Chris Jerk

2570 Birchmount Rd, Scarborough, ON M1T 2M5

Someone suggested Chris Jerk when my co-workers and I were trying to decide where to go to grab lunch one day at work (before covid-19 and working from home every day began). That was the first time I had heard of Chris Jerk so, naturally, I asked them about it. They had me at “jerk chicken shawarma”… Chris Jerk is a Caribbean bistro take-out restaurant near Birchmount and Finch in Scarborough that sells Caribbean and Middle Eastern fusion food. The owner, Chris Taylor, is a genius. I love Caribbean food and I love Middle Eastern food so combining them together sounded amazing to me.

My co-workers and I got to Chris Jerk before noon and there was already a line-up. I guess everyone knows how busy they get during lunchtime and also wanted to ensure that they would be able to order the jerk chicken shawarma before Chris Jerk runs out of it. Yup, that’s right…when Chris Jerks runs out of the jerk chicken shawarma on their single vertical spit, they don’t make any more for that day. Note: I heard they usually run out during the lunch rush. They will still have the traditional Caribbean food entrees, such as jerk chicken, curried goat, beef oxtail, and many other options though.

I ordered the jerk chicken shawarma wrap even though it was tempting to get the jerk chicken shawarma poutine, but I didn’t want to fall into a food coma at work afterwards. 😂 The jerk chicken shawarma looked pretty much like regular chicken shawarma, but with jerk seasoning. The meat was tender, juicy, and well flavoured – yummy! It was everything I had hoped it would be.

Since that first visit to Chris Jerk, I’ve been back a number of times and was able to try the jerk chicken entree, a piece of the beef oxtail, jerk chicken shawarma meal, and jerk chicken shawarma poutine. They are all delicious so you can’t go wrong no matter what you order. If I had to choose my favourite, it would be a tough choice, but I think I would choose the jerk chicken shawarma poutine because it is a mix of so many foods I love. I can’t promise I won’t change my answer the next time you ask me though. 😉