I find it hilarious how some of the reviews say how bland and tasteless the food is, how watery the mac and cheese is, and things of that manner. I've been ordering from this place since my childhood and while at times some of the dishes may not taste exactly the same because it's all home cooked I have never had an issue where the food has been disgusting. I literally just had a plate that I'm currently devouring now. The mac and cheese has pretty good flavor does not taste like just black pepper as stated somewhere, The candy yams also have a nice flavor with spices in a good amount of sweetness, the cornbread is made well what the proper amount of sweetness and moisture. The chicken breast was actually tender and juicy which I don't get from anywhere when I get chicken breast and the potato salad definitely has a homemade taste. I recently ordered from another supposed soul food place and their food was an absolute disaster to the point that I threw most of it right in the garbage. Rockaway fish House continues to be a consistent source of take out home cooking and I'll stand by that any day as every order I've gotten has scratched the itch that I've had when I don't feel like cooking this stuff myself. read more

Rockaway Fish House - Devoured plate - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

I was very disappointed with my experience at Rockaway Fish House. The customer service was poor from the start. Our server was rude and seemed irritated that we asked questions about the menu before ordering. As customers, we should be able to ask about the food without feeling like we're inconveniencing the staff. The server's attitude made us feel unwelcome. Unfortunately, the food was just as disappointing. Much of it tasted processed rather than homemade. The candied yams, green beans, and collard greens all appeared to come straight from a can. The macaroni and cheese was dry, hard around the edges, and tasted old, as if it had been sitting out for quite some time. Based on this experience, I don't feel the food quality or customer service justified the price. I was expecting fresh, flavorful Southern cooking and friendly hospitality, but sadly, I received neither. I hope the restaurant takes customer feedback seriously and makes improvements because there is a lot of room for better food quality and customer service read more

After almost 15 years of not being here in New York bragging about how good Rockaway Fish House is I finally come to New York on Father's Day weekend go to Rockaway Fish House the place I've been bragging about all this time the food isn't what it used to be but one thing that hasn't changed is the nasty & rude attitude of the people that work there even if you say may I have something they still give you attitude they still look at you like you're not the one paying for the food that they're preparing to keep their business afloat that will be the last time I will visit this establishment because people that pay money for food deserve better service then the attitude & the resting B!@#h faces that they give customers read more

It depends on what you order. The macaroni and cheese is terrible with mushy elbows and minimal cheese. $28 for a pan of turkey wing bones is preposterous and criminal in this economy. read more

Rockaway Fish House - Over half bones in turkey wings. - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

This place has gone seriously downhill. The food was old and tasted awful like it had been sitting out for days. There's no flavor, no love, no nothing in their so-called "soul food." And to top it all off, I think they tried to pass off beef neck bones as shirt beef ribs. Totally unacceptable! The service is disgraceful. No southern charm here. This place is old been here for a while and you would think some renovations had been done they closed down for a couple of months and then came back worse than when they closed. I think the Fish House Ran its race and now they need to close. They are now quantity over quality. They lost their touch. Bye, fish house. read more

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I decided to try RFH again a few times since my last review. My thru the roof Soul Food cravings needed fixing and RFH did the job!! I ordered my favs, Fried chicken and BBQ chicken (entree) w.mac n cheese, yams and collard greens. Everything was good. The chicken was well seasoned and moist and the sides were hitting as well! Portions are always good. I'm happy to continue to support this business..I hope they remain consistent. :-) read more

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I cannot believe their prices have increased this much. So I stopped by because I had a taste for fried pork chops and didn't want to go shopping nor did I want to cook. I was shocked to see that they are now charging $26+ tax (28 in total) for a pork chop dinner in a take out restaurant. Worst part is they were only ok and the greens were cold. I should have known that something was wrong when I was able to get parking right outside of the door (IYKYK). The only good thing was the service, the server helping me was delightful. read more

Rockaway Fish House - Menu - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

The worst Mac & Cheese ever , Watery and all taste is black pepper and the appearance doesn't make you excited to dig in , the yams had no flavor and the color was off , they were big with so many strings. I placed the order for delivery and I specified how I would like my food packaged and it was a mess yams on top and under the Mac & Cheese and don't get me started on the fish I had just got in from work and didn't feel like cooking so I looked online to order from a place I know the food is good but I seen this place and thought I would give it a try the worst decision I will never get or recommend this place ever again. I threw the whole thing in the trash a waste of money. I think I should open a restaurant like my family been telling me for years and show them how it's done read more

Rockaway Fish House - There's nothing appealing about this food. - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

The Food was amazing! I had Smothered chicken with potato salad and string beans. I started off eating the food with my fingers because I didn't have a fork. It was so good I couldn't stop.! read more

Rockaway Fish House - Food sooooo left bones behind! - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

The food was delicious! The people were very kind to me. I enjoyed every bite. The Turkey wings, Mac and cheese, rice, and cabbage. Thank you for the great experience! I can't wait to come back again. read more

In the 80s when it was owned by southern Black people the food was Excellent, when Jamaicans took over food never tasted the same the last time I went there was around 2007 read more

I love Rockaway Fish House. L-O-V-E their food!!! I usually don't write reviews, but I feel like someone is trying to sabotage this restaurant. This place has looked the same since I was 10 years old. If you want ambiance, go somewhere else. I'M ALL ABOUT THE FOOD! and IT IS DELICIOUS!!! The food is always consistent and well seasoned. I like to slather their barbeque sauce on my Mac and Cheese. The potato salad, collard greens and yams are so good. Don't get me started about their scrumptious fried fish which is cooked to order. Where can you buy fresh fried fish at any take-out restaurant in Queens? Nowhere, but Rockaway Fish House! I've even used their catering department. The catering staff are detail oriented and always deliver on time. Portions are still large and I have enough food for two days. Of course, the prices had to increase (inflation, ugh!), but you get your monies worth every time. Don't leave without purchasing a slice of coconut cake. It's the old fashioned cake and so yummy. I'm always happy to support this business. I've been a customer for 35 years and don't ever plan to stop. read more

First ordered back in Dec 2025, fried chicken, Mac n cheese, stringbeans. Fried chicken was flavorful, fried perfectly and moist, the stringbeans were good, Mac n cheese was okay. Ordered for my husband and myself February 12 via Uber Eats fried chicken over fried, dry and hard unbelievable that they would even sell that, the sides were ok but for over $50 I expect better. This place is not consistent and my money is only spent on good consistent food. I will not be ordering from them again will stick with Rib Shack. read more

If you like medium rare pig feet order from here. Absolutely disgusting. The garbage it went. $20 for a very small order of less than 2 pieces sliced in half with remaining bones. Total RIPOFF!!!! read more

Food is great, it's what we call down home cooking... something's your Grandmother would make on a Sunday meal. After church dinner all week long. read more

The food was absolutely delicious--well worth the long wait and the frustrating parking situation

Sometimes memories should just be left as memories. Back in the day the fried whites were the best. Freshly cleaned fish that was fried up to order. Yesterday I ordered some fried whitening fish and was anticipating to eat it when I got home. The smell was smelling really good in the car. Got home and sat down to eat and realized that this was not fresh fish but frozen fish filets. Very disappointed to say the least. It's still edible but just know that it's not freshly caught fish. read more

Rockaway Fish House - Fried whitening fish. - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

I ordered 2 platters- pig feet, potato salad, and greens. The other was fried fish, mac&cheese, yams. The fish was okay, yams are sweet and good. Please skip the greens and the bland Mac. As far as the random ordering of pig feet- If you are about that life, you will appreciate it, but they do have a few hairs. Home cooks usually burn those pieces of hair off the feet. Potato salad was also just okay. Large portions of meh. All in all not bad or great- just choose items you cannot mess up and you will be full. Cheers! read more

Prices are ridiculous. This use to be an affordable, go-to spot. No way would I pay almost $30 for some turkey wings and sides that are served cafeteria style. I'll go to thos spot in Brooklyn that is literally half the price. read more

The fact that this place is still in business is nothing short of a miracle. If my mom didn't have a craving for Soul Food, I would never set foot back in this establishment again. The food here is way too overpriced for the quality you get out and it's not much. I went for a fish dinner with mac n Cheese and string beans along with a slice of cake for dessert. The while thing came up to $28, I felt like I got robbed. Is a fish dinner really more than $20 now? That is absolutely wild! After coming back home to eat, I was unsatisfied and so was my mom. It's bad enough the fish and sides were mediocre, just having to pay close to $30 for what I bought just made the whole meal taste like garbage. The cake was the only redeeming factor of my purchase but that doesn't really count because it's not like they make it. It's a shame that there is no competition nearby for RFC like there was back in the day, at least you'd know you would get a bangin' meal for an affordable price, but since this is the only soul food spot in the nearby area, business has gotten lazy and money hungry that it's not worth paying for any of their meals that lack heart and taste. What a disappointment. read more

Food was good. Service was even better. No frills establishment just grab your grub and run read more

Food is always good and tasty. Not too pricey for what you receive. Servers are friendly and helpful .

I ordered barbecue chicken, macaroni and cheese and candy yams Viva telephone. Apparently there is no option to get two helping of the same food items like double yams oppose to chicken, candy, yams, and macaroni and cheese. there are was no option if you wanted breast vs leg. Anyway the chicken was extremely fatty, collar greens were undercooked, sharp stems sticking out and the yams were decent, I am no longer licking my lips when this meal arrives, and all this for 24 dollars read more

Many years ago when I was first exploring Jamaica's food scene, most locals told me to check out the "Fish House" for some bangin' soul food. Yet, I could only find "RCL Enterprises." The storefront sign reflected as such, as did virtually every listing online. After asking around, I was told this *was* the Fish House and I've been coming ever since. The setup is similar to many casual eateries in the area: line up, put the order through, and they'll take care of the rest. There is no seating, just big catered trays of food reflecting a wide range of southern fare with lots of choices. Any first timer might assume this was a buffet of some kind (#2) but that's just for display. There is no seating, usually just long lines of people with double parked cars outside. I enjoy their smothered anything, turkey legs, collard greens, mac and cheese, potato salad, tuna mac, fried fish, chopped bbq meat and banana pudding. Folks who really want to get it poppin need to get on the hog maws (pig's feet), chitlins, oxtail, and fried chicken. They don't skimp on the portion sizes, which I so appreciate. Lately the naysayers believe the food has taken a hit, but I think they're still as solid as ever. Prices have certainly gone up over the years, but such is inflation. No one ever likes it. They also deliver via UberEats now, which was the case even before the pandemic hit. Service may seem lukewarm to most, but I think they're just take a no BS approach to getting food out. Folks who hold up the line by being wishy washy will often get rushed and sometimes they're not great at confirming food availability on the phone. They've been in business for several decades at this point and I hope they continue to stick around for the neighborhood and the borough. One can never have enough soul food options and RCL / Rockaway Fish House is one not to miss. __________ (#1) Sort of like ethnic restaurants that have a local name but an official name for everyone else. (#2) I wish. An AYCE soul food buffet would be a dream. read more

Well, on my layover at JFK International Airport, hunger became overwhelming. Being wary of airport cuisine, I persuaded the crew to head over to Rockaway Fish House for a trip down memory lane, soul food cuisine style. I noted some less than favorable reviews of late on this place and was a bit skeptical, but I decided to try it anyway. Thankfully, it was a day when oxtail was on the menu, which proved to be a magnificent selection. One of the group had the fried chicken platter, the other gorged on oxtails like me, only exchanging the sides. While some upgrades could be made to the interior facade, this didn't take away from what was important, the quality and overall taste of the food. The oxtail was extraordinarily seasoned and tender, just as I had envisioned them on the short drive over. My Mac and cheese were a well selected corner piece, slightly crunchy on the top and very cheesy. I couldn't have made it better myself. A sizable iced tea to wash it down, and a slice of coconut custard pie finished me off real well. I was gastronomically prepared for my 14-hour flight, although I wishing I had obtained a to-go order to offset that airline food. A big win for the Rockaway Fish House keeps holding on to your standards of excellence. read more

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The food is great especially the pig feet and hog maws, it is worth the wait. For the food they give you I have no problems at all.

Food is amazing and they serve you a good portion. I love this place. The worker are very polite. I will always recommend this place to anyone if they want soul food read more

My food waa terrible take like the coolard greens were canned collards greens and my rice was hard. I was so hungry it was so bad i couldnt ear. I really dintvlike giving bad reviews but i had no choice and they are not friendly very rude and its no price list you have been warned. I dont have money to just give away. read more

Rockaway Fish House - Rice collard n fish sorry for the awful picture - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

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I stayed at local hotel for an early morning flight out of JFK. I asked the front desk if there was anywhere I could walk to .... They quickly said no. Not knowing the area I brought up Yelp and saw this was less than a mile away. Well after a quick 10 minute walk I found it! Upon arrival I questioned my decision, I am not gonna lie...the place does not look overwhelmingly inviting. Inam glad I walked in. The woman behind the counter was awesome. She walked me through and let taste local favorites. I loved everything...but there really is no fish. Haha. They have great baked, bbq and jerked chicken. They have the same options for ribs along with an amazing beef rib. I went with the baked chicken and jerked pork ribs. A side of rice with the beef gravy and some Mac n cheese. After getting back to the room, I ate like a king while watching some old episodes of Seinfeld on Netflix! Thanks to whoever was working that evening .... She made this out of town guy feel welcome and put together a great meal!!! read more

Ok Ok gotta give this place they say lol. They say you cannot tell by the crowd if the food was good.... they was packed. I learned about this place from my cousin who lives in California lol and my son. They give you some nice healthy portions of food and had a nice variety as well. They were out of oxtail and chicken wings so we opted for the a fish sandwich which was really good and my mother had the BBQ chicken rice and peas and Mac and cheese. The ribs are good but not cooked all the way it was pink inside which was a turn off for me. Here a two pictures read more

Rockaway Fish House - BBQ chicken, Mac and cheese and Peas and rice - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

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I'll never eat here again, sorry but my experience was the worst, line was long as I walked in, thinking oh must be great food. After placing my order, had to wait 25 min for fried chicken, after 26 min we were given our food, we left, when we got to the car my husband decided to check the food to make sure they didn't mix our order up as they were very busy, said so said done, definitely was mixed had to go back in, waited another few min to get it right. When we got home rice was very hard and dry maybe after sitting there, the fried chicken was dried the breast, didn't even get our corn bread that we paid for. Only thing I did enjoy was the Mac and cheese reason for the two stars! W I try the food again? Definitely NOT!! read more

Rockaway Fish House - Dinner for champions - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

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Came in tonight for dinner. Ordered Smothered chicken with a side of green beans and Mac and cheese. Their Mac n cheese is one of the best I've ever had. Portion was huge as well so I def have some lunch saved for tomorrow. Food is tasty, place is clean and service is ok, def could be a lot friendlier. read more

Rockaway Fish House - Smothered Chicken - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

I have been coming to Rockaway Fish House for years. Back in the 80's, 90's, even 2000's the food was fresh, well seasoned, and you got your monies worth. A TRUE SOUTHERN TAKE-OUT! I still occasionally come for a dinner, but the food is just not what it use to be. The meats do not look appetizing. A large selection of food, but, nothing is very appealing. RCL is a well established business in South Jamaica. The original owner was dedicated to the community and making sure the food was properly prepared. The long lines were worth the wait. The customers are still willing to come to your restaurant but consider what makes for repeat customers...Tasty, Fresh food, made with love. read more

Food is decent and the price and amount of food they throw on your plate is great which makes it worth the trip and the waiting in line

Well, I must say Thanksgiving was a bust...I ordered several pans for our meal on turkey day..The stuffing was the worst and the canned sweet potatoes placed a close second. Needless to say, the compost enjoyed the recycled mess..we all had to pitch in and perform a "surgical " re-do as the folk coming were anticipating a soul food extravaganza... NOT!! I take no joy in lambasting this black biz but yall need to put some love back in your catering as it seemed like more of a money grab than seasoned biz that as far as I am concerned USE TO BE the place to go for Soul Food but has now SOLD OUT and LOWERED THEIR STANDARDS. Oh, and btw..my fur babies cosign on this total Day of Misgiving as today we are all suffering from salt overload...I am beyond frustrated!!!! read more

Great spot for some Soul food. The serving sizes are huge. Dinner plates come with 2 sides & a main dish. They have a variety of meats to choose from, bbq chicken; jerk chicken, ribs, etc. I ordered Whiteys plate which comes with 4 pcs of fish, and 2 sides - Mac & cheese with cabbage. I also ordered yams, and black eye peas with a side of jerk chicken. Everything taste so good. The plates are filling & delicious read more

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They've gone down, way down. And they only take cash to not to pay taxes or the correct amount of taxes.

Cash only. Food is tasty af. My takeout container was stuffed to the brim. Love the beef ribs. Got a side of rice to make sure I was eating healthy with collard greens and yams read more

Rockaway Fish House - Beef Short Ribs of Beef Peas & Rice Candied Yams - Southern Near Me - Jamaica, New York

I've been coming here for years. Went today and ordered a chicken dinner and received 2 pieces for $15 I realize they are cutting back but that's ridiculous.. at least 3 plus it was a breast and a wing.. I think this place has run its course. read more

I'm never completely satisfied when I get food from here, and yet every once and a while I still find myself walking through their doors for a Sunday meal. Usually enough time has passed between visits and I forget how dissatisfied I was the last time. They have this new thing where you can order online, tell them what type of car you have - you pull up outside and they'll bring your meal to you. There's no charge for this service so upon placing my online order of short ribs, whiting, and turkey wings, I tipped $6 because I'm thinking ok, this person has to take up my food, pack it up, and then come out in the cold to find my car and give me my order. So nice of them! Fast forward. 5mins before my order was scheduled to come out, I'm told they were out of turkey wings. I asked what other meats they had and she ran off the list, but left out oxtail, which definitely would've been my next choice. So I opted for another order of short ribs. I get a call 2mins later saying they were out of the strawberry shortcake I ordered and wanted to replace it with something else. I told them to just refund the cake and they told me it wasn't an option because there was no manager there to give the refund...huh? So I'm strong armed into paying for something I don't want? **insert annoyed, frustrated and ripped off smiley here** And do you wanna know the icing on the strawberry shortcake I never got?? The woman then asked me if I could come inside and get the food because she was too busy to bring it out!! Wait, but I gave you a $6 tip! Smh. read more