Restaurant Review: The Real Jerk
THE REAL JERK
842 Gerrard Street East ~ therealjerk.com Instagram: @realjerktoronto ~ Twitter: @RealJerkToronto Co-Diner: Tim Golem
If your're a lover of Jamaican and Caribbean food Toronto is the right place for you (other than the islands) because there is such a wonderfully robust community in this city. When NOW Toronto said that The Real Jerk was voted Toronto's #1 Best Caribbean 2018, I was ready to try it! The most notable fun fact about this restaurant is that this is where Rihanna and Drake filmed the music video for the song 'Work.' I totally recognized the interior of the restaurant from the video, which is pretty neat!
I rolled up to the original location (there is no mistaking it - the signage is massive) in Riverdale (they now have two different restaurants and have been around since 1984) on a Sunday evening and was seated at a comfortable table by the front windows. Everything about the decor screams "Jamaica" and the vibe is patriotic perfection. The colour scheme is red, yellow and green for as far as the eye can see. The space is very large with two separate dining rooms, some lounge areas, and a massive bar right in the middle of the room. I loved the authentic art all over the walls, painted onto corrugated tin sheets. There are scenes of beaches printed directly onto the tables. The feeling is welcoming and warm, which was echoed in the demeanor of our friendly server. The experience seemed pretty legit and I enjoyed feeling like I had been magically transported to a different country entirely.
First things first, I began to look at the beverage options. I was very pleased to see favourites like home-made fruit punch, sorrel juice, ginger beer, and of course Ting on the menu. The list of alcoholic drinks is even more impressive, especially their incredibly large rum selection. I found myself looking at the Specialty Cocktails menu (there are lots) and decided that the Real Jerk Cocktail ($10.99) was the way to go since it was my first-ever visit. I'm ever a fan of the signature drink.
This drink sounded fun and fruity which is exactly what I had in mind. I likely could have assumed that this beverage was going to be boozy and it was! The fruit juices were nice and sweetly attempted to balance out the rum. However, the rum took centre stage in a big way. While it was strong, I liked this drink because it allowed me to enjoy a rum experience without the alcohol taking over too much. Next we moved our attention to the Appetizers. There are some very good options in this section, such as dumplings and patties - I'd like to return to try both! On this visit we opted for a lighter favourite, Plantain ($3.00).
The banana's denser, starchier cousin, plantains are delicious all fried up and these ones were no exception. I loved the light caramelization and fresh bites. A nice and fruity way to begin the meal. Our server accidentally brought us two orders of plantains when we only ordered one, but she let us keep both at no extra charge, which was very kind.
My choice of main course was fairly obvious to me, given the fact that they offer my favourite Jamaican dish. I went straight to the Seafood Entrees section of the menu and found the Ackee & Cod Fish ($17.00), otherwise known as ackee and saltfish, Jamaica's national dish.
The food didn't take long and arrived hot and delicious. As a big fan of this traditional Jamaican dish, I order it every opportunity that I can. I have eaten it in Jamaica as well. The version at The Real Jerk is extremely excellent. The perfect balance of salty and sweet flavours wins me over every time. The sweet and light ackee fruit had been boiled and was very tender, while the cured salt cod adds a great bite and meaty texture. Sautéed together with onions and spices, I absolutely loved this stewy and well-seasoned dish. The flavours were incredibly bold. I would have liked to see more tomato incorporated in the dish for a bit of added fresh brightness, as the lone solitary piece of tomato on my plate wasn't exactly cutting it. Regardless, I would order this dish again and again. I also really enjoyed the sides of savoury rice & peas and deliciously creamy coleslaw.
I certainly couldn't miss out on trying their jerk chicken!! I was extremely happy to see that a large "Sides" section is offered, making it easy to toss in any favourites that you cannot leave behind. The 1/4 Jerk Chicken ($6.50) was exactly what I had in mind.
I was disappointed to see that I had been given a piece of white meat (however I did not send it back). The menu clearly states that white meat is $1 extra, therefore I purposely did not request it. I'm a dark meat kinda girl all the way! (I was not charged extra for the white meat that I was given.) To my dismay but not to my surprise, the white meat was pretty flavourless and dry. I'm sure that the dark meat would have been much juicier and more flavourful, such is its characteristics. Even the jerk spices seemed to get pretty lost and didn't provide the big and bold jerk punch that I had been longing for. It really just tasted like a piece of plain BBQ'd chicken. I will say that I pushed the bland breast meat aside and tried to focus more on the wing and shoulder areas of meat (the closest to dark meat that I had) and they tasted much better. The jerk seasoning was much more concentrated on these areas and I was able to get at least a small taste of what their jerk chicken has the potential to be. I would be amiss not to mention that my husband ordered the Goat Roti and boasted that it was likely the best roti that he's ever had. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience, despite some of the shortcomings. I'm let down that The Real Jerk didn't really serve me any real jerk but I'd certainly like to return to try a nice spicy dark-meat piece of chicken. The ackee is worth the visit!