There are more and more restaurants in New York City that are creating a unique fusion experience between traditional Caribbean Food and vibrant décor while incorporating local ingredients and local neighborhood influences such as the rustic urban aesthetic of Brooklyn, where many of them are located. These restaurants are not only enjoyed by members of the Caribbean diaspora, they are a way for the younger generation to appreciate their roots and learn more about it while still enjoying themselves. Most of these restaurants are located in Harlem and Brooklyn, where a large portion of the Caribbean Diaspora reside. These restaurants are setting the stage for a greater impact of Caribbean cuisine in the American lifestyle, by incorporating trendy styles but promoting the friendly and liveliness of island life.  

Pearl’s 

Location: 178 North Eighth St., Brooklyn 

Tel: 929-276-3528 

Located in Williamsburg, Pearl’s is a fusion restaurant that is putting a new spin on traditional Trinidadian food. Opening in December of 2015, owner Fallon Seymour wanted to honor her maternal grandmother, whom she named the restaurant after. The recipes are a unique twist on her grandmother’s traditional comfort food back in San Fernando, Trinidad. A signature dish at the restaurant titled “bake and geera pork” is a porky spin on the traditional “bake and shark”. The traditional dish features flatbread with fried pieces of shark meat, paired with vegetable sides and sauces, usually chili or garlic. This new version replaces the shark meat with cumin braised pork, along with a pineapple salsa and fried flatbread.

Pictured above is outdoor seating area of Pearl’s

Paired with the food is a vibrant and cheerful environment to reflect the sun-filled islands of home, while incorporating the rustic and urban Brooklyn vibe. To highlight the feelings of home, the benches outside are painted blue like the sky, standing under bright yellow umbrellas. Ixora flowers, a tropical flower typically found in Port of Spain, are also featured as reminder of home. During a meal, customers can listen to soca and dance-hall blasting from boomboxes, while appreciating the wall of Caribbean songs such as “Queen of the Pack” by Patra. Both the restaurant’s food and décor intertwine traditional Caribbean flavors and setting with the local ingredients and neighborhood to create a unique experience for the customers. Those of Caribbean descent can come enjoy a new take on what’s been familiar while still enjoying important pieces of home. Those who are not of Caribbean descent can still relish in this increasingly trendy restaurant. 

The Food Sermon 

Location: 355 Rogers Ave, Brooklyn 

Tel: 718-484-7555                                    

Pictured above is a possible bowl at The Food Sermon

Located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, The Food Sermon is a Grenadian restaurant started by Rawlston Williams. When asked about his unique combination of home and America, Williams states in his interview with New York Post’s Christian Gollayan, “growing up in a Caribbean household, we’re always told that you can’t mix this ingredient with that, but when I came to America … I learned that it was OK to mix and match certain things — even ingredients.” This is a theme and belief that is evident in his restaurant serving Chipotle style bowls like the one pictured below created from mixing staple Caribbean proteins such as jerk chicken and lamb, alongside a bed of white or brown rice and other add-ons. Rawlston Williams playfully called the traditional dishes the ’the usual suspects’ in an interview with Edible Brooklyn.Being trained as a professional chef at New York’s International Culinary Center, Williams 

wants to not only showcase his roots in Grenada but also show his American influences. The Chipotle style serving attracts many younger customers who want to learn about Caribbean culture but made easy going. Williams believes that good food is a privilege that not everyone can experience so he puts extra care into his cooking.  From the outside, the restaurant is small and simple, featuring stools facing the street. The kitchen space can be seen from the front, with tiled walls lined with spice racks. Each in store order is served with western style cutlery, fork and knife, in a white ceramic bowl or plate for a clean look. The Food Sermon aims to serve a unique fusion of Caribbean and American cuisine with a modern touch. 

LoLo’s Seafood Shack 

Location: 303 W. 116th St. 

Tel: 646-649-3356

LoLosSeafoodShack.com 

Located in Harlem, LoLo’s Seafood Shack is a Caribbean restaurant featuring traditional seafood dishes paired with alcoholic beverages. One of the signature dishes served is Belizean conch fritters, fresh conch meat seasoned and fried paired with a side sauce of choice. This dish originates from the Bahamas but has spread to other surrounding Caribbean nations living by the sea, with a large assortment of seafood. Being another city close to water, New York City is a great source of seafood for Caribbean cuisine. In addition to the conch fritters, “shark” sandwiches are another popular dish, although it is actually made from spiny dogfish, despite its name. These dishes can be enjoyed year-round and paired with a wide selection of alcohol, including French wines, Caribbean beers, and a signature “LoLo’s punch”. The restaurant aims to preserve the carefree and relaxed vibes of the islands, and let its customers immerse themselves in the Caribbean culture. 

The decoration inside creates an extremely welcoming and lively atmosphere for the customers. There are teal painted floors on the wooden patio (seen to the right) decorated with pink flamingos and other vibrant colors. Featuring both outdoor and indoor seating, the restaurant aims to provide the island experience to all of its customers. The carefree and relaxing nature of the restaurant has made it trendy spot perfect for young adults to socialize and enjoy themselves. 

Angel of Harlem 

Location: 2272 Frederick Douglass Blvd., at 122nd Street 

Tel: 212-316-0350 

AngelofHarlemNYC.com 

Located in Harlem, this fusion bar and grill gives its customers a unique island experience. Inspired by both Caribbean and Latin-American flavors, the menu offers signatures such as buffalo wings paired with a guava barbeque sauce, a twist on the traditional American diner style buffalo wings. In addition, they also serve burgers, steaks, and other dishes that are a home base of familiarity to the growingly mainstream customer demographic. The food can be paired with house special cocktails such as the “What Happens in Harlem..” cocktail made from a mixture of Hennessey and sorrel syrup.  The highlight of the restaurant is its AfroFesta nights, hosted on Wednesdays featuring Afro-Latin music and congo drummers. During other hours, the live DJ’s play a mixture of calypso, Hip-hop, or bachata, many of which are familiar and traditional music forms in the Caribbean. 

Like the other Caribbean restaurants, Angel of Harlem is full of vibrant colors, featuring pastel colored stool surrounding a center bar. The walls are filled with artwork and color as well. However, compared to the other restaurants we’ve seen so far, Angel of Harlem has a modern and simplistic feature to its décor as well. The ceiling and floors are white or neutral colors which gives a clean and comfortable feeling to the customers. Despite this, customers can still get a good taste of the friendliness and liveliness of Caribbean cuisine. 

Soloman and Kuff 

Location: 2331 12th Ave., at 133rd Street 

Tel: 212-939-9443 

SolomonAndKuff.com 

Located in West Harlem, this Caribbean gastropub was opened by Karl Franz Williams who takes inspiration from his St. Vincentian and Grenadian roots. With experience as a mixologist, Williams serves many exclusive cocktails such as the Telenovela, a mixture of cachaca, mezcal, passion fruit, lime, cilantro and turmeric. To go with these drinks, Williams recommends trying his many fusion appetizers such as jerked Japanese eggplants, salt fish fritters, or Jamaican beet battered cod fish and chips. 

The restaurant features low to medium lighting with wooden and brick accented furniture and walls. There is a rum wall behind the bar counter, with large beer kegs at the top. This décor creates the rustic atmosphere that is seen in many American pubs and bars. On Wednesday nights, a live reggae band performs during happy hour, allowing customers to immerse in the traditional music of the islands.

In addition to these restaurants, there are many new trendy spots popping up within the city that are create a unique fusion culture of Caribbean and other flavors in the city. Caribbean cuisine itself was already influenced by the many immigrant population there. When members of the diaspora arrived in New York City, the city’s diverse population only continues to evolve Caribbean cuisine. These new restaurants feature many traditional dishes, replaced with local New York City ingredients and neighborhood influences. Despite slight changes in flavor, the vibrant colors and loud music atmosphere continue to be a large part of the Caribbean food experience.

Here is a map of the restaurants mentioned above, along with other popular Caribbean restaurants and grocery stores for buying cooking ingredients.