Callaloo - Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Analicia Lue

Visited this restaurant because we were looking for dinner being from out of the area. Glad we found this place! The food was delicious and authentic. I have had many Trinidadian dishes before since I am half Trinidadian and the food certainly did not disappoint. Will definitely come back when in the area again. We had buss up shut, spicy beef, doubles, wings and curry chicken. The in house pepper sauce was also delicious, I had to buy a bottle to gift to my parents and they loved it.

A

First time having Trinidadian food and didn’t know what to expect. Everything was SOOO good. Portions are hefty.

The place is quite small and appeared packed when we arrived. Luckily, we were able to get a table right away (the only one available).

I wish I lived closer. Will definitely be back to try more of the menu.

Cathy W (Cat)

I came by here with my friends to try out this place. Surprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed but left with a great satisfied smile.

I street parked my car nearby as I didn’t see a designated parking lot for this restaurant. Once we entered, we were greeted and quickly arranged our tables and seats. Their service was great. We wanted a dish that is not in the menu and the chef came out to confirm that he can still make that dish for us. Amazing! Really doing above and beyond to their customers.

We ordered char siu pork belly over rice and the wings sampler. Both dishes taste very good.

The place itself isn’t that big, so if you have a big party, maybe it’s best to make your reservation ahead of time.

megan burt

After reading reviews and looking over the menu, my family of 3 decided on this restaurant. All the food was authentic and fresh. The double was really delicious with all the layers coming together for one of those perfect bites. The bao buns were fluffy and the chicken inside of them was amazing. Kimchi fried rice was spicy and probably my favorite. The chicken curry was very hearty and lightly flavored, not spicy. I added their in house hot sauce for a kick. We will be back ! I recommend this place 100%
Parking was tricky for us out of towners.
Possibly call ahead to check for seating. They were really busy around 6:30pm.

Austin Boley

I had to check out Callaloo before they shut down for a few months at the end of December.

It’s a tiny little place on the corner of North Mulberry and West Lemon streets in Lancaster serving Trinidadian food. I strongly recommend getting the Buss-Up-Shut dinners, which is a choice between curried veggies, curried chicken or curried beef. Now you can also add the Buss-Up-Shut to any meal for an additional charge.

The Buss-Up Shut is bread that is used to eat the curry meal called paratha roti. It’s a flatbread that is layered in butter and beaten into pieces resembling a busted up shirt hence the name.

The curried chicken was incredibly flavorful and loaded with potatoes, chickpeas, roasted pumpkin and cilantro. It went perfect with the paratha.

Carl Octavo

Having never ate Trinidadian Food, I was excited to try out this place. And they did not disappoint. The vegetable curry had a lot of weight to it, was very well seasoned and flavorful, and went amazing with the buss shut up. The curry wasn’t mushy at all, and was truly a great dish. The curry wasn’t watery and was quite thick.

The Spicy Pepper Beef was also very good. I wouldn’t say it was spicy, but was sweet and also exploding in flavor. While the beef was slightly chewy, the sauce it is in is truly amazing. Eating rice and the buss shut up in the sauce was my favorite part of the meal. Another amazing dish here.

Along side the entrees, they gave 3 sauces. The habanero sauce was the spiciest thing here, but I wouldn’t eat it with my two entrees since they are already strong in flavor. The garlic sauce was nice and creamy. But I honestly couldn’t remember the third sauce.

Overall I truly enjoyed my first time here, and would gladly eat here again. Especially to try the jerk chicken and whatever specials they offer.

Update: This has been one of my favorite restaurants in Lancaster. The Pork Belly with Kimchi Fried Rice is another great dish. Tender juicy pork over rice was really good. The pork was well seasoned and the rice was loaded with pieces of kimchi.

But their Korean Fried Chicken was easily their best dish. Only offered as a special, I got it three times and enjoyed it each. With no other places offering Korean Fried Chicken in the area, it was nice having it as a option here. Super crunchy, a sweet and spicy sauce, juicy hefty pieces of chicken made it my favorite here. Easily one of the best dishes I’ve had while living in Lancaster.

Mary Ditzian

This place is dynamite. A small hole in the wall turned out to be amazing. Logan was our server, and he was very attentive and really catered to us. We wanted to try everything on the menu,however, there was only room for so much. We decided on the Korean Fried Chicken and Fried Chicken Bao Buns. Both were very tasty and very well balanced with seasoning and spice. I tried their habanero lime-aide. Sweet and spicy. It was very refreshing. Dinner was really delicious, too. I had the Coconut Jerk Chicken. The sauce was amazing. I ate it with a side of Buss-Up Shut. My husband ordered the Rack and Mac. Both were tasty. A nice track of Baby Back Ribs with their jerk seasoning rub and homemade Guava BBQ sauce on it, and it comes with Mac and cheese on the side. It's the baked kind and it's just the way I make it at home. For dessert, they were out of a couple of things, so we ordered the key lime pie. It was good. I'm not really a dessert person, but I had a bite and it was deliciously sweet with nice Graham cracker crust. Needless to say, we'll be back for more. I want to try the Pineapple Chow next time. Their portions are nice, so come with an appetite.

Mz. Copeland

I dined here for a birthday dinner. The restaurant is extremely small. Upon walking in, I was expecting the savory smell of Caribbean/Trini food to hit me but I smelled nothing. The hostess and servers were okay, nothing outstanding about the service. Unfortunately and to my disappointment the food was mediocre at best. The food was reasonably priced.