Rating on GoogleReviews often mention
oxtail(16) chicken(16) drink(16) candice(13) recommend(12) plantain(10) cheese(10) caribbean(10) flavour(10) mac(9) poutine(9)
Teju
I was there for a birthday dinner & the food took over an hour to come out & when it did we were served one plate a time. The waitress barely checked up on us & did not know that we weren't receiving our food.
Hayzell
Party of 6 - The food was amazing! We ordered Jerk Chicken Rasta Pasta, Oxtail, Curried Goat, Sauteed Mushroom, Calamari & the Pepa Shrimp & Lobster. Portion was perfect for a group of 6. Flavors we're on point. Thank you for making my birthday celebration extra Special. Aresta (sorry if I misspelled) was our server & she was very helpful & such a great host.
Tanya
We decided to finally try Tropikal & went for the thanksgiving dinner. The first thing we experienced was looking at the menu on the server's phone since the menus didn't arrive on time. We then tried to order a Red Stripe only to be told they had no bottled beef left, they had sold out the night before. It was a bit shocking the server didn't know this & only found out when they went to the bar to submit the order. The liquor & beer stores were open on Sunday so I would think that someone could have picked up some using petty cash. The house beer we ended up ordering was not great & I was glad they were only $3.
When we received our food, my friend had a hair in the stuffing. The server immediately apologized & took the plate back to the kitchen. Since we were sitting next to the pass through window we could see 3 people checking out the plate instead of prepping another plate of food. It took a very long time for my friend to receive a new plate of food so I was left sitting to wait to eat mine, as I wasn't going to eat without her. It wasn't busy & there were at least 4-5 people in the kitchen, so it was confusing what took so long for them to prep a new plate. Once my friend got her new plate of food, it was disappointing to see she was given the turkey wing without the drum stick, & she had almost no meat. The server said my friend's meal would be comp'd for the hair, which was really nice, but they gave her the worse piece of the turkey. From here the meal was ok. All sides were cold, we couldn't taste any jerk flavour on the turkey & the stuffing was definitely not corn bread, tasted like a really well made stovetop stuffing. The rice & peas were good but where were the peas. The Calallou & pumpkin was ok but very woody. I think the stalks & leaves may have been cooked together at the same time & the stalks didn't have enough to time to break down. The gravy was alright but such a small amount given. The sorrel cranberry sauce was, hands down, the best thing on the plate. It had really great flavour & a nice consistency.
Overall, the server was really nice but the food & "house" beer were disappointing. Might give tropikal another try & order from the main menu but won't make it a priority to return. Feels like the focus is more on the night life/bar vs. a restaurant.
The food was really good. I ordered the Mac & cheese with oxtail, jerk wings & the Grandma’s Punch cocktail. The Mac & cheese tasted great but it was kind of small for 24 dollars. The wings were delicious. My drink was good as well. Overall the restaurant & atmosphere were great 😊.View more
Loved the music & atmosphere. The food was great, flavourful!! Very small portions for the price you pay.View more
Service here is pretty long & the spicy food is ULTRA SPICY like will burn a hole in your mouth spicy. I found the level of spice took away from the food's taste. For reference I'm African & used to spice, but this was wayyy too muchView more
We came here on a Saturday night for a birthday dinner. The server we had was incredibly friendly & sweet - the smoke never came off her face. We loved this. The music & interior of this restaurant are also very nice. The food itself was delicious. The portion sizes & prices are decent, especially for the ByWard Market. The only reason I’m giving four stars is that the service was very slow, & the place wasn’t even very busy. I know this is a relatively new spot, so I imagine this will improve over time.View more
Not sure what happened. We attended Tropikal in June on a double-date & everything was fantastic!! We all shared the jerk calamari, coconut shrimp, Rasta Pasta, oxtail poutine, griot & the rice & peas. My hubby wanted to go back for his bday but last night everything changed. We had the jerk & spicy mango wings, they were great! One of our party had the oxtail tacos, & said they were really good but the Rasta Pasta was completely different this time around. In June it was reddish in colour, nice & spicy.
This time it was bright yellow (maybe curry), not as spicy & a different taste. My husband only took 2 bites, didn’t like it & was disappointed because he ordered it based on having it last time. Peas & rice were good but the griot this time had no flavour & really greasy. The Mac & cheese was okay, the jerk poutine was good.
The service was also very slow & the restaurant was not busy, two groups, 4 at the bar & us. Based on the last experience, we told everyone we know to check it out, the atmosphere is always sweet. Not sure we want to go back, may try it one more time & try other things, because we always want to support.View more
Eraine
Beautiful brunch on the patio. Exceeded our expectations . Chef Jae Anthony came to check on our table personally to ensure all was good. We sampled most items on the menu...mouthwatering experience. Presentation was beautiful. Thanks
Allyshia
Our food came late, however, the bill was insane when I've never spent that much money per person. I've been to gourmet restaurants & spent less.
Tropikal delivered a meal worth remembering. A combination of traditional Caribbean spice that warms the soul & modern twists that enhance the flavour without overwhelming it.
Two of us shared an Ox Tail platter & Jerk Chicken that proved to be a perfect portion (we took some home).
If you’re lucky enough to sit at the bar, Matt’s service rounds out the experience with playful charm & perceptive attentiveness to his customers. After mentioning we weren’t interested in an Alcoholic Beverage, Matt crafted a Blueberry Colada mocktail that I hope makes it to the menu one day.
10/10 would recommend!View more
Darryl
Overall amazing! Table a little wobbly on the patio; would prefer to hear your music rather than the music from other restos across the road, if possible.
Server was kind & attentive, would be helpful to train to know details of exactly what goes into certain things on menu, eg callaloo from wikipedia:
Callaloo is a very nutrient rich, dark green leafy vegetable that is very popular in the Caribbean. It is comparable to collard greens, kale or spinach & is served mainly as a breakfast item.
... I didn't know that :)