Trendy Jamaican hangout with style and substance
Toronto has no shortage of good Jamaican restaurants. What it lacks is high-end and upper mid-range restaurants. Most Jamaican establishments are cheap takeout joints or family restaurants. Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen is a refreshing, fledgling step towards a different market: the hipster crowd of the King West neighbourhood. They put a modern spin on Jamaican foods and create some of the most flavoursome Jamaican dishes in the city.
The food
The menu isn’t too radical. It’s classic Jamaican dishes with small touches to elevate them.
Take the curry chicken for instance. It usually plays second fiddle to jerk chicken. But the curry here could stand on its own. It was noticeably artisanal. The herbs were coarsely chopped so you could see what you were eating. It had a different flavour profile from other Jamaican curries I’ve tried: mild but bright and almost fruity.
The chicken itself was succulent and falling off the bone. The meal came with papaya chutney, which is rarely seen in Jamaican restaurants in Toronto. It was fresh and provided acid to counter the curry.
Instead of the bland rice and peas that came with usual Jamaican dinners, Chubby’s curry came with Thai jasmine rice. I liked that substitution because the light botanical aroma complemented the curry well. Not to mention that plain rice is the best backdrop to any curry around the world. 8.5/10.
Note: after the pandemic began, Chubby changed this dish to curry goat with mango chutney. Flavours are similar.
Another staple of Jamaican restaurants is oxtail stew. Due to ingredient cost and lack of popularity among the general public, some restaurants only offer it on weekends. Not here though. You can get it any day that Chubby’s is open.
The oxtail stew here sticks to tradition. It contains butter beans (aka lima beans) and is paired with my nemesis, rice and peas. Thankfully, the rice and peas here had more flavour than most places and each grain was not overcooked. It could do with slightly more peas. Cooking with stock would also enhance the flavour.
As for the oxtail itself, it was above average but not outstanding. Meat had some chew and was pleasantly spiced. Butter beans were well done. But I was expecting more stew to scoop the rice into. The takeout format could be improved by packaging the oxtail stew separately from the rice and peas. 8/10.
I would be remiss to not mention the iconic Jamaican food, jerk chicken. At Chubby’s, there are two different types: jerk chicken dinner and jerk wings. Both use different spices and hence have different flavours.
The jerk wings certainly tasted non-traditional with the addition of honey and lime zest. The slow baking process enhanced the sweetness of the meat. Habanero chillies were supposedly present but this dish ended up being sweet and savoury instead of spicy. I wanted more chillies and allspice. It also lacked the characteristic smokiness from grilling.
However, if one doesn’t think of this as jerk chicken, they were actually pretty tasty. It’s a healthier version of barbecued wings and the flavours were amped up by the raw herbs.
The wings came with 3 festivals (dough fritters). It’s better to think of them as separate finger foods from the wings rather than as a base. The festivals were pleasantly spiced, probably with nutmeg or cinnamon. The dough had a nice chew but was on the verge of being too dense. I wished the festivals were bigger or there were more of them. Come on, flour is cheap. 8.5/10.
The place
Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen sits in a house on its own. During warmer months, the front yard is turned into a busy patio. Even before the pandemic, Chubby’s was buzzing every night. Its other raison d’être is a bar. The dimly lit interiors draw the downtown working crowd and dating couples.
Verdict
Gently modernized Jamaican foods with flavours that pop. 8.5/10.
Practical information
- Name
- Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen
- Rating
- 8.5/10
- Recommended dishes
- Curry chicken
Slow-baked jerk wings with festival - Prices
- Curry chicken: $18.08 ($16.00 excluding tax)
Slow-baked jerk wings with festival: $18.08 ($16.00 excluding tax)
Oxtail stew: $19.21 ($17.00 excluding tax) - Address
- 104 Portland Street
- Hours
- Tuesday to Thursday 1500h – 2100h
Friday 1500h – 2200h
Saturday 1400h – 2200h
Sunday 1400h – 2100h - Date of visit
- February 2020, June 2020