Mangrove

The line between who works at Mangrove and who’s a paying customer is a blurry one. Staff members in knit sweaters with loud patterns greet returning guests (likely dressed in similar funky attire) with the kind of affection reserved for a favorite cousin. If it's your first time here, your server might ask you for your name, and it’s not because they’re con artists trying to sell you something like the rest of Miami. They’re just a friendly crew that knows a good time. This Downtown Jamaican spot is a properly fun dinner option that doesn’t involve champagne sparklers or $27 chicken tenders. 

Your experience at Mangrove is based on what time you arrive. If you want a relaxed dinner, you’re here early (that means 6:45pm in these parts), sharing a spread involving whole fried snapper and jerk chicken. But to experience what this place is all about, plan for a later dinner that transitions into dancing.

At 10pm, the kitchen closes, tables are scooted off to the side, the turntables come to life, and Mangrove's groovy lounge persona takes shape. By this point, the playlist gets bumpy and you’re 1.5 cocktails away from doing the worm. If you’re not the dancing type, stay home. Just kidding. You got this. The dance floor feels like a friend of a friend’s living room.  

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

Hopefully, you’ve gathered that the atmosphere is the main draw here. Nonetheless, we do find ourselves lusting after the food. You can count on all the meats—from the curry oxtail to the wet-jerk wings—to slip off the bone. The jerk mac and cheese looks like a mini witch’s cauldron with gooey cheese dripping from its sides and enough chunks of slightly spicy jerk chicken to split evenly between four. And even though the rasta pasta is cooked past the point of al dente, we forgive it because Sister Nancy is playing and the cocktails are refreshing enough to make you contemplate early retirement. 

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

Since Mangrove has a front operation called Jrk! that serves casual Jamaican food, the temptation to call this semi-discrete disco a speakeasy might arise. However, we’re way past the Prohibition era and this place isn’t trying to hide from anyone. Reservations are hassle-free and the massive windows make it easier to spot than a Lamborghini with a neon green paint job in Brickell. So the next time you want a dinner that’s less abrasive than a clubstaurant, but more exciting than your go-to weeknight spots, come to Mangrove.

Food Rundown

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

Red Red Wine

This drink is a sunset view on the beach in liquid form. Rum is blended with Jamaican sorrel and ginger. Start here.

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

Rough Gal' Wings

These tender jerk wings put your annual Super Bowl halftime bucket of chicken drumsticks to shame. Prioritize the wet jerk over the dry jerk because they’re more fun to eat—you’re doing it right if your hands are lathered in sauce (don’t worry, wet wipes are provided).

Hot Patties

The site of a bright yellow, semicircular pastry might take you back in time to a middle school cafeteria. But you snap out of it as soon as you take a bite of this one. The patties here are flaky, meaty, and the perfect preview that gets you amped for the rest of your night at Mangrove.

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

Jerk Mac & Cheese

Like a good french onion soup, the mac and cheese comes in a cast iron pot with a layer of cheese draped over it like a veil on a bride. The best way to eat it is to plunge your spoon all the way to the bottom to ensure there’s jerk chicken and macaroni in every bite.

photo credit: CLEVELAND JENNINGS / @EATTHECANVASLLC

Curry Oxtail

The generous portion of oxtail swims in a thick jacuzzi of curry that you should pour all over the side of rice. The oxtail falls off the bone as drops of curry fall on your favorite pair of corduroys.