The Jerk Center in Tarpon Springs - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Omg the best oxtail stew, everything was fantastic, great rice!!!! i give it 10 stars!!!

A little disappointed with the lunch meal I ordered. Curry chicken roti did not have any flavor and seemed like the filling was not enough for roti. There were more bones than chicken and the roti skin was also bland. I also ordered a spicy beef patty which didn’t taste fresh, the crust wasn’t flaky. Between those two things I spent $25 which for lunch felt like a little much and it didn’t include any drinks.

I loved the great food as well as the friendly atmosphere and people. The interior of this restaurant is well appointed and tasteful. My son and a friend were the first people to bring me to the Jerk Center. They wanted to surprise me knowing my love for Caribbean cuisine. With my Honduran roots I felt right at home at this amazing restaurant. The food on the menu is authentic and delicious. I enjoyed the Escoveitch Fish with sides of Steamed Cabbage,Sweet Plantain and Corn. My next visit will be very soon. Along with my Escoveitch Fish and Sides, I will also have a dessert perhaps Cheesecake or Pineapple Upside Down Cake, which Hondurans love. I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone who loves authentic Caribbean Island food!

Decent Brown stew and chicken curry.

I love this place, authentic island comfort food. Not fancy but always friendly

I feel bad giving a local spot a low review but I happily paid $100 for food and none of it was worth it. The rice & peas seemed old & reheated- they were very dry and the peas crumbled apart. The oxtail was very sweet, maybe it’s someone thing but definitely not what I was expecting. The roti was $5 ea. and the size was good but it was really hard and definitely too much flour. The corn bread tasted like dry vanilla/coconut cake. The patties were ok but I could’ve gotten the same quality some a grocery store. The curry was good once I could reach it through the half inch of oil in the bowl. I never even got my plantain and my guess is that would’ve been the only thing worth the price. The steamed cabbage was definitely my favorite part of the food. Growing up on these foods I feel like maybe they’re catering to a demographic with a more sensitive palate but it wasn’t doing it for me…

Very skimpy on the oxtails and gravy. Even if I order a pound, it's the same amount as if get in a regular meal. Swindle!! Other than that, the food is great. The beef patties are good but very flaky so be prepared to make a mess!

The best food I found thus far when I visit

The Jerk Center never disappoints. They have one of the best Jerk chickens in Tampa, and their patties are amazing!

My husband goes in here all the time for oxtail. They are so fun and friendly in here and they always have meat patties for him ready to go lol. It is great food

If they had a half a star or a quarter star, I would probably give it a quarter star. This was the worst Jamaican food I have ever eaten and I’m Jamaican bought a plate of brown chicken and another plate of curry chicken both dinner plates and unfortunately, my money was wasted because, not only did they short step on the preparation process not using enough browning for the Browns to curry for the curry, but they served old rice and peas that was sour for the amount of money that they are charging they should have had fresh food, regardless of the time or situation bad customer service food was not good actually gave me the runs. I’m writing this from the toilet.

First time here. Definitely a no frills interior but the food was excellent!! I had dark chicken meal which was delicious. Hubby and daughter had the pork jerk, also excellent. Will definitely come back.

No frills dining room and the outside area is kind of sketchy looking.....but the food is great and service was quick. Had a lunch special with dark meat jerk chicken, red beans and rice, and steamed cabbage $13. The chicken had authentic jerk flavor and wasn't too spicy.

Good authentic Jamaican food. Good customer service- I recommend!

The jerk chicken and the sauce was really good. The rice was subpar, I was disappointed. My Dad enjoyed the stewed chicken. The plantains were good. Not sure this is a place I'd eat inside but I will try take-out again. They were out of patties, I definitely want to try them!

Since my review got taken down an I’m still highly upset. I’m making another 1…. So I decided to take a trip almost an hour away to come to this 4.7 star rated restaurant instead of others. We walk in with such high hopes for this place. Let’s start with the jerk tray TRADITIONAL jerk does NOT have yellow BBQ sauce on it. If I wanted BBQ I would’ve went to a bbq place. The rice an cabbage on the plate were gross my bf didn’t even eat the tray. Next the OX TAIL whoever said they give you nice servings 😂😂 I got maybe 5 ox tails!!! Now the ox tail meat was decent I don’t have complaints on the meat. But them SIDESSSSS rice dry an cabbage nasty! I got Mac n cheese more like baby food it was so over cooked the girl in there that said it was so good should be ashamed. I got a pineapple upside down cake that was MINTY I’ve never had a pineapple upside down cake be minty! Y’all want some real traditional Jamaican food. Come to Spring Hill ! I really want a refund but it’s to late for that. Still highly upset about my $54 dollars being wasted.

Cliff is so friendly 🙂 The food is fantastic! If you like oxtail, this is definitely the place to go! So delicious! The price is beyond reasonable and there is no was you will leave hungry! Highly recommend 💚

Folks , if you’re ever in Tarpon Springs you have to come by The Jerk Center , if you love amazing food this Gem is phenomenal!!! I’ll remember pictures next time before I devour the food

I'm not sure why there are 4 stars. It was edible but not 4 star worthy! Disappointed with portions this oxtail meal was a rice n peas meal. Two bites of meat and vegetables and the rest was rice n peas as you can see in the photo. It was definitely not worth the $$ and I will not be eating here again.

Family owned, friendly, great food as always. My daughter insists on ox tails for her birthday dinner every year and this is her place of choice. Super yummy. The Curry goat was good as well! It was late, so we ordered as a pick up.

Friendly,clean lots of choices, good prices, fresh patties

The best!! Been coming here from Illinois for 10 years now. The owners are wonderful!! Especially "the boss" in the kitchen...I even got frozen meat pies to take home. See you again in a few months. ✌️

Stop what your doing and go get the jerk wings! Amazing

jerk favor wings are 🔥!!!!! A must have everytime we go a must. Staff and family are so nice will continue to support.

The food was fine but I think they need to step up there game with bigger oxtails there's a lot of companies offering bigger soft ball sized oxtails and not those little tiny ones. Times have changed and these companies need to change with it.

Cliff's veggie sauce! Add extra!!

The food is very good and I highly recommend eating in or take out.❤️❤️

Always a great experience here! The food is excellent and service is spectacular. I've never had a bad meal here!

As soon as I walked in, I smelled good cooking. Miss Pauline’s food was outstanding and generous. My leftover curry chicken roti was even better the next day. I thoroughly enjoyed that atmosphere and ambiance.

Been coming here for a few years now. Consistently good. Would recommend.

We love the food and the prices are reasonable. The jerk wings and patty are definitely favorites. Bring back the coleslaw!!

I'm so glad they're back open. Really missed them thru the Covid Era.

Best Jamaican food on the gulf coast

food is amazing, prices are great, and they give you very big portions!

Authentic Caribbean food. Awesome ox tails. Tasty jerk pork. Always a go to... Spicy meat pies...

The best in town! I've been a customer for over 10 years. The food is delicious and the drinks dynamic!!

Food was tasty, but no spice, had to go to the counter to get service and the inside is just as bad as the outside dirty and run down

Definitely was skeptical when we walked in but mannnnnnnn that was probably some of the best jerk chicken I've ever had! And my husband LOVED his curry goat! Mac and cheese was definitely mac'in in my opinion! Will be back!

Worst chicken. Stale and clearly hours, if not days old. Very dry and hard to eat. The sauce tasted terrible. To make things worse the Coke had no fizz and when we looked both bottles were expired. We were charged extra and when pointed out all issues, other than a “sorry” from the waitress, we got nothing. Overall, disgusting experience. Please do not make plans to visit there. I won’t eat this chicken for free. I won’t even smell it.

Good Jamaican food at decent prices. Would definitely return. Will have to try their curry next.

Great food, reasonable prices and friendly atmosphere! Best Jamaican restaurant I've been to.

The food is always so delicious and fresh the customer service is always A1

Authentic Jamaican food and very reasonable pricing.

The food was great. I really felt like I was home

I had the curry goat, excellent.

I really enjoy this place. The food is authentic and the staff is friendly. Prices are beer reasonable.

Yesterday I tried this place for the 1st time. I had curry goat with rice/beans and cabbage. It was delicious! I also had the rum cake and it's authentic. Great, real deal Jaimaican restaurant.

Absolutely horrible dining experience food was so gross

Ox tail to die for!! Awesome experience

I’ve had many dishes from the jerk center the food is amazing, oxtails, curry, cabbage, macaroni and cheese I get by itself sometimes. Very friendly staff. Love this place😍😍😍

A very odd experience over all. I had had this once with a friend takw out and wanted to dine in with my husband. No greeting upon entrance, stood at the door for a few minutes before we figured it was seat yourself service. After about 10 minutes a young lady came with emnjes and took our drink order. She came back with bottleed water an silverware rolled in a paper towel. We ordered a little unsure of what we were ordering but she offered no suggestions or help with the menu.we both got the jerk chicken. It had good flavor, especially the yellow sauce the drizzle over top, but, it is very, very dry. The rice has a a bit of an odd flavor. Their Mac and cheese was very good. The whole experience was a little awkward, I might try take out one more time, but, definitely would not done in again as it was just a very Unwelcoming experience.

Picked this location on a whim since I was in the mood for Jamaican/Caribbean food. I wasn’t disappointed- food was prepared promptly and served fresh. Taste and portion size was good for the price. I’ll return in the future if I’m in the area.

The best place ever for authentic Jamaican cuisine! The staff is friendly and the food is delicious. What more can you ask for I ordered the oxtail dinner with rice and peas steamed cabbage. This is one of the first places that served dumplings in their gravy so I had to ask for extra, and it was amazing

Great food and great people. Give it a try. I recommend the Oxtail dinner.

Best jet chicken in town, also my favorite rum cake…it’s always a place you can call home

Awesome food, authentic Jamaican dishes

This establishment is very much your typical Jamaican restaurant, the workers are most likely family, friendly staff, food was good. The roti some know it as dahl pouri, split peas is inside

I love this place… jus spent 27 bucks and when I got home I was a little upset the rice and beans weren’t soft fresh… and on my first bite jerk chicken there was a black hair in it.. I know no one is perfect I’m jus weird like that I lose my appetite even if my mom made it… I wish I didn’t even see it because I was starving.. I ate the chicken wings they were good… I would’ve gave a 5 star

Good food! I use to ask for white meat when I started ordering here a few years ago but they didn't offer it that way. Once I learned that I didn't ask anymore. This time that I visited my curry chicken was all white meat and I didn't request it. I've been waiting for this!!! The cabbage is consistently good.

picked up lunch on the job here, best decision I made all day! delicious food food made quick with generous servings.

I love this place! Best jerk chicken around, and you have to try the curry goat.

This place is great! I had the jerk chicken meal and it was delicious and very substantial for the price. Kind of has a hole-in-the-wall feel but the food is really great!

The food was good. Had jerked chicken with rice and peas and while it was cooked and presented right the authentic Jamaican flavor was missing. The seasoning lacked quite a bit.

Tried this place for dinner and was not disappointed. The goat curry was tender and very flavorful. I'll need to try the jerk chicken wings next time.

Smell of the delicious spices greets you before the door. We had beef patty, jerk sandwich arriving with three slider buns and loose meat on a platter with side of cabbage with carrot and pepper and the goat curry entree with the cabbage side, rice and beans. The meat is fork tender, the veg perfectly cooked and still crisp, flavorful heat of spice but not overpowering. Beer and wine available also ginger beer and other soft drinks. Superb. Casual Caribbean seating. Attentive friendly servers. Two thumbs up.

Clint is always very friendly and welcoming. Definitely a great atmosphere and represents the Jamaican cuisine.

One of the best Jamaican food I ever had and the service was great!

Good food , good people. I got a Jamaican restaurant 5min from my house and I drive 40 mins to give my business .

Always love supporting local business, but performance and quality is a must. That said this place was GREAT. Best Caribbean I've had even while working in the islands! Awesome food, fare portions, and not over priced. Only thing that could've been improved on was attentiveness of service (I'm messy and need more napkins than most lol). Considering they had just opened and were already busy I'm totally not faulting then for it. I'll definately be making this a regular spot.

My husband has been telling me about this spot for a long time but being that we live far (St. Pete) i have been unable to get any so my husband called in a order when he was at work a chicken roti he asked that it be not put together because by the time it got to me it would be soggy when he got there it was already put together he asked that it be corrected and it was but this is what was made my husband never had one before and didn't know what exactly he should be looking at needless to say if this is all you are giving in portions i will never eat here again this did not even fill up the roti bread and those was all bone

I had the jerk burger and my wife had the dark chicken with rice and beans. We both ordered the soft cabbage. Everything was loaded with flavor. Don’t be fooled by the modest setting. The food is outstanding and very reasonably priced.

It's like you're actually in Jamaica! Very friendly people and the food is authentic and super delicious. Prices are average. Will definitely return and highly recommend

Great food . Family friendly . Definitely recommend!

I had the curry goat ,a regular beef patty and a spicy one...( I can only speak of what I ate)I have to say that if you find yourself near The Jerk Center,stop in and try the curry goat and patties.. because I for sure will be back.. I will always tell it like it is and this one is a good one 👍.

Truly memorable dinner. I was visiting friends in Palm Harbor and they recommended The Jerk Center for dinner. The food was simply amazing and the service was great. We shared Festivals, Sweet plantains, Jerk chicken and pork, curry goat and oxtail. I couldn’t say which was my favorite, they were all so good.

I AM NOT GONNA LIE I HAVE EATEN FROM A COUPLE JAMAICAN PLACES BEING A BORN JAMAICAN BUT THIS PLACE THE THE JERK CENTER IS THE BEST AND MOST REASONABLE PLACE BEST TESTING FOOD REMINDS ME OF HOME I HAD THE BROWN STEW CHICKEN WITH RICE AND FESTIVAL AMD PLANTAINS IT WAS THE BEST FOOD EVER!!!

Food amazing but employees very rude and ignore customers

This place does oxtail stew RIGHT! Reminds me of how my mom made it back in the day. So tender and rich...delicious. Don't let the decor turn you away. This is great, down home cooking.

Wow oxtail stew. Very rich, very good. Comes with vegetables and rice with peas. Comfort food at it's best. Place isn't much to look at and a little tough to find.

Great Carribean vibe here, and the food was tasty and portions good.

It was my first time going there and it won't be my last. Delicious food.

True Jamaican experience... Authentic dishes... Excellent taste!

The best Jerk Wings in north Florida!

Reminds me of my grandma and grandpa cooking in New York whole house smelling like jerk chicken

AMAZZZZING FOOD! Friendly service, quiet plaza with plenty of parking. Can't wait to come back!

The owner and staff were friendly, place is clean, and the food was very good with reasonable pricing.

Fresh, authentic, wholesome, homemade Jamaican cuisine. Been coming to this spot for years, we travel from Citrus County just to get our fix.

Great place to eat and the staff are awesome.

Sooo good, I didn't even have time to take pictures cause I inhaled that tasty authentic Jamaican food! 😋 😋😋

If you like Caribbean food,, this place is AMAZING. But what is even better than the food are the employees and Owners. I sit and wait for my Togo order and smile and laugh the whole time. Thank You!!!!

Perfection. We were missing this flavor and were all so happy with our dishes today! The coco bread, meat pies, jerk chicken, jerk pork and sides were all delicious. This will be a regular spot for our family.

VERY GOOD FOOD, a must try if you're in the area or even if you're just looking for some good Jamaican food.

Delicious so authentic. Took my wife here for our anniversary I absolutely recommend the oxtail and beef patties. But it all smells so Delicious. The place is just a vibe on its own.

Cool experience, food felt very authentic

I absolutely love this place! My husband surprised me once with some Oxtail rice and peas with Mac and cheese and cabbage! Lord let me tell you all, seasoned to pure perfection, tender as all outdoors! Great food the chicken is tender and moist as well! Spicy beef patties love those too! Be back soon!!!

Been wanting to stop and try for some time now, and now I'm disappointed that I didn't get in sooner! Lots of food for a great price, and very tasty! We will be back!

Amazing Curry Goat! Portion size was massive, goat was very tender and delicious. Great food, this is my favorite place for Jamaican food in town!

It was my birthday and I took my family out, including kids and we all got something to eat that we liked, suited our palates and enjoyed.

Amazing food and great selection! Love the roti and curry goat!

Nothing but good vibes and good food