Lloyd's is very far off the radar for me. It's located slightly north of Jane and Lawrence. Yes way, way, way up there past Bloor and Keele in some strange neighborhood for which I'm sure a trendy moniker has not yet been adopted. Oh Toto I don't think we're on Queen West anymore ! was what I originally thought.
But when I heard from my dear roommate that there was authentic and tasty Jamaican fare to be had up north, I pressed her to join me for an outing sometime. So this past weekend, we braved the rainy weather and set out on an adventure to Lloyd's Foodmart in search of fabulous fried chicken and other goodies. Lloyd's doesn't look like much from the outside, it's located in a seedy looking strip mall and the inside it's a little cluttered and you might get a few suspicious looks from the neighborhood regulars. But if you check your reservations and trepidations at the door, you'll find that you've hit the mother lode in terms of mouthwatering, savoury Jamaican cuisine. The fried chicken had a nice crunchy skin, not greasy and the spicing was almost akin to the Colonel's thought not as heavy on the salt. Lip smackin good!. Curried stewed chicken was rich and hearty, the chicken tender and soft. We also ordered the jerk chicken which had a slow yet blistering hot heat, the result of chunks of habanero peppers present in the sauce. Meow! All of this for a measly $26. A true chicken feast. To top it off, the friendly owner threw in a couple of nerf ball sized fried dumplings for free. These doughy balls were not too hard, sweet and did a good job of soaking up our sauces and taking the edge of the spicing in the dishes.
What a great, yet out of the way find. Cash only. Some seating available for eat in but in a really, low key atmosphere. read more