Toronto Eats: Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen
We recently took a quick trip to Toronto in early April and although the weather was sad and gloomy, the food was not! We tried a few different places but was only able to hit a limited amount of spots for the two days we were there. One of those restaurants was Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is a well known and popular restaurant among locals and visitors so we had to give it a try. Reservations were super easy to make for a week day table, and service was quick. The ambience and great reggae music set the vibe for the night and really enhanced my expectations. Luckily, they were met by the end of our meal.
Chubby’s is a Jamaican restaurant that has been on my list for years. I’ve heard the Caribbean food scene is incredible in Toronto, and it certainly lived up to the hype. Chubby’s is set up in this cute little house that they’ve transformed into a vibrant, cozy Jamaican restaurant serving up incredible cocktails infused with Caribbean flavors. We ordered two drinks, The Rum Punch and the Island Breeze. Both were delicious, the Island Breeze had a sorel (hibiscus) flavor that I enjoyed but the winner of the two was the Rum Punch. It was, quite literally, the best rum punch I’ve had in a while. So I recommend trying this even if you aren’t a rum person.
Now let’s dip into the appetizers, we ordered the Ackee and Saltfish Bites and Peppered Shrimp. If you aren’t familiar with Ackee and Saltfish, the Ackee can be an acquired taste but it is so delicious. For me this dish was very nostalgic, Ackee and Saltfish with Fried Dumplings was my favorite dish growing up. I could eat it for breakfast or dinner even though it is traditionally a breakfast meal (you can really eat it whenever you want). The Ackee and Saltfish was prepared traditionally and very tasty. The dumplings were fried to perfection and they absolutely aced the texture. But as much as we enjoyed the Ackee and Saltfish Bites, the winner of the two had to be the Peppered Shrimp. The flavor was out of this world, the shrimp was cooked to perfection and the spice level was spot on. We both couldn’t get enough and had to use the hard dough bread to soak up all the sauce at the bottom of the bowl. This is now a dish that I need to learn how to make because it is quickly becoming one of our favorites.
Next on the menu was Oxtail, Rice and Peas, and Seasonal Greens. Although the oxtail was good, it wasn’t our favorite. We felt like the oxtail gravy was lacking a bit of that rich flavor oxtail gravy usually has, and there wasn’t much (if any) heat and we prefer our oxtail to have a kick. We could obviously change the heat level with hot sauce but it’s a different experience when the scotch bonnet is slow cooked into the gravy. The oxtail was cooked well, it was very tender and fell off of the bone. The Rice and Peas were delicious on it’s own but better with the gravy. And the collard greens and kale were some of the best we’ve had. I usually prefer callaloo to collard greens, but if prepared the way they were at Chubby’s I’ll happily eat them every time they are served.
There are definitely other dishes I think we should’ve tried instead, including the Jerk Chicken, Curry Goat, and Escovitch Whole Snapper.
And for the star of the night, dessert. We ordered the Cornmeal Pudding with coconut sorbet and it was devine. Pudding has always been a favorite of mine growing up and is something that has been a huge part of my up bringing as my mom loves to bake. So eating this dish was very nostalgic. I usually have trouble finding good pudding outside of my moms kitchen because it’s never the right consistency. Some places make it too tough, or dry, and it just isn’t enjoyable for me because I’m used to it being super moist and soft. Chubby’s nailed this. The pudding was warm, and soft, and flavorful. The whole experience was very halcyon and I would definitely order it again. If Cornmeal pudding isn’t your thing, or is foreign to you, the other desserts looked incredible as well. I would’ve tried the Carrot Cake, the Rum Cake or the Rum Raisin Bread Pudding as well if we could fit it.
Overall, I would rate Chubby’s an 8/10 and highly recommend visiting if you’re in the area. The ambience, food, and service were all top tier and worth the experience.