Uncle Desi Jamaican Grill

Every time I eat here which is at least 2xs a week, I’m never disappointed. I’m definitely addicted to it! The food is delicious! Jerk Chicken, oxtails, escovitch fish, Curry goat, brown stew chicken, salt fish fritters and mango punch are to die for!!! Everything is just so flavorful! Uncle Desi also makes his own signature hot sauce and I never leave without it. With the portion sizes and for the price you can’t beat it; I always have leftovers! By far the BEST Jamaican food I’ve had in the Winston Salem area!

Dissapointed. My Co worker and I ate here. I had the OX-​TAIL and He had the Curry Goat. I am from the islands myself but no prosessional when it comes to Jamaican food. We were greeted by the friendly staff. They took our food order and said have a seat where you like. Some tables were clean some werent. Our food was served in a timely manor. My Oxtail was no seasoned or cooked the way I’m used to. Didn’t get plantains with it. The Vegi was good. The rice was soggy and soupy. There was no good oxtail stew gravy. I ate the meat and Vegi and left the rice soup behind. Maybe next time.

This is by far my favorite Jamaican restaurant in the Triad area. The food is always super fresh and flavorful. My go to order is always the brown stew chicken with a side of plantains and a beef patty. If I’m really hungry I’ll add their coco bread! The staff are always friendly when I come by and you might even get a chance to meet Uncle Desi himself.

Love the jerk chicken and plantains! The outside of the place is a little deceiving but the inside is super clean, friendly staff (family owned and operated) and, of course, excellent food! Haven’t tried anything but the jerk chicken but I will be headed back soon for sure.

Food taste good. The jerk chicken was flavorful and the lamb curry was good. Total cost was around 7 dollar each. I used some deal. I was going to give it a four, 3.5 if I could, but the lamb curry had so much bone so I felt like it lacked the amount of protein that I paid for.

I had the Goat and the mango drink. Great food, great service. Hidden gem!

Great service and outstanding food! Curry goat was on point and the jerk chicken was LEGIT! A true gem. Will be back for sure!

I truly dislike giving a restaurant a poor review, but I have to say that this Jamaican food was AWFUL. On April 16, 2015 I wanted to try a different place to eat, since I have already eaten at 2 Jamaican restaurant in Winston Salem, and 1 in Greensboro, NC. The food at these places were DELICIOUS, and I have eaten at all of them a few times. I order the oxtails for me, and curry goat for my co-​worker, I didn’t have any oxtails, they gave me the bottom of the pot. I mean all I had was what bits and pieces of what was left of oxtails. A BIG MESS. The curry goat, was not curry. The few pieces of goat that I received was dry, tasteless and it was more of stew then curry goat, especially not the kind I have eaten at the other 3 Jamaican restaurants. The cabbage was brown and bland. I have never in my many years seen or eaten anything as horrible as the food I paid $ 25 for just to be thrown in the trash. I couldn’t take the food back because I was at work. I will never eat at this place again. I suggest if anyone eat there, please check your food before leaving the restaurant. You just might have a container of trash. IJS

I don’t know much about Jamaican or Caribbean cuisine, but Uncle Desi’s has the best Jamaican food I’ve ever had. I lived in South Florida for a few years and I never had any Jamaican cuisine that was memorable.
This place has changed all of that. It’s now my Friday night ritual to pick up some jerk chicken, fish or brown stew chicken with coco bread for dinner and a chicken pattie for late-​night snacking.
I love the spice and the huge portions. A regular is plenty for one person with the possibility for leftovers. The large is plenty for two people. Everything is served in Styrofoam, whether you’re eating in or taking out. The seating area is perfunctory and not really inviting, but you’re eating out of a to-​go box, soooo (shrugs shoulders) …
I don’t care for the bits of bone smothered and hidden in the chicken dishes (the brown chicken is breast meat, so you can dodge a calcium bullet there) and most everything tastes the exact same, but it’s all hot, pretty spicy and once you eat some rice, pigeon peas or cabbage, you’re good.
I wish the restaurant looked nicer on the inside, as it’s kind of dirty and dingy but there is a nice little mural painted on the front counter. That’s nice. Ish.

Something not right here.
I went to Uncle Des’s on a Saturday lunch with a group of friends. The location is hidden away in a strip. It is small and most people order out, so it’s not the kind of place where you want to stay and eat. The booths are plastic, the music was loud, and the tables and floors were clean but by no means spotless. Two of the four people I was with decided not to order anything based on the low health score posted on the wall. I ordered the jerk chicken wrap with red rice. It came in a foam container with plastic fork. I’m not a snob, but I think the management could afford better at the price they’re charging for some chicken and rice. The wrap dough was homemade and good. The chicken was okay. The veggies tasted odd – like they had been stored or cooked in a container that still had disinfectant in it. Soda fountain drinks also tasted like this. Other friends ordered curry fish and thought it was okay. I was disappointed in the experience. The spices are right, but they are cutting corners in quality and cleanliness. I won’t go back.

Very good food, I went to this restaurant on a Saturday with my family and everyone enjoyed their food. .I would’ve given it 5 stars, but I had to swat flies out of my face and food. Other than that it was a cool experience. .I enjoyed the free reggae cd and they gave me more than enough food, so that I can have leftovers. .love the curry goat. .I’ll be back for more! !!!

Updated Review: I am sorry Uncle Desi, but the past few times, the food has not been good. I’ve had the goat curry last time and… there were alarming things I was noticing, most notably, the goat had a very strange taste to it. And I tried the stew chicken for the first time, and was not a fan at all. I’ve been a huge fan of Uncle Desi, and the Jerk Chicken has been amazing all the time I’ve gotten it, but the goad and stew… it was not good. I really do love the environment here though, family-​welcomed restaurant and service is mostly good.
Very nice place. The food was cooked very perfect. The Jerk Chicken was nice and spicy and the plantains were fried without too much grease. I can’t wait to try to ox-​tail and other specials on the menu. This place seems like a nice alternative if you really want to try something different from your typical food choices available at Winsto“n Salem. The prices are right and you get good amount of food. Cant go wrong!

The jerk chicken is fantastic. I’ve never had Jamaican cuisine before, and Lord have mercy. Smoked to perfection. Fantastic owners and very friendly environment. A must in Winston-​Salem!

My husband and I stopped in for lunch on Saturday. The first thing I noticed was that Unilocal has this business opening at 11 on Saturdays yet when we arrived at 11:45 there was a sign taped to the door that said «open at 12 today.» We ended up waiting the fifteen minutes as my husband really wanted to try it out.
Upon entering the place smelled amazing and the staff was very friendly. I ordered the jerk fish and my husband had the curried goat. The food was delicious and probably a four star.
The reason for the two star rating is upon entering the dining room there was not a clean table in the establishment. There was food on every single table from the night before, we were the first ones in the establishment so it appeared when it was closed the night before it was not properly cleaned. This prompted me to look for a health rating…83! Probably the lowest I’ve ever seen. To be honest this really bothered me and neither of us ate very much. I will not go back because of this. Again, the food was fantastic but the health rating and cleanliness is unacceptable.

I would have gave 4 stars but they forgot my jamaican patty. :(
Otherwise everything else was just delicious especially the oxtails.
Great food, just don’t forget to put everything in the take out box.

Awesome food. My wife and I split a jerk chicken plate and it was enough for 2. Very spicy. Desmond came out of the kitchen and spoke with us and made sure our dinner was good. The restaurant is small and is in a old shopping center so it is easy to miss if you aren’t really looking for it. Desi’s is a place you should really look for though! It’s great.

Just ate at at Uncle Desi’s. Very poor experience. The staff was not very nice (could use
customer service lessons). The place smelled so badly of spices several of the customers were coughing and had to stand outside for fresh air. Received food, spicy
food is fine. But they put so much spice in the food, that the food is void of flavor. As an out of towner, I was very disappointed. Ate at Yeh Mon Caribbean Restaurant last week and enjoyed it much more. Don’t think I would return to Uncle Desi’s.

I made my first trip to Uncle Desi’s 4 weeks ago. I made my fifth trip today.
The restaurant itself is in a somewhat scary looking strip mall. If you’re nervous, get your food to go, and go in the daylight. They only accept cash. IF they accepted check cards and were in a better location, I’d be happy to give them a 5. The food is OUTSTANDING
if you like spicy island food, especially jerk chicken and fish, this is the place.
I actually prefer the jerk fish. Incredible jerk and spicy pepper sauce, with fried bananas, green peppers, and onions served over a spicy rice and beans combo.
If your taste buds don’t like spice, I don’t know what they can offer you. But if you like island spices, you owe it to yourself to give this little place a try.

It’s about time. I’ve been waiting on a good Jamaican restaurant to open in Winston Salem. I have had Uncle Desi’s food a few years back at a reggae show at Ziggys but since the I have been unable to find him.
The restaurant was clean even though I did not stay and eat I took my food to go has I was just getting off of work. I got a ox tail and jerk chicken plate. I must say it’s nice to take some authentic Jamaican food

Awesome food. The jerk chicken is the best I’ve had! You have to try the Mango Punch… there aren’t words to describe how good it is. I will definitely be eating here often!!!