Stir It Up

i heart this place. delicious vegetarian options (the amazing «chicken» is amazing). i’m a vegetarian who usually hates fake meat, but i allow myself to eat it here. the food is spiced so well and the portions are huge. we often take food home. the atmosphere is super casual, which can lead to very slow service — it’s not that they aren’t attentive, everything just moves at a snail’s pace there.

One of the most casual restaurants ever. Don’t get turned off by strange wall color or scary pictures on the walls. This restaurant is not about décor. The owner, Sonya, is a heart of this place, extremely friendly to the point that I call her my Caribbean Mama. She is one the characters that create this neighborhood. Everybody knows her and everybody loves her.
Food: Amazing Chicken (VEGETARIAN DISH) is a must but also curry chicken, jerk chicken, and others. Service is slow, be prepared for that, but everything is fresh and YUMMY!!! Easy for take-​out.

Stir It Up is SO GOOD. I had the Stir It Up Shrimp, and it was delicious. I had initially ordered the Stir It Up Chicken only to be told (and this is the only downside) that they were out. It was near close on a Saturday night, though, so I don’t hold it against them. The woman suggested I might want to try the Brown Chicken or the Stir It Up Shrimp, and, since the Stir It Up entrees were served «on a bevy of vegetables,» which sounded too intriguing to pass up, I opted for the latter. I’m so glad I did, as it was SO TASTY. I really had to restrain myself from licking the last bits off my plate. My meal also came with a yummy mountain of rice and beans. Other highlights include the excellent price, the plantains we had to start, and the fact that the restaurant is BYO. Yay!

I visit this unpretentious eatery before almost every performance at BAM. Love the neighborhood feel and the attentive yet leave-​you-​alone service. The major reason I keep coming back is the vegetarian menu — I’ve tried every item at least once. All dishes are made to order (bit of a wait but worth it!). Try the piper pepper steak, steak surprise, or jerk chicken. The West Indies spices are wonderful. Oh, and the portions are very generous. Guzzle down some homemade Sorrel juice in summer, pineapple ginger in winter.

Kinda disappointed by this place, especially given the reviews. I had been craving Caribbean food for about a week or so… so I headed here with a buddy to get some jerk chicken. Anyways, we get there, order some jerk chicken… and the food comes out instantly. Uhhh. So I guess it was already made and came from those hot buffet type warmer things. Basically… the chicken had the texture like it had been made a few hours ago. The sauce was good though. Our server didn’t really serve us. She sat back down after giving us our food and read the newspaper. I had commented when she came to collect the plates that the chicken was only OK and she responded that it would take a while to grill. I mean, I dunno. I’ve grilled chicken and it’s probably like 15 mins tops. Not to mention that the BBQ place (Dallas Jones) on the opposite end of Atlantic (which hasnt even gotten the best Unilocal reviews) BBQs their chicken freshly. Hours old chicken just doesnt taste very well for me. So far though, my best experience with carribbean food have been the street carts — particularly the one near Wall Street and Christie’s Jamaican Patties near Grand Army Plaza in BK.

Having recently come back from South Africa, the food here made me feel cozy and homesick. The veg and rice are plentiful, and the entrees are tasty with lots of variety. And lots of vegetarian choices too!
The sweet potato cheesecake was INCREDIBLE. We were blown away. It’s BYOB, so be sure and bring a nice bottle of wine, if you’re so inclined.

This place is the bomb! It’s wonderful to sit for dinner. You can BYOB and they’ll set you up with glasses (if you’re nice). It’s also a very heaping take-​out portion.
Sonya — the owner and chef — is a mother to all regulars. It feels like it’s home cooking because you feel like you’re coming home there. It’s a whole lot less like a restaurant than a visit.
I’ve eaten most things on the menu, but keep coming back to the chicken. Both the jerk chicken and the brown stew chicken are incredible.
The fish cakes are a great starter. Ox-​tail and the escoveitch fish are both great too.

This place is great. I have eaten here so many times I have long ago lost count.
The food is always flavorful and satisfying. And unless you’re bigfoot, you will not leave hungry. This is great home-​style cooking. The veggies, rice and bean, meats, all have been slow-​cooking for a while. You should expect it to be fully cooked. The real stars are the entrees. If you are what you eat, then I am part jerk chicken. Always spicy but not overwhelming, tender, falling-​off-​the-​bone meat. The fish dishes are nice. The brown stew sauce and escovietch are good as are the vegetarian meat dishes. The fish cakes are a great starter.
The décor is a little homey, kind of a neutral for me. The service is a little laid-​back –if you want something, just ask. It’s that kind of place. Prices for the quality and quantity of food are a good value
And unless you are there on an off-​night, you’ll meet the owner Sonia who is so nice and inviting. Her wonderful personality take this from a great place to something special. Can’t wait to go again.

3.5 stars
little darlings
i was starved after parent-​teacher conferences and decided it was too late for cooking and i hadn’t done my usual eat a school bake sale brownie for dinner, so i looked for something close by that had take out. i was happy to find this place and it had been some time since i had eaten west indian food. the brown stew chicken looked good so i ordered that and seeing that they had stew oxtail one of mr. unlucky’s favorites, i ordered this as well. i’m a sucker for fish cakes, so i ordered this as well! i needed sustenance!
the verdict– good sized portions! as another Unilocaler wrote, the owner was there and she added extra– our plates runneth over! she was very congenial and gave my son a free punch drink! the fish cakes, unfortunately were a disappointment. they were dry and i couldn’t taste the scallions or pepper. my brown stew chicken was magnificent and had a home cooked taste to it. the rice and beans were nothing special, the plantain was acceptable. mr. unlucky enjoyed his stew oxtail and we were all sated. it was rather late and i suspect if we had come earlier the food would have been even better. and that we will.

The good: Substantial veggie options.
The bad: Bland, basic food and very slow service.
The ugly: Heat was turned off on one of the coldest days last month.
If you absolutely can’t wait to fill your belly with something, take out might be a better option from this place.

I have wanted to try this place for a while. Went here for lunch today. I got the Brown Stew Chicken. It was nicely priced and a good portion. It came with rice/​beans and cabbage. I could have had another serving of the cabbage it was so good. I am not a fan of bean and rice but theirs was good and flavorful without being too spicy or salty. The food was seasoned just right for me. Chicken good tender, with nice flavor. I don’t know why I have not tried them sooner. Loved it.

I’m a big fan of their brown stew chicken as a filling lunch. It’s got a great flavor and the large is enough for a few meals. Somewhat expensive, but worth it – much cheaper than Brawta Café.

You have to know what to order at this place. You can get really great food, or you can get something that you’d rather waste (cough…roti, dry and tasteless). If you are looking for roti in the area, go to Brawta.
Anyway, on to what’s good about this place. The owner is there most of the time and you will get noticeably friendlier service (and larger portions) with the owner behind the counter.
My personal favorites here are the brown stew chicken — I dont know what it is about the gravy, I can’t get enough of it. I always want more and ask for some extra to be spooned over my rice. The brown stew chicken isnt particularly hot and spicy (bf calls is bland), but I know bland food and this is not it — I would just say it was more subtle than one might expect.
Another highlight is the oxtail with butter beans. The meat is falling off the bone. The most tender I have had. I was not familiar with butter beans before having them here, but they were good… like giant lima beans. I know this may be gross for some of you, but I’ll admit it, I totally ate the fat on the oxtail… it was that good. See? I am exposing my shameful behavior to my fellow Unilocalers!

A group of us hit Stir It Up after a concert at the BAM. Even though it was late and they were closing for the night, the hostess was nice enough to allow us in and tolerate our boisterous banter (it was a good concert!).
Food was terrific — very hearty and soulful. I had the vegetarian Piper Pepper Steak (pseudo vegi-​beef) which could have easily been mistaken for the real thing it was so meaty. Other dishes in our communal setting included the Jerk Chicken and Roti. Everything was served with heaping bowls of rice and plates of roti skin, which was delicious, soft and warm. One of the group even tried one of the authentic Jamaican juices, and while it was a bit out there, it was great to try something new.
Highly recommended for a small group to come and hang; the atmosphere is very chill and inclusive.

really not into the chicken roti i ordered…
wasn’t very flavorful…
perhaps i am not into the dish itself but i wasn’t impressed…
my friend ordered the jerk chicken and said it wasn’t spicy at all…
nice atmosphere, good location.

Carribean food can be a lifesaver for a mixed group of omnivores and vegans, since it frequently has equal parts of the menu occupied by goat and soy. Thanks, Rastas! You done us vegans good.
Stir It Up has all of the things you’d expect out of a Carribean restaurant – awesome ginger beer, jerk everything, hot, multilayed roti. They veggie «balls» can be a little dry, and the spiciness varies unless you specify. The staff is unequivocally friendly and helpful, and the décor is pleasant without being overwhelming (though the WTC memorial poster is a little disconcerting if you’re facing it).
Overall it’s moderately priced and delicious, with the an always welcome BYOB policy.