Did you know that there is a place where you can get authentic Jamaican food in Martinsburg? What a time to be alive! Vybz Kitchen & Grill is a new spot that just opened up, operating out of the Thrift Sisters Thrift Shop off of Welltown Road. It may not look like much from the roadside, but they are serving up traditional Jamaican cuisine like jerk chicken, ox tail, rice and peas, and grilled veggies. The island vibes are strong in the heart of Martinsburg!
Price 💲💲 out of 5
Everything at Vybz is priced very fairly, and the portion sizes are more than reasonable. For three medium entrees (that were plenty, trust me) and three of their fresh and healthy juices, the total came out to about $40. These plates will keep you full for a day. The meat entrees come with rice and peas, plantains, as well as cabbage, and the grilled veggies also come with the same sides. More than enough to fill you up for quite a while!
Ambience 🧑🍳🧑🍳🧑🍳🧑🍳out of 5
You can find good food in all kinds of unassuming places. Vbyz doesn’t have any indoor seating, and they only have a couple picnic tables outside of the thrift shop. This is definitely more of a pick-up spot, as many people just stopped in to grab their food and take it home. Even with that, the employees of both Vybz and Thrift Sisters are so nice and fun to be around. Jamaican culture is truly special, and as someone who has been to the island, I can attest that they are some of the nicest and most jovial people you will ever come across. This is real Jamaican food being cooked and prepared by real Jamaicans!
Food 🥩🥩🥩🥩 out of 5
Let’s get down to the food, I’ll cover the meat entrees and Marysol has got you from a vegetarian perspective!
Jerk Chicken – my biggest complaint with a lot of ethnic food in this country is that it caters to the palate of Americans who do not handle spice well. Jerk chicken is not supposed to be sweet or mild. It is supposed to be spicy, with Caribbean spices and peppers kicking your tastebuds into overdrive. While the chicken itself wasn’t overly spicy, they provided us with a jerk sauce and a hot sauce and it was actually spicy. It will definitely clear out your sinuses in the best way, and I was very happy to see that they didn’t hold back.
Ox Tail – here is where I did have a complaint. While the ox tail flavors were perfectly on point, I do feel like they were extremely small and a lot of bone. I have had some very meaty ox tail in other areas around here, and while the Jamaican flavor was absolutely perfect on these, the size of them was a bit disappointing.
Veggie Medley – this consisted of a vibrant medley of fresh vegetables cooked to crispy perfection with premium island herbs, served with rice & peas.
If you don’t know by now, though I am a pescatarian, I will remain a foodie for life. Believe me when I say I was super excited to try the flavors and spices of VybzJuice, especially since it was my first time eating Jamaican cuisine. It was so so so good, and filling. I still have not recovered from the fullness in my belly. They aren’t kidding when it comes to flavor, and I got to try two of their homemade signature sauces. One was a Jamaican jerk sauce, so even without sacrificing a chicken, I was still able to enjoy it! Another was a homemade spicy sauce that, to me, came with a punch, but in flavor and not heat. Thankfully, my Latina roots helped me take that one on with no problem! My favorite part of the dish, besides the flavor, was definitely the plantains! I couldn’t get enough of them! Boy, were they delicious and not mushy at all!!!
Drinks 🧃🧃🧃 out of 5
Pineapple Sunshine 8oz– This simple blend of pineapple, apples, and ginger delivers tropical flavor that’s packed with vitamin C and bromelain for immune boost, digestion aid, and anti-inflammatory benefits. A perfect fresh vegan juice for energy and wellness.
That’s right, I had to try a juice too, a vegan/veggie staple. My grandma is the juice queen. Before I could walk, she had us drink our “morning juice,” so finally finding a place that sells them fresh was super nostalgic and tasty! I will be taking my grandma here for sure to try them! Now, I am not a big ginger girl; I feel like that flavor takes over completely, but not this time! It was the perfect blend of all nutrients and fruits. I had my mind set on their “Beet It Up” juice, but it was sold out by the time we got there, so it will for sure be on my list next time!
Experience ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5
Overall, we were very happy with our experience at Vybz. They truly know how to cook Jamaican cuisine, and the vibes (pun intended) were exceptional. They are some of the nicest people we have encountered since starting on this Foodies journey. The one criticism I would have is to get some bigger, meatier ox tail. If you are in the area, I would highly suggest checking them out!