THE REAL JERK – STREATHAM HILL
Cuisine: Jamaican
Average price pp: £26
NEW RESTAURANT ALERT! The Real Jerk has opened up a branch in Streatham Hill,
South London. The boldly coloured shop front and the fact that is located on the corner
make it extremely hard to miss. I was on the bus going from Brixton to Croydon and it
caught my attention. Filled with joy that another Caribbean restaurant had opened up close
to home, I had to make a date to visit.
This is the first London location with its main and most popular site being in Toronto, Canada.
The site where Rihanna’s record breaking video for her reggae inspired hit “work”
was filmed. It’s that iconic!
There are stalls outside which make a lovely addition for days when the weather is good. The inside
décor definitely screams originality. Tables are plated in images of Jamaicans stars such
as Bob Marley, Usain Bolt and Shelly-Anne Fraser to pay tribute to the talent that emerged
from this tiny, remarkable nation.
The menu is quite small and features traditional dishes such as jerk chicken, saltfish fritters
and rum punch. The sauce pot has advertised “Try our jerk pork” on it, so I did along with
saltfish fritter and a dutty gyal the cocktail which had Baileys as its base. The name of this
cocktail alone let you know that this is a Jamaican restaurant owned by Jamaican people.
The food did take time to come however I was reassured that it was going to come soon. Whilst I
waited a member of the team came and spoke to me which I found to be a great gesture
and good customer service.
My drink, the dutty gyal cocktail was lovely. Baileys is the one of the nicest drinks, my palate
takes to anything that contains it. I did however, feel that for the small amount, £9
was a bit expensive.
When the fritters did arrive I was grateful that such a large portion was given, I would have
preferred a bit more saltfish but on a whole they were big, tasty and full of flavour. For only £3
I think that I should have order another 6 to take out.
The jerk pork with rice and peas were complimented by gravy and salad. I thought that both the
portion size and presentation of this meal were superb. A larger amount of gravy could have
been given as I felt that it wasn’t enough for my meal. Nonetheless, the nice, dry, thick cuts of
jerk pork had a good proportion of tender fat which gave an amazing texture and immense taste.
The smoked, grilled flavour was most certainly present in this dish. It WAS definitely
real jerk, no pun intended.
- Atmosphere/Setting
- Food presentation
- Food quality
- Service & Organisation
Summary
In a location full of restaurants of all types of cuisine the Real Jerk has made its mark. Oozing with authenticity it stands out as there is nothing quite like it in its area. To set up shop in Streatham, South London where just like Toronto, has a large population of the Caribbean diaspora, I am overjoyed. The culture of this establishment is bold and uncompromised. It would be nice if they expand the drink and food menu. I believe this eatery will do extremely well and hopefully more sites will open up around the UK in the future, it’s needed.
Recommendations:
All mentioned above
Visit: http://www.therealjerk.com/
