Operating out of a quaint home in St. Johns, Jamaica House serves a tight menu of Jamaican staples. This jerk joint is a fixture in the neighborhood, where the cooker outside teases cyclists and pedestrians from a distance, as the smoky jerk aromas get tossed by the wind in all directions. The jerk chicken here is the clear winner, with a bouquet of wood smoke and dry-rubbed earthy flavors. Jamaica House is now doing dine-in service as well as takeout, with outdoor picnic table seating, as well.

Jamaican Homestyle Cuisine adds yet another quality option for Jamaican dishes in Portland. After having little luck finding Jamaican food in Portland, Keacean Phillips decided to open a Jamaican food cart in 2014, and eventually found her way into a restaurant thereafter. Customers here have plenty of options for spicy and flavorful chicken or beef as well as curry goat and oxtail. The move is to order the saucy, fall-off-the-bone oxtails with a side of hazelnut-brown fried festivals. The restaurant is open for takeout and delivery via Grubhub, Caviar or Postmates.

Yaad Style has been putting out a full roster of Jamaican dishes on MLK Blvd since its opening date in the fall of 2016, but last year it came under new ownership. The quality and execution however, have not declined in the slightest. This menu stretches beyond typical jerk chicken plates and includes Jamaica’s national dish: ackee and saltfish. The traditional breakfast dish combines ackee, a tree fruit originating in West Africa, and salted cod, all fried up together with peppers, onions, and spices. This dish — along with most Jamaican dishes in general — is served alongside “rice and peas,” dumplings, and seasonal veggies. The restaurant is open for takeout and delivery, with very limited dine-in options.

Certainly the patriarch of the Caribbean food scene here in Portland, Pambiche continues to draw customers to its dine-in and patio service on Glisan, in the eastern end of Kerns. Owner John Maribona has been dazzling diners with rich and flavorful dishes from his own family recipes for two full decades now. Suffice it to say that all the items here are solid and time-tested, but it might just be the empanadas made in-house that would bring customers back for return visits. The rich and layered ropa vieja is worth an order, as well. Pambiche is also open for takeout.

Some of Cuba’s most delicious foods — Cubano sandwiches, croquetas, picadillo empanadas — are reliant on cheese or animal protein, be it in the form of ham, beef, or Swiss cheese. Miami Nice, however, specializes in completely vegan versions of these dishes, from cubanos stacked with mojo jackfruit and house-made meat-free ham, to crispy-fried empanadas filled with a briny soy picadillo. Miami Nice is open for outdoor seating, takeout, and delivery.

Bake on the Run one of the only options for Guyanese food, and it doesn’t disappoint. Guyana doesn’t always get considered in a conversation about Caribbean food, but its cuisine is very closely related to Trinidadian and Barbadian cuisines. The big hit here is the bake: a semi-sweet puff bread which is stuffed with savory options such as salted cod and eggs, or sweet choices like Nutella or berries. It can be found among the other carts at the Hawthorne Asylum food cart pod and is open Thursday through Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Portlanders might draw a line in the sand defending their favorite Cuban spot, and most are either in favor of Cubo or Pambiche. Cubo has been a contender in this space for a decade now and shows no signs of slowing down. It’s located on trendy Hawthorne Boulevard, and boasts a bright and colorful menu of Cuban treats, including tropical fruit-filled cocktails and mini-empanadas filled with guava and cream cheese. The spicy mojo shrimp — served with plantains, rice, and beans — is a particular standout. Cubo offers plenty of outdoor-only seating for the time being, but would-be diners should plan on a short wait for a table potentially stretching to a longer wait on warm weekends. Takeout is available, alongside delivery via Postmates.

Portland has a number of Cuban restaurants, but Palomar is one of the city’s only Cuban bars. Owner Ricky Gomez shakes and blends daiquiris of all styles here, from the subtle and sophisticated to the fruity and frozen, as well as mojitos, cuba libres, and other cocktails with Caribbean roots. Out of the kitchen, however, Palomar serves crispy-fried croquetas de jamon, smoky and bright camarones criollos, and a gorgeous, rich version of rabo encendido, or braised oxtails. Palomar is open for dine-in with combination air scrubbers and HEPA13 filters.

This newcomer delivers some fresh Cuban flavors in the heart of Oregon City. This small corner restaurant gives diners a feeling of cozy warmth and and features an array of cocktails to sip alongside spicy Cuban cuisine. The standout dish in this south-of-the-city restaurant is certainly the panko-breaded mahi-mahi, which is basted with a turmeric coconut milk reduction, and roasted with potato, stewed tomato, and garlic.