Caribbean Hole-in-the-wall

Mon-Sat:11:00 AM-10:00 PM
Sun:11:00 AM-9:00 PM

Easy street parking or take the Red Line to JFK/UMass stop

Enormous, filling, irresistible roti. Split one with a friend or finish it for lunch the next day.

Roti is the Trinidadian twist on the food Indians brought to the Caribbean when they came as indentured servants in the mid-1800's. It's a soft, chewy, lightly spiced sort of pastry-like, wrap (roti literally means bread), bursting with your choice of meat, shrimp, or vegetable curries. Meat options include chicken, beef, and goat, among others. Veggie lovers dream about the aromatic chickpea, pumpkin, green bean, and potato fillings. Hot sauce and sweet and tangy tamarind sauce is available to pack even more flavor into your roti. Doubles, only $1.50 each, are smaller roti stuffed with chickpeas. Polourie are balls of fried dough, 8 for $1.00. Treat your taste buds by requesting either with kuchela (spicy mango) sauce. Desserts and snacks include red mango, tamarind balls, and coconut rolls.

Soda; bottles of West Indian drinks such as passion fruit and mango.

One table and one tiny counter

A friendly hole-in-the-wall, run by Ricky and Kay Singh, who bring us authentic tastes from their home country. Faithful patrons include West Indians, others from the neighborhood, and employees of nearby businesses. Decorations are minimal, limited to the colorful assortment of items for sale lining the walls: DVDs, spices, curry powders, and about 10 different kinds of hot sauce.

With all the cooking going on in the open kitchen, and no AC, Singh's can get a little steamy in the summer months. Come prepared for the heat or get take-out and bring your roti down Columbia Road to eat by the water.