Chubby's Jamaican Kitchen

Last month my sister and I found ourselves at Chubby's Jamaican Kitchen (104 Portland St), currently listed as one of the best up-and-coming restaurants in the city.

Outside it appeared to be no more than a white house with a small, pink neon sign saying "Chubby's". Inside it was tropical: The interiors were updated and decorated with palm everything, rattan light fixtures, and other decorative elements that I can only describe as millenial chic.

We walked in without a reservation, hoping to get a table given that it was just after 6:00pm on a Friday night. But we were mistaken: We were told that there would be a long wait unless we were open to sitting at the bar...

And open we were! So we were brought up a set of rickety stairs to the second floor where we sat in front of---surprise, surprise--the bar, with our backs to a balcony that opened to the floor below.

We started our meal with a couple of drinks and some saltfish fritters (not pictured). Maybe it's just me, but I thought they were okay. I think I was expecting salt and ended up with (a bit of) heat. That and breading. Needless to say, I am not tempted to order them again.

Then came our chicken, which was good! It wasn't as good as authentic jerk chicken, but it was more than edible. I just wish it wasn't so small a portion.

Side note: By the time our mains rolled around, our paper straws had disintegrated into a pulpy mess. It was disgusting. I am all for being environmentally-friendly, but when something is no longer effective at doing what it's supposed to, I'd much rather go without it.

The highlight of our meal was actually the sauces that came with our chicken. I believe one was a mango sauce and the other a guava, and they were excellent, especially the guava. It fooled me into thinking it was sweet. Then the heat would just sneak up on me and I'd have to down glasses of water in protest. If I had to judge our meal based on that sauce alone, I would have given it five stars and then some. It was that good.

The dessert--a passion fruit coconut cream pie--was good, too. Although I found the crust tough to cut through and the presentation a bit lack luster, I was a big fan of the caramel pieces that topped the pie. They were crunchy and sweet, just the way I like them.

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So in conclusion... 

Dinner at Chubby's was good. The restaurant was pretty, it had good vibes and served up okay food. Service wasn't bad either. But if I'm being honest, I really don't feel compelled to eat there again. Something about that place felt formulaic in the sense that they thought of all the things that would make a good restaurant and spat out Chubby's... Or it could be that I am just not used to Jamaican being so mainstream. Either way, it was worth trying, just not worth going back to for me.