the place again. Also, plan on walking because there are absolutely NO parking spots!

I will start with Dunns River only disappointment. Truly one… it was their beef patty. It was bland, tasted almost stale, and honestly was just not a good beef patty. However, the coco bread that I had it on was awesome, the curry goat that I had with the meal was pretty superb, and the stewed veggies were bar none, the best stewed veggies I had have had. More detail to follow.
I went to Dunns River with high expectations because I had heard they were the best Jamaican restaurant in the area. I would say, because of the fact that they had a waitress to come help out that put out some pretty cool wooden mats at your place setting, it was the place that made you feel most at home. The young lady who helped us at a lunch rush was very nice, let me know of her preference to have curry goat and her suggestion did not steer me wrong.
There was a slight bump along the way where the waitress was rude to my friend when we were ringing out, but other than that, the wait staff was more cordial and informative than other Jamaican restaurants I have been to. As a matter of fact, it was the first time there was a wait staff at a Jamaican restaurant that I had been to.
Bottom line, the food is awesome but don’t go in on the beef patty, stewed veggies cooked to a slight crisp, salted just right and the curry goat was seasoned great and fall off the bone finger licking good.
Definitely go, eat and feel like you just took a trip to the island.

What can I say, it’s a small restaurant with really good food. When you want Jamaican food, this is place to go. They more than just jerk and curries. There’s an extensive menu with ackee, escovitch, oxtail and so on. Lines get pretty long so be prepared to wait but so worth it. Awesome fried chicken too. Parking sucks but decent prices and great home cooked meal.

Had a rare date lunch with the Mrs & had a hankering for some tasty Jamaican food. We had a feast of curry chicken, jerk chicken, fried plantains & coco bread & cheese. Both chicken dishes were very nice — fall-​off-​the-​bone with the proper spice. The vegetables too were nice. We opted to add some heat with hot sauce shakes, which reminded us of sorts of a now defunct Haitian restaurant that we used to frequent that served a creole slaw.
The bread was done a disservice with the cheese (it was a slice of Kraft single). But it still made for the perfect vehicle for slopping up extra sauce not absorbed by the chicken or accompanying rice & beans.
Although not crazy about the location, the food was very good & our server was quite friendly and welcoming. If in the area, I’d gladly return.

I like eating here when I know I want something a yardi eats so it’s nice to have a taste of my country here in Hartford.

Jahm Ske’s and Dunn’s River are neck and neck in competition. Sometimes Jahm Ske’s seasons their food better, other times it’s cold or older. Dunn’s River, to be honest, might slip up every so often, but they follow through with generally consistent quality food. I just hate when they sometimes leave those little black pepper balls in there. The taste is hard and overwhelming of black pepper.
1.) Service:
Dunn’s River moves pretty quickly. Normally I will find myself waiting in the midst of several people in front of me. If I were to time it, I would believe my order is ready in the matter of 5 to 10 minutes. The staff is nothing but sweet. No lip, no mean face, no attitude. Just sweet, helpful and accommodating. Kinda like the way the culture is in the homeland, Jamaica. Dine in or take out. You choose.
2.) Client base:
The place I would say it pretty big for customers to dine in. It’s amazing how many kinds of clientele come here. Business men, doctors/​nurses, families, teens, etc. Apparently people love Dunn’s River.
3.) Food:
I have a dish or two that i’m comfortable with. I normally choose the Curried Goat with Rice, Peas and Veggies. It’s normally served temperature hot, a little spicy, and the seasons are great with the goat tasting nice and juicy. Just watch out for the bones that are left in them, you’re going to have to spit them out. They have a fridge filled with Cream soda, Birch and Root Bear, Coconut Water, and other soft drinks.
4.) Prices:
Definitely an inexpensive place. A large entrée. is anywhere from $ 9 to $ 12, depending on sides and add ons.
5.) Impressions:
I come here for take-​out. Fast, low price, High quality Jamaican food.

Fried chicken will change your life. Moist. Flavorful. Crispy. Escovich fish OMG

This is one of the best Jamaican places here in Hartford! None of the other places make their food spicy enough for me without adding anything extra. This place cooks with just enough spices and I love it! If I also want it spicier, they give me jalapenos and more peppers. Great portions for decent prices. The staff is also wicked sweet and nice. I’ve been here two times already and I’m hooked!

Bottom line? The food was pretty good.
Not much in the décor or ambience department. It has a kInd of confusing layout– there was a medium sized crowd of take-​out customers (some phoned in and some didn’t) gathered around the sales counter with no discernable strategy of who gets waited on first. Traffic flowed both ways along the «line».
I ordered a medium curry shrimp, a meat pattie and a chicken pattie. I didn’t think the curry was too spicy– but it’s kind of sneaky, it takes a long time to tickle your throat and lips. Great portion of shrimp in a thickish sauce, with some carrots and potatoes tossed in. The rice and peas were very good, as was the cabbage salad.
Neighborhood was definitely sketchy, but thanks to Unilocal,I now venture into places I didn’t normally patronize.
One last thing, some of the previous reviews described rude, shabby, or indifferent customer service here. I saw none of that. The sales people I interacted with were all smiley and sweet as can be.

Dunns rivers has the best jerk wings ever. The jerks have a nice spicey kick. Those wings ad yummmilicious.
Place is always busy and has all the main Jamaican dish: snapper fish (Jamaican style with hot pepper and onion), curry chicken and goat, soup, jerk chicken, fried and boiled dumplings. The menu has more dishes.
I have tried most of them and all taste yummy. This is by far my favorite Jamaican restaurant.

The food is great the customer service questionable its hard to tell if the counter person is rude or just being Jamaican? But the food is so good she can be wat Eva. I’m still gonna eat there I love the ackee, the butter fish, and the oxtail. rice is kinds dry but with the gravy its all good! Priced just right but u gonna spend about 20 food a good meal

Hand’s down the best Jamaican restaurant in Hartford. The women who work there must have been recently reprimanded though because just like this may be the best jamaican food on one end of the spectrum, they were the rudest mofos on the other end. Everytime I placed an order, I feel compelled to say, «I’ll have a medium jerk chicken, rice and peas, I’m sorry.» Sorry for what? Nothing and everything. Nothing as they should be taking orders because they work there. Everything because I am wasting their precious time with my order, I feel an overall sense of concern about what went wrong with them to make them so fugging mean! It must have been rough. They’ve been nicer more recently though.
Other than that the crowd can be rude and obnoxious, they will cut you in line, stare you down, not move for you when you say excuse me, will bump into you with no apology… But that food is gooooood.