Joyce Jamaican Eatery

So, let’s be clear, Joyce is not your typical Jamaican eatery where you can expect a huge container full of food for a decent price. It’s decidedly more of an upscale dining experience, for better and worse. On the plus side - the food, in my opinion, is excellent. I’ve travelled to Jamaica many times, and Joyce’s Jerk and Curry chicken taste every bit as good as the ones I’ve had in Jamaica, so the food is very much authentic. Their plantain, potato salad and salt fish fritters were also great, as were the carrot and sorrel juices we had on our visit. Their rice and peas, instead of using long grain rice, is made with Basmati rice. Purists may not like it, but I didn’t mind the change, and it did taste very good and wasn’t mushy. On the downside, one word - pricing. For the portions you get at Joyce, it is extremely expensive. The Jerk chicken is a thigh and a drumstick, basically a chicken leg quarter separated, and the Curry chicken was about the same. So each dish is a leg quarter, a small bowl of rice and a little bit of side, for about $22 per serving before taxes. In summary, if you’re coming here expecting similar portions / pricing to other Jamaican hotspots - don’t. The downright ugly - holy overpriced bread pudding dessert, Batman. A small square of bread pudding for dessert was $15! I expected a healthy sized dessert for that price, but it was a 3x3 inch square with a bit of caramel sauce on it. Joyce has to be outright embarrassed to serve that portion at that price. Bread pudding is cheap to make, and even high end restaurants don’t charge $15 for far more intricate desserts. All in all, while the food at Joyce was great, I won’t be coming back. It’s just too expensive for what it is.

December 29, 2024 on Google

I paid around 24-26 dollars for 1 serving of curry goat. I kid you not(no pun intended) there were 6 roughly 1 inch pieces of meat in the meal….disgraceful. They serve it with a 1/2 cup (at most) of Mac and cheese and rice and peas. Not only was the portion offensively small but it didn’t taste particularly good…it wasn’t bad just regular at best. I will never try anything else from there because I feel cheated. I hope they read this and really reevaluate their business model because it seems greedy.

December 29, 2024 on Google

I’ve been to Joyce Jamaican a total of 3 times since they’ve opened and each time, I have not been disappointed. I have some dietary restrictions and the staff at Joyce are always good at accommodating me. The service is top notch! I always get the jerk chicken which is so so good! It’s definitely one of my favourite go to spots for a good meal! Aesthetically, the interior is beautiful as well.

December 28, 2024 on Google

I was totally delighted with the food and service here. I loved the Oxtail and the jerk chicken! They have the perfect amount of spice and flavor.

December 23, 2024 on Google

I’m a really big foodie and a Jamaican and I was super excited to give this place a try. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint at all. So far I’ve tried the Mac and cheese, all the rice, potato salad, chicken, escovitch fish and oxtail and I can’t even tell you which one is my favourite. I highly recommend. From the food to the ambience to the service , it was great lol

December 22, 2024 on Google

Service was great but the food was way too expensive for the portions given. The rice was so dry, there was no gravy. Meat was def not enough. The food tastes good but the $ is not worth it. Unfortunately I won’t be back

December 21, 2024 on Google

Very disappointed. Jerk chicken tasted like grocery store bbq sauce and everything took way too long to come out. Trust me, if you do end up trying this spot, just go drive over to Yorkdale to shop and maybe you’ll get your food after 1 business day. They offered some juice since we were waiting so long which tasted ok. Portion sizes are too small for the price point. You can get better Jamaican food at other spots. Overall: slow service, too expensive for what it is, small portions.

December 15, 2024 on Google

I visited today and was extremely underwhelmed 😔I love supporting Caribbean restaurants but this one disappointed me, while the customer service was top notch the food and portions we're not worth the price. I ordered the jerk chicken with rice and peas,and a side of macaroni pie. The chicken was ok nothing to run for I'd walk. I'm not a fan of Basmasti rice so couldn't enjoy my rice the macaroni pie was good so, I'll give them point's there but the portion was unforgivable, it was like one boney piece of chicken cut into 5 pieces with like 5 cups of undesired rice, that I had to wait 45 minutes for. I had time to drop my husband back to work, came back and still had to wait for my food. The esthetics and ambience are very nice but the food is 3 out of 10 (in my opinion) they offered carrot juice while I waited for my food and that was the only thing I enjoyed.

December 11, 2024 on Google