Videos of this place kept popping up on my Tik Tok feed , I was passing by and decided to see what the hype was about.
There was a short line about 8 people ahead when we arrived and it's a small space.
We were warmly greeted and told the lady we were not ready to order yet. She let us know she's available to answer any questions if needed.
A few signs on the walls explained how to order the stuffed patties . I'm honestly not a fan of carb on carb stuffing in my beef patties and was relieved to see that they also offered plate style ( without the patty) .
My kids however were there for that stuffed patty and were not changing their minds.
Once we ordered we waited close to 30 minutes for our food.
I noticed only 1 guy and the cashier were on staff and were working as fast as they could. The lady was so calm and her demeanor seemed to spread to the waiting customers, no one seemed bothered by the wait. It was nice to see people being normal and patient, it also seemed like they all knew this was the pace and the wait was worth it.
I looked around the deli , they have a selection of packaged Asian snacks , unique flavors of Lay's, Oreos, skittles and other candies ,chips,soups etc. Aside from the patties and plates I don't know if they also serve any other regular deli options. Everyone was there for the patties.
Finally Sharon ( I think that's her name ) said our order was ready, she apologized for the wait but by that time my kids were so busy picking out snacks I didn't even notice it was half an hour . The mellow atmosphere had grown on us lol. She double checked our orders, offered us cups of ice for our drinks and told us that there are a few tables outside if we chose to sit. She was so nice ,like mama making sure her kids didn't forget their lunch.
I got the rice and peas , mac and cheese and jerk chicken plate.
Wow, flavor bombs set off. The rice is heavily seasoned , so good you can literally have it alone and have a satisfying feeling of a meal. Deep browning flavors, cinnamon sticks and definitely meat stock flavors and some hot spices too. The Mac and Cheese was good, it wouldn't be something I'd order on it's own but tje creaminess definitely helped with the spiciness of the overall plate. The jerk chicken is boneless thigh. It was a bit salty but lots of good jerk flavor, I could tell it was made in the oven and not on a grill because it lacked that notable smoky component associated with jerk. I wasn't upset , it's a deli not a jerk barbecue spot.
My kids devoured the patties , as I said before I'm not into the stuffed arrangement but the components of the plate are exactly what they use to stuff the patty and those each tasted delicious . They got the oxtail and mac and cheese stuffing.
My kids liked that the patty was so neatly put together that it was easy to eat without stuff falling out all over.
If you love big flavors and Caribbean food then give Datz a try. Don't expect frills and fancy decor and if you're impatient don't go over there yelling at the nice people. It's not the vibe.
The LIRR to Heamstead ( Hollis Ave stop ) is across the street. I saw a bus stop sign next to the deli but it didn't show was bus line it was. read more