One of the reason's I was excited to go to Miss Lily's was because it's by the same people who own The Rockhouse Hotel in Negril, Jamaica - a place I went to years ago and loved. I loved it because it was not just a beautiful hotel but because the food, especially the jerk chicken, was amazing. Despite being open for a few years now, I had read that this place was still hoppin and where the "cool" kids go. When you walk in, it's quite dark and loud but in this funky way - you feel like you're kind of in a reggae hall in Jamaica with all the upbeat music and colorful decor (the tables are in the shape and design of records).
Our waitress was gorgeous and was wearing this crazy skimpy outfit that somehow still looked really cool. The menu is obviously Jamaican/Caribbean influenced with plantains, jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk salmon, oxtail, and curried goat. We started with the artichoke and callaloo dip ($14) - callaloo is a Caribbean dish that's mainly a green leafy vegetable. The dish was a good start although I did find the cheese part a bit coagulated by the time it reached out table. As for my main, what else would I get besides jerk chicken ($21)? It was 2 fairly large pieces of chicken on the bone with a cucumber salad, and rice and peas. The chicken was pretty moist and the marinate was sweet and spicy - I actually wanted it to be a bit spicy because I remember the ones I had in Jamaica being peel your face off spicy. I could see the cucumber salad being a nice cooling agent for the spice but I didn't really need it. We also had a side of plantains ($5) that were sweet and done right. While the food overall wasn't an exact replica of the food I had at The Rockhouse, it's probably the closest to authentic Caribbean food in NYC outside of being in Brooklyn around the Crown Heights/Prospect Heights area.
The most fun part was when we told them it was our friend Richelle's birthday and they cranked up the music, brought out sparklers and some weird shots. It was like a stripped down version of when you're at one of those ridiculous places like Lavo and they bring out the bottle service. The one bummer about this place if you're coming here for a birthday is that they don't have a liquor license - only beer, wine and soju, but it's still a pretty fun and affordable way to feel like you're miles away. Total bill: $82/pp with tax, tip and, drinks
Photo Credit: Yelp
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