A few weeks ago I was pondering for ages on where to go for a meal for my birthday. Walking along Albany road I came across a yellow van parked with a load of writing on it. So I soon discovered it was for a new Caribbean restaurant on Woodville road called the Irie shack. Seeing as my birthday fell on a Friday we thought it best to book a table in advance to avoid disappointment. Even when phoning the original time I had asked for was not available. When we arrived it was very busy and noisy with huge groups of people enjoying the atmosphere.
When we were shown to our table we were left to browse the menu which had a huge range for everyone’s tastes. While we waited I took in the scenery, across one wall was a selection of old events posters. Such posters as reggae, ska and boxing match events of the past. The other wall was decorated with a graffiti mural of speakers and a reggae band. There was also a TV on, playing old Caribbean classics. But the music was quite loud making it hard to have a conversation.
While we were there it seemed very busy and understaffed for the amount of tables. We eventually flagged someone down for us to order drinks. They had an excellent range of cocktails as well as milkshakes. I and my mum choose to have cocktails picking the Mr. Zion and the rass berry special. I had not had alcohol for a year and found the drink to be very strong and to go straight to my head. The flavors though were a great combination but maybe next time I’ll go for the alcohol free versions. My boyfriend tried one of the milkshakes, going for the peanut butter crunch. Unfortunately there was a hair in his shake which put him off a bit.
It was kind of hard to figure out who was our server as it was very busy. It was a case of flagging down a member of staff to order situation. Eventually we ordered and we sure did order. I went for the pulled chicken burger which came with a side of fries. The pineapple relish that came in the burger was so refreshing and it complimented the burger very well. My mum and boyfriend both went for the jerk skewers which classed as a medium heat. One had the chicken the other the beef. What they didn’t realise was the heat that the medium jerk seasoning came with, giving a hot after taste. My dad for his main had the standard for him, fish. They had a range of 5 fish dishes to choose from but my dad opted for the fish Eskovitch. This was a red snapper seasoned with a vinaigrette dressing. Unfortunately although my dad ate it all he thought that the food was a bit dry.
The list of side dishes there had been so extensive we thought we would get a few to share as they sounded so amazing. Me and my boyfriend love chicken wings so got the spicy chicken wings they had. The funny thing was the heat of them was quite mild compared to the jerk sauce they had put on the other meat. They tasted amazing and meant we could eat them without having to down gallons of water. We also got some sweet plantain and some of their sweet potato hash. These both tasted amazingly good and would be sure to order it again. The one thing that did get ordered that was very disappointing was the corn on the cob. When I went to take a bite out of it my teeth were nearly ripped off. The corn seemed to have been on the grill so long it had dried out. When we mentioned this to the waitress she kindly took it off our bill.
My mum and I found room for dessert but there was so much to choose from it took a while to decide. My mums chose pretty quickly and went for the mango mess ice cream sundae. When this came over it was huge layers of ice cream, mango and meringue. Not on the main menu there was cheese cake of the day, when I asked what it was I was set on my choice. So I had ordered a toffee cheesecake, but what came over was not a cheesecake in my eyes. There was a sponge base to it and I believe cheesecake equals biscuit base, so was a bit confused. The cake (not a cheesecake) otherwise tasted amazing.
I would love to return to Irie shack to sample something else off their menu as there were so many nice things. Though I would be defiantly opting to go at a lunch time where hopefully it’s not as busy. Otherwise I would suggest that the restaurant hires a few more staff so that you know who your server is and don’t have to flag staff down.
