Tastee Tropics Cafe & Ice Cream

First time trying ox tail and it was sooo good! Also first time having beef patty with coco bread. The food is kinda on the pricey side but the gentleman gave us a lot of food. I couldn’t even finish. My mom actually end up taking my coco bread and patty and she is a picky eater so imagine that. Overall, definitely recommend and will be back.

I hate giving low rating but we came here during normal business hours. They were out of a lot of things, which I can understand since it’s such a small place but the lady behind the counter had to go to the back for EVERYTHING and you could hear someone in the back watching TV and both of them just laughing. It took us a good 20 minutes from starting to talk to her until we were able to pay. I’m all down for the low-​key, move with the flow kind of attitude but let me know so I can sit down and laugh too.

I Brought the Jerk Chicken. #1The wings were to big for my liking and they taste more like baked wings with some Jerk Seasoning! I’m not sure why the taste has changed anyway it was a year since i been here AND IT USE TO BE JERK CHICKEN WHITE MEAT I am aware of the prices of everything has gone up, if i am purchasing your food i really don’t see it fair for you to cheat me out of what i paid for! #nolunchmenu #regularpriceitems $ 13.95 really!

The weekend specials are very good. This place is like a Chinese take-​out: you container is stuffed with tasty food that will last for a couple of days.

The food here is horrid. The presentation is typical of most Jamaican restaurants; food on display behind a glass. Cool. I ordered the curry chicken, cabbage, and string beans. They smelled great! Looked delicious! Taste? Like eating salt and garlic powder in every bite. This has to be the worst tasting Caribbean food that I’ve ever had. The chef was either too lazy to actually season the food or too daft to realize his food tastes abysmal. And why isn’t there any meat in the curry chicken, just bones?
I will stick to The Jerk Hut from now on. This place sucks.

Another hidden gem the food here is really good.
And the portions are good.
Go during the day like 11 so you can get the food nice and fresh

*This review may have been a little swayed because I was sooooo hungry.
We walk in and immediate smell the yummy Caribbean food. It’s a hot bar style place so everything is laid out for you to see and choose. The food is made in the morning and sold throughout the day. Which is expected from places that serve tender meats and stews. Pretty much everything looked good! We ordered jerk chicken and a beef patty to share. The jerk chicken came with three sides including rice. We got rice and peas, steamed cabbage and collard greens. I LOVED the steamed cabbage. It tasted almost like a slaw… But kinda cooked through. I loved it. The rice and peas were good. We got oxtail sauce over the rice which made it more flavorful. Collard greens were good. Kinda basic collard greens. We received three chicken pieces– one drumstick and two thighs. There was a nice kick in the chicken skin. It was tender and not dried out. Very flavorful! The spicy beef patty was okay. There was a little kick. I couldn’t tell if the crust was flaky or old. It was weird lol.
We brought it home and ate it sooo fast. We were both really pleased.
There was a man working and he was very nice. Made me feel comfortable about ordering from here for the first time. *i hate when ppl aren’t friendly and it leaves me feeling lost about what to order.
I was debating on getting oxtail or jerk but decided on the jerk. The oxtail looked really good though. And the sauce we had was pretty good too. NEXT TIME! One bad thing, I took a piece of skin and meat from the thigh piece and I got a mouthful of little bones… I think it was that middle spine piece. That was very unpleasant. Other than that, this place was really really good. One thing that bumped up the review is that it was cleaaaaan. The man used gloves to spoon in the food. The counter was spotless. The food looked close to perfect. Definitely looks like they care about their business.
*we will also have to try when we aren’t starrrrrving and update review.

The food is slightly below average, I spent around $ 17 for a meal for one person. It’s definitely not worth the money I spent. I doubt I’ll be going back unless someone else is paying for it. Oh yeah and it gave me a stomach ache. Overall a bad experience. If you like to throw money down the drain this is the perfect place for you, I wouldn’t recommend it if you want to get your money’s worth.

Awesome food. I went here a little late so could not eat any new patties, but the rice plate I got was nice for a very reasonable price. Rice and Peas with two vegetable sides for under 8 bucks was very filling.

Horrible food!
I went here around 8 pm tonight and I literally just finished throwing up. Everything tasted old. From the uncooked curry chicken to the soggy cabbage to the over cooked rice and peas to the awful Mac and cheese but the lady behind the counter was very nice.

I thought this place served REALLY excellent food. I’m not from Jamaica, but I have eaten at a few other Jamaican restaurants, and I’d say this one topped the cake. I can’t wait to try to ice cream, which looked really good too!

wayyyy tooo pricey for what you get– slowest non/​caring service ever, if your in a hurry to get somewhere and think your just gonna grab a patty, forget it. They need to lower their prices– get back their lunch menu and start satisfying their customers again.

I’ve been to this place twice. The first time was last year and I had the oxtails. I remember paying around $ 10 for a plate. The food lacked taste, but as a diehard oxtail eater, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was just a bad batch. Well, today I was on that side of town and was craving oxtails, so I dropped by and to my amazement I discovered the price for a plate was $ 17. Wow! Thinking this had to be the best in town at a price like that, I took the leap of faith. That was $ 17 gone down the drain. No taste whatsoever. Needless to say I will not be returning.

So how many Caribbean Restaurants/​Carry-​Outs do you know run out of Jerk sauce??? Last week was the THIRD time (within a three month period) that I’ve gone into that place, and they’ve had NO JERK SAUCE!!! Did they have any Jerk Chicken, you ask? Good question. However, I didn’t ask b/​c I no longer eat chicken. But again, what’s a Caribbean spot w/​no damn Jerk sauce??? *Let me know when I’m asking too much*
Perhaps they’ve started to put their priorities in other places. I noticed they’ve started selling the bulk size cereal (Frosted Flakes, Cheerio’s, etc.), loaves of bread, condiments, etc. I thought this was a Tropics (short for Tropical) Café & Ice Cream??? At least that’s what your sign says. Hell, if I wanted a market, I’d take my ass to the GIANT food store that’s sitting about 20 – 25 steps away from your «market»…for cheaper than what you’re selling it for, I bet.
*smh* I remember when this place was something to talk about. I don’t think Mama B would be happy w/​this turn-​out. Mama B. was the original owner, who has since passed *bless her heart* She aslo owned a Caribbean spot in Briggs Chaney, MD called, «Mamma B.‘s» Now, if anyone was fortunate enough to have «Mamma B.‘s» while it was still standing, can consider themselves fortunate!
In closing, I wouldn’t waste my time coming to this place. For a Caribbean spot, their menu is just too inconsistant. Like how can you have NO jerk sauce, but have boxes of cereal and call yourself a «Tropics Café…»??? You can’t!!! *2 thumbs down*

Not the best I have had, my plantain taste better! Not burnt! Hubby and I had a buzz for Jamaican food, live close by and decided to try. The quantity and quality is not worth the expensive price. Nope not my fav, never again… :(

One of the best Jamaican places I ever eaten at… very clean, good prices and Excellent food. The service, super friendly!!!

Impressive!
I had no idea this place even existed, but glad to have found it.
Jerk chicken’s a bit on the dry side, but all the sides dishes really went well with the entrée. Curry chicken & chicken stew was cooked perfectly.
No matter what you decide to eat… DO NOT FORGET THE BEEF & CURRY CHICKEN PATTIES!!!

**UPDATE** Tried to get lunch here again at my old secret haunt. This time, no one was even inside the store to get your food at all! Just steaming food, no one inside or ordering it. I have no idea what they do with all of that food after the lunch rush because no one eats here anymore. I’ve convinced more and more that this places is a front for some sort of sketchy operation as they are not out of business, but no one is ever eating there… Sadly, AVOID!
**UPDATE** They dumped their lunch special, up the prices on everything, and the service is even slower to the point where I have almost had to walk out of here after standing around like an idiot for 15 minutes with ONE PERSON in front of me. Just not worth my time anymore sadly.
Previous Review: The best place for food in the White Oak area after having eaten at about 24 different places in Silver Spring and its outskirts. Tastee Tropics is very unassuming and very bad at advertising itself, so it comes across as an ice cream shop in a run-​down strip mall. However, inside is the best food deal in DC. For $ 6 you get a lunch special that runs from 10AM-​to seeming all the way to 5PM. Lunch special with their jerk chicken (divine) along with cabbage and string beans (both divine) is such a steal, it is hilarious. Almost everything is super delicious and very cheap. Menu is very extensive, but the Lunch special is where it is at. Homemade ginger beer is extremely well made, massively spicy, but a little expensive ($ 3.50). Also sells Jamaican items hard to find other places like Jamaican sodas and hot sauces. Very nice staff– owners are sometimes working there and very friendly. Definitely my favorite place to eat in a large radius matched only by Chicken Rico in College Park.

4 ½ stars.
I just had Tastee Tropics for the first time and I’m very impressed! Definitely the best Jamaican food I’ve had outside of Jamaica & NYC. I had the jerk chicken, rice and peas, cabbage salad, plantains, & dumplings. Yeah, I was hungry :-) The chicken and rice and peas had really good flavor and just the right amount of spiciness. My boyfriend had the cod fish & yams and really enjoyed them both. Also they have a $ 5.95 special, where you get an entrée & two sides AND you get plenty of food.
My only critique is NO FESTIVAL and no steamed dumplings :-(but I’ll survive and will be making many more trips.

Who comes here for the ice cream? You should be coming here for the ox tail and the beef patties.
First of all I want to up my street cred on Jamaican food. I have spent an abundant amount of time in Oracabessa, Jamaica. I know that juici patties remains king and mother’s can suck it.
THAT being said. The patties here at Tastee make me close my eyes and transport me back to Jamaica faster than I can click a ticket online for a Caribbean escape. They have mild and spicy, but even the mild has some kick to it, which I can appreciate.
The ox tail is flavorful, and is some of the best I’ve found in the area. Coupled with rice with the peas– this makes a good resource for comfort food on a rough day. (ask for gravy if you dont its kinda dry but still good!)
okay maybe next time I’ll try the ice cream. but I’m def getting extra patties for tomorrow’s hangover. (and one for pups or she will steal mine!)