I went here as I was waiting for an oil change after I dropped off my car. It was nearby and I needed a couple of hours to kill. After looking at all the yelp reviews, I decided to get the Cuban sandwich like many others on yelp recommended. It was pretty busy for noon and it seems a lot of the local workers come here. Anyway, the sandwich was really good and I'm glad I tried the place. For a couple of bucks more ($9 + no tax), you get one side and a soda. I got the black beans which was really good as well. Overall, I highly recommend the place and the Cuban sandwich. I'm not sure it's worth a trip out of your way, but if your nearby, it's worth getting lunch here. read more

I ate my sandwich while watching the local fauna eying the other local fauna out at the watering hole (dos hombres eating lunch actually stopped their chatter when the blond with the whale tale walked in squishing her car keys into the itsy bitsy pocket on her small yuppie booty). If "local" feeling were Cuba or 1988... then this place is just that! A cubano is nothing short of delightful. The one here is delicious but on the smallish size (as in normal) for five dollars and change. I like that pollo a la brasa sauces were served with the sandwich. read more

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We have been going to this restaurant for almost 10 years and are addicted to the chicken and yuca and the black beans are the best I have tasted! The chicken is roasted over charcoal and is juicy and the two sauces on each table are the green jalapeno and yellow mayo. which are unlimited on each table if you eat in. This restaurant seems to have mainly latino customers and the food is ethnic and authentic. It's head and shoulders above most of the Peruvian chicken carryouts! It's not fancy and the chicken is best when eaten in your hands! ha read more

Don't know how this only has three and a half stars-- my family and I have been coming here for over fifteen years and have never been disappointed. The chicken is always cooked perfectly, the plantains and yucca are to die for, and even venturing away from the main part of the menu (chicken and two sides), the saltenas and cuban sandwich were amazing. Had Caribbean Grill cater my graduation, and all of my friends could not stop raving about how good it was. read more

Stopped here to get a quick bite. The food was very good. The chicken was my favorite part. Tender, seasoned well, and they give you a large portion. The mashed potatoes were a gamble but they turned out to be a great pairing with the chicken and sweet plantains. The food gave me more of a Peruvian vibe-which don't get me wrong, was still delicious. I was expecting more of a Jamaican feel. Will definitely come back when I'm in the area. The prices were just right for a repeat. Next time I think I'll try the rice! read more

Caribbean Grill - Caribbean Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

It's readily apparent that no Cuban has ever worked here. Masas were 100% insipid and had an gross funk about them. No seasoning. No onions. No lime. No good. The beans were poured straight from a can no cooking no seasoning. Oh and thanks for the two luke warm steamed carrot sticks and one broccoli floret, those really tied the plate together. Chicken was dried out and skin was soggy. You'd be better off getting dinner from the 7/11 across the street. read more

wait why? so many options for pollo a la brasa in arlington. never again straying from the best this chicken has striking similarities to a 4.99 rotisserie chicken sitting around at grocery store for hours. Dry, lacking flavor, weak skin. Never had trouble finishing a chicken meal, before this. can't speak to the sides as much, had the fried plantains and yucca and they were nothing I would go back for. yellow sauce is ok, green sauce is not spicy enough for me/too much vinegar. More like a dressing or something. Do yourself a favor and go to super pollo on quincy, el pollo rico, or at the very least, crisp & juicy down the street. Just not here. read more

Carribean Grill has been here forever. We used to skip school to go here, load up on green sauce and be wide awake for the last class periods. The food has not changed one bit in the last thirteen years, so they've found a winning formula and are sticking to it. Things people might find annoying: They are cash only. The parking lot is cramped and dismal. The interior is cramped. You will not find a seat during lunch or dinner, so just get your food to go. Thankfully, the food is worth it. read more

Caribbean Grill is everything Crisp & Juicy and El Pollo Rico aren't. Read: both of those restaurants totally blow. Well, at least the chicken at crisp & juicy is good. I've only done take-out, since the inside isn't too nice and you're constantly breathing smoke from the rotisserie. But they have everything you would come to expect from the name. They have Cuban rice, delicious chicken, fried plantains, and even their flan was delicious. I dock them a half-star for not having any fresh chicken past about 7:30pm, if you get here late you eat dry old chicken and they're out of most of their sides. I dock them another half-star for the interior and cash-only. The calculator cash register system is pretty ghetto. Also, if you want plantains you should call ahead and see if they have them. They only have them about 50% of the time. read more

Food is good but make no mistake, it is not Jamiacan carribean or a purivean chicken place. The drink from the fountain is a bit flat and you have to pay for a refill. The place is clean and staff are somewhat friendly... read more

Caribbean Grill - This is the special white meat, 2 sides and a drink. - Caribbean Near Me - Arlington, Virginia

I tried roasted chicken dish with one side (yuca) and chicken curry. Fried yuca is the best yuca I tried in this area but roasted chicken is just mediocre. I like super pollo chicken better. I didn't know that Caribbean cuisine has curry dishes but this chicken curry is really good. I mean it is better than any decent Indian or Thai curry. roasted chicken - 2.5 stars fried yuca (side dish) - 4 stars chicken curry - 4.5 stars read more

Oy vey... If you've read any of my other reviews you'll see I'll throw out an extra star when I feel bad about writing a crappy review. I'm so sad that I didn't like this place at all. I had the Cuban and yellow rice. I'm from Florida so my review is unfair because I've had the best Cubans of all time. This one was not it. Wasn't even remotely good. The rice was just ok. I'm a huge fan of the typical "yellow and green sauces" and I was sooo disappointed. They were not tasty whatsoever. Not saying that you shouldn't try it, but don't get your hopes up like I did. I don't think I'll be back. The whole places screams health code violations, but I was able to over look it if the food was good. Sadly, this is a no for me. read more

I don't understand you gringos, everybody's talking about the "Peruvian" chicken, which I'll admit is good. But, did you ever stop to think this place is called the CARIBBEAN grill. And do you realize that PERU is nowhere near the Caribbean? hmmm....so, what I'm trying to say is anyone who comes here only for the chicken is missing out on something: I.E. the BEST Cuban Sandwiches in Northern Virginia. Please do yourselves a favor, next time, skip the chicken, and order a Cuban Sandwich. You're welcome. read more

Friends picked up delicious carryout from Caribbean Grill to host us for dinner in their backyard at home. The chicken, plantains, veggies, rice, flan, everything was delicious! All of us enjoyed second helpings! I look forward to going to the storefront myself sometime soon for my own carryout meal. read more

This place is small but the food is great. Be sure to have cash b/c they dont take Credit Cards. The Ropa vieja is tasty not the best i've had but close. I'm not a huge cuban sandwich kinda gal but my fiance is cuban and he loves them. the chicken is great and the sides are up to par. The sauces however... could use some more work. Aside from that this is great little place to get some good rotisserie chicken read more

A-ok says it. I don't really know if I can say too much about it. That said, its a quality place to go... no reason not to. Relatively nice, large outdoor area for a place in Ballston. Good happy hour prices... something like 4 dollar mojito, margarita, or martini. The mojitos were good and had a piece of sugar cane in them... nice touch. I had the cubano, as a man I once knew said, the passover special (thankfully I'm not Jewish in this case)... one of my favorite sandwiches, but not so fast Caribbean Grill, yours is not as good as you bill it. Its simply ok... and with everything else... this place is A-ok... worth a shot, but not a place you'll ever count the days to go back to. read more

Wife and I were in search of some good jerk chicken in the area. The jerk chicken was more like Peruvian Chicken. Chicken was good, but only some slight jerk flavor on the skin, the inside of the chicken was totally plain. We asked for extra jerk sauce to put on it and they told us to use the two Peruvian sauces on the table. The next time we want jerk chicken, we will go to a restaurant that does jerk chicken, not a Peruvian Chicken place masquerading as one. Please change the name of your restaurant, nothing carribean here. If we wanted Peruvian chicken, we would have gone to Pollo Rico. read more

It would be 0 stars if it wasn't cheap and Yelp allowed it. Went in a few weeks ago. It wasn't busy at all, the woman at the counter was filling the green sauce cups. First thing I notice is the trash is overflowing and the place looks dirty. Second thing was the very overweight woman who dumped out more than half of her food in the trash. These things should have led me out the door, but the d-bag Guy Fieri in me is all "Maybe you found an epic dive!" Afraid not my friends. She took about 3 minutes to acknowledge me. Some how she thought ropa vieja was "3 side dishes". She asked if I wanted steamed broccoli, which I thought was weird, but whatever. Got to the car, three sides, no ropa. Go back in and it takes a cadre to understand what is going on. I ask for refund, she asks for 2 dollars (cue Better Off Dead reference). Finally the lady gives me a small portion for free. So you are starting at 3 stars. And it is all downhill. The ropa was cold, congealed and pretty much gross/inedible. The yellow rice was cold, clumpy and devoid of flavor. The yuca was undercooked (and cold!). Ironically, the only thing that was any good was steamed broccoli (and it was actually warm!). The fact that I got some nutrition out of my 8 bucks and because I can't go any lower, 1 star for you. read more

Solid carribean jerk chicken. I dont know why this place doesnt have higher reviews. Cuban rice was delicious. Very tasty... i'll be coming here again. One entree... 2 sides... under $11. Pretty bomb. They did mess up my order. I ordered dat dark meat, but got white... shit was divine. read more

Ordered the jerk chicken combo with black beans and rice with plantains the chicken was flavorful and tender, the rice and beans not so good. it all came to 8.50$, and free fountain drinks, so not too bad. it was a big plate and I had three sides with the chicken read more

Stood at the counter. Was ignored. Someone else walked up and they took his order. Might have been the owner. I walked out and will never return. read more

I love this place! I have been going there since I was much younger. It was called something else ( I don't recall the name now) years ago. My best friend as a child lived just down the street and when I would go visit, her dad would take us to eat here. Now I take my son and he absolutely loves it too! I always get a quarter chicken (white) with two sides of yucca. My son gets the same chicken, but with fries. The ladies here are always nice and super sweet to my son. I will continue going to eat here even though I am not in this area often anymore. PS- the green sauce is a must!!! read more

Meh, nothing about this food was impressive by any stretch of the imagination. The pork bites are oily and not crispy and moist. The yuca was the best thing, at least being decently fresh, the plantains were old and stale, completely inedible. The best thing was the "fresh" pineapple juice. read more

I went to check out this place after some good reviews and a not so good one. When I walked in there it felt like Jamaica, it was at least 90 some degrees in there. The person I went with and I ordered the chicken and a side of fries. I thought the chicken was average and not fresh. The other person thought it was good but not great. The place is not clean/spotless but descent. I do have to say that food handling was clean. Service was okay, except for the attitude the cashier had when I asked for a to go container or when I asked if the chicken came with a side already. Overall, it could have been better if the temperature didn't feel like it was hell's kitchen. Would I go back again? I would have to be convinced or starving. And they would need to take my credit card, who carries cash around nowadays. read more

On the way to Arlington yesterday, I kept thinking about that yellow rice. This is my go-to whenever I'm in town. The chicken family meal is a good deal and the best part is the sides. The yellow rice, Cuban rice (mixed with black beans), black beans, platanos, yucca are all authentic and entirely addictive. They taste like they were made in abuela's kitchen or a little family restaurant somewhere in the Spanish Caribbean. The Cuban sandwich is popular but I prefer the Cuban chicken and beef stews. The service is fast and its not usually crowded. And they even have empanadas and Bolivian salteñas. What more could you want? In terms of the rotisserie chicken itself, some of the Peruvian places might be a tad better, but no one matches the sides. read more

The food is really fresh - jerk chicken, yuca con mojo, yuca frita, yellow rice with beans. Excellent! I will definitely go again!

This place is AWESOME!! If you have a hankering for some Cuban home style cooking, you definitely need to check this place out. My go-to dishes here are the Picante De Pollo or Jerk Spices Pork with yellow rice and new potatoes. Other good bets are the Cuban sandwich & black bean soup with chorizo. It used to be really cramped in here with only 4 tables, but they've recently acquired the store next door and now have a large dine-in area. I'm not sure if it was a fluke or what, but the AC was out when I went there today. Since it was about 80+ degrees inside, I decided to get my food to go. Still, you can't go wrong if you dine-in or carry-out. read more

I'm always satisfied walking out of this place. You can't go wrong with the chicken, and the different sides you can pick to go along with your meal. My favorite sides are yellow rice, black beans over white rice, spinach, fried yuca, and plantains. If you want to add more flavor or spice, try their green and yellow sauce. I like to mix the two together. The Cuban Sandwich is one of the best in the area. They now take credit, so that's a plus. Cheap eat, good food! read more

I think that after the lunch rush Is over they sell cold chicken that has been sitting for a long time. I was thoroughly dissapointed the last time I went there and left worried that I may have eaten old and cold chicken. Something ain't right about that place. read more

Talk about disappointment! The first time I ever drove pas this place, shortly after relocating to NoVA, the smell coming out was great, and I'm always a sucker for a food joint with smoke pouring out of the side. Having been past many times since and read the generally positive reviews on Yelp, I finally got the chance to stop by and try it out. What a disappointment! The small strip mall location has a decor similar to many other roasted chicken shops, complete with charcoal bags piled high at one end. Almost a decade into the 21st century, the Caribbean Grill doesn't take credit cards; not a killer, but definitely annoying. At about 3 in the afternoon on a rainy Saturday it was steady, but not very busy. My son got a chicken leg and breast combo, and I got the "pulled" pork sandwich, along with some standard sides of beans, yucca, and plantains. The chicken was decent, but not of any higher quality than most other pollo a la brasa places. The yucca was quite good, and the plantains were decent. The black beans, a Caribbean staple, were rather lackluster and unimpressive. The real disappointment came from the pork sandwich. The menu said that it was slow roasted, "pulled", Cuban flavored pork. What I got was a sandwich covered with overly thick slices of dry, poorly trimmed meat lacking flavor. I could only finish half of it. I love Cuban food, which makes my experience here that much more disappointing. I'm not sure if I went there on a bad day or what, but I won't go back, and I don't really suggest that you waste your time here. read more

After reading the reviews I thought I'd give this place a try. I think it was okay overall. The staff were nice and the restaurant was very clean. The reason I didn't give it 5 stars (and I think, maybe like many others) is because the flavors weren't very bold. I was expecting to taste a stronger jerk/curry flavor than I did, but I'm not opposed to coming back and trying other dishes. read more

I checked this place out last night on the recommendation of other yelpers and was a little dissapointed. My wife and I picked up a rotisserie chicken and a Cuban sandwich. The chicken was decent but nothing I haven't had at Edy's or any other similar establishment and the Cuban sandwhich was cold and the meat to chewy. I will say though the sides were very good as we got the rice and beans and yuca. I'll consider going back to try the steak sandwich but all in all it's not a place I'd go out of my way for. read more

Ridiculous: Beef Stew with cuban rice and one side (fried yuca for us) Cuban Pork Sandwich Chicken thight/leg with mixed vegetables... TONS OF FOOD and total price? $20 WOW!!!! The favorite was the cuban sandwich, next was the beef stew yummy and my least favorite was the chicken - it was flavorless and I will not be coming back to get that again. Otherwise, I definitely will be back for the cuban sandwich and the stew!! cheap prices and yummy food! read more

Another Arlington great food spot. This place has been here for years. Food is authentic and their chicken has its unique seasoning and flavor set apart from all the Peruvian chickens that are everywhere now. Spinach and cheese empanadas are to die for. Ropa vieja to their curry chicken is really good and worth trying. Also you can't go wrong any of their sides. Don't see Cuban sandwich on menus around here too much and the one here Isn't too bad read more

The best Caribbean fare in the greater DC area. I would walk across broken glass for the Cuban Sandwich dipped in black bean soup. Steve Trautwein Great Falls, VA read more

Festive wall paint, helpful employees, and solid food. Not great, but good. I won't be seeking this place out again, but if I happened to find myself in the area and hungry, I'd drop back in to try something else on the menu. read more

This place is AWESOME. The food is great, the portions are generous, and the prices are reasonable. Only place I know around here to get a Cuban Pork sandwich. I had one in Miami that was better but this is a close second. It's roast pork, ham, pickles, cheese. They put their own spin on it by using french bread and then these two tasty little sauces -- one yellow, one green. The sauces are amazing and I think they come with most everything, plus they're on the tables. Sometimes I get the ropa vieja (very moist, savory pulled meat) which is melt-in-your mouth delicious; the black beans and rice, very good, and I liked the plantains, as well. I got them once and my son ate every one, I just got a bite. I haven't tried the roast chicken yet but will probably try that today. It's counter service and there are some tables. You can sit family style at the tables. Whenever I've gone, there's been a line. Because they are busy, the food is not super-fast -- expect to wait up to 15 minutes or so for your order. read more

THE BEST ROTISSERIE CHICKEN IN NORTH ARLINGTON. Chicken has great flavor, yuca is phenomenal and the sauces bring everything together. MUST TRY. Parking is sorta fun during the busy times. read more

I love supporting local places and with the great reviews from Washingtonian (sure they were pretty old, but I still trust them) I wanted to check Caribbean Grill out. I loved the idea of Caribbean Grill, but it didn't quite deliver. I got a breast and wing of jerk chicken with sides of yucca and cuban rice. Boyfriend had a Cuban sandwich. The chicken was good. It's not the best jerk chicken I've had, but not bad at all. The sides were tasty, especially the Cuban rice, which is a mixture of white rice and black beans. The Cuban was the disappointment. Since it was the reason we went (Boyfriend has been talking about wanting one for months) it really brought the place down in my mind. It was not pressed at all and half of the stuff inside the sandwich fell out. The flavors were good, but the execution was poor. The prices aren't bad, but it is cash only. A drink refill will cost you a quarter. You can call ahead for take out, but they have no paper menus. read more

My son and I stopped here for an early dinner. He got the steak and cheese and I ordered a chicken soup. It was early but there were already a few other tables with patrons. The 3 women running/working there were very friendly although the one that brought our food could only speak Spanish. Sure, it's a small place but a sign says that it is about to be expanded, I can only assume they are going to break through to the next store and double their space. It was a friendly experience with pleasant food. I wouldn't drive across town to eat there but would certainly stop by if I were in the area and hungry. read more

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