What can I say - I love lunches, dinners, and snacks at Ackee Tree. What I don't love is the pricing which is significantly higher than other places around the area - but if you've got a hankering for Caribbean-style food, it's worth the extra coin.The warm friendly staff and owners show a real commitment to their customers, the quality of food, and green-friendly practices - and it shows. But let's get to the food. I'm a sucker for their oxtail curry & goat curry - fatty pieces of stewed meat that fall right off the bone - served with rice 'n peas + coleslaw. They've got a mean Caribbean-style roti which is huge and super filling, and you can get more obscure hard-to-find Caribbean dishes like saltfish + ackee. The show-stealer here is the jerk chicken. You can get it served with rice for the best lunch value, or my favourite - as a jerk chicken sandwich - served in coco bread. The sweet potato fries here are some of the best in the city; but be sure to try their jerk fries, too - with a side of homemade jerk mayo - and a ginger beer on the side.
08/06/2009
Wow. I just had the Curry Chicken... pricey at $14 (with tip and all) for the medium, but WOW... I mean OMGWOW.
The perfect balance between dry and juicy, the perfect amount of spice. The "rice and peas" practically melted on my tongue. I got take-out, so the entire way back I kept thinking "$14? This better be GOOD"... and I actually feel I got my money's worth!
Great stuff! Next time, might try a lunch special and spend a little less, but was impressed!
2/26/2010
Ackee tree serve some of the tastiest Jamaican fare outside of the island.
The comprehensive menu is reasonable price with food nicely presented and fresh from the pot.
Be adventurous and taste a little bit of Jamaica right here in the middle of Toronto.
Talk with the friendly staff about what is on offer I find they are more than willing to help.
08/2009
"Great Food & Service"
September 04, 2009 - Likes it - Ackee Tree's Jerk Chicken is awesome. I'll definitely be returning.
We ordered quite a large round of food for only two people. Some curried chicken, plenty of rice and peas, several patties of mixed varieties, some callaloo and then the highly anticipated... saltfish and ackee.
Based on the reviews I've been reading, it seems that people are missing the food that is in the name of the business. Saltfish and fish is the national dish of Jamaica and it's a fantastic one at that. Since visiting the island in Spring '07, the lady and I have been visiting restaurant after restaurant, browsing menu after menu, only to always walk away disappointed. Ackee is something that you just can't find in the states.
Imagine a magical fruit that has a glowing golden color. Tear it open and throw it on a skillet. Then begin to fry it up like as if you're preparing scrambled eggs. That, everyone, is ackee. A fruit that both looks and tastes remarkably like scrambled eggs. Combine that with the savoury delight of saltfish, douse it in hot sauce, and then you have my favourite food of Jamaica.
Another unique treat they have is callaloo. That is yet another island food we could find once we were back on the continent. Ackee Tree didn't let us down there either. Callaloo is actually amaranth leaves, which again, I've never seen that stateside.
Considering that I don't plan on returning to Jamaica any time in the near future, it always makes me smile to tell people that the last time that I had good Jamaican food was the last time that I was in Canada.
02/23/2010
I was a little unsure when I first ordered, but was pleasantly surprised on how good the chicken curry was. I am in Toronto on a business trip and have tried all types of curry this week and if not the best, this curry was on par with anything I've eaten. I took the advice of a fellow yelper when they recommended the jerk fries, very good, but the curry was the best part of my meal.
The atmosphere was OK, nothing spectacular.
If you measure on food alone, 4 stars, but the atmosphere and service don't complete the experience.
02/10/2010
I finally made my way to the famous Ackee Tree. I'd heard so much about it since I moved to the city, but just never found time or reason to eat there. I think secretly, I was intimidated with the menu, but lo and behold my good friends from the islands decided to hang out today, and that's where the 3 of us headed - and my buddy happily took charge!
We ordered a feast of plantains, jerk fries, callaloo (spinach), rice & peas, curry goat, oxtail, and the jammin' jerk chicken from their tapas style menu. We loved that idea because we got to taste a lil bit of everything and could make comparisons. Even though we had the intention of bringing home left overs home we wiped the table clean - which in a nutshell should tell you how fabulous everything was!
The oxtail dish won hands down, but everything else, came pretty close! I personally digged the jerk chicken and plantains, while my friend preferred the curry goat. The meat dishes were just well seasoned and super tender! The callaloo - I also found tasty, but I think we mainly ordered that in an attempt to add some greens to our obviously well "balanced" diet. Haha... Well we tried!
Even though I ended up eating them, I thought the jerk fries were so-so. They tasted pretty regular and nothing too special. Next time I come back, I'll probably skip that and order something else.
I definitely have plans of coming back here again - it is a little pricey, but you do get your money's worth. Our server was really cool and efficient, and the place itself was nice and clean. It's a little dark inside for some reason, but I guess that's a minor detail.
And I intimidated now? Hellz no, mon!
09/24/09
We had an excellent experience here. Food was flavourful, service was friendly and you can't beat the price. This will be one of our Queen St. regulars.
--Martiniboys.com
The corner it's on is perfect to just sit and eat and people watch, especially during the summer when they have the large main window open. The staff is friendly, the music is great, and the food is spectacular
--Our Faves / Jerk chicken
Yum. No need to wait for August; my tongue/stomach was celebrating its own inner-body Caribana. Aye aye aye!
I had the jerk chicken sandwich, made with large chunks of jerk chicken, sweet potato, tomato, and pepper mayo stacked between two sweet, soft slices of coco bread. It was a nice overall taste, but I thought the chicken wasn't spicy enough, and the sweet potato not really flavourful. However, it's still great and, combined with the awesome jerk french fries and a bottle of ginger beer, it made a perfectly feisty meal.
I've heard about some so-so/slow service at this place, but I saw none of it myself: the afternoon team was extremely friendly and we got our food within 10 minutes of ordering. Plus, the colourful room was warm (the windows are always steamed up in the winter), and is a much needed escape from the grey, blah streets outside.
Break out the tight pants, I'm ready to shake it. Kind of.
--Yelp / Connie T.
November 13, 2008 - Really likes it - Of all the jerks in this city, this has got to be my favourite. The jerk rub is itself great blending the right level of spicy heat and caramelized earthy goodness, on a bed of rice-n-peas with the requisite thick oxtail gravy, and cooling cole slaw. The hot servers and good beats add to the hip central location (corner of Queen / Spadina) that's so surprisingly clean, that summa you folks (and you know who you are!) won't be pulling out your waterless hand sanitizer after making for the exit.
--Urban Spoon