I have been coming here for years for both dine in and takeout. It's a great place for a quick bite at a reasonable price. Most everything on the menu is less than $10 and they even have family meals for less than $20 if you are looking for a quick takeout dinner. My favorites are the Black Bean Salad, Jerk Chicken, Calliloo (greens), Sweet Potatoes and Three Bean Salad. All of the sauces and salad dressings are house made. Toppings and sides are super fresh and chicken is perfectly roasted...tender and juicy. Beware...the Black Bean Salad is VERY addictive...that BBQ sauce is delicious! I have found myself craving it and eating at Calypso more than once in a week. The good news is it's inexpensive and healthier than a lot of other options! read more

We started going to calypso back when it first opened and man, it was good. Sorry to see what's happened after all these years. While the callaloo is still great, and the bean and corn salad is great, my jerk curry chicken was practically non existent. I made the mistake of ordering a 1/4 dark meat, and it was a tiny drumstick with a shred of thigh attached. My wife's chicken sandwich was so dry she couldn't eat it. The most disappointing thing was when I went to pay the fellow at the register asked if everything was ok and I said no, that was the end our conversation, he obviously didn't care what was wrong. Will we go back? Why, in a town with as many good options that Nashville has now. read more

This is my favorite location of Calypso Cafe because this one, as opposed to Elliston Place, actually has enough space. I pretty much love all the food here. I haven't tried anything bad, but my favorite thing is the tropical chicken salad. I first got addicted to this about ten years ago at the Ellliston location, and I still love it. I also love the callaloo. It's delicious and very hard to replicate at home. I've tried. The vegetable plate is really good - three vegetables plus the muffins. Delicious. Did I mention that Calypso Cafe is also really cheap? read more

I saw some animal protein on the menu. Place is staffed well. I called in my order and arrived about 10 minutes later and my order was not ready. But everyone was pleasant to me. Prices were ok. I picked up food for a friend, 3 meals in styrofoam. Three sandwiches & three cole slaws. With sales tax and tip it was $25. All three of us had the BBQ pulled chicken sandwich and none of us ate the bun. Not sure why.. We picked the food out off the buns. All three of us ate the cole slaw. Two of us ate the potato chips, that came with the sandwich. It looked to be ample servings. But no one raved about their sandwich. I doubt I'll be back very soon. So many other places in the neighborhood, to try. read more

My friend loves this place for its vegetarian options. I was not as impressed and will likely not be going back. However, it's not a terrible place, it just wasn't amazing. read more

Excellent quality and service for the price. I ate in the Nashville and the Franklin TN locations. Both times, I ordered the yummy tuna salad sandwich on whole wheat round. The bread seemed like a packaged product, but you can't expect freshly-baked bakery bread for the price they charge! And I was happy it seemed to be real whole wheat, not the spongy "wheat" bread served in other restaurants. The cole slaw and yam side dishes were both excellent. If you order at the Franklin location, ask them to put the cole slaw in a separate bowl so the sauce doesn't soak your sandwich bread. The carrot cake was not to my liking; tasted the way I'd expect it to taste if it were made from a packaged mix. There are better desserts elsewhere, but you'll have to pay more! Loved the Carribean decor, too. read more

Friendly staff, but slow service. Took like 8 minutes for the waitress to bring us our waters. Just OK food, though they do give nice-sized portions. Was not impressed. Would not recommend read more

I like this Calypso Cafe better than the one on Elliston. It's easier to get in and out of and not nearly as cramped. The downside seemed to be the one waiter in the place was far overworked, and our party was large enough to be kind of needy. At the end of the meal, we were also redirected to the cash register to pay where a disinterested staff member happily continued with her phone call while we waited to pay. read more

After spending two weeks on tour with my band eating crappy food (a.k.a Subway), we were craving something that was fresh and had some sort of nutrition. Luckily, a need to hit the Nashville Guitar Center placed us in vicinity of Calypso Cafe. I ordered their signature salad, the lucayan, with dressing on the side. It was a heaping mound of goodness with great flavor and hit the spot. My malnourished body took to it right away! My poor band mates opted for chicken sandwiches and a rotisserie half-chicken which all ended up complaining that they were dry but my food didn't have any issues. Services was quick and friendly, the prices fair... it was a good lunch spot. If I lived in Nashville as opposed to Portland, OR, I'd probably eat there pretty often. read more

I only had food from here as part of a takeout run my coworkers did for our department. I had the quarter dark meat chicken with Jamaican curry and 2 sides. The chicken to me was the best part of the meal. I love a bit of spice and sweetness with my meat dishes, and this fit the bill. It was very tender. I could also taste a vague Indian-influenced seasoning. However, your taste may vary: A coworker had this dish before and didn't like it. She thought it tasted like spicy apple sauce on her chicken. I wasn't too thrilled with the Boija muffins. Apparently they were not only stale and bland in my order, but in my coworkers' orders, and those of a previous excursion to this place. I also had the native cole slaw. I had only 1 bite and didn't care for it. I think I should stick with American style cole slaw. I think I also had some bread. I think they put margarine instead of butter on them. But I'm not sure. It didn't taste like butter to me. We had an order for a about half a dozen of us, and the food was ready fairly quickly. read more

This place is AWESOME! Inexpensive eats, quick service and the best fruit tea in Nashville are a few of the reasons I eat here all the time. I love the black bean salad. Never thought I'd like BBQ sauce on my salad, but it works! I also love the coconut muffins. They also have a fun riff on the "meat and three" thing here in the south. They call it "beans and three." You get Cuban black beans and your choice of three sides- all really good. They offer many vegetarian options, and they're clearly marked on the menus. read more

When I came here, I wanted some SOLID cuban and/or caribbean food. Upon arriving though, I realized this place (which I later realized is a chain) was much more healthy and vegetarian themed than I thought. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against vegetarian people.... I just really don't like vegetable only dishes. I was kind of put off by this. Also, they have some mexican stuff (nachos and maybe something else I'm forgetting), which kinda throws me off the whole cuban caribbean vibe. I briefly considered leaving, but stayed just to see what it was like, seeing as there were a couple options that had chicken. Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised. I ended up getting Nachos and they had some pretty tasty salsaish thing on them, and the chicken was flavored well and it was a decent size portion and everything. So at this point I'm thinking this is an okay place, but there really aren't that many options for someone who wants meat. In particular, they lack pork on a lot of their dishes, and I say a lot of their dishes, because I know cubans, and cubans freakin love their pork, and it's like on half their dishes. This chain is essentially sort of a mesh of several hispanic foods..... further meshed with a desire to make them healthy and/or vegetarian. Too bad cuban food is one of those cuisines that is inherently unhealthy. read more

Busy at lunch. Turn and burn the tables. But service was spot on. Items arrived very quickly, correctly and tasted fairly good. My only disappointment was the lack of seasoning in the "Caribbean style" food. The pricing was great. Excellent kids menu. And little did I know there were other locations! I'll be back. read more

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My mom and I had the black beans with 3 sides. All choices were yummy. My 9 year old daughter had the kids nachos. She was not impressed. All they did was take shredded cheese put on top of tortilla chips and melt it! Not good!! It came with a side of some sauce and she didn't care for that, either. But we lived our choice! read more

Calypso Cafe - The sign I'm the window! - Caribbean Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

I had a good experience at Calypso Cafe. It was super busy at lunch but while the waitress/host seemed a bit harried (I came right in the middle of their busiest time), they were attentive and quick. I have the Beans and 3 sides combo and it was the most filling non-meat based meal I've ever had. I have their collard greens (fantastic-one of my favorites!), their black beans (really good), bean &corn salad (good but had chickpeas which I don't like), and coleslaw (solid but nothing special). I also has their bean dip appetizer, which was absolutely fantastic! The prices are good and the service is fast. Worth a try! read more

Yvette's been around a long time i aint tellin how long but lemme just say i been comin here since the 1990s when kurt was yellin about how bad he needed deodorant stick. ANYWAY, this place aint changed much like the rest of town and thats a good thing hunny. they got several things Yvette likes including a big enough parking lot for you to park in that doesn't cost $15, and an EXTREMELY ESCAPABLE BATHROOM which is why it gets 5 stars. there's a back door RIGHT BY IT you could get the fudge out and QUICK. they have boho muffins with corn in them and coconut. yummy yummy these young people think of the neatest combos. they have collard green and rotisery chicken. the corn will show up later- know what i mean ;0 hahaha but i guess that would happen anywhere/ why am i talkin about poo right now??? these poor people at calypso if they ever read this sorry for ramblin, but while you're listenin there used to be this pretty gal that worked there named ricky bobby or rickyann or just ricky but she had hair like a beautiful red bush on fire and a tattoo of the Miller High Life gal and she was always the best waitress is she still there? love yall don't stop makin the muffins and give ricky lou my best. read more

I had the half-chicken /jerk style w/ black beans and cornbread muffins. To be fair I've eaten jerk chicken at Scotchies in Ocho Rios and I wasn't expecting this to compete but it's prep wasn't really jerk chicken. It's basically baked chicken with a small cup of jerk sauce on the side that you dip the chicken in. On the bright side the chicken wasn't overcooked and was of good quality and a fair portion size. The beans were nothing special but they had texture and bite to them and a lot of places manage to obliterate beans so that's a "win". The jerk sauce had a good flavor.. not anywhere near the flavor or heat of legit jerk sauce though. The cornbread muffins really need a reworking. Very dry and crumbly...unforgivable in the South. . seriously.. just add some creamed corn to the batter and fix this abomination. My gf had chicken nachos... sorta light on toppings and the chips are of a lower quality than generic Kroger chips... Someone in charge is pinching pennies where they shouldn't be. Atmosphere is meh. It's noisy due to all the hard surfaces with the nondescript obligatory music in the background which literally adds nothing to the din of people carrying on conversations. I guess you could think of this place as a Chipotle of Carribean food. I'm scratching my head over some people here giving FIVE stars to a place like this. I've noticed they're all young. You Gen Z'ers need to live a bit more life.. maybe travel a bit... . Bwahahaha read more

The fruit tea is one of the best in town. Service is fast and no nonsense (perhaps a bit curt). The black bean salad is awesome and wholesome. I could eat that salad at least one a week. read more

Everyone has different options which is cool but I like it the food is #onpoint the staff are always friendly if your looking for good healthy food this is a great place to eat read more

Calypso Cafe - Great food - Caribbean Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

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I called and placed a to go order at this location. While in route my client called and cancel our meeting. So I had a few minutes to spare and decide to eat my food there. So after paying for my food I grab a table, say down and started eating my lunch. While eating, a male who I will assume is the manager walks up to me and tells me when you place to go orders you have to take your food and leave. You cannot stay here and eat. Then he said I'll let you finish this time but the next time if you place a to go order, you have To get your order and leave. Now I just spent money at this location and he's telling me I have to leave. What kind of s#%t is this. I enjoyed my last meal EVER at Calypso Cafe. You don't treat paying customers like this. read more

The food is always great! I love getting it to go and taking the food home. I also requently meet my husband and baby there for dinner. Healthy options and great choices. really like it and they serve is extremely fast which is wonderful! My issue is the staff. They are a miserable bunch. They are short when responding and seem so unhappy. I feel like I inconvenience them when i ask for something and when they see a child it is not a good think (just means big mess). Even if there is 1 person in the restaurant with no chance that 100 people are going to show up they tell you you can only sit at a 2 top table. You have to wait until your entire party is there - which i understand - but then you are in the way and they are inconvenienced by your presence. Just wish they were a little more jovial and enjoyed their jobs. it is a fun restaurant, laid back atmosphere and good food. read more

Looking for a place to grab a quick bite to grab lunch or dinner, somewhere that offers mostly healthy options and is inexpensive? My solution for you happens to be my favorite "fast" food in all of Nashville: Calypso Café. So what if I have eaten there three times in the last week? Those who have been will understand why, and those who haven't.. well, give it a try and you'll get it too. A super casual, local-to-Nashville hot spot, Calypso offers several locations throughout the area, so you're bound to be close enough to one for a quick meal. I must confess, when I first moved to town six and a half years ago, my mind/palette wasn't quite ready for Calypso. I thus ignored all of the local hype, which unfortunately caused me to miss many years of their delish cuisine (disclaimer/reminder: from small town, we only had those 'wonderful' super chains and maybe a gas station or two to choose from). Learn from my mistake, and do yourselves a favor and prepare to broaden your horizons just a bit. Calypso offers what I would call fresh Caribbean inspired cuisine. Roasted chicken, creative sauces, incredible sides. My most beloved adjective best sums it up: FABULOUS. Here are my fave items to order: Nachos. Tortilla chips smothered in their bean dip. The other standard nacho ingredients; chicken, beef, or rice, and BBQ sauce. Simply divine. Black Bean Salad. Lettuce, black beans, tortilla chips, cheddar, tomato, red onion; chicken beef, or rice, and a side of BBQ sauce. Try an extra side of their unbelievable house salad dressing too. Pulled BBQ White Chicken. Fresh, tender, rotisserie chicken with an absolutely amazing sauce. Get it as a sandwich or a plate. Bean and Corn Salad (side). A mixture of beans, corn, in a cilantro vinaigrette. Just yum. Sweet Potatoes (side). The perfect amount of sweet and spice. House Salad dressing. Simple: Pour it on everything. Fruit Tea. Some of the best in town. When in Rome. Calypso Bar. One of my favorite desserts, ever-- their take on a cookie bar. Simple, sweet, a bit sour, just delicious. Ok.. There's my take. What are your favorite dishes at Calypso? read more

I have been going to this location for 12 years. Food is great, and just as important it is consistent. The style of food and restaurant is not for everyone, but the staff is great. The place stays busy during week lunch hours, but move fast. Black bean salad, fruit tea, and carrot cake bars are top notch. Parking can suck at times but if you circle enough it will clear. read more

Ordered the Nachos. You can see that whoever made it didn't take any time at all to season the ground beef. It was in clumps and greasy. The cheese was melted over my Nachos which made it very very soggy. It wasn't seasoned, the onions were chopped too thick, the beans tasted like just plan ol beans. Super gross! Who messes up Nachos!!? read more

I had been meaning to try this place for a while.The counter service was good, and my sandwich came out fast, but I just wasn't really impressed with the food. I got the pulled chicken sandwich, and the sauce had a bit too much vinegar, without so much as a piece of lettuce to balance the flavor. The bun was plenty big, but sort of dry. And the black bean and corn salad was not really memorable. I had gone in hungry, but I didn't really finish anything. Next time, I'll try something else, but I don't think I'll be rushing back to do so. read more

The rotisserie chicken is properly cooked however I found the bar-b-que sauce to be rather disappointing. It tasted like a minestrone-base with some spice and a little thickening added. I'll try the sweet sauce next. The Cuban black beans is not really Cuban black beans. No onions were cooked into them, no cilantro was added, just plain cooked black beans. And the toppings they add wouldn't follow a true Cuban serving. Cubans would serve the beans with cheese melting on top. But add these to the salad and you have a very nice salad. While the food is good to eat the prices feel over the top for what is served. If they reduced prices or improved the food I'd give them another start at least. read more

Delicious and healthy food at reasonable prices! I have been eating at Calypso for over 20 years and never tire of it! I recommend the Lucayan Salad, which is a delicious salad that includes their marinated chicken, almonds and mandarin oranges. I recommend adding cheese as well. Their homemade dressing is delicious. Muffins are included. Another great alternative is the "beans and three" where you have black beans and can add three sides of your choice. I would do the rice, house salad and muffins. Their fruit tea is amazing. The interior is no frills but the service is always good. For dessert, get a mint brownie and have them nuke it for a few seconds and add whipped cream. Yum! Great for "to go" orders. The only downside would be that it can be pretty full during peak hours. I would go during an off time so you don't have to deal with a wait or the parking lot situation, which can be less than desirable when they're really busy. I would consider myself a fairly picky person food-wise, and this is Caribbean food, which would normally be outside my comfort zone. However, I'm glad someone told me about it all those years ago. Definitely a must-try! read more

Use to eat here all the time. Been away for almost a year. Decided to go check it out. Menu basics same and manager same. Menu wasnt clean at all and table had to be rewiped. Food was same. Still good. Would like to see improvement of cleanliness. Waiter was bit scattered and forgot the dessert twice. We all have those kinds of days. read more

Third gen Nashvillian, this place has been a family staple for ages - Fresh, inexpensive, tropical vibe - it is noisy inside (concrete walls) and casual - bright colors and joyful staff - Our favorite: Quarter Dark Chicken, Black Bean Salad, muffin, sweet potato - mmm. *Try the fresh fruit tea - yum* *The carrot cake squares at the register - so good* *Also, mint brownies. Need I say more?* I loved Calypso Cafe so much I actually had them cater my summer outdoor wedding a few years back - all my guests loved the meal =) I've been in south america & carribean several times over the years, and Calypso always brings those vibes back. Try it, you'll like it. read more

I no longer live in Nashville, but this is one of the few places I still crave on a regular basis. I may have only gone 4 stars when i lived there, but the fact that I still think about it makes it 5 automatically. BBQ chicken, curry chicken, collard greens and pretty much anything on the menu is good. It's carribean-ness is debatable, but who cares? I reliable lunch option read more

Meals are well portioned, healthy, and fresh. Not authentic Caribbean food. Atmosphere was friendly. Prices are reasonable. read more

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Very nice patio vibe. Food is good. Beer is good. nothing you couldn't find in a gas station tho. Food was served with in 5 minutes it was fast! Makes me wonder if food is canned or pre cooked. Over all nice clean place. read more

Calypso Cafe - Caribbean Near Me - Nashville, Tennessee

What has happened here? Went here regularly for lunch when I was working in Nashville. Stopped in last Saturday and got 3 take out meals. The chicken salad was all celery, very little chicken, and no flavor. The callalou and sweet potatoes left much to be desired. Sure hope it has new owners/management. If not, it has surely gone down hill. Very sad! Yes, Allison. This was on Saturday, June 9 around 4:00 pm. read more

Worst service. Used to love this place, but I'll never go back to this location, manager is rude.

Calypso has been my favorite for many years now. I often frequent the 100 Oaks and Charlotte locations. The food is consistently tasty and of excellent quality. Jordan at the Charlotte location is always so nice - his customer service is superb, and one of the reasons I keep coming back. read more

This has been my go to place for take out lunch and dinner when I'm in town for work! Their 'Jerk chicken' plate is by no means a traditional Jamaican jerk dish, but I still really like it! Fresh and lean, half chicken with the black bean salad(no sour cream) and the rice is my go to! read more

I've only been there once, so I'll have to give it another try. However, the 100 Oaks location we visited, we had the black bean nachos, which were kind of crusty, and it just tasted as if everything was canned (which, of course, everything in most commercial chains and even nicer restaurants is). The server had a chin beard that was braided down to his waist, and long hair, with no hair-net. Both of these were really unsanitary and health-code violations (as a long-time family former restaurant/catering employee myself). Also, when he poured our drinks, I could smell his lingering B.O. for quite a while. Dude. Fix that shit now, restaurant owner. Haircuts. HAIRNETS! Shaves. SHOWERS! DEODORANT! Are they even washing their hands? Clean nails. If your employees have a problem with that, than don't work in a restaurant, then. It also seemed like everyone here was a little depressed. No one smiled much. Moral seems really low. I felt bad for them. The poor hygiene really made me uncomfortable. I know what goes on "backstage" in a kitchen, and if an owner is willing to let hygiene slide to this degree, I don't feel comfortable patronizing it. It's YOUR responsibility, restaurant manager, to stay on their shit about hygiene, and fire anyone who slacks. This is representing your brand, and it makes patrons uncomfortable. What are you running, a 7-11? Health food doesn't mean grimy smelly employees getting their hair and B.O. in my food, thanks. Unprofessional. Also, the bathrooms were extremely clean, but the smelled musky, pretty bad. How about some Renuzit. About one would solve your problem. Also, none of your employees smiled at me. Only one of them acknowledged me. None of them used the time honored "trick" of touching the table as they took my order to increase friendliness and get a bigger tip. This should happen EVERY time they approach the table- touch it, tap it, say 'Hi!" freakin smile. Would it kill them? Seemed like it. When we walked in, no hostess walked up to us. We were pointed at from behind the counter by a guy who shouted as us to "seat yourselves up against the wall!" When I paid the check, I was ignored once again, as the cashier talked the entire time to his buddy, and didn't thank me for dropping in. Rounding out the customer service experience! :( Don't want to break up your coffe Klatch, dude. Okay, buddy. Just.... it doesn't even seem like there is a manager on duty here. It looks like a restaurant, but it needs to tighten the ship. What the eff? Nice space, fun art and vibe, but ... Someone needs a manager to run the ship like a real restaurant with polite employees who are clean & friendly and run things properly. And get some renuzitt in the bathrooms! Soo close but SO far. :/ read more

As a vegetarian, I love their menu! It's the best restaurant for a Vegetarian in Nashville. The service is also super quick and the food is always yummy. Must try: fruit tea (sweet Nashville specialty) Vegetarian eats: black bean salad with rice (can be made without dairy for the vegans out there!) read more

I find it funny that people think this place is so vegetarian friendly. Not that it isn't. But they are really no more so than anywhere else. Other than salads (and almost every restaurant has salads that vegetarians can eat) there are about two choices. The veggie pita / melt (which is successfully passed off as two choices when it really should only merit one). I find this pita melt combination quite bland to be honest with you. So I usually go for choice #2 the "beans & three" plate (meaning beans and a choice of three sides). The food is good and healthy but the service is slow. There is always a considerable wait even when the dining room is empty. But if you do want something healthy this is a good place to stop. Its also fairly affordable. read more

I've picked up dinners to-go at Calypso a couple times in the last week and my husband I both love their chicken and all their sides - favorites are bean and corn salad, black beans, house salad, rice, and muffins. They are fast and always have my orders ready when I stop in to pick them up - friendly staff and delicious food. read more