Marla's Caribbean Cuisine
Restaurant, Caterer
Hours
Profile
$ - inexpensive
Caribbean
Cozy Trinidadian restaurant in South Minneapolis
Marla's second Minneapolis restaurant, specializing in Caribbean ( specifically Trinidadian ) cuisine. Jerk tofu, curries, pelau, brown down, samosas, and doubles, that can be made ( or are already ) vegan.
Marla is often in the restaurant herself, and is quite willing to customize dishes. All diners are encouraged to offer suggestions to better the menu.
Starting in September, Marla has added a lunch buffet that usually offers at least three vegan items.
Right off the 14 and 23 bus lines.
- Large Group-Friendly
- Wireless (free)
Added by elliotwinner on Jul 3 (updated Sep 18)
Reviews
Marla's has two locations - one is Indian and Caribbean, and the other is only Caribbean food. This is the Caribbean only location. The roti is wonderful, and the jerk is very spicy. The service was a bit slow, but I will definitely be going back.
Good. Was better the first few times we went, after that no matter how spicy we asked (Even going for "Indian Hot") it kept getting sweeter and more like ketchup for every sauce. No plans to go back, there are better Indian restaurants in the TC but def worth a look, especially if you don't care how spicy the dish is.
This new Marla's restaurant is a nice addition to the Indo-Caribbean fare already around. My Jerk Tofu with dalpourie was super-spicy (maybe too spicy, even for this Indian-American) and extremely filling. It was basically a Caribbean burrito---lightly fried tortilla stuffed with onions, cabbage, green peppers and a spongy, fluffy type of tofu, spiced with black pepper and who knows what else. It was cheap at $8, especially considering the quantity of food.
My problem with the food, however tasty it was, is that a dish like this quickly gets boring after seven or eight bites. There's no surprise left to the flavors you'll encounter. And the portion size is so large that it becomes hard to justify eating the whole thing. Sadly, I don't think a dish like this would re-heat well, mostly because the tortilla would get soggy (I have the same boredom problem with the other major Indo-Caribbean joint, Harry Singh's). Smaller portion sizes, and maybe offering a side dish or salad along with the main plate, would make the food here more interesting.
The service was friendly but very slow and inattentive. I finally had to get up and force the attention of an employee so I could pay my bill.
This place has no ambience. Though it's only a few months old, it looks completely decayed and drab. The furniture is all old (and not in a retro, funky way) and the restaurant itself is littered with debris and odds and ends. The place looks like a cluttered, dingy 1970s wood-paneled rec-room, temporarily converted into a space for a birthday party. It was depressing to be in there.
Also, while I appreciate that Marla's opened up in an economically-depressed area, this also means that I'm not sure how safe the neighborhood is. There are a lot of shady-looking characters at that corner and I felt extremely worried about my bike, which I locked to a bus stop pole in front of the restaurant. I was constantly checking up on it. If you're coming in a group, make sure to take a car, as that pole is the only place to "safely" lock up your bike, and even then you should keep a close eye on it.
This place has lots of room to improve but, on a whole, it's a good addition to Minneapolis.