If you are looking for food full of different flavor profiles and a different take on traditional…read moredishes this is the right place. I ordered the Oxtail sushi, salmon roll (sushi) and buss up shop Roti . It came with roti, curry chick peas and I ordered a side of mango chutney . Was so flavorful. It is a family ran Establishment so you have to have sone patience with the service.

UPDATE - AUGUST 2024 - My wife and I have continued to give business to Island Cho (with in-person…read morevisits and take-out orders) a number of times since our first visit and review. We continued to give them glowing reviews and recommend them to a number of our friends and colleagues. Last week, my wife's family was visiting us from out-of-town. We wanted to take them all out for a nice dinner and thought that we would surprise them with a visit to Island Cho. We really hyped up the restaurant to them and told them that they would love the food. We arrived a little bit before 6:00pm. We were seated right away and there wasn't anyone else in the restaurant. After we had all looked over the menu, our orders were taken. So far, nothing unusual. Our drinks/water were not delivered to the table soon after we ordered. We thought this was a little unusual and that perhaps they would be brought out when the food came out. The drinks arrived to our table about a half hour after we ordered, but the food did not follow. We noticed another family came in and were seated around this time. After a short while, they looked visibly upset and got up and left with no explanation. My two young children were very hungry and we were doing our best to keep them occupied. My wife's family asked us if the food normally takes this long, to which we replied, "No, it's very unusual." Nearly an hour after we ordered, the owner/server brought the "Caribbean Wings" (one of our favorite appetizers) to the table. We thought that the rest of the food would be coming shortly after, but before we knew it the wings were gone and we were waiting once again. At this point we debated just paying for the drinks/wings and leaving, but then we would have to find a new restaurant to wait at. We decided to just cut our losses and continue waiting. We also attempted to ask someone how much longer the wait would be, but no one was even at the front counter anymore. Approximately an hour and a half after ordering, the owner returned and said that the rest of the food would be brought out in "five minutes". We brought up that we had two young children who were very hungry and asked why the wait was so long. He informed us that there was only one person working in the kitchen and then he sped away. The owner eventually returned with the food, but only two plates. It was another 5-10 minutes before any other plates were brought out. My wife told the owner, "We're still waiting for my older son's meal and you still haven't brought out the Shrimp Wontons that we ordered." The owner informed us that the aforementioned wontons would not be coming out because they were out of them. My wife asked why we weren't informed of that when we first ordered them. He replied, "We didn't realize until we were about to make them." My poor son sadly kept on saying, "Where's my plate? Where's mine? I'm so hungry." He eventually received his food, but at this point he was so tired that he couldn't even finish it. We decided to just cut our losses, finish the food that was brought out to us, and then settle the bill. The whole experience was well over two hours and we were leaving well past our sons' bedtimes. My wife and I took our sons out to the car while my sister-in-law settled the bill for us. When she came out, she told us that the owners informed her that none of their kitchen workers showed up due to bad communication, etc. She also said that they didn't exactly apologize for our poor experience but rather gave a long list of excuses. My wife and I were SO EMBARRASSED for hyping up Island Cho to our family. We realize that the restaurant industry is not an easy one and that problems arise at the drop of a hat. That being said, we feel that the owners of Island Cho handled this bad situation VERY POORLY. The least that they could have done was give us a heads up when we first arrived. "Hey, we're very sorry but we are short-staffed tonight. You can stay if you wish but it's going to be a long wait," or , "We're very sorry but due to unforeseen circumstances we're unable to accommodate your party." Nope, we received no warning at all. They deducted the items that we didn't receive, but there was no apology or any sort of discount for our poor experience. Although the food was just as delicious as it had been on previous experiences, it was just a little bit too little and too late. After getting home, we found that several patrons have shared similar experiences to ours over the past six months or so and voiced them on both Yelp and Google. We don't see how Island Cho can continue as a business much longer if this sort of bad service and bad management persists. Although we love supporting local businesses (especially family-owned), we cannot in good conscience continue to recommend and support Island Cho. We will NOT be returning again.

Nice set up, fire pit outside live music regularly, friendly staff. My food was good. The menu…read morecould be expanded a bit, not much to choose from. Too bad, super good vibe otherwise. The food DOES taste good, just too small a menu. I usually don't mid a small menu done right, but this is too small. There will be customers who don't see anything on the menu that they want.

Spicy and petty fast for the large servings they give loved the rice and beef patty will go back…read moremost likely

IGNORE the very few low ratings. Please!…read more If you are going to take the time to take a picture, upload it, and complain, then you should take a small portion of that time and calmly explain to management your concerns, that is how things get better. I have ordered from here many times, staple being the jerk chicken. Zero complaints other than they are closed on Saturday's which makes sense. Food is delicious and you would think that you were chilling out. Everything was FRESH, which is one of my most important and challenging characteristic from any restaurant. You would think that your grandmother spent two days cooking this just for you. 5/5 easy. Support your local family-owned businesses, if not, there is cheap horrible chinese takeout around the corner. Yuck

Ordered take-out for the first time and it was delicious. Staff are welcoming. Restaurant was well…read morekept and comforting. Rasta pasta was so yummy, so was the patty.

Pretty good, i got the oxtail and the Rasta pasta. The oxtail was good, they gave a nice amount of…read moregravy. The Rasta pasta needed flavor though. The sauce was bland.

I ate the food so quickly because it was so good! So happy to have found this spot. I purchased the…read moremedium sized oxtails dinner with cabbage and rice and peas. I will definitely be back.

The best food! It's so hard to find good vegan food with big portions at a fair price and these…read moreguys hit the mark every time without fail. We always have full, happy bellies with leftovers to enjoy the next day. The food is consistently amazing and the staff/owners are wonderful! We choose this place over any local vegan option nearly every time and happily make the 30 minute drive without hesitation! A must try even if you aren't vegan

In this food bar, stainless-steel food trays inside a glass case enable you to view exactly what's…read moreon the daily menu. You choose to fit your appetite. The large combo platter comprises your choice of seven dishes, the medium platter is five choices, and the small is three. The five items depicted in my photo of my medium-size plate are, clockwise from the top, grilled tofu, steamed broccoli, baked sweet potatoes, sautéed green beans with red peppers, and curried potatoes. The above descriptions double as the simple names of the dishes. The food does not masquerade behind pretentious titles, nor does it appear flamboyant or pretend to be fanciful. What you're served are affordable and generous portions of delicious and nutritious food. Real food. Americans call this natural food. In the Rasta lexicon, natural foods are redefined as Ital foods. As you might adduce from the photo, the café's two owners are Rastas, and their cuisine is authentic Jamaican Rastafari Ital. "Ital" is derived from the word "vital." To provide "vitality," Ital food on your plate differs little from how it looks on the farm. Ital food is usually vegan, but not always. Only four of the five Rasta cafés in Connecticut and nearby Worcester are strictly vegan. As there is no Board of Ital Cuisine to issue certifications, Ital cooking does vary with the territory. The Ital food served at Caribbean Style Vegan is, as its name attests, always vegan. It also is always nourishing, colorful, and skillfully prepared. Nothing is ever too spicy or too salty or too sweet or too oily or overcooked or undercooked. Grilled in a spicy barbecue sauce, even the jerk tofu is humanely spiced. With just the medium platters, I always feel satiated but never bloated, evidence of the frugal use or total absence of oil. Never drowned in oily sauces, the veggies remain visually recognizable and inherently flavorful. Caribbean Style Vegan stands as my favorite of the seven Ital cafés in which I have dined both stateside and in Jamaica. At the two Ital cafés that I visited in Kingston, neither served any mock meats. Yet at some cafés in the U.S., their varieties of mock meats almost equal their numbers of veggie dishes. I am mystified that in our corner of New England they serve so many highly processed mock meats, a concession to the American lust for meat. In contrast, Caribbean Style Vegan upholds a higher standard. It serves only a single mock meat. Grains, beans, greens, and root vegetables predominate. Most veggies are steamed; a few are sautéed; none are deep-fried. My kind of food. For in-house dining, you'll find two sunlit tables along the south-facing wall of plate glass window. Still, the café is more conducive for takeout. I have witnessed a steady flow of regular customers who sometimes place multiple orders of takeout meals to deliver to their families waiting at home. Yet even when other customers wait in line with you, the wait is always short. Their social media accounts is seldom updated. So view only their website. Yet, the website menu is viewable only during open hours. To place an online order or simply to view the website menu, you must wait until 12 noon, Wednesday to Saturday.

Great meal and friendly service. Definitely worth the ride from anywhere to get the great foodread more

Great service! Excellent food! Truly from the Island... got some food for my Mom and all she could…read moresay was "wow" while eating. This place was highly recommended by a friend and I can see why. I recommend this place too.

Great curry goat at the Hamden fireworks festival! Wonderful option to have as a food truck here!…read moreFast service!

Amazing experience! The portion was a great size for the price which I always worry about with food…read moretrucks. Great amount of meat and it lasted me about two meals. I made the mistake of not getting a drink and it was a little spicy so I got back in line and I'm glad I did! The Hibiscus Sorel was amazing and refreshing. Pretty sweet but a nice treat. I ordered and got my food very quickly. I hope to see the truck again soon!

amazing food great service was very pleased with my time there the place felt very homeyread more

This place is a dump. Not very clean. Very dusty with cobwebs. Lady with the short blond hair was…read moreso rude and acted so put out to take our order. Beef patties were bland and nasty. Jerk Chicken was very flavorless. I've had authentic Jerk Chicken in Jamaica and this was far from authentic. Sadly this was our first and last time. Don't waste your time for bad food and service.

Small place, but don't be fooled, it's a hidden gem with great food, service and flavorful! Love…read moreit! I can't wait to try the curry chicken and oxtail next.

Not a great experience, after being ignored for ten minutes before we were able to order. I payed…read morenearly 50 bucks for a small lunch curry chicken with rice and peas two drinks and two patties. Definitely felt like I payed the tourist prices and didn't even get the tropical view