{"id":348395,"date":"2026-06-05T19:08:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:08:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/348395\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T19:08:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:08:26","slug":"the-caribbean-restaurant-wave-is-finally-cresting-in-los-angeles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/348395\/","title":{"rendered":"The Caribbean Restaurant Wave Is Finally Cresting in Los Angeles"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Kerline Ordeus launched her cooking class series Haitian Knockout Kitchen<\/a> in October 2025, she didn\u2019t know it would become one of the most sought-after seats in Los Angeles. The Haitian-born Ordeus moved to Los Angeles from the Midwest in 2020 and found herself yearning for flavors from home, only to find a sparse selection of Haitian restaurants in Southern California. Just under eight months later, 150 people joined a waitlist for one of 10 slots at Ordeus\u2019s June 14 class, eager to learn how to make green seasoning, peel and fry plantains, and properly marinate meat. Haitian Knockout Kitchen has become part of the contemporary tide of Caribbean restaurants and dining experiences<\/a> emerging throughout Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt shows there are people out there who want to be a part of this, experience something different, and are in search of community,\u201d says Ordeus. \u201cThere is a huge need for Caribbeaners in general to have a place like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unlike New York City or Miami, cities known for the vibrancy of their Caribbean diasporic communities, Los Angeles has only had a small concentration of Caribbean restaurants within its sprawl. More than 1.3 million Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Jamaicans, and more Caribbean diasporic communities reside in New York<\/a>; while 20 percent of Miami\u2019s population<\/a> was born in the Caribbean. In comparison, Los Angeles\u2019s Caribbean community lingers just below 30,000, which may explain the scarcity of Caribbean diasporic restaurants compared to communities that have a historic \u2014 and larger \u2014 presence here: Korean, Armenian, and Mexican, for example.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles\u2019s longstanding Jamaican, Belizean, and Cuban restaurants include Sherman Oaks\u2019 Coley\u2019s Original, a Jamaican restaurant open since 1982 (first in Leimert Park and currently in its longtime San Fernando Valley home); the nearly 20-year-old Tracey\u2019s Belizean in Exposition Park; and the popular Porto\u2019s, which has held down its Cuban bakery dominance over Los Angeles since the 1970s. But even with a few icons anchoring the scene, the prevalence of Afro- and Latin-Caribbean restaurants has remained small throughout the Southland and mostly localized to areas such as South Los Angeles and Inglewood.<\/p>\n

\"Dishes<\/a><\/p>\n

Dishes prepeared during a Haitian Knockout Kitchen cooking class. Haitian Knockout Kitchen<\/p>\n

That is, until the last few years. Fairfax\u2019s Lucia<\/a> became Los Angeles\u2019s first fine dining Caribbean restaurant in 2025, initially with a Jamaican-leaning menu from chef Adrian Forte (who departed months after opening) and now with a more Latin-Caribbean-focused lens from chef Cleophus \u201cOphus\u201d Hethington. Chef Alejandro Eusebio debuted Amiguita\u2019s Afro-Caribbean menu<\/a> in March 2026, while ABL<\/a> took center stage on April 22 with a compelling Jamaican-Chinese menu in Hollywood: Angelenos can find oxtail lo mein, jerk fried oysters, and orange-infused chen pi ji\u2013style wings here, among other dishes. Popular Jamaican soul food restaurant Tev\u2019s & Family Kitchen<\/a> opened a second location in Gardena in March after the smash success of its original South Los Angeles shop. In early 2026, Trinidadian Demrani Roti + Doubles<\/a> opened at the intersection of Venice Boulevard and Western Avenue.<\/p>\n

If tracing the inception of this wave, many would likely point to pandemic pop-up-turned-permanent restaurant Bridgetown Roti<\/a>, which takes its influences from Trinidadian, Jamaican, and Bajan food in dishes such as roti wraps, oxtail patties, and channa doubles.<\/p>\n

\"soft<\/a><\/p>\n

Soft shell crab cutter from Bridgetown Roti. Kat Thompson<\/p>\n

A note of disclosure: Bridgetown co-owner and chef is Rashida Holmes, my cousin. While I have no stake in her business and have never written about her for Eater (until today), it seems impossible to deny Bridgetown\u2019s impact since opening her East Hollywood restaurant in 2024. Though I bowed out of judging that year, the Eater Los Angeles team awarded her pop-up Restaurant of the Year<\/a> in 2021.<\/p>\n

Many food writers and critics have been tracking New York chef Kwame Onwuachi\u2019s career since he grabbed national attention on Top Chef in 2015. He\u2019s another force changing palates west of the Mississippi. In late April, Onwuachi furthered the conversation around Caribbean diasporic restaurants with Maroon<\/a>, a first-of-its-kind restaurant in the U.S.: his Afro-Caribbean steakhouse in the Sahara Las Vegas resort.<\/p>\n

Onwuachi takes an Afro-Caribbean approach to the classic steakhouse, reimagining it through flavors and foodways from Jamaica and the broader Caribbean diaspora. The restaurant is named after Jamaican Maroons who escaped slavery and set up their own communities in the island\u2019s mountains in the 17th and 18th centuries. Maroon\u2019s menu feels irreverent and ambitious<\/a> with curry goat agnolotti, jerk chicken, oxtail Wellington for two, and creamed coconut collard greens; dishes such as a rack of lamb and pork tomahawk get prepared over a custom-built jerk pit that acts as a centerpiece in the dining room.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m enjoying this ride of Caribbean flavors in the Southland and Southwest. Let\u2019s hope it continues.<\/p>\n

Read Eater Los Angeles\u2019s Caribbean restaurants map<\/a> for a vetted list of Caribbean diasporic dining throughout the city.There\u2019s so much to take in with Maroon. In case you missed it, Rebecca Roland\u2019s Eater Las Vegas opening story from May<\/a>.Caribbean and African foodways deeply influenced Southern cuisine in the U.S., so check out these soul food and Southern destinations<\/a> throughout the Southland. In 2022, Eater freelancer Anneliese Wilson penned an excellent story about how Creole restaurants came to Los Angeles<\/a>.