Marla’s Caribbean Cuisine

Cool spot offering some genuine Caribbean cuisine that is NOT dumbed town to meet our modest Minnesotan tastebuds. I will certainly be returning once I get the go ahead from the doctor who had to reattach my face after it melted off while eating the jerk seasoning. My only advice for anyone trying it is to stockpile a few waters before you eat anything otherwise you may wind up like me, trying to stop yourself from dunking your head in the fish tank.

One of the best Caribbean spots I’ve tried. Had the jerk chicken and patty which were both amazing. The heat in their dishes is real heat, so keep that in mind if you do or don’t like spicy food.
The restaurant is small and gets very busy. I would check this one out if you are close by.

Great location with a very small dining room! A casual fun place that has the feel of the islands but every time the door opens reminds you where you are, in –6 degree Minneapolis!
Food is very good and fresh, oxtail brown down style a great treat, the Jamaican wings are hot and tasty, but the Dalphanie steels the show!!!

I’m so full. The restaurant is small and busy, and there was only one waitress working. We spent about 1 ½ hours there, and of that it took about an hour to get our food. They need more wait staff but our server was super sweet and deserves a raise for handling all the tables in the restaurant. But trust me the wait is soooo worth it! My fiancé had the oxtail dish. The sauce was amazing. Don’t expect a lot of meat because… it’s a tail. But there was still enough for leftovers. I had the chicken curry with the bread, and it was delicious. They gave me a lot of bread to sop the curry sauce up. If you have time to spare definitely go here to eat. It would get 5+ stars for the food, but I’m only giving it 4 because of the wait time.

We had great service and great food! It’s atmosphere isn’t fancy so you don’t need to get your tux out, but relax and enjoy the huge portions of good food with a fair amount of heat in the jerk! We enjoyed red beans/​rice, Channa and Potato (Curried garbanzo beans and potatoes served with Dhalpourie – kind of like a tortilla filled with chickpeas) and jerk chicken. The jerk chicken would have been great with a side of white rice (next time!). When we got there on a Tuesday night at around 5:30, we were one of only 3 tables there. By the time we left, every table was full. You can check out the full menu online
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Will not return based on the terrible service. Our 1^st waitress who eventually took our order left & never returned. We later saw her sitting at the back of the shop eating while we were still waiting for our food. The 2^nd waitress who was completely clueless didn’t know what we ordered or that other girl just stopped working. The shop is quite small, how do you not know? In a condescending tone she then told us they make everything from scratch and it takes a while. Guess what, this is not the only mom & pop shop on the planet. I’ve had amazing home made rotis turned out in 10 minutes, not 30! I don’t mind waiting, if the lazy staff did their job and paid attention to the customers minus the attitude the wait would not be an issue. When the food did arrive I asked for hot sauce in which charged .75 for a seriously a tablespoon of pepper flakes in a thimble sized cup. Same with the chutney & refills. The waitress never said I had to pay for this. I told her it was a ridiculous charge. The portion size was a joke! Then she just made a face like, oh well too bad. My impression is that the staff doesn’t seem to care about the customers experience. A bit full of themselves.
I was excited about having Caribbean food today but no matter how good the food is if the service sucks it all becomes a wash. Seems like they are riding on old publicity from being on Diners Drive Ins and Dives. In the end, 2 stars for the food, 0 for the staff.

Ordered the shrimp callaloo with fried dumplings. The sweetness of the coconut milk with the greens is simply delicious. Paired it up with a spicy ginger soda. Staff was friendly and helpful. I arrived late night after a yoga class and was looking for some outstanding food in town. I finally found it! I would definitely come back.

Found the place after I saw it on food network. As advertised great flavours. had the oxtail and they were too good. Nice service. Place is little small but nice.

I saw Marla’s on triple D. I am also a huge fan of Caribbean food. I get these cravings for beef patties and jerk chicken out of nowhere. I finally got the chance to go there on a Tuesday. I ordered the roti with curry chicken and my counterpart got the oxtail that was on triple D.
The waiter was polite but could not answer questions about a ton of menu items. He also didn’t put our choice in spicy so the food came to us mild. The flavor was out of this world! Very flavorful and juicy food. I thoroughly enjoyed my Meal and plan on coming back for some doubles, Pelau, and soursop. Highly recommend.
P. S. Since the food is made as you order, it can be a bit of a wait between when the order is put in and when it hits your table. It will be worth the wait.

Love this place! I get the roti wrap — chick pea and potato curry. It’s awesome! Portion is huge so it’s well worth the price. It’s dinner plus a nice lunch for the next day. It’s always tasty, I think I’ve had it 5 times. Peanut punch is good, as well as the doubles. The ambiance is nice and the service is excellent. Definitely the best Caribbean restaurant in the twin cities!

Absolutely solid — a neighborhood best, if not one of the best spots in Minnesota at this price range, as well as for the distinctive flavors and the high quality of the food (to say nothing of the epic portion sizes that remind me of being at a family dinner). I don’t exaggerate. This is home-​cooked, from the heart cuisine, that also shows signs of a chef that is truly talented with blending flavors and spices.
I love a high level of heat accompanied by big flavors. This is one of the few places, besides a handful of Thai places on University in St. Paul and possibly one or two of the better local Indian places that will always deliver on this count. We ordered «hot» but «spicey» will suffice for most heat lover. «Hot» was generously, body-​elevatingly, heart-​racingly hot — an exquisite level of heat obviously created by someone who knows their capsicum, because it came with the fruity, full flavors of the best of the freshest hot peppers.
We had Doubles to start — which are like bam, in your face carib street food, full of flavor, wonderfully economical and tasty as hell. Great spice combinations with a saucy legume filling that reminded me of some Indian chaat dishes.
Callaloo with Fish was possibly the richest seafood dish I’ve had in Minnesota (besides some local freshwater whitefish and trout along the north shore, perhaps). Big salty and very fresh delicious fish chunks in a mouth-​watering green sauce. This feels like you are in the Caribbean and eating right from the day’s catch. Very large portion with rice and beans.
Dhalpourie rip and dip roti with curry chaana and potato — quite healthy, very filling, again — heavenly spicy. Simple and delicious — I could eat this everyday. Tastes like great Indian chaana masala except brought to a new level of savoriness through a little Caribbean culinary magic.
Portions are so generous that we ate until we were full for under 30 dollars and brought enough home for one lunch the next day.

Where is Smoky the Bear? Disclosure don’t dine here if you are sensitive to smoke, smell of smoke or you can’t stand the heat (palette wise and temperature wise). Ring the alarm here’s what I got.
Thumbs up:
–vegetarian friendly
–easy street parking
–fair $$$
–decent C.S.
–flavorful dishes with a real heat index of spice
–the breads, and potato and chick pea dish is good
Thumbs down:
–it is HOT in there, AC is not strong or on. If someone orders the jerk chicken dish you are in for a smoke fest.
–I couldn’t see well and breath well due to the smoke. Literally smoking me out. My friends and I had to wait outside for our food because it was so bad. We wanted to leave, but thought we would wait it out. When asked what is up with the smoke, our waitress simply said «every time someone orders jerk chicken this is what happens.» Say what? I’ve been here before and that has not Happened. So you are telling me every time someone orders one of your signature dishes the whole restaurant can’t breath? Smh.
–the other food on the table was average
–the $, to ambience, to presentation, to service to taste eh.
Enough said. This experience ruined my experience here. Although the food was tasty at some parts it’s not worth the trek for the should I say smoky eye ambience.

I have been meaning to try Marla’s ever since I saw it on Triple D. I was anticipating the Jerk Chicken (and was super excited) to be spicy and mouth-​watering like many of the reviewers said…
However, I am not sure if it’s just me but it wasn’t really spicy. After several bites, you do feel a bit of heat kick/​burn on your tongue but that’s it, and I found the flavor to be rather one dimensional. I personally would prefer some more veggies since the dish consists mostly of meat and was very heavy at the end of the meal, but the portions were big, and it was relatively cheap too!
The highlight of the meal was definitely the sweet potato pie! Without it, I would have probably given Marla’s three stars. It was sweet enough but not too sweet, and the sweet potato mixture in the middle was mousse –like and warm! It was one of the best pies I have ever tasted, and I personally don’t really like pies that much honestly.
I would come back to try some other dishes and get the sweet potato pie again but I have to say the Jerk Chicken was a disappointment.

The service was amazing. Everyone was super nice and friendly. When I explained my allergy they worked around it which was really cool.
The food was great! I’ve never had this type of food before and I loved it.
The building was really cool too. Had a nice relaxing night atmosphere. I can’t wait to go back!

I’ve been here a few times and I’ve loved everything I’ve ever ordered, pelau, doubles, roti, red bean and rice, jerk chicken, curry, Jamaican patties, plantains ect. You seriously cannot go wrong with anything here. The food is very well seasoned which in MN its pretty hard to find.
The only thing about this place is that since the location is small and constantly busy there is usually a wait time of about 20 – 30 min, especially for groups of 3+. The service is usually pretty quick once you are seated though.
Tips:
When they say Spicy they aren’t playing, order with caution.
The portions are also quite large so come hungry. If you plan to share one plate a $ 3 plate sharing fee will apply.
Small Parking lot in the back.
Closed on Mondays.

Don’t give em out often but this place has the BEST OXTAILS IN THE COUNTRY!!! Hands down… cook says his treatment of the meat last for hours…
now let me say… if you don’t like spicy, don’t do it… let me also say if you think you got it going on and gonna make it HOTTER!!! Don’t do it. They forewarned you on the menu. My lips felt the wrath and that was just mild!!!

So much flavor in such a small space!
I brought my parents here when they were visiting and we bonded over curry, Caribbean chow-​mein and jerk chicken with roti. Seriously, everyone must come here. But Minnesotans with delicate palates be warned, its hot!
The service was solid, the food came out fast (I have heard that it normally doesn’t, but we got there right at 6 before the place was filling up) and the prices for the portions were moderate.
I am going to crave that Jerk Chicken on cold winter nights.

Hard to find good Caribbean flavor like this in MN!
Like many I was brought in thanks to Diners, Drive Ins and Dives, but I had really been looking forward to it because I’ve been to Jamaica 8 or 9 times and I miss the food! I couldn’t believe they had TING!!! My favorite grapefruit soda, and the beef patties were so fresh and flavorful, tastes just like the ones I’d eat on the beach in Negril…
The place is always packed and doesn’t take reservations so come during odd hours on a week day for the best results! I had the channa and potato roti which was wonderful, and boyfriend got the jerk shrimp which is very very spicy but the flavor is excellent. If you can handle the heat, I highly recommend the jerk! The coco bread is also a highlight, it’s the fluffiest thing in the world and slightly sweet like a Hawaiian roll but you can tell its fresher and homemade.
10/​10, definitely a place for everyone to try!

Marla’s is basically carb heaven. The service can be a bit inconsistent (sometimes slow, sometimes food is way spicer than the last time) but the food cannot be beat. The décor is a bit cheesy with plastic knick knacks and such, but it actually fits the rich, soul-​warming food they serve.
I would suggest the curry with a side of fried dough pieces. Delicious but filling. Plan to share with someone else. Theor roti is also delicious. The food has more of a street food vibe than a standard Indian restaurant, but many of the flavors are very similar with a few exceptions.

A little too spicy for the Mrs (she tried the jerk chicken) but I have some lunch for tomorrow now :)
The Oxtail with red beans and rice was very good.
Got a chance to say hello to Marla as she made it a point to stop by each table and talk to the customers, nice touch! And I failed to catch the waiters name that was from Dubai but he really seemed to know his stuff about the food… I wish he’d have been our server as we may have avoided the too spicy for the Mrs choice she made.
We’ll be back!