Rainbow Caribbean Cuisine

29 King Street East
Kitchener, Ontario

519-579-2618

In her opinion:
I have wanted to try this restaurant for a while now. I have never had roti and have been curious about it for some time. So Rainbow Caribbean Cuisine was the place to experience this specialty. 

We walked into a large, very clean room filled with people clearly enjoying their meals. This is a cafeteria style restaurant manned by four lovely West Indies ladies who made running this restaurant look like a well choreographed dance.

After scouting the menu for a couple of minutes, I knew exactly what I wanted...roti of course. But what filling? After a little chat with one of the staff, I picked the beef curry filling. I ordered a side salad with it - my choice was the macaroni salad!

It was a large "pita or wrap" style sandwich. The roti itself was delicious. Definitely more flavourful then a regular tortilla or flatbread. The filling was out of this world good. It was reminiscent of all my Caribbean holidays and brought back very good foodie memories! The flavours of the East and West combine in a delicious expression of flavour! The roti was served with two sweet fried plantains. So so good! The macaroni salad was excellent. Again transporting me back to many Caribbean holidays. 

Rainbow Caribbean is a cheap alternative to having exceptional Caribbean food without actually taking a holiday in the Caribbean! I would recommend Rainbow Caribbean Cuisine to anyone who enjoys the food of the West Indies. It provides fresh, good food at very fair prices.


In his opinion:

If you ever need to experience the full Caribbean warmth and hospitality, as well as some of its food but the bank account doesn't allow for international travel...we have the right alternative. Rainbow Caribbean Cuisine is the answer to all of the above. 

The most important thing about Rainbow Caribbean is that eating here is much more than just a good Caribbean meal, it's an experience! The staff is super friendly and attentive and make you feel like you are a regular even if it's your first visit.

The ambience is unapologetically West Indies with all its colour, vibrance and welcoming. Last but not least the food is authentic and done just like it's prepared in the many Caribbean islands that I have had the pleasure of vacationing in.

This restaurant is set-up in a cafeteria style with a large extensive menu on the wall behind the counter and the prepared food displayed behind the glass. One of the attractions is definitely the roti which has its own section on the menu. Roti (wrap/bread made from stoneground wholemeal flour) is traditionally a South Asian dish, predominantly from India and surrounding countries but this version was the Caribbean one, most likely from Trinidad and Tobago.

The menu also boasts other Caribbean traditional flavours like jerk chicken, goat and beef curries, Jamaican patties, oxtail, lots of plantain and beef with cow foot soup! Regardless of some of the oddly named dishes, there is something for everyone in this infinite selection.

I decided to have the "Small Plates" special with jerk chicken, served with hot sauce all over the chicken, rice and beans, plantain and the staff even included a piece of oxtail, just enough to get a taste. The chicken was full of flavour, not extra spicy like I remembered from having it in Jamaica but with enough kick for the average person. The rice with beans was absolutely delightful, light and full of flavour helped with a healthy dose of sauce covering it. The plantain was perfectly cooked and the macaroni salad was unfortunately the only disappointment of the meal. Honorable mention goes to the oxtail, majestically cooked and one of the best ones I have ever had.

Although it is some version of fast food, Caribbean Style, this restaurant boasts enough warmth and excellent choices to make it an honorable mention in the downtown Kitchener food scene, giving it the "spice" it needs.

The Good: Great authentic Caribbean food with bursts of flavour in every bite, coupled with wonderful staff and atmosphere.
The Bad: Gets busy quick, line ups can be long and if you are familiar with  "Island Time", speed of customer service can be daunting.
The Verdict: A definite change from the mundane usual downtown spots. The authenticity and warmth of the food and people will ensure the line-ups continue on end. It's good to have so many good, tasty choices at your finger tips. Great spot for eat in or take out.

I give it 2 1/2 out of 5 Olives as rating