I own a small restaurant up the street. And I swear these are the best oxtails in NYC!

Great meal and great customer service love the oxtail and rice

Food was delicious they will surely get my recommendation🤗🤗

Lunch is on point, customer service great for Jamaican spot. No qualms.

I eat stewed mackerel here almost everyday for breakfast. The best I have ever tasted

My favorite place to eat, love the service love the food...

Love the breakfast and the soup is great amazing

Mama's is the best. I enjoy their food. Go check it out

Amazing food!!! Finally a great tasting Jamaican restaurant

The only knock on this place is that it's not larger and the parking is poor because it's in front of a bus stop. The people are impeccable 👌 as is the food.

The food is the best. I love the stew chicken and mac and cheese. Well i love it all you gotta give it a try. They also deliver

I was skeptical because I'm obsessed with the jamaican restaurant up the block. My husband kept telling me don't go to the restaurant I frequently go to bc mamas is better, the day we decided t go was the Puerto Rican festival so I figured it wouldn't be so good even tho I trust my hubby's taste but I'm really annoying and bratty so I'm really annoyed if s/I tells me about food and it's not expectional. Needless to say I ordered oxtails, rice and peas and mac and cheese but I wanted to taste the yams the long ly young lady gave me a few to taste😘 ladies and gentlemen I kind you not after I ate I couldn't finish it (unusual) bc it was soooooo fresh and rich. I heated the rest in the morning for breakfast yooooooooooooooooo NEVER IN MY LIFE HAD I TASTE FOOD SO DANG TASTY IN MY LIFE. IT HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME ALL DAY I WILL LITERALLY KILL FOR MORE OXTAILS. SHHHHHHHHEEEESH I GOVE MAMAS 10⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pepper steak is awesome. My only only mistake was I didn’t get the cabbage. Get it!! Good portion also. 👌🏼

Very no nonsense, but that's to be expected. The food is good, period.

I order from this spot when I can as a matter of fact I will order something tonight. Their food is delicious the mac and cheese is great yet, their ox tails are to die for.

Luv luv luv this place. Cost friendly food absolutely great. Service awesome. Quick in and out. 5+ stars all the way. Yesssss

I mainly eat from the son of the owner of this establishment and i would like to say that this exquisite food and i would recommend this to all my peers and i would eat again.

Small place but ain't nothing small about the food it's sooo good it goes fast 💯

Loved the food and the staff is amazing and very friendly. Best place to get it tail

A very authentic Jamaican restaurant food is delicious just like your grandmother would make customer service is a 1 I would go back again

I usually order for delivery either ox tails/jerk chicken, rice and peas with plantains. I stopped by today and enjoy the curry chicken with my regular fixings. The chicken was tender and the sauce added a spicy kick, great customer service I will be back.

Love the food, prices are very reasonable. Recommendation highly to anyone. Jerk chicken & oxtail are delicious. Great customer service. John & Telo & staff are awesome. Won't find food like this anywhere else.

I love the oxtail dinner. Had one unfriendly encounter. Stopped going. Came back the person was no longer employed been heaven since. Small spot so not a date spot but perfect for rainy night and netflix.

Food here has always been great when I go here. I chose the jerk salmon with rice and peas and they were 5 stars. Drinks are great (ginger and pineapple juice/ sorrel).

After seeing someone’s plate I had to walk on over to this spot. The honey bbq chicken is delicious. It’s crispy with the right amount of sauce. The macaroni and cheese is cheesy. I added bbq gravy to my cabbage mixture made it more savory. You have to try this place.

The food reminds me of family gatherings. Some places you will go and accept that it is "Jamacian" food. At Mama's it is JAMACIAN FOOD. The portions are generous for NY takeout and the food tastes completely authentic, because it is. I can come for the lunch special or dinner and be full and satisfied, often with leftovers for later. I have had the Ackee and Saltfish early in the morning, Jerk Chicken for Lunch many times and Oxtail at dinner. All five stars Extremely glad that they have not closed thier doors in these hard times. Keep it up!

Large portions, moderately priced, friendly staff, fast service, clean and I give the food a B because im Jamaican and very selective on west Indian food. But overall good.

Love the food and service. They always arrive within their delivery time frame. The people on the phone are kind and the delivery people are also very friendly. I am glad I stumbled upon this place since it is near work.

I loveddd it this food was so flavorful I’m definitely ordering again omg!!! And this is my first timeee I ordered curry chicken rice and peas Mac and cheese cabbage and plantains so good !!!

Food good souo good & saltfish flitter actually have saltfish.🥰

G. C

This mama is really a staple to Spanish Harlem. Hard working and friendly staff. Caribbean meals became on of my favorite.

Nalaisha Wynn

I love my ppl that work here , I be having my oxtails with white rice or with peas and they got me liking the cabbage now they cook it very well done I only come here if I want this they never disappoint ❤️💯🤞🏽

Tiffany Smith

Good food. Cant find them on any delivery apps anymore. What happened? 🤔

Mary Kirby

Delicious food every time, a small establishment that packs in the flavor 😋

Kristal Graham

A bit spicy for me….but when you want authentic…the spice comes with it so I’m not mad at all

NaturalTrini

I always go there for food to go. It tastes great. In amd out quick.

O T

Food is excellent and great portions. Service is the absolute best. Oxtails are superb and my favorite.

Giles I

I love this place. Im an east Harlem resident, a ten minute walk away, and it is always worth the walk. I’ve been going here for a little over a year, and I usually get jerk chicken and/or pork, oxtail, rice and peas with gravy. The food is always fresh, and never dry. Dry Jamaican food is a big problem in Manhattan. This place does not have this problem. I only get Caribbean food from two places in Manhattan bc of that issue. The rice and peas are flavored perfectly. It might seem simple, but again, only two places in Manhattan do it right every time. The staff is great. They’re polite and attentive. This is a small business and repeat customers are big. Sometimes other customers give them hell for no reason. If you’re polite and cordial like you should be, they give excellent service and with a smile.

imrobertz1

Really good food and the people serving the food are amazing well knowledgeable about all foods

Rasheeda Potts

Food is great! The Jerk Chicken, Curry Chicken and Oxtail is to die for!! Do not have to wait too long for the delivery, food arrives warm. One of the best Jamaican Restaurants hands down! Update: 2 years later and I STILL LOVE IT!

Collins O

If you're looking for great Jamaican food that Caribbean Flavor that you had when you took that trip to Montego Bay, then this is the spot for you. This location does have a little counter area for you to sit and enjoy a quick meal but this is more of a takeout to go place but the food is definitely worth it We came on a Friday afternoon about 1pm the counter staff was so polite and helpful, didn't rush you to order, even went the extra mile to wrap my to go order when I needed it. All the way from Dallas-Fort Worth Texas, we were in the city for a day trip taking care of some travel documents when we came across Mama's. This spot was definitely worth it, my wife myself and my son ordered stew chicken rice and peas oxtails rice and peas mac and cheese sat down ate and enjoyed. The food was so good we ordered to go had to catch a flight in 2 hours we ordered curry goat meal, jerk chicken meal, two beef patties two Coco bread and we were good to go. The young lady at the counter made sure to wrap my orders real good in order for me not to have any issues with TSA. Normally we don't like carrying food across the airport on a plane to any distance but mama's are so good we had to take some back to Texas. Mama's was definitely a good hidden spot in my old hometown. Even though we now live in Dallas-Fort Worth New York City is still in the heart and food like this always makes it worth the trip to come back home. And I'm still a New York Giants fan my man Eli still has another Superbowl left in him. Food made it to Fort Worth safely can't wait to dig in.

Wonderful experience,food was really good costumer service was excellent.

Its helps to be a little friendly when serving. Just saying. Food tasty

The food is great and service is even better.

Great food but needs more of selection.

This place man I used to hit here every morning my partner and I got breakfast, unfortunately the last cook left and this new guy gave me parboiled rice, I hate that stuff, overall the food is great get rid of that rice and it's a definite five

Food is good customers is great you have to be their early in the morning or call in advance

Food was good, but $22 for an oxtail dinner..a bit much.

Good branch especially if you’re starviiiiiing no wonder why this restaurant is still out there.

Excluding the mac & cheese...Everything on the menu is exploding with flavor. This "hole n the wall" Caribbean spot has all the Jamaican staples that will satisfy and keep you coming back for more. Portions are great and the wait is never outrageous. The Jerk is not for the faint of heart FYI. One of the last Caribbean spots in East Harlem. Support

As a loyal customer for three years I can say Mama’s is probably the best Jamaican restaurant in Harlem. I usually get oxtail or jerk salmon, with rice and peas. They give a generous amount of oxtail gravy if you ask (which is unheard of in most Jamaican restaurants). Gravy is always think and dark like it should be and not runny or too oily. But I will say the rice has UNDERCOOKED the last few times I’ve been there. If you want oxtail you should arrive before 7 pm because that’s when they usually run out, on the weekends at least.

John NYC

CONS 1. Oxtails was Tender but needs more Flavor and more Scotch Bonnet Flavor, (Distant Hot Kick) to Stand Out from all other Caribbean Restaurants. Don't be afraid of Bold Flavors. 2. Stew Chicken needs more Tenderness and Flavor.. 3. Cabbage needs more Flavor. Perhaps, adding Freshly Pureed Ginger to take it up a notch. PROS 1. Jerk Chicken looked Delicious and it was Everything I Expected it to be Spicy, Tender, Juicy and Crispy! Ugh! Wow! Better than JamRock Jerk Food Truck and they do it right. 2. Rice and Peas was Cooked Well but needs more Coconut Flavor. 3. White Rice was Cooked Well. 4. Curry Chicken was good. 5. Friendly Staff

The Mac and cheese is horrible I swear it's like they just make a layer of cheese on the top thats it everything else btw is good the Mac is really disappointed me

The tin mackerel is so dam salt also the boil dumplin

The food taste ok i had the oxtail not tender and the server was very nasty asked her if the oxtail was spicy she said very nasty (how do I know you want it or not ) so now I am ready to go then the other server said no so I stop talking to Miss nasty and talked to the other person it was today at 4pm

very salty, poor quality oxtail. Didn't finish the plate friendly service though respect and support any company doing their best to survive in harlem

Oxtail was good but expensive!!!!!!!! And plantains were hard and they were hard as rocks and smell like old oil!

Food not consistent. Some days its amazing! Buffet style setup.

Food could been better. Ordered ackee and saltfish that was very very salty. And boiled dumplings was not cook all the way thru. 😒

The service was good. I ordered the oxtail dinner and even though it tasted very good, there was a lot of fat on the Oxtails.

Troublez 409

The food is okay. First time I tried the mac and cheese it was okay ,second time very disgusting .customer service is great but I need good food and good service.

M P

Reasonably priced. Ok food. Very friendly service. Good options indeed daily. Good location, good effort. Rice needs more coconut milk and fresh herbs to give that "island touch and flavor".. More peas taste needed I WOULD soak the peas then cook them for flavor and authenticity versus the can. I would eat there again and share this with them humbly. I like them. Check them out.

Ordered the oxtail and it was more fat on the bone than meat.

More often than not, this restaurant never has grilled salmon despite it being on their menu.

5 different Philly cheese steaks, not one like the other.sSomething just really off every time.!

Food is okay but definally not worth the price

The cashier was extremely disrespectful. Really rude with the way she went about things . Although food came quick but she ruined the mood for me to even want to buy the food anymore .

Their food is good but the lady who works in the evening is very rude and nasty. I’m very big on customer service and I will not patronize a place that’s rude to the customers

Had me on hold for literally 10 minutes 3 different occasions bad customer service

Don't waste ur money I order chicken and get a bowl of bones they messed up my order and won't fix it But it's my fault they said but the girl to busy playing with her phone

Food was amazing UNTIL I almost swallowed a piece of metal!

I spent 25$, I ordered food for myself and my Mom portions are good food is nasty. They sent me another order cause my moms chicken looked like someone started eating it. The second order wasn't worth it either. I will never order again.

I was starving and still didn't enjoy the food. Service was excellent though. Don't think I will be back I need good food in my life.

Very disappointed with the rice & peas. The brown stew chicken tasted like day-old left overs.

The service over phone is horrible they don’t understand a word your saying, deliveries take an hour or two to come. Not worth it save your money!!!

I ordered from this restaurant and it literally took 3 whole hours for them to bring me my food. Called the restaurant a few times and they stated that there was only 1 delivery person that night. On a Saturday night? Really? There is NEVER a reason why a person should have to wait 3 hours to eat. This company needs better organization and I must mention that every time I did call I was put on hold immediately because the person who picked up was having other conversations. VERY UNPROFESSIONAL AND WILL NEVER GET ANY OF MY MONEY AGAIN!

Horrible customer service from Marvin. I called to place an order for delivery and gave my card number for payment. Once the food arrived the delivery guy says the food was not paid for. When I called the restaurant back Marvin has an attitude for HIS mistake, being that he was the one who took my order. Very unprofessional. There is better Caribbean food and customer service else where. I do not recommended an establishment that does not know how to talk to their customers or fix their mistakes.

I just went to this place for the 3rd time and sadly it will be my last. This place just loves to charge you for the same thing more and more each time. I questioned them this time and was giving a line of BS as to why what I had ordered costed so much? I have to hand it to the workers behind the counter they got street hustle skills, but should leave that hustle outside. I work for a large office and guess I had to find out for myself as to why none of my fellow co-workers never eat at this place? Know I know... Karma Sucks.. ....

I love there food and I use to order from them all the time very tasty but there customer service today I experienced was highly unprofessional and rude.... Will never be ordering from them ever again I called for delivery and they had me waiting 10 minutes t nobody never came to back to the phone.

I had the oxtails with rice and peas and streamed cabbage It was so salty it gave me an instant headache. No seasoning on the oxtails. The rice was too soft. Come on Mama's you need to pep up your step.

I’m done supporting Jamaican restaurants. It’s beyond me how they send what they want when you paid your money for a specific order?!! And I called back regarding the rest of my order that was not delivered he put me on hold for almost 20mjns and never got back to me! Will never support this place again

Bought the chicken rice w/ black beans + cabbage rice was old chicken stew was old and mostly bones the three women were was more into their conversation than serving customers now with that being said before they did the renovation the service was good the food was good and fresh but for the very last time I bought food there I won't be returning the location has to many locals hanging outside the place not a good look @all

Ordered delivery, 1 hr later they clearly sold our food to someone who cane in the store and told us they are not allowed to deliver to the Bronx 7 min. away. Lady on the phone in store the delivery driver claimed she was new and didn't know what she was doing. He needs to be replaced along with his excuses. Just tell us you ran out, or call sooner so we could've made other arrangements. He didn't even give us a chance to pick up as an option!!

Poor service... They had me on hold for 10 min then started playing music .. today 08/10/2016 @ 10:37 am... Then when I called back they took the phone off the hook and never answered.. I'm gonna give them a piece if my mind.. never ever will I order from or go there in person.... Get better customer service skills.. Ghetto.. very ghetto.

Veronica G

Let me say this first I’ve ordered from mama many times and have never had a problem with the taste or quality of their food.First I asked the guy who answered the phone what kind of sodas the had if they had cola champagne or pineapple he said both.I said I’ll take a pineapple soda he sent me the cola champagne.ok np I can live with that then I ordered a large oxtail with cabbage and plantains.which costed me with the soda.$29.50 I had to make an errand so I didn’t get to eat my food for a few hours later. When I opened it the food looked like the usual food I order until I started to eat it.the oxtail’s was meaty but had so much fat on them it was overwhelming which turned me off. As if whoever prepared them didn’t even bother to take the time to try to trim some of the fat off😱 then the gave me cabbage with no flavor or seasoning and the Plantains were so old and black that I couldn’t tell if they were just burnt or old from days ago.(looked like they were old) I was so heartbroken and disappointed.buy the time I had eaten of of it they were closed so I called them up the next day about 1pm to put in a complaint because it bothered me so much. I called to speak to a manager and a nice young lady listened to what I had to say and told me the manager had just left. And took my complaint and said she’ll relay the message to management and someone will get back to me. That has now been 4days and I haven’t heard a word back.so I needed to write this review because spending nearly $30 on food occasionally isn’t cheap. Now that I sad to say this I will not purchase another item from here again because the consistency and the quality of the food has clearly change.

Denim Li

Found a piece of a plastic bag in my food i was very disgusted, after eating here for years I will not be supporting again.

TAT Theoneandonly

Got some Mac n cheese Saturday. It looked straight from the garbage. Cheese on the top, wasn't fresh, just plain unseasoned white noodles underneath. I don't know what happened, but it didn't happen today. Close down if you don't want to cook. I was so disappointed. I know things are expensive but we can do better.

Michelle Copeland

Ordered the jerk chicken with mac and cheese and rice/peas. The chicken was dry tasted like basic baked chicken no flavor/spices. The mac and cheese didn't have any flavor either just noodles and cheese on the surface. Really disappointed that I didn't read the reviews first. Franks Hot sauce couldn't save this meal. First and last time ordering from this spot.

Tamma Hallett

Today I ordered the salmon and Mac and cheese. The salmon was grilled so much to the point it taste burnt and it had zero seasoning and zero flavor. The Mac and cheese was just cheese and noodles, zero taste and flavor. This place doesn’t know real authentic Jamaican food if it was to hit them in the face. I hope I don’t get a stomach virus

Osmali A.

Horrible food. Waited almost two hours for my order. When it got here, the order was wrong. I ordered BBQ ribs and got chicken instead. I ate the food because I was literally starving. Almost cried while eating, not even the fact that I was hungry made the food taste good. I can't believe I paid almost $50 for this shyt. Food was good a year ago. NEVER ordering from this restaurant again. Don't waste your money here.