“Buffalo wings are nothing compared to this - even Jamaican people cry,” Federico, the manager at Rudie’s Boxpark warned us before we ate their spicy Boston chicken.
He was right – they are eye-wateringly hot.
Jamaican restaurant Rudie’s has just launched its second site at Boxpark, two years after the launch of its Dalston branch.
As you’d expect from the Boxpark shipping container, it’s a bit more basic down here in Shoreditch, and you get a seat on a first-come, first served basis. But if there’s not room inside, you can always eat out under the heat lamps, where it’s buzzing on a winter Saturday night.
Rudie’s boasts it’s “as much about drinking as eating”, and we started off by sampling the rum punches.
Guinness punch is like a fizzy Baileys, and there’s a tropical Blackwell rum punch variety, both £7.50.
You can barely taste the booze in either.
They’re unlimited at lunchtimes on Saturday and Sunday.
We then set about sharing some of Rudie’s tried and tested favourites, like its signature real jerk chicken.
Meat is marinated for at least 24 hours, and traditional jerk drums are used for cooking – with coal and wood chips rather than gas – adding a faint smoky flavour.
I’d never tried the national dish of saltfish with ackee (£7.50) before, but ackee turns out to be the fruit of a plant which bizarrely looks like scrambled egg.
It’s all a bit more casual in Boxpark than Dalston, and food is served in cardboard boxes here - meaning it’s a good option for takeaway lunch for all the workers in Shoreditch.
The Yardie Box comes with curry goat and rice and peas (£9.50), and veggie box Jah Love has ackee and sweet peppers, callaloo, fried plantain and rice’n’peas (£9.50).
The absolutely massive Boss Burger with two double jerk beef patties (£10).
For a lighter snack, roti wraps (£6.50) are a bit like a Jamaican tortilla, and come with curry goat, jerk chicken, jerk pork and callaloo & mushroom fillings.
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