Food was good guess I need order today to. But services was nice and place was clean They were closing so no jerk patties or wings ... I that shows how good they are lol read more

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This was quite an experience. I initially searched for a Jerk restaurant tonight because my usual place, Dirty Tiff's, was closed. I began my hunt on the South Side of Hyde Park and came across UNCLE Joe's Jerk. Although there weren't many customers when I walked in, I decided to order. I had a 1/2 white chicken and four wings, which took about 25 minutes to prepare. I later realized they had many phone orders, and during the wait, a line formed at the counter. I thought, "This must be pretty good." When I finally received my order, the aroma was so enticing I couldn't wait the hour-long drive home to try it. As soon as I took a bite of my wing, I turned around and immediately asked for another plate -- it was that good. Upon returning, the counter lady asked what was wrong. I told her that if it was good, I'd be back, and she laughed, saying I told her I'd return. She knew this chicken was special. The mac & cheese, however, wasn't to my taste; the flavor of the cheese was not right. The portions are massive. The counter lady was friendly, but I was charged for an extra dinner I didn't order, and I couldn't get my money back because I used a credit card. That was quite strange. Despite everything, I definitely plan to return to Uncle Joe's Jerk spot. read more

The order was not right, chicken being dry and all. The sauce had a vinegar taste to it which was not worth the extra fee. For the price being charge the manager should not take any days off. As a return customer, I think not...give you money and get chakula ubora mdogo. hey! ...its ok no exchange, no return read more

Pretty solid Jamaican spot - I'm not the biggest fan in general so take my review lightly. I've been to Jamaica and have been trying to see if any place in Chicago can come close and I was told this would be the spot. I'll give them props in saying they were good but I won't say exactly like I had it (which I'd assume is hard to pull off anyway.) It's a hole in the wall spot - don't expect to dine in here. It's also on a busy street in Hyde Park but they've been there a long time! Parking can be hit or miss. We went during lunch but spent around $50 for everything - the 2 meals shown + (2) drinks. A bit pricey for our taste especially for lunch meals BUT they didn't skimp on the food. The oxtails were VERY fatty and we only got 4 - that of course was the pricier meal being in the $20+ range. Very little meat unfortunately but they were tasty. The brown stew chicken was more-so jerk chicken with the brown stew poured over (not how I had it in Jamaica) so that disappointed me a bit. The rice and peas were solid. Yams were just fine. The mac & cheese was a major disappointment - just gave kraft which is not how I desire it, ever. Overall we were filled but I wasn't the most satisfied. My boyfriend said he was also disappointed and he's had them before. read more

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Tried the food years ago n it was mid. This time I got a super sized attitude instead of dinner when all I asked for was an itemized receipt. I will never eat from hands of malicious ppl. A week later I got my money back minus their terminal fee. It cost me about 2$+time to be in the presence of energy vampires. Lots of ppl are like this nowadays. read more

Saw the sign for Jerk chicken all the way from across the street at Kenwood Academy and decided to check them out for lunch. Place looked dead and empty but door was open so went inside. Saw a person at the register and asked him questions about the menu and dude literally looked at us like he didn't work there and said "I don't know". Then proceeded to say they had whatever was on the menu except for Mac n cheese. I instantly went on Yelp to see if I needed to walk out that door or look past this bad service and try their food. Saw a few reviews from my Yelp Elite friends that were promising so decided to stay and ordered the half chicken meal. Took it to go as the vibe was more of a no frills place and they didn't really have chairs and tables like that for dining so decided to eat my meal in my car. The jerk chicken was actually decent! I liked the flavor of the chicken but they put way too much gravy on it. My husband's dad's side is Jamaican and I know my jerk. I've never had it with gravy before - just the sauce is all you need. I felt like the whole meal was drowning in gravy so was it trying to make up for something that wasn't there? Not sure. But I did enjoy the meal and felt like the jerk sauce alone would have been better on the chicken minus the gravy. The sides it came with: Rice and beans, plantains, and candied yams were decent too. I do plan on coming back but will take advantage of their lunch menu on weekdays. It's pretty much half the price that we paid for as we came on a Saturday! read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I came here for the lunch special & I've never been so disappointed in a restaurant. They served me macaroni made with nacho cheese. The outside smells delicious but I see why it's always empty. read more

Per my receipt, I placed an order at 11:12 am on Wednesday November 26, 2025. After waiting almost 30 minutes for the order, I arrived home only to find the order was missing the plantains and the cabbage was not fully cooked. I called the restaurant at 11:57 am; the young man put me on hold and never returned to the call. I called from a second phone, no answer. The initial wait was probably because the cabbage was not ready. Why not be honest with customers and say.... we don't have cabbage ready, would you like to wait? I chatted with a lady that ordered immediately before me (she was ticket #6, I was ticket #7); she waited 30 minutes for a salad with side of Mac & cheese. Probably because food was not ready but instead of respecting the customer's time, their business takes our money but don't give decent customer service or product. It's cool; if this was the last restaurant in Chicago, I will not patronize this business again. read more

One star is probably too much to give for an establishment that tells a new customer to wait a moment while taking other customers orders after i am waiting longer. I would not recommend coming here to order. Call in to make the order. read more

Chicken was hot fresh and delicious. Service was excellent and friendly. Definitely coming back! read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Pineapple ginger beer - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Uncle joes is classic, enough said truly, but the food is always amazing, go at lunch for a quick deal or dinner for a meal and nap combo lol, 20-30 mins of the service time but the food is fresh and made with love so I understand, friendly inside to order your food and even eat if you want but it's a nice spot to wait for your food and enjoy the vibrant colors everywhere read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Let me start my review by saying that I am a true foodie! I base my reviews based on customer service, quality of food, cost-effectiveness, etc. i have eaten jamaican food in Jamaica, California, NYC, Connecticut, Georgia, Dallas.... Etc. So I know a little something about Jamaican food! My experience at uncle Joe's a few minutes ago was quite disheartening. Customer service: ZERO RATING! I was the first customer of the day. I walked in at 11:02 AM. I walked in an said "good morning!" (3 times!)! The male cashier greeted me with no energy & a blank stare, as if to say "what do you want?!" I asked him what was good. He said " depending on what you want"... with no energy, no smile, no pleasantries, and no enthusiasm. I ended up ordering the jerk chicken lunch. About eight or nine minutes after I made my order another lady came in again. It's now just the two of us in the store. She stood at the counter with with the young man standing right there on the phone for a good 10 minutes and I finally hear her say are you gonna take my order. And I hear him mumbling something about he was counting the Thanksgiving orders. He finally took her order two more people came in. I sat there for 30 minutes. keep in mind I'm the first customer. 30 minutes waiting for him to say here's your order ma'am. The last guy who was in the line got his order before I got mine so I stood up. I said I was the first customer here and I ordered jerk chicken how did he get his order first. My order was sitting on the counter. Don't know how long it had been sitting there while this young man is again on the phone and standing there talking to what I am assuming is the owner of the place they're just chopping it up. As my food sits there never did say ma'am here's your order so when I asked him about my order, the owner said would you order and I said jerk chicken he said oh here it is number four so the young man looked up. I said you gotta do better young man I've been sitting here for 30 minutes. How long is my food been sitting here you didn't think to say, ma'am here's your order... ZERO CUSTOMER SERVICE RATING!! Food: the jerk chicken was a 10/10! The rice & peas was nasty and Was smothered and gravy! ZERO RATING! I've eaten a lot of jerk chicken from a lot of Jamaican places in my lifetime and I've never had gravy put on my rice and peas! That's a hard note for me. The cabbage wasn't seasoned well. Zero rating! I would suggest only getting the jerk chicken by itself without the sides. Overall experience: 2/10. If you do decide to go, I suggest only getting the jerk chicken only not the sides however, I wouldn't suggest coming back honestly. I love supporting my people; however, I hate being disappointed with poor service, like this! Blatant disrespect for pleasantries is a deal breaker for me. As a reminder, you won't have a business without customers. And if you treat the customers like shit, we will not coming back! If all of the food isn't good, we're not coming back. Get it together and do better! Please schedule your staff for customer service classes, and hospitality classes immediately otherwise you're gonna lose your business!! read more

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As a first time customer, the business model did not make me to want to return. At no fault to the workers, the customer service was fine. For a person who did not want a lot of food nor wanted to spend that much this was my experience: every small side was $7 nothing less. The small is only $3 less than the large. i ordered 4 small sides, 1 gravy + 1 soda. My order was $44.25 bc I paid w card. to my surprise these "small" sides are comparable to other restaurant larges. So to justify a $7 small I am given a full 12oz container of macaroni if not more. the proportion is simply much larger than a small, and while the food is decent-- the cabbage is pretty well seasoned but burnt, macaroni is watery, plantains are good however being charged $10 for a SMALL meanwhile the large is $12 Is disappointing to say the least. The amount of plantains I was given for a small side again, compare to a large at other places. There is almost no difference, price wise between a SMALL and a LARGE. I'm curious how much food a large side would be with the amount of food I was given for a small. No complimentary bread or jerk sauce, and the jerk sauce was $1.10 (1.14 for me) for 1 tiny jerk sauce cup. Arguably a 0.50 cent cup. No 2 small cups for $1.10 -- no love. For all of this I would think the food Is hitting on fantastic and it is alright. I probably wouldn't return Simply bc of the business model read more

8/8/25 Came in to try the food, didn't get a chance because the unwelcoming cashier told us they were about to close. They had about 35 mins before closing. What a turn off! Clearly, they didn't wanna make any more money for the day. As we proceeded to leave she gives us a menu as though we're returning. No thanks! read more

The jerk chicken is always on point and we usually do cabbage, rice and peas, plantains. We also carry out and eat at home. Food was great as usual but I don't recall the gravy they're using. I would prefer my gravy on the side instead of on my rice and peas. Service was good since our meals were ready for pick up. read more

So, unless I'm desperate for jerk chicken, I will be on another long hiatus. The oxtails were so delicious in my previous review, so I got them again. They were plentiful and delicious, well worth the plus $30 total. So I went again and they were awful. The rice and beans were dry, there was hardly any gravy from the oxtails. There were four oxtails that were tough and flavorful like before. I had more oxtails when I got that horrible curry goat/combo. Hardly any gravy. This dish costs too much to roll the dice on having a good order. I'll be cooking them at home . read more

I have lived in the neighborhood for twenty years. I use to come here often. This place use to be soooooo delicious! But now the quality and consistency is horrible!!! I would say for the past ten years it's been this way! I try them once a year to see if there is some change. But nope!!!!! They think they're slick they give you old dry chicken with a few new pieces. Plantains aren't ripe. Bread was hardish. The chicken person back there knows what he's doing. Seems like they know the regulars and give them the best pieces. I wish a more consistent jerk place would take their spot. Yesterday was my last time. I am so disappointed and disgusted with you guys! Serve our community with respect and consistency! read more

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Food is good, cashier is awful! Doesn't greet anyone. I walked in the restaurant Saturday 11/22/25 around 3:50pm, right up to the cashier stand she didn't even look at me the customer; and proceeded to ignore me being there until I finally said something. I was 2 seconds away from leaving. Terrible customer service just awful, very uninviting I will never go in there again. Food is good though but there's other good jerk in Chicago too with better more pleasant and polite cashiers! read more

One of my favorite places for jerk chicken on the Southside of Chicago. I advise ordering ahead if possible, they are not in a rush and always busy. The food is tasty, cooked well and served hot. Prices are reasonable for most selections. read more

The jerk chicken here is good and the meat is juicy. There bottle of jerk sauce they sell is good too but I went here to get another bottle and she said they were sold out. Other than that great service and great food. read more

I went to Uncle Joes today on my lunch break, and before that I looked online for their menu that stated their Jerk Chicken Wrap was $9.50. When I came in the menu said $16.00, when I asked the cashier for some clarification he mumbled a smart remark before asking me "What is it that I want". I went ahead and bought my food, but the portions do not match the price they charge. A small chicken wrap with a side of plantains(4 pieces of plantains) this meal was subpar!! If I had to choose between eating dirt or this place I would happily eat dirt!!Than to deal with an attitude and subpar food. read more

Down hill the chicken has become drier than normal and the side aren't seasoned the same it's still decent but not what it used to be.

I have enjoyed Uncle Joe's jerk chicken for the past several years. The chef has never disappointed my taste buds. My dissatisfaction is with the order taker. For the past few months, one of the young ladies that answers the phone is not professional, she is impatient and she does not extend the courtesy of saying "thank you for calling." After you place the order and she says when you can pick up your order, she hangs up. That's it. Her lack of customer service skills has made me no longer want to patronize Uncle Joe's in Hyde Park. She is the reason that I'm only giving a two star rating. read more

The food is hot and freshly made. Do plan to order ahead or you will have to wait 20+minutes. There is no place to sit and eat your food. Katrina is a nice, friendly face who takes your order. Street paid parking is something to be aware of. There are no customer bathrooms. It's a nice place when there aren't a lot of other customers around. Curry chicken was good with flavor. Jerk chicken had a nice kick to it. Cabbage could have been seasoned more. Otherwise good. read more

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Service was horrible, and my experience with the food was even worse. Nevermind the fact that they got my order wrong, it was a ROACH in the food! I haven't ate there in years and thought I'd give them a try, needless to say I will never go there again! read more

Orders 4 beef patties and ALL 4 were burnt at the bottom. Really unacceptable and this may very well be my last time coming here cause like wtf?! read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Beef Patty - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

first off the food was terrible. I ordered mac and cheese, yams, and jerk catfish but got cabbage and no yams or mac. the lady told me there rice doesnt come with it if i get mac and yams so i got a side of rice for 7 dollars. when i got the food there was rice that came with it so basically i ordered rice for no reason. The rice tasted like u it was blended and the fish was horrible as well. Dont come here read more

service was great. Food was not good at all. I've had Uncle Joe's before so I figured i'll try it again. Total waste of $31! Stay away from the oxtails. Very small and fatty. At least you'll could trim the excess off the oxtails. Macaroni was so dry and cabbage was hard! I'll never go back! read more

Joe's Jerk Chicken is a very busy carry out restaurant. Looks like prior to Covid they had dine in but no longer available. I tried the combo dinner plate with chicken and curry lamb with corn and rice/bean side. Amazing flavors. Only reason for 3 stars is poor customer service. Food taste and flavor is 5 star. Inside was not that clean and had to wait over 40 min to get the food. I think the price is little on the expensive side for the amount of food you get. read more

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I ordered the white meat jerk and cabbage. I placed the order over the phone. The lady was nice and gave me an accurate time for when the food would be ready. Everything was tasty and I had leftovers. Definitely will return and recommend. It's a little pricey‍ read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - White jerk and cabbage - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Something went terribly wrong with my jerk chicken dinner. I just paid $44.00 for two dinners and the beans and rice had so much hot peppers in it I couldn't eat it. My tongue felt like it was on fire. I've eaten at Uncle Joe's for as long as it has been in the Hyde Park and I've never had a bad experience until now. read more

I LITERALLY JUST WALKed OUT BECAUSE OF THE VERY BAD ATTITUDE BY THE LADY. She lied and told me it was not her on the phone I showed her the number. She then lied again and said it wasn't her she then would not give me the managers name I had to ask the security. I ALWAYS BUY HERE BUT NEVER AGAIN. read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Money lost because of bad attitudes - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The wait was long! The food was pretty good, I didn't like gravy on my rice, I wish the person taking the order would've made it clear that they put gravy on the rice. The service was good, the cashier was personable and made the transaction enjoyable. The restaurant was a no frill type of place, but that did not take away from the food. The cabbage was DELICIOUS! read more

What happened to the quality of food at Uncle Joes? I ordered brown stew chicken for lunch and the chicken was very dry, no heavy what's so ever, the macaroni and cheese was tasteless and over cooked and the cabbage was almost raw. They used to be so good. I'm never going back. read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - This is suppose to be brown stew chicken. - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Never, I mean never will I ever eat there again. They would have to sell jerk chicken meals for .99! I couldn't wait to get back to Chicago for a nice jerk meal, this was by far the worst meal I have had. Not only was the food bad, but the service was worse. I called in my order at 3:00 and was told it would be 45 minutes. I show up in an hour, food still not ready. Waited 40, yes FOURTY extra minutes. Finally open my food. Chicken was dry and burnt. Rice and peas looked old. The only thing that was decent was the cabbage. Top it all off They charged me $14.45.... I have eaten Uncle Joe's for years, but never at this location . If I could give ZERO stars I would!! Do yourself a favor and Go to one of the other locations. I had time today, lol read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Call in time is 3pm, received my food at 4:41 - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My favorite jerk spot in Chicago! It's a hit every time, sauce is perfect and chicken is juicy.

Food: The food was descent nothing to write home to mother about about as they say. I had the oxtails with rice and peas and plantains or should I say plantain because as it seems the dinners consist of one piece of a plantain. I also had a side of macaroni and cheese which was actually pretty good. The rice and peas where to be expected I would say 3.5 of 5. And the oxtails were, in my opinion weren't braised long enough for the tenderness you would want from such a tough meat. The food was seasoned well if you're looking for spicy jerk you wont find it here but that's not a problem. Price & Customer Service: I feel it was over priced for the quality of food and service. I don't want to say I was underwhelmed because I want but the price of the dinners didn't leave me either the feeling or satisfaction i wanted after the price I paid. The customer service was I would say 2.5 of 5. Nothing rude happened or anything like that happened. The reason it was so low was because it was bagged incorrectly. I asked that two orders be placed in separate bags. This simple request was screwed up. Also the bags were identical and unmarked. These were two fairly simply customer service features that was neglected. Misc: the establishment looked clean and the cooks preparing the foods wore masks and gloves. When using the restroom/storage room I was pleasantly surprised to find all the chairs for the establishment to bid sitting was in the washroom. I'm glad I didn't have to do anything "extensive" because there was hardly any room to do what I needed to do. Finally there was no soap either, only a generic hand sanitizer solution. Overall this wouldn't be an establishment I would return to. And I think that's it... read more

Uncle Joe's Jerk Chicken - Receipt - Caribbean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I had to write an update. I came here with my family a week ago. The food is still really good. I ordered the jerk chicken dinner and a side of callaloo. My mom and sister both got oxtail dinners. The prices have went up, but I feel like that is happening at every restaurant. We called ahead and the food was ready when we got there. I am very pleased with this place. The next time I visit Chicago I will be coming here again. read more

I use to absolutely love this place. My guy and I would go on the regular so let me say how disappointed I was the last three times I went. The beginning of the end for me I believe is when we got some goat and oxtails and it was mostly bones. My rice was dry and my cabbage just wasn't as good as it use to be. I don't know if they had a new cook when I last visited but it was definitely a difference. I don't think I will be back but I do hope they go back to the way it use to be, but you try for yourself and see what you think. As always everyone... Be Safe and Enjoy!!! read more

The flavor was good but the wings were minute. 6 wings was equivalent to 3 wings. Everyone enjoyed their food after a fairly long wait. We did have some items that are prepared when ordered so perhaps that was the issue. read more