Caribbean Croft in Bristol, City of

We had a good evening with excellent waiting staff, lively music and mostly good food. Plus does forget the rum list.!One of the best in the UK. The day before we just sat at the bar working through the rums. Food was thoroughly cooked, our favourites being the prawns, jerk chicken the oxtail and both rice dishes. The salads were nice and fresh. We thought the stamp and go could have been spicier with the salted cod more tender and the curry goat needed a bit more curry powder. However, despite these quibbles I wish we had a place like this closer to home.

Delicious, filling, reasonably priced! Yum

Date: 28th September 2024 Cuisine: Caribbean Cost: £160 for four Upon learning from Jez that his area in Bristol sits not too far from a strong Caribbean restaurant scene, I enquired whether it might just be possible to find out just how strong we were talking here. Revitalised from a morning trip to the community sauna, it was agreed that we could find space in our bellies and already packed foodie schedule to squeeze in a lunchtime visit to Caribbean Croft so long as we didn’t overdo it and impact plans for ramen that evening, already booked for 7pm and looming over us in such a way that we were counting down in the manner of those who’ve realised they’ve stayed up drinking too late and are doing the maths on the number of hours’ sleep they’re going to get before an alarm jerks them awake again - “if we eat right now, we might be hungry again in four hours?!” Overdoing is a subjective term, and having foregone a morning pastry I reckoned I could manage a broad sampling of the extensive menu we perused with fervour over a pint of Red Stripe each. Chris had joined the gang by this point, increasing our combined ordering power, but even so we probably did opt for slightly too much, supplementing a generously portioned main each with sides of okra, mac n cheese and coleslaw. Mich’s wings - ordered, at my gentle encouragement, at a quantity the rest of us would benefit from - arrived swimming unceremoniously in a ginormous jacuzzi of watery brown sludge. The sludge was of course a delicious jerk sauce, at just the right level of everything. Consistency, so as not to congeal, but with enough texture not to render the wings dry and plain in the process of picking them up. Spice, so as to tickle and tingle and tease the tongue rather than cause it any actual pain. And flavour, so as to allow me to return again and again to them without stepping on the toes of my curried goat; in fact, I reserved some rice to pour back into the jacuzzi once the wings had been dealt with. The curry was meaty and blissfully distinct from the flavour of the wings. You know how you pay big money - like over a tenner - for a curried goat combo from a truck or shack flying a Jamaican or a Grenadian flag at lunchtime whenever you happen to see one, because you can’t resist, and the goat turns out to just be bones and potatoes? And you know how sometimes you get the jerk wings on the side, because you’re intrigued and/or just why not, despite it destroying that week’s entire lunch budget even though it’s only Tuesday, and they turn out to taste exactly the same as the goat? And you kind of just wish you’d got a meal deal instead? This wasn’t at all like that. In fact, the constant to-ing and fro-ing between my bowl and Mich’s meant that I didn’t take the time to appreciate everything else on to offer until right at the end when I started mopping up. I blame the waitress, who absurdly let us sit and enjoy our meal without interruption other than when we caught her eye for another beer or cocktail. (That was a joke; I blame my debilitating lack of willpower.) Jez’s oxtail was tender, but not as delicious as the other meats as far as I recall. The mac n cheese was mac n cheese but unnecessary. The okra was good, but spice levels put off most of the rest and two portions were far too much for me to tackle on my own given the alternatives. I did also enjoy the homemade hot sauce - homemade in a good way - though it, bizarrely for me, went almost untouched. It can feel with restaurant dining that quality, quantity and value can’t co-exist, like a modern-day inconsistent triad, but Caribbean Croft has maybe disproved that notion. The only thing preventing full marks is that it all felt a bit chain-y: there was no nuance to the presentation, and at its heart we were eating simple, homely food - done incredibly well - but with no invention or creativity. Many more pastries will need in future to be foregone in order to offset such a lunchtime (not to mention the subsequent carbon emissions) but that sacrifice will be well, well worth it.

Expensive and gave us all food poisoning.

Great spot to go for authentic Jamaican food. The food is perfectly spiced and the portions are huge! I will definitely be back soon.

Great food and very friendly staff

Everything about this place is 5* whether you're dating, out with the family or on your own the staff never fail to be polite and the food is absolutely delicious!

Ah the food here is incredible! High quality and delicious. The staff were friendly and warm. Loved it! Will defo return

Great experience here it was super busy but they allowed us to sit in open space garden. You will have to order inside at the bar, but they do bring your food to you. Service : friendly staff Starter : we had the sharing platter containing 3 picks, we had the prawns and chicken wings. The prawns were very meaty and juicy, personally I would have liked less chilly sauce. The wings was a bit watery and we couldn’t really taste the jerk. Main : we had the Croft combo personally I loved the curry goat 10/10 the pork belly had so much meat on it, and I loved that as It normally had a lot of fat. The rice and beans was amazing so flavourful and not too salty. Mixing it with the goat was perfect combo. The chicken was a little bit dry for my liking. Overall I loved eating here and would recommend for sure if you’re visiting Bristol !

Really great food, we didn't book and the staff fit us in. Definitely recommend 👌

Super dry fried chicken. Oil festival and under seasoned curry goat. Expected better

Really nice spot. Atmosphere is maybe a little bit airport lounge, but overall a very pleasant vibe. Nice traditional Caribbean foods and an impressive array of reasonably priced cocktails. Good spot for an evening out with friends.

As a Jamaican; The food isn’t worth the price you’ll pay for it. The jerk chicken isn’t authentic, you can also tell it hasn’t been marinated for long as the flavour is on top of the chicken rather than in it. The rice and peas didn’t seem to be made with basmati rice which was disappointing and the mac&cheese was oily with no flavour whatsoever. The festivals were very nice and the chips were okay but that wasn’t enough to leave me satisfied. Westernised Caribbean food but not executed very well… for the price. The service was good, friendly staff which makes you feel at ease. The food came out quickly and with a weirdly cooked chicken fillet, the chef made another without prompting, a very nice gesture. The men’s toilet cubicle door lock was broken and in the women’s toilets, one of the two cubicles had its lights out so you’d be sitting in pitch black making it unusable. The music in the venue was too loud but the aesthetic was nice. My humble opinion is to avoid because you can get better for cheaper elsewhere.

Lovely jerk chicken breast butterflied with rice and peas. It was moist, smokey and not too spicy. Coleslaw was fresh, worked very well with a side of plantain. I forgot to take photo as I was too busy eating, so I took one of the empty plate instead. Service was quick and friendly, and food arrived promptly.

Lovely and unique way to serve jerk chicken. Nice vibe and cool art. Music was great.

Lush food Lush staff Lush drinks All together a LUSH place

Just sooo good! Buzzing atmosphere, quality food, and excellent service. Cannot fault it.

The food was absolutely delicious

Staff were very helpful, got food to us quickly during a busy time, made sure we always had bevs and plenty of napkins. Food was delightfully messy (fingerbowls provided!) and all very delicious. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free options aplenty & well signposted on the menu. Get some chilli fried okra to share for the table, little texture/flavour explosions that go with all mains. Every table was full when we arrived at 20.30, great atmosphere, nice chilled courtyard out back to wait for table/cool off/vape! Shout-out to the member of staff who validated me, for basing my dish choices on getting both Okra & Ackee.

Really great food. We were very lucky to be able to walk in at an awkward time without a booking but we saw people after us asked to wait or turned away so booking is essential.

The food here is amazing. My #1 spot in Bristol.

If you can handle the heat in this weather, it’s a perfect place for jerk chicken. Super quick too with friendly faces.

Beautiful food prepared with care. Made my tum tum real happy

Whatta place! The food is incredible — with great vegetarian options. There’s delicious homemade hot sauce on the table. 2-for-1 cocktails during happy hour (those Guinness cocktails are supreme). And service is top notch.

I was there last week, I had jerk chicken rice and peas,it came with plantain and salad, and a delicious sauce, the meal was absolutely delicious, and I'll be visiting this place with my son in the very near future.

Today i took a lady who i support to have a birthday meal . The staff were all so engaging with her and made her feel so special went above and beyond. The food is always amazing there the best Caribbean food in Bristol

The food was amazing. The service was a little slow but well worth the wait.

We have been coming here for a few years and always enjoyed it. We visited last night with friends and the food was poor to say the least. The meals were obviously microwaved as no one was cooking on the large ranges. The belly pork which is normally crisp on top was soggy and the rice and peas were dry. The chicken in my partner's combo was thin and dried out. Waiting staff didn't really say anything when we pointed it out. Halfway through our meal a member of staff walked through the main entrance with a trolley full of meals in plastic containers. Not good and won't be coming back unless it improves.

One of my favourite spot especially when the sun comes out……..the rum punch goes down well

Always make a point of Visiting Caribbean Croft Outstanding Restaurant Authentic Food Excellent Place To Eat I had Jerk Chicken Breast with Salad and Coleslaw with Steamed Vegetables and a Pt of Red Stripe. Very Friendly Staff great Atmosphere Music playing. I couldn't fault this meal I have visited a few times I will definitely be back....

We have been meaning to visit for ages and were not disappointed. Staff, particularly Holly, we're great. Huge list if drinks including many many types of rum. Good range on menu including lots of veggie options. We chose the Combo plates which gave us a good chance to savour different dishes.

Popped in here for a cocktail and snack and certainly wasn't dissatisfied. We had our drink and the corn on the cob which was totally delicious, I will certainly be back for a full meal here soon!

One of the best Caribbean restaurant in Bristol !

group of 5 adults. Nice relaxed ambiance. Had pre-dinner cocktails in the small garden area - surprised that in relation to a lot of city centre Bristol, the bar prices were less than I would normally expect to pay. Cocktails were great, and made fresh. Booked table for 830pm, when pretty much all the tables were busy, so booking in advance might be sensible. Had beer with the meal. 2 of the party had mutton soup for starters - had a small amount of bone, but meat was so tender, it literally slid off - very tasty. Goat curry, southern and jerk chicken and jerk pork were the ordered dishes. Served with coleslaw, flavoured gravy, red cabbage, either chips or rice and peas, and watercress, with side orders of dumplings. Large portion sizes -with expressions by some members of the party that they wouldn't have had the starter if they knew how big the main was! Delicious all round, with all meat moist and tender and gravy giving the meal a nice chilli kick. Cheesecake for pudding for those that still had room. Nice slice with fruit compote. Staff were attentive, service was great and friendly -kitchen and bar staff were great answering any questions, especially about ingredients. Considering the portion size, this was really good value considering how much some restaurants no charge. Will definitely be going back.

Went 26th June,quite disappointing. Had the shared platter,wings,prawns,saltfish, in separate dishes,thought a platter wud be on one plate,drenched in sauce,not tasty at all. Had curry goat, drenched in sauce again.veg,not seasoned, ox tail, the same,only had 4 knuckles. Had better food at Plantation wen Beverly had it Shame realy, heard so many good things.Very expensive

What a Great Time . Lovely Food and Drink , Brilliant Waiting staff(especially India) . Booked for 20 people ages ranging from 1 to 89 most originating via the Caribbean Islands . They came and helped celebrate my Birthday with well cooked tasty Authentic Caribbean Food . We all Loved it and will return as soon as possible

Lovely place. Good flavoured food. I love the curried goat oxtail and jerk chicken.

It was 18:00, I had a 3 hour drive home ahead of me and fancied some lovely Caribbean food. I’d read the reviews so popped in and what a mistake it was. I was the only person in the restaurant. I ordered the salt fish fritters and brown stew chicken. The speed the fritters came out was astonishing. They were thick, chewy, greasy and bland. They quite evidently weren’t freshly cooked as I was watching the open kitchen and oddly those whacking great ranges weren’t being used to cook food at the precise time they should have been. The fritters were blatantly microwaved with some limp, opaque looking onions on top sprinkled with dried thyme. They were awful. My brown stew chicken came out very quickly. I appreciate that such a dish would have been prepared in advance as they were evidently slow cooked. Credit where it is due, the chicken fell off the bones and was very tender. However, the dish it was served in was cold which just shows bone idleness from the kitchen staff. I think the worst part was the microwaved rice. It’s out of a microwave bag of rice not too dissimilar to Uncle Ben’s, you can taste it. It’s as plain as the nose on your face. The the whole dish was microwaved and bland. Caribbean food should have a kick, it should be flavourful and vibrant, exciting to eat. It was just very bland, microwaved and bitterly disappointing. I feel ripped off at £22 for the two dishes. It’s disrespectful to Caribbean culture and food to put this nonsense on a plate and sell it to the public. Keep your money in your pocket and go elsewhere.

Super friendly guys. Had 4 cocktails for the price of one somehow

Visited Bristol for the first time and was told my multiple people that Caribbean Croft was the spot to go to. We went on a Friday evening (would recommend booking in advance as we did) and have nothing bad at all to say about this restaurant. From drinks, to food, to service, to atmosphere, everything was outstanding. We had such a delicious experience here. As well as the pictures, also had the 'Croft Combo' which is perfect if you're a meat eater who wants to try a bit of everything. Next time I'm in Bristol I'll definitely be back here.

Jerk chicken here absolutely smacks and the rum list is absolutely massive

came last night what a great meal we had well done ! food atmosphere and drinks were outstanding and did not cost the earth either we'll be back !

Amazing friendly place to eat Can't wait to return to this wonderful place again when in Bristol next time Curried Goat 🐐 10/10

Great food at a very good price. Full of flavour. Highly recommend.

Very nice, good environment, friendly people, delicious dishes, have been to lots of times.

Lovely meal. Curry goat was excellent. Fantastic service by all the team.

Absolutely stellar place, had a water bottle explode on us (likely from pressure or something) but Chad really looked after us, giving great recommendations for drinks and food. The food and drinks were absolutely spectacular, haven’t had food this good in ages! And the selection of rum?! Unbelievable to say the least! Do yourself a favour and come here.

Just popped in this morning for a drink- the shop wasn’t open yet but the gentleman who spoke to us was really kind and helpful! Seems like a lovely restaurant with great vibes and we will defo be coming back later to try the food (smelt amazing), Thank you again!

Was a bit taken aback with so many white staff but on tasting the food, I was like “ok” “ok” Not gonna lie, da food was banging n just hit right ~ big up yourselves Caribbean Croft still. 🙌🏾🙌🏾

Lovely food, wonderful staff and service and superb cocktails. Music is loud so not the place if you want a quiet chat but fantastic place with a great atmosphere. Some of the best cocktails I've ever had, generous portions of both cocktails and food. And they have happy hour for cocktails at various times throughout the evening! Highly recommend.

Loved it! I arrived in Bristol on the date of this review, so I was looking for some places to eat. Carribean Croft was a short walk from my accommodation, which didn't make it a difficult choice. I had the grilled jerk chicken with coleslaw, and rice and peas. Wow, oh wow! I loved every bite of it. Happiness on a plate it was. Perhaps it also helped there was a 2-for-1 cocktail special at the time, but the food was great! Good portion sizes too. I will definitely be back. 😊

My first Caribbean meal. Very spicy and very tasty!!! Love the atmosphere and the music!!!! The banana and cinnamon dessert is a must try!!!!

Awesome place food was fantastic. Staff very polite and friendly. They even changed a cocktail instead or rum they used vodka it was delicious. Definitely go again

The Jerk Pork Belly is a signature dish that should not be overlooked! The Pork was cooked perfectly, the fat melted in the mouth but the skin was still a bit crispy. The texture was perfect! The cocktails were great, and the rum selection was extensive.

Amazing atmosphere, very friendly and welcoming staff and the food was second to none. I would highly recommend and will be going back very soon

Really nice food and various of cocktails. very recommend.

The best Carribbean curry I've tried in England so far. Highly recommended!! Lovely staff too. We really enjoyed our dinner. Sadly we don't live in Bristol.

I really enjoyed my jerk chicken plate. Loved it ! I didn't even have the munchees or anything. The curry goat was also good.

Food was average, service was slow, the wings were swimming in gravy which was a bit weird and did not feel very authentic. Then they didn't charge us 241 for the cocktails but full price. Wouldn't recommend.

Great good and some good drinks as well!! Amazing atmosphere as well!!

Amazing 🥰 Great food. Great and friendly service. The Rum list is worth the visit on its own ❤️

3rd time we have been here. My husband is Jamaican. Food still great as ever but their “overflow” restaurant seems to have forgotten the importance of the vibe and made us feel like cash cattle. You go into the main restaurant to be rejected into the overflow area which is outside and into another venue. There, there is no welcome area or airlock from the door to shelter from cold. You are immediately sat down in a school canteen harsh lighting environment. Bar is at the back so no feeling good of hospitality. Expected to pay your money and leave in this second class environment.

We had the Croft combo and the ackee and mushroom dishes and both were great! Rum cake was also delicious. Staff was absolutely great, as well! We will definitely come back and this was the best Caribbean food we ever had. Thanks

I’ve been some years ago when I was last in Bristol and I was so, so happy to see it still thriving. The staff were tremendous, the food was incredible, and I couldn’t have been happier with our lunch. A fantastic place to get lunch - and I’m looking forward to eating our leftovers!

The food is amazingly good. We have the jerk wings for starters. They were perfectly cooked, maybe a bit more spicy than I like. But the tenderness was perfect I couldn't stop eating. I got the oxtail, it was also perfectly done and a good portion 3 big pieces and some small ones with a lot of gravy. My family order the fried chicken, 2 HUGE pieces. Also perfectly cooked. We got the smoothies. The flamingo smoothie and ocean blue. Awesome. My sister got an extra one, and I almost order one to go

Goat curry was great, festival dumplings were spot on too! A great match. Had to try some jerk chicken wings too, personally would prefer more flavour and less spice, but still good size wings. Waitresses were engaging and friendly.

Just wow. Curried cauliflower was incredible. Would highly recommend, worth the price. Good spice!

Excellent jerk chicken and pork belly. The wings were a little salty. Good selection of rum-based cocktails. Friendly staff. Would recommend

Great, authentic food at a very reasonable price and generous portions. Lovely cocktails. Very friendly and helpful waiters. Will be back again!

Super tasty food and friendly staff. A nice laid back vibe.

Came in off the cuff. Short debate about choices, when a woman customer intervened leaning over to highly recommend the brown stew chicken curry which she’d had earlier for our lunch. Suddenly all three of us decided to have the same, we did and it turned out to be spectacularly good. We’ll do it again soon.

Very welcoming, polite Chatted about the menu, then I decided to sit in, and the food was lovely, clean fresh hot Put a smile on any face 😄 Good portion Great signature cocktail, bring out rum 😉 I'll be back I would recommend it for sure 👍

It's the second time I've been here, on this occasion I came with a friend who was visiting from Hong Kong. We arrived during happy hour and had our two for one cocktails, 100% worth getting there for it! Their drinks menu is extensive and they've got loads of cocktails which we didn't get a chance to try. I recommend the Koko Colada, however there is a long list of different runs which I would have loved to try. The service was brilliant, our waitress has an extensive knowledge of the menu, answered all of our questions and made plenty of recommendations. We both had the goat curry which was incredible, the flavours were lovely and the portions were good value for money. I highly recommend coming here and I'll be back soon. 😁

I am not sure how people can call this authentic Caribbean food. It was disgusting. The chicken had no flavour and they added in extra chilli to mask the flavour and the rice was tasteless. Those that like it must be drinking a lot of alcohol to numb the taste. Come on Bristol, you can do better than this place and also Turtle Bay which is even worse!

Delicious food and good service. I would definitely go back.

We came here for my grand daughters birthday . I must say the waiting staff were very friendly and provided very good service . However the food was terrible . I had jerk pork it was very fatty hardly any meat and it wasn’t rendered at all . My husband had curried goat which was £16 for the dish there was only 4 pieces of goat on this plate just swimming in gravy !! The side order of Chips were the most cheapest chips I ever tasted . On top of all this we ordered the Croft signature cocktail whilst waiting for our party to arrive you Would think for the money it would of been made fresh to order however it was all ready pre mixed . Having managed restaurants all my life this place is something to be desired . I would not recommend this place at all . Like I said the staff were amazing but the food was a real let down .

Absolutely spectacular! So good! Shared the goat and the Croft chicken... Best meal I've had in the UK for ages... everything just right, do yourself a favour and give this joint a go.

This is the perfect place to have some Beautiful authentic Caribbean food. Lovely shop and staff, amazing music. 5/5

Amazing experience, came in for valentines and our server was so friendly (didn’t catch his name), the food was incredible as always. Big love from us x

Well impressed... Went on a valentines day out and boy was this place good. Welcomed with a smile,clean and tidy and friendly staff. Didn't go with starters straight for the mains,we had curried goat and the special of jerk chicken strips. Well presented and generous portions the food was banging and so tasty,hot and full of flavour. Big thank you to the cooking team,who obviously have a passion for great food..Frount of house work hard and gave great customer service. Thanks guys we shall be back!

Visiting partners dad in Bristol and he took us to this place… I had curry goat, rice and pea, dumpling and plantain. Came out piping hot, decent portion sizes and was up there with the best I’ve ever tasted. Red Stripe on draft and loads of cocktails. Staff were all welcoming and friendly throughout service. Decent music and atmosphere too!! Couldn’t recommend this place anymore to anyone visiting the city.

My first time with Jamaican cuisine. A lot of 'new food' to me - stamp n' go, ackee, callaloo, shelly rice, green banana, fried plantain...... Overall, food was flavourful (except the green banana lol). It's a good place to try traditional Jamaican food. It was quite spicy but somehow manageable even I usually can't take so much chilli. So don't forget to ask if you prefer a milder level of heat. -1 star because it was very loud inside the restaurant. I could hardly hear what my partner was saying. Here's what we ordered: - Ackee and Mushroom - Curried Goat - Stamp n' Go

Best restaurant in Bristol, so good we went for dinner and lunch the next day ❤️

Beyond delicious 😋 Staff are super friendly and helpful. Food is outstanding 👌 and the drinks were lovely too, so glad we found this place and will definitely be returning if we find ourselves in Bristol again

Overall, beautiful restaurant and great staff. Minus that the food is microwaved, why is that? Do the cooks need more help to serve a busy Saturday night?

The food was amazing with so much flavour and the service couldn't have been better. Everyone we spoke to was willing to answer any questions and accommodate our dietary needs

Again great food and atmosphere. Great place for a larger group, with sharing dishes. Fried red fish being my favourite.

Went for dinner last night and it was great. My friend and I shared some jerk chicken wings to start and we both had the goat curry. All the food was excellent.

Curried goal and jerk chicken are absolutely delicious.

Great Carib food some Cooked to front of house everything from rice to veg perfect n meats to die for! plus best pint of Stripe we’ve had to date Nice staff, nice vibe ⚡️Blew away our January blues a treat 🌞🌞

Loved Caribbean Croft. We drove from Wales just to eat there and it was worth it. Loved the food, delicious Caribbean food and different options of natural smoothies and cocktails.

I think this may just be my new favourite restaurant in Bristol , food well presented and it tasted like nothing I've eaten before , you won't go far wrong with this place 😋

I travelled to Bristol over the Christmas period. During a random search I stumbled upon this “Good Food” restaurant, food here is delicious, so much so I had to create a review, the chef/s are amazing cooks, I would love to have the recipe for what we ate 😋

Speedy service and delicious food-highly recommended

Great food, interesting menu,very well cooked,very good service.

I love this place the food is amazing the service is great. The only downfall is I feel stalked and rushed by the table staff every time. . Like they want you to hurry I no it popular and tables are in demand but still I don’t want to feel rushed when am eating. But I go for the chef his food is the best. And of course the rum punch. 💃🏾

Amazing food, lovely atmosphere & great music! Will definitely be back. Had a range of dishes & all superb! No complaints here.

This place really lived up to the reviews delicious

Furious that after all the times we’ve visited Bristol this is the first time here. Just the coolest place, food, music and friendly staff. Reading the menu we knew we were in for a treat . The drinks were mixed so well with excellent bar staff to help what rum to pair with food 👍🏻 everything was great and can’t wait till our next visit to try something else 🥰

We absolutely love visiting this place! The best food, the kindest staff and best atmosphere! 🧡