The best places to eat Caribbean food in Manchester

Named after its owner Basil ‘Buzzrocks’ Anderson, who runs the business with wife Farida, Buzzrocks has been serving up proper Jamaican and West Indian food for over 35 years. Starting out as a van catering for the late-night revellers of Moss Side and Hulme, it wasn’t long before they had their own bricks and mortar on Stretford Road. While it’s their authentic jerk chicken that people flock from far and wide to enjoy, Buzzrocks  have taken some pointers from British takeaways, so you can go ‘half and half’, meaning you can enjoy a load of chips with your Caribbean curry too. May they rock on for another thirty-odd years. 

There’s a queue outside Moss Side’s Chicken Run at almost any time you could pick to visit. Many are there for Caribbean classics like jerk chicken, curry goat and saltfish and ackee, but if you’re serious about fried chicken you’ll skip straight to the chicken split, a sub-sized festival (a slightly sweet Jamaican dumpling) stuffed with shredded fried chicken and dollops of salad cream. Basically, the best chicken mayo sarnie you’ve had in your entire life. Basically, queue now, thank us later.

Easily one of the best takeaways in the wider Manchester-Salford conurbation, Caribbean Flavas has reached legendary status – especially when it comes to ordering for delivery to your place. This place positively thrived during lockdown and managed to get themselves loads more loyal followers – people obsessed with their quality jerk chicken, curried mutton, saltfish fritters and very, very reasonable prices. It’s no-frills, just amazing Caribbean food. If you happen to be getting off a train at Salford Central ravenous, there is nowhere better.

Open seven days a week until late, The Drop Cafe Bar is one of several spots that have made Chorlton’s Barlow Moor Road parade of bars, restaurants and shops such a buzz over the last decade or so. Delightfully informal when it comes to everything except the presentation of its incredible Caribbean food, customers can choose from the cosy wood-clad interior, or the equally cool covered terrace on the street. Menu-wise, their ‘hench box’ is the main attraction, a loaded combo of mains and sides. And if you want to switch up your usual Sunday pub grub, we highly recommend their reggae roast.

Originally an NQ spot loved with fierce loyalty, Eat & Sweet disappeared off the scene for a while to much dismay. Luckily, Oldham Road-proximate jerk chicken enthusiasts can breathe a sigh of relief, because it has since reemerged up the street on Oldham Road. Swing by for a variety of patties and chicken, as well as full dinners like saltfish and ackee, curry goat and escovitch fish, which is a special served only on Fridays and Saturdays. You can also enjoy old school puds like banana cake and Jamaican rum cake with heaps of custard too.

An increasingly familiar sight across Manchester, real fans will know that the original Jerk Junction in Chorlton is the best. With its vast covered terrace out front, on a sunny day you could almost convince yourself you’re on a beachfront taverna (if you look past the stunning views of Manchester Road). Promising ‘big portions and big love’, the team serves up rice ‘n’ peas, jerk chicken, and curry goat, prepared daily in their on-site jerk house. Sundays are all about their jerk roast, which is best enjoyed washed down with a rum punch. If you don’t happen to be in Chorlton, you can find Jerk Junction’s other outposts at the Trafford Centre, Wilmslow, and MediaCity’s well appointed KargoMKT.

There are local favourites, and then there’s Kool Runnings. This van has operated out of the car park of Sharon Pentecostal Church on Chorlton Road in Old Trafford for years, and for many it’s the definitive Caribbean joint in the city. In fact, when they shut shop for a little while, it caused mass confusion and distress among their regular diners. Luckily, they’re back up and running, now doing the important work of serving smokey jerk chicken, rice ‘n’ peas, oxtail and saltfish fritters to the ravenous lunch-breakers and supper-seekers of South Manchester. Don’t just take it from us, or them; Usain Bolt, Tyson Fury and Rio Ferdinand also count it among their favourites.

This Hazel Grove spot is as well known for bing a centrepiece of the community as it is for its brown stew, fried chicken and peppered steak. Located on the thriving foodie corridor of the A6, Mama Flo’s are the definition of going above and beyond. They served up free kids meals in the pandemic, and her doors are open to any child in need of a meal from anywhere across Greater Manchester. Basically, if there’s an opprtunity to help out, they’ll probably be doing it. The best thing about Mama Flo’s? You can pop down for an incredible meal, and know you’re supporting a vital cause at the same time.

Swan Street is the unofficial boundary between the Northern Quarter and Ancoats, meaning it hosts loads of excellent nightlife and dining spots, ranging from the old man boozer to the cool and conceptual eatery. Within this melee you can find Pull Up, a Caribbean spot unlike many in that it isn’t an itinerant takeaway in an unusual location, but instead is a slick, late night joint with music and cocktails. Head down to enjoy their signature hench box, a combo where you select two mains and enjoy a massive platter with coconut rice ‘n’ peas, a fried festival dumpling, plantain slices and three fresh and crunchy slaws. Best enjoyed washed down with their house cocktails like rum punch, Guinness punch and the ginger mojito.

Located in a container on the forecourt of a car wash on King’s Road, Whipp’n’ bring so much more to the game than your regular petrol station fare. Their offering is an eccentric and enthusiastic blend of chargrilled cuisines, including charcoal cooked tandoori chicken, Caribbean jerk, and the East Coast chilli chicken. Guests can build their own charcoal meals, choosing their own sauces, marinades and sides. And for those with a sweet tooth, there’s churros for afters. Truly, a one-stop shop for all thing charred, fried and delicious.

Tucked away at the end of a seemingly endless line of terraced houses on Stretford’s Norway Street is Yeah Man. It’s a Caribbean takeaway and cafe that serves the neighbourhood, as well as its legions of converts who travel in from miles around for their jerk chicken, curry mutton, fried chicken and chicken splits. They also serve up warming beef and red pea soups and various chicken barms too. Seek out their bright yellow shops front or order online to enjoy a polystyrene tray full of some of the most satisfying Caribbean food you’ve ever encountered.

Responsible for Piccadilly Gardens Street Food Market’s most consistent lunchtime queue, Rita and her family cook a solid menu of Caribbean and Ghanaian dishes which are outrageously in-demand every single day. The jerk chicken and jollof rice is a stand-out, as is the curry goat. If you’re looking for extensive menu options, this spot isn’t for you. If you are looking for a knockout lunch full of flavours, and some of the friendliest service around, get down to Rita’s. A word to the wise: Aim for pre-12pm if you want to beat the queues which start to snake down Market Street before Greggs have even got their shoes on. 

A staple of the Ancoats food scene since well before its recent reinvention as a slick foodie neighbourhood, Rad’s Caribbean takeaway has a hardcore following of lunch devotees. The name is not, as is commonly misconceived, a contraction of Radium Street where they reside, but instead the initials of founder Robert Anthony Davidson, who runs the spot with his family. The menu is a wonderfully straightforward A4 printout featuring classic curries and jerk dishes, as well as British takeaway favourites like chips and gravy. Renowned for their generous portion sizes, these are the type of lunches you start fantasising about from 10am. 

With sites in Salford, Trafford, Bolton and Openshaw, you’re never too far away from an outpost of Sunrise Caribbean Foods. Beginning life as a Salford food van before swiftly upgrading to bricks and mortar, their menu is one of the most extensive around, serving chicken fried, jerked, curried and BBQ’d. There are tempting veggie and fish options too, and the red meats section has all the mutton and lamb chops you could wish for. We’d recommend completing your meal with a warming pea or lamb soup, and a side of fried plantain, washed down with a tropical punch. Despite what their name suggests, they’re usually open from midday to evening, so we’d recommend heading down for a late lunch or early dinner.