While my plate was really yummy, as you can see they packed it with a lot of rice and not a lot of lechon, for the price too. I paid $15. A pound at island pacific is $13. I wanted to support but the portions not worth its I also go the halo halo. I did have the jerk chicken before, but I was craving Filipino food today. Hopefully they fix the portion control for this meal. read more

Caribbean Haven - Lechon Kawali - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

WOW. Literally the best food in Ventura. I've never had anything like it!! THE BEST island food I've ever had. I started with the empanadas and the patty which I've seen on Anthony Bourdain and wow the first bite took me straight to an island. The dough is full of love, I've never had a better pastry in Ventura. The empanada is more sweet and savory and the patty is savory and the vegetable one is AMAZING!! I ordered the jerk tofu, believe it or not it's the best tofu I've ever had!!! Not sad I skipped meat today, although I'll be back for it, the tofu is perfectly crispy while soft on the inside. Not too crispy!!! PERFECT!!! The spice level is also perfect, not too spicy as I've always feared the famous jerk seasoning. The owner here is very smart and cares enough to let you know it is a 4 on the spice level and will add more spice if you like Best cole slaw I've ever had and Im picky!! THE RICE!!!! God so much flavor for just rice!! It takes me straight back to New Orleans. This food is full of so much love and tradition. I am absolutely blessed to stumble upon this place. The plantains are spectacular and you have to try this soda I've never seen or heard before that the owner said was his favorite, CHAMPAGNE FLAVOR!! If you can believe that! First sip and I was so impressed. Very casual dining yet a very well thought out cozy inside with lots of wood... so cozy you feel like you're in the tropics even on a rainy day... This place is literally heaven on earth. Something for everyone, vegans, kids, gluten free, on a diet, old people who love BBQ... beautiful business, beautiful food, beautiful plating, beautiful staff. read more

See all

I was told to come here long ago by my foodie friend and her husband. I am disappointed in myself for taking so long to come here! My mom wanted to come for her birthday earlier this week and try something new. The whole family was pleased with their food! We have been talking about the dishes we tried all week! Both Lumpia were great, but the beef was better. Loved my Chicken Adobo. I usually do not like Cole Slaw, period! But theirs was good and had a delicious sauce. Mixed greens were fire! Tried a bite of the Jerk Chicken, very tender and tasty. Will be back for sure. Staff was kind and attentive. If you are dining in, you order up front and then they bring your food to your table. read more

It was nice to find a nearby restaurant that served some of my favorite Filipino dishes. They also have a Caribbean cuisine going on! I love Jamaica Patties! I order the Filipino pork belly with rice and cold slaw. read more

This has quickly become one of my favorite restaurants in Ventura. Absolutely love their Chicken Adobo-- a delightful combination of Caribbean and Filipino flavors that tastes GREAT with the shredded cabbage salad and rice that accompany it. Portions are pretty substantial and we usually have enough left over for 1 to 2 more meals. I have also ordered their chicken lumpia, which are delicious when hot! If taking home, it might be better to toss them in the oven for a few so that they crisp up. read more

As I sit here debating whether I should lick what's left of my Oxtail Bowl I can't help but feel happy about my recent decision to move back in the area!!! This just adds to the many reasons why I belong near the beach! The Service: Very friendly staff. Cashier couldn't have recommended a better dish for me to try since it's my first visit. "Hook, line and sinker". The Food: The Oxtail Bowl was full of flavor with a tad of heat to simply wake up the palate. Served on a bed of rice with beans and a side of coleslaw that complimented every single bite. The Chicken Empanada...why not? They only had one left so lucky me! The pastry was nice, flaky, and sweet filled with white chicken meat...just perfect! Will I come back? I'd be a fool not too...definitely a place I'll be working down the menu!!!! I'm home... read more

Caribbean Haven - Oxtail Bowl - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

See all

Oxtail bowl... wow! So tender. The slaw... zing! The rice... absorbing all the flavors. Comforting, filling, nourishing. A+ read more

Caribbean Haven - Oxtail bowl Haven Bowls - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

Location is very nice, right on the marina. Parking never a problem. Service was a little slow both times we went, food is good, not my favorite but I'll try anything once. Live music was good, but seemed the band and their family / group got better service then we did. read more

I got the jerk chicken roti wrap! I love the creativity of these kinds of dishes. Everything inside was so so tasty. It almost doesn't need a sauce because it's seasoned so well but it would help with the dryness. This was my first time here and I definitely want to come back for the Filipino food. A bit expensive but quality food may be worth it. read more

The food was delicious and the service was good! The employees were so nice. Highly recommend!!

I ordered the jerk chicken plate. It was okay and it most definitely was NOT authentic. You have to travel to LA for better tasting Caribbean food. read more

I've never tried their food before and it was great! The staff was so helpful in helping decide what to order and helped clean our plates away. Love it! read more

So disappointed. I found this West Indian restaurant 6 years ago and drive literally 2 1/2 hours to get it because SLO offers no diversity and considering it wasn't as nearly good as the West Indian food on the east coast it was great for Californians standards. I always order curry goat or oxtail with a roti on the side. What the hell happened?! I asked for my usual and in return I received a burrito with no curry sauce..just dried up goat. It was bad enough that it is already over priced and very different from any west indie food I've ever had it was doable. This is the second time I've been disappointed. When the owner himself isn't present it sucks. However, it's a clean place. The owner is from New York but became a Californian, sadly standards left. It's taste like crap. They even put coleslaw in my curry not plain cabbage. Three small bites of goat. WTF! read more

Caribbean Haven - Curry goat roti but it's a burrito thrown together. Pissed! - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

See all

Not authentic Jamaican or Carib food. They try though. Just missing the authentic flavors. I feel no one in Southern California can get it right. read more

I love, love the Jerk Chicken with veggies. We go 1x per week Very fresh food and friendly staff read more

Got 3 of the lunch haven bowls: jerk chicken, chicken adobo, and oxtail. All were good but the oxtail was hands down the best. I would come back for that read more

I was so excited to have some jerk chicken. Unfortunately the chicken and the jerk sauce lacked flavor. The portion was generous. I substituted cole slaw for plantains which was a good move. The empanadas were not bad. The flan was a disappointment tasting like it came from a pudding box. The order was placed online without a hitch. read more

I always stop here on my way through Ventura or to Santa Barbara. I love the combination of Caribbean and Filipino food. The service is always fast and friendly, and the food is fantastic! Big portions and so delicious. Lots of protein options including vegetarian and vegan. I love trying different combos, bowls or wraps, and getting fun sides like the plantains or pies. read more

Do ya' want to crank up your taste buds??? WHOA! This place did it for me :) The place is defiantly different than most of our restaurants here in Ventura County. You have to literally drive out to Venice or LA for something this good. KUDDDOS to ya'll for exploring on a different kind of menu and sticking with it! Anything you order here looks sooo tasty! I did want to order one of each lol I probably would be there all day. I ordered the chicken lumpia and there simply amazing in every bite you take! Next time, I am ordering the pork chicken with rice it looks divine. read more

Oh my gosh the food here is so good, located in the Ralph shopping center, it's located between the Coffee Bean and the Hawaiian BBQ restaurant. The food is made to order and it comes out hot and delicious. I've ordered both the Jerk Chicken and the BBQ chicken, both are delicious and are served with a spicy slaw and white rice. It's nice to have variety in Ventura county, if you are bored with the same old stand-by, this is just the right place to get out of your comfort zone and let your taste buds take a dive into the land of spice! One star away from perfection only because of the wait time if you order in house, do yourself a favor if you are in a hurry order ahead of time, it will save you time and frustration. Enjoy! read more

Delicious authentic West Indian food. Their pepper sauce is super spicy and available on request. I highly recommend Caribbean Haven if yo want a really good curry goat Roti in California. read more

This time 6pm Wed Apr 12. The service sucks! New cashier I guess. This is our fourth time here. I was sitting in one of the three booths but stood up to tell my daughter and wife and in law what to order for me. Then I guess cashier also goes on break. Placed her dinner on the booth where I was sitting. Asked her I guess we are sitting on the other booth. She feistily asked me excuse me? I guess that's her fave spot lol. She knew I was sitting there. It's a small place. This place doesn't make you welcome anymore. The old cashier Hispanic was much better. Bummer! Food was good, had the grilled pork belly x2, plantain x2, and the oxtail stew. $75 dinner but the island hospitality is lacking lol read more

Caribbean and Filipino food under one roof? Never seen this pairing before. I walked in intrigued, filled my belly with yummy food, and left oh-so-happy. JERK CHICKEN = a flavor explosion! Chicken was juicy and tender, though temperature was lukewarm. Sides of coleslaw and rice were tasty accompaniments. I ate every morsel on my plate. BEEF EMPANADAS = baked pockets with a super tender crust and ample filling. Since the menu seemed to cater to authenticity, I did expect the filling to include raisins which is the traditional Filipino recipe, however they were missing. Still good though! Each order comes with 2 pieces. Service was welcoming, though a bit delayed since they admitted to being short-staffed. Location is in the Ralph's shopping center along Victoria Ave, close to Coffee Bean and Pokeland. read more

Caribbean Haven - Jerk chicken - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

See all

So gooooood! Excellent flavor and reasonable price. Refreshing Variety We were very pleased with our dishes. read more

Caribbean Haven - Curry chicken fries - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

Leaving the parking lot, I turned back to see it one last time. The cool wind seemed to flow over my short wife's head as we had the mandatory food debrief. She said everything tasted fresh and high quality, spiced and priced just right, and that she felt just a little guilty for leaving good food on her plate. She asked me if I was happy with our choice. I shouted, "Ja man!" and we resumed our leisurely cruise down California's coast. read more

Caribbean Haven - Filipino Pork BBQ, Vegetable Lumpia, and Jerk Tri-tip Sandwich - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

No mask? No gloves? During food prep? Really? The food is fantastic, it really is, but the guy at the grill, cooking up the food had no gloves and no mask on! Is that even legal these days? I asked the cashier about it, he yelled at the cook to put a mask on, which he finally did after making a face, but then let it drop under his nose. I like the food, I like that they pack in paper and cardboard to-go containers, but sorry, I'll not be coming back to a place where the chef wears no mask while he prepares the food. I hope the owner of this business reads this and can convince me he has taken some action. In case owner wants to identify the employee, it was on 11/07/2020 at 4:30 pm. read more

Ox tail is amazing. Authentic island food! Desserts are unique and culturally authentic read more

This place is so delicious. Their jerk chicken is so full of flavor, the rice and peas perfectly compliments, and there is something about their cole slaw that I am obsessed with. Their wings are super crispy and I love the pineapple sugarcane sauce. The jerk curry fries is the first thing I ordered and omg it is so dang GOOD. More people should know about this place! read more

Man!!! Service was exceptional! It's was a crazy rush and the cashier was so friendly insosnt catch her name but she was Ethiopian, thanks for your patience. Food was phenomenal we ordered a little something from each central. All was good my least favorite was the lumpia-veggie. Portions where good we had left overs from everything we ordered, the cassava pie was delicious and warm. Perfect sweetness, lay in bed watch a movie dessert. Amazing. We have both vegan and non vegan food. Roti was fresh and we had It with the oxtail sauce, so flavorful. Really great job. Wish y'all was in LA see you next time we are in Ventura. read more

See all

Wow! What a fantastic surprise! Usually go to our regular favorite eateries in Ventura but decided to try something new. We got on Yelp and found this gem. One of us is vegan and the other a major meat eater. Lots of choices for both of us. I had the Callaloo&Dahl with tofu and my husband had Lechon Kawali and vegetable lumpia. Lots to eat, friendly service, fun atmosphere. We'll definitely be back. read more

Caribbean Haven - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

My friend and I ordered food for pick up, but since the restaurant was empty, we decided to eat there. Our meal didn't include drinks, so my friend went to buy two fountain drinks. The employee handed over the cups without a word and, when asked where to pay, he just brushed him off right in front of the owner. We assumed this was a friendly gesture and hospitality. However, as we were leaving, the owner sternly and very rudely shouted, "It'd be nice if you paid for my drinks!" We were shocked, as we thought the drinks were complimentary because we had been sitting in the vacant dining room for 30 minutes drinking from the cups without any reason to believe we still had to pay. We gladly immediately went to the register and paid. I want to emphasize that our intention was never to receive anything for free. As someone who works in customer service, I understand the challenges, but the owners confrontational attitude was unnecessary and uncalled for. Better communication and leadership would have prevented this misunderstanding. Judging by some of the other reviews it's apparent there is some type of customer service issue that stems from the ownership itself. As someone that has placed big orders from here for family events, it was a disappointing experience and will definitely alter if I recommend this place. Edit: Even after my review it is obvious that the owner can't take any accountability. First of all I never said that my friend purchased the drinks when he asked for drinks. Your employee handed the cups over without saying a word as did you. We sat in the dining room for 20 minutes where you could've approached us to explain the situation but you didn't. You lack basic communication skills. You've also have THREE health code violations this year so I think there's bigger problems at hand. read more

Great food! We got the jerk chicken plate, the Rasta pasta with shrimp, roti with oxtail, and the beef lumpias and they were all delicious. Surprisingly, even the cole slaw was tasty and that's coming from a group that doesn't like most cole slaw. Clean dinning room. Prices are decent and the portions are large. Take it from this Caribbean gyal...TRY THIS P read more

Caribbean Haven - Rasta Pasta with shrimp (jerk seasoning) - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

See all

This is by far the best West Indian cuisine in Southern California. My wife is from Barbados and feels closest to home when she gets the chance to eat here. The Filipino fare looks equally delicious, but we have yet to vary from the amazing West Indian rotis, curries, and stews. A must try for authentic West Indian cuisine. read more

Called ahead for a pick up of : 4 total empanadas because the order comes with two so in total I had two orders of empanadas 2 beef patties 2 spinach patties 2 halo halo drinks Order came up to almost $50 I've been here in the past and had a pretty pleasant experience. Due to the COVID pandemic I understand that things may be a little ... slowed... so taking that into consideration we called ahead... The order taker told us about 20min till it's all ready so we gave a time bumper of an additional 5 min or so... once we arrived it was a still a wait. It seemed as if the order got lost but they found the ticket and I thought we'd be out of there in the next minute or so. About 15minutes or so later we were still patiently waiting for the order and maybe an additional 5 min later we finally got our order. The halo halo I'm not sure if they do it, but I felt like some ingredients were missing I could be wrong about that. So all in all it took about an additional 20min after the said time of pick up. We get home and they may have been a mistake because I didn't check the order to see if it was all complete. I was missing some empanadas in the almost $50 order and that may seem small BUT I was shorted and had to wait way longer than was told. I do enjoy Jamaica inspired and filipino foods so i will give the business another go hopefully things will smooth out and run more fluent in the future. read more

I really enjoyed this restaurant. The food was tasty and seasoned very well. The menu had an array of items for the whole family. The waitress was attentive, friendly and very welcoming. I'd definitely come back to this restaurant. read more

Caribbean Haven - Jerk Chicken with rice and peas and sweet plantain - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

Doesn't taste like Filipino food. I like the vibe and the people that work there. Very nice and sweet. They have nothing to do with my review. The crew is awesome. If it wasn't for them, I would give it zero stars. The only problem was the Filipino food!When they gave me my to go order without a spoon, I knew something was wrong. When I asked for it, they didn't have it. They were trying to give me the teaspoon with a long handle for Halo-Halo. I ordered Lechon, Pancit Palabok, Halo-Halo and Jamaican Jerk Salad. I live in Venice and was in the area. I got excited that there was a Filipino restaurant. I wasn't even hungry. I just wanted to check it out and support my people. It might be that the cook wasn't Filipino (I checked) or not Filipino owned. Not sure what happened here. Truly disappointed. The palabok didn't taste like Palabok. Missing a lot of ingredients. The Lechon was bland too! It tasted like tofu. Nothing. No salt or pepper. Not even crispy. Wow. This blew my mind. The Halo-Halo also didn't taste like Halo-Halo. Little Ube. Lacking true ingredients. Not even sure if these were Halo-Halo ingredients. Don't come here if you want Filipino food. read more

Different tasty flavors for a change of pace from most things local to the area. Service was great also!

Went here on my lunch. Place was not to busy,so I didn't Think much of it. Ordered the jerk chicken plate, and it was delicious! The wait was about 15 minutes or so , but well worth it. Food was delicious ! The rice ,beans and cole slaw all of it. Food was hot, fresh and tasty! Will be back more often. read more

Caribbean Haven - Jerk chicken plate - Caribbean Near Me - Ventura, California

Fantastic! Heard about this place through a list in the local newspaper showcasing Black-owned businesses in town. I've never tried Caribbean food and my knowledge of Vietnamese cuisine is similarly limited, so I thought I'd try something new to me. The restaurant itself is clean and organized and the staff were all using masks properly. The cashiers were friendly and helped me pick out some items to try. I chickened out (no pun intended) on trying the jerk chicken, and instead opted for the pork belly special with white rice and slaw. I also ordered the beef lumpia. My partner had a vegan tofu dish with rice and beans and slaw. Portions were bigger than I expected and the whole order was about $30 with tip. I ate the lumpia first, dipping it in the a sweet and slightly spicy sauce it came with. It had some kick so the crisp slaw provided a perfect balance. I have a feeling I'll be craving that slaw tomorrow. The pork belly was fantastic, perfectly cooked and with a touch of sticky sweetness that made me want to lick the bone. Rice and beans were also cooked perfectly. The flavors were strong and aromatic; maybe nutmeg? cinnamon?, I'm not really sure but it smelled heavenly. My partner loved the tofu and I was able to pry from him that he'd like to order it again. That's a big win in my book. We'll definitely order take-out again and I'm looking forward to trying new items. read more

We were craving Caribbean food and came to this little spot, it's sort of in the cut next to Poke Land and Q&Q Hawaiian B.B.Q,. But, after walking in, it was very clean, and smelled good. The young lady at the cash register was clearly new and didn't know much, she had to keep asking everyone for help or what was on a certain dish we wanted. But that's understandable, when learning. Had to use my patience a little We ordered Curry Chicken (Spicy) and lumpia beef, and Jerk chicken, and ox tail bowl and curry goat Thank you guys for everything. read more