For a seated jerk meal, start with Peppa Thyme or Murray's Fish and Jerk Hut, both on Constant Spring Road. Peppa Thyme has the wider jerk menu of the two, and Murray's sells its chicken by the quarter, the half or the whole bird. For a roadside plate, Red Hills Road in St. Andrew is the area with recent coverage of jerk chicken vendors.
Seated jerk on Constant Spring Road
Peppa Thyme is at 152 Constant Spring Road in Kingston 8. Its menu goes well beyond chicken: jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk chicken sausage and jerk pork sausage, plus rum ribs, wings, soups, seafood, sides, drinks and a bar. The Jamaica Tourist Board names Pepper Thyme as a Kingston jerk choice, and the restaurant spells it Peppa Thyme. It is open Tuesday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed on Mondays. Call 876-630-8131, 876-630-8620 or 876-648-7658.
Jerk is cooked over wood or charcoal, and the smoke is part of the method.
As of October 2026, jerk chicken is J$1,200 (about US$8), jerk pork is J$1,250 (about US$8), jerk chicken sausage is J$1,450 (about US$9) and jerk pork sausage is J$1,700 (about US$11). Those are plate prices, not quarter, half or pound prices, so do not read J$1,200 as a quarter.
Murray's Fish and Jerk Hut is at Di Lot, 33 Constant Spring Road, and it is open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Its menu covers jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk sausage, jerk rabbit, roasted jerk fish and jerk meals. As of October 2026, jerk chicken is J$1,400 (about US$9) for a quarter, J$2,800 (about US$18) for a half and J$5,000 (about US$31) for a whole chicken. A jerk meal, a quarter portion served with rice and peas and vegetables, is J$1,600 (about US$10). Jerk pork and jerk sausage come at J$1,500 (about US$9) a quarter, J$3,000 (about US$19) a half or J$5,000 (about US$31) a pound. The sides are rice and peas at J$350 (about US$2), vegetables at J$400 (about US$3), festival at J$300 (about US$2), bammy at J$500 (about US$3) and fries at J$500 (about US$3). The Kingston number is 876-594-2888. A 2025 Jamaica Observer profile of the family behind the business places it in Kingston.
Confirm before you go, including which payment methods each place takes, and carry Jamaican cash as a backup.
Jerk in Kingston 10 and New Kingston
Kingston Jerk is at 2 Chelsea Avenue in Kingston 10, near New Kingston. In 2026 it has advertised lunch service, buffet events and wild-meat events. The menu includes jerk chicken, jerk pork, fish, curry goat, roti, BBQ pigstail, pasta and chicken kebabs. Hours generally run from 11 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and the closing time changes by day. The phone number is 876-672-5375.
Jerk chicken is often ordered with festival on the side.
Janga's Soundbar & Grill is at 22 Belmont Road in New Kingston. It serves jerk chicken, jerk pork, seafood and wings alongside cocktails, so it is the choice if you want jerk with drinks and nightlife. It is open Monday to Thursday from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. As of October 2026, a jerk chicken quarter is J$1,800 (about US$11).
One Park Restaurant & Lounge is at 1 Park Close in New Kingston. Its jerked chicken quarter, called Park Fire, comes with rice and peas and coleslaw for J$2,200 (about US$14) as of October 2026. Lunch runs Monday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the restaurant also serves evening meals and takeout. Call 876-619-1463 for the current hours.
Roadside jerk and pan chicken on Red Hills Road
Red Hills Road in St. Andrew is the roadside area with recent coverage. In October 2023 the Gleaner profiled a jerk chicken vendor working along the road, and the same report refers to street-food vendors on South Parade downtown. Roadside vendors can move, rotate their days or stop operating, so use the nearest recognisable landmark when giving directions, and check that a vendor is set up before you make a special trip. Prices change with the vendor and the portion, so ask the price and portion before you buy. The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation says that people carrying on specified trades or businesses need a trade licence.
Pan chicken is cooked over a jerk pan or an improvised charcoal grill.
Portmore, in St. Catherine
Portmore is in St. Catherine, so allow extra time for traffic if you are coming from central Kingston. Yah Suh Nyce Jamaica is at 3A Braeton Parkway. It is a Jamaican kitchen and cocktail bar open daily from 8 a.m., and as of October 2026 its jerk chicken tacos are J$1,950 (about US$12). Gempie's Gazebo is at Lot 4 Port Henderson Road, Back Road, a Jamaican restaurant with a sports-bar setting where jerk chicken is among the popular items.
Portmore is in St. Catherine, so allow extra time for traffic.
What jerk chicken costs
Murray's, Janga's and One Park each price a quarter, but One Park's includes rice and peas and coleslaw, so it is not a like-for-like comparison. Peppa Thyme and Mama Chu Chu Restaurant in Kingston price jerk chicken by plate or size, not by quarter, half or pound, so compare those by size.
More jerk and barbecue in Kingston and St. Andrew
Jack's Jerk Chicken & Soup Stop is a Jamaican restaurant in Kingston that serves jerk and barbecue. It is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Miss Edith Jerk Café Snack and Bar is a grill and bar in Castleton, St. Andrew, with jerk and barbecue on the menu. It is open Monday to Wednesday and Sunday from 11:45 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Thursday from 11:45 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 11:45 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., and Saturday from 11:45 a.m. to midnight.
Kavalli's Jerk Pit Entertainment Center is a Jamaican restaurant at 77 Mountain View Avenue in Kingston, with jerk and barbecue food and an entertainment centre.
The Rib Kage Grill is a barbecue restaurant at 29 Barbican Road in Kingston that serves jerk. It opens daily at noon and closes at 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday and at 8 p.m. on Sunday.
Planning your jerk stop
Decide first whether you want a seated meal, a bar with food, or a roadside plate, because each one suits a different part of town. Both Constant Spring Road spots serve jerk pork as well as chicken, and Peppa Thyme also has rum ribs, wings and seafood, so a mixed group can eat well there even if not everyone wants jerk. The Constant Spring Road pair and the New Kingston restaurants keep set hours, which makes them the easier choice for a planned evening. Murray's is open every day of the week, while Peppa Thyme is closed on Mondays, so Murray's is the Constant Spring Road spot that covers a Monday.
For more on the roadside side of the city, read Pan Chicken and Late-Night Jerk in Kingston, Jamaica. If you are deciding between meats, Jerk Pork vs Jerk Chicken in Jamaica: What to Order and Where compares them.
Finding more jerk in Jamaica
For jerk outside the capital, see Where to Get Jerk Chicken in Montego Bay, Jamaica and Boston Bay Jerk: Portland's Jerk Centres and Where Jerk Began. To find more places by parish, use the restaurant directory, the Kingston page, the St. Andrew page or the St. Catherine page for Portmore.
Common questions
Start with the kind of meal you want, then check the hours.
Where can I find the best jerk chicken in Kingston?
There is no single winner for the whole city, so choose by the kind of meal you want. Peppa Thyme and Murray's give you a seated meal on Constant Spring Road, Janga's and One Park suit a New Kingston dinner, and Red Hills Road is the roadside option.
How much does jerk chicken cost in Kingston?
As of October 2026, a quarter jerk chicken is J$1,400 (about US$9) at Murray's, J$1,800 (about US$11) at Janga's and J$2,200 (about US$14) at One Park, where rice and peas and coleslaw come with it. Peppa Thyme's jerk chicken is J$1,200 (about US$8) as a plate, not a quarter.
Where are the jerk pans in Kingston?
Red Hills Road in St. Andrew is the roadside area with recent coverage, and its vendors move around. For restaurant jerk, Constant Spring Road has Peppa Thyme and Murray's, and Chelsea Avenue has Kingston Jerk. Ask locally for the vendors working on the night you plan to go.
Is there a jerk centre near New Kingston?
Kingston Jerk at 2 Chelsea Avenue in Kingston 10 is close to New Kingston. Janga's Soundbar & Grill on Belmont Road and One Park on Park Close are both inside New Kingston, and Janga's is open until 1 a.m. Monday to Thursday and until 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
What is the difference between pan chicken and jerk chicken?
The Jamaica Tourist Board describes jerk as both a spice blend and a cooking style, usually built on pimento, thyme, scallion, onion, garlic and Scotch bonnet pepper, and cooked over wood or charcoal. Pan chicken is a roadside grilling tradition, cooked over a jerk pan or an improvised charcoal grill. Pan chicken can be jerk-seasoned, but the two terms are not automatically the same, so ask the vendor whether the chicken is jerk-seasoned and what sides come with it.