Traphouse Caribbean

My husband and I visited The Trap House restaurant, a Black-owned spot in downtown Austin, Texas. When we first walked in, the restaurant felt very empty, and the tables needed to be cleaned. The music was decent, so we decided to give it a chance and ordered jerk chicken with macaroni and cheese, yams, two trap juices, and beef patties (one chicken and one beef). The food was absolutely amazing: • Trap Juice: 10/10 – incredible! • Jerk Chicken: 10/10 – perfectly seasoned and delicious. • Yams: 10/10 – sweet and flavorful. • Macaroni and Cheese: 10/10 – creamy and well done. Customer service was also great, a solid 5 out of 5. The staff was friendly and welcoming. While the food is the highlight of this restaurant, the atmosphere could use some work. The tables and restrooms weren’t clean, which took away from the overall experience. I’d rate the restrooms a disappointing 1 out of 10. In summary, The Trap House is an excellent spot for takeout if you’re looking for flavorful, well-made food. However, if you’re planning to dine in, be prepared for an underwhelming atmosphere. The food is on point, but the cleanliness of the space needs improvement.

Fast service and friendly staff. Terica was very helpful with making a choice on what to get. Great menu and price. This beef patty was so good. I should have brought more than one. Juicy and not dry plus great taste.

The restaurant is very cute! It's colorfully painted with cute decor, lighting, and a lot of seating. It was slow on Sunday evening when we went, and we were immediately greeted by Juan, who patiently answered all of our questions about the vegan vs vegetarian items and didn't defer to the menu where it's clearly listed lol. The food came out rather quickly (we ordered the jerk jackfruit plate with a side of cabbage and plantains, a jerk jackfruit phatty and 2 jerk jackfruit tacos), and the one plate was more than enough for 2. Everything was so good! I was surprised by the sides, which are normally not the highlight, but the cabbage was cared for in that kitchen, y'all lol. They offer hot sauce options for an additional spicy kick, but there was nothing missing from the recipe. I'll be back to order every vegan option and side.

Nice space steps from all the action, size inclusive seating, good for intimate and even has an area large groups could fit in. Jerk chicken, shrimp, and cabbage was sooo good. They have alcohol and do open late.

This place is a VIBE! I didn’t know what I was getting into but I love it and have so many more things to try off of their menu! Can’t wait to try everything 🤤 Pack-A-Bowl was amazing

Navi is The Best Ask For Her When You Come She Is The Dopest Person and Hostess Definitely Loved The Trap Juice and Hibiscus Mint Tea and All The Food Especially Them Phattys follow me on IG@acetruefreaktattootherapy

Wow! No need to say more but I will! We ordered the ox tail plate with sweet potatoes and plantains for sides. The ox tail was flavorful, served on a bed of rice and beans with carrots. Spices on point, melted in my mouth. The sides were scrumptious. I don't know what the sweet potatoes had but my taste buds were overwhelmed with pleasure. Terica was at the register, very friendly and helpful. You can take it to go or eat in. We will be back!!

Place was extremely cold, didn't eat meal comfortably. Am guessing place can't afford central a/c and heating. You'll be walking into an old beat down looking restaurant inside that does not have an inviting look into a comfy place. Old tables and steel chairs. If you've been to a hole in the wall restaurant in Mexico, you'll know what I'm talking about. Ordered oxtail plates. Meat had an aweful taste, like it had been recooked couple or several times already. My friend and I had sick stomachs the whole day into the evening.

I came across Trap House Caribbean & Seafood while walking downtown and had to check it out. The first thing that caught my eye on the menu was the oxtail patty, and wow--it was everything I hoped for and more. Tender, flavorful oxtail wrapped in a flaky, golden crust? Absolute perfection. Since it was happy hour, I also grabbed a beef patty and a jerk chicken patty (half-off steals!). Both were packed with bold Caribbean flavors, but the jerk chicken patty really stood out with just the right kick of spice. Trap House is doing something special with its creative menu items and authentic vibes. This isn't your average patty shop--it's a flavor experience. If you're craving something different or just love good Caribbean food, this is the spot. I'm already planning my next visit!

The food was on point. When we walked in had more of a club feel than restaurant. Dark lighting and loud (but good) music. Only a couple other peeps having dinner. Ordered the jerk chicken with sweet potatoes and coconut rice and greens along with a beef patty. The jerk chicken was exactly what you'd expect and the sweet potatoes were my favorite. Greens not complaints there. The beef patty to me could have been a thinner dough and meat spread out more. The service was great and they delivered to the table despite having a call number. Other than being caught off guard with the club like setting and the decor, the food was good. I'd return to the other items.

Quick summary: This just wasn't very good. Heard a lot of buzz about this place and tried to come before, but they were closed. So I made it a point to go after leaving the office. Ordered: Chicken patty - 3 Oxtail patty - 3 Oxtails - 2 Mac n cheese (they add + $2 for it) - 1 Collard greens with turkey - 2 Rum cake -2 Rating (1 = poor / 5 excellent) Spent ~$60.00. Felt like I ruined a great opportunity to have a great meal after blowing my calories here. It just wasn't very good and flavors were muted. Not what you'd expect from a Jamaican restaurant.

My new favorite Ubereats option at the moment. The oxtail plate and goat curry plate is absolutely delicious!!! The jerk chicken plate is good too but I like to order red meat whenever I order out. I really enjoy the cabbage and plantain sides. I can't comment on what it's like eating there but if you order on ubereats, the quality of food is consistent! It is a tad pricy but considering oxtail is about $20+ if you buy it at market, the $30 doesn't seem too bad. Highly recommend!

Was in the mood for jerk chicken and the place that I normally order it from was not taking orders so went with this ghost kitchen. You get a drumstick and thigh with plantains and rice. I picked the cabbage as my side. You don't get a side of curry sauce but you can order a portion for extra. The sides are generous. The jerk is a little more sweet and not as spicy as my typical place. I assume this is a different style. It was interesting sauce because you taste hints of raisin or plum in the sauce. The rice also had a nice coconut-y flavor so I definitely felt Caribbean influences. I do wish it was more spicy since I didn't get that hot lip after effect I was craving. As for price point - it's pretty fair and I felt pretty full and could have split it into two meals.

Come here all the time before I hit Rain. Love the food. The place can get a little hot if there's a lot of bodies in the restaurant. I have also tried the patties. My favorite is the jerk.

I love supporting Black owned businesses. I love good food. I would give this more stars if it were based on taste alone. The ox tails were flavorful and delicious, but if you notice in the picture, there was mostly bone. There wasn't enough meat altogether for a single forkful. It was beyond disappointing. I was still starving AFTER eating the super small meat serving that I received. The service was friendly and the music was pumping. It was the meat portion size for me.

This food was delicious! The service was friendly. And the vibes inside were pretty dope as well. I definitely recommend. I had an oxtail plate with sweet potatoes and cabbage. A beef phatty, and trap juice. I also tasted the loaded mac with chicken, the jackfruit phatty, and some churros. Every thing was so good! Jackfruit was a little spicy as well as the cabbage but nothing too overbearing. I do not tolerate spice at all! They sold out of the oxtail phatty which I really wanted to try and sold out of the rum cake. Again this meal didn't disappoint at all.

The Caribbean food stand at the Cuatro Gato bar on Colorado Street. Cuatro Gato used to have Venezuelan food. Now they have Caribbean food. I have no idea how the old Veneuzuelan stand was ... But Traphouse is absolutely positively outstanding. * * * A lot of the food served at "Sixth Street" bars is really really mediocre. The hamburgers at Casino El Camino are legendary. But in general, food stands and food trucks serve overpriced lousy stuff to people too drunk or too hungry to care. The food trucks at the corner of Red River and Sixth are an abomination. * * * Traphouse, in contrast, is in the circle of the saints - along with the aforementioned Casino El Camino. Most of the menu are Caribbean rarities it is hard to find elsewhere in Austin. Yeah, Trinidadian food trucks exist in some of the distant corners of our city if you go looking for them. But no one will confuse Austin with Miami as a source of great Island food. Traphouse in contrast, is first rate. * * * I dared to go boring and got macaroni and cheese. Macaroni and cheese at Traphouse is definitely positively NOT boring. Never mind the fact that the actual mac and cheese is very high quality ... Really good Ziti with an unusual mild cheese mix I could not identify. Hearty comforting fare. Traphouse serves four Island hot sauces on the counter to go with everything. I put Mabel's Hot Sauce on my mac and cheese. OH MY GOD Mabel's took that otherwise solid comforting macaroni and cheese and turned it into the edgiest most interesting dish ever. Mabel's is a Trinidadian food company that makes everything. You want mayo? They got it. You want spiced beans in a can? They got it. Etc. Etc. Their hot sauce is not even the most famous food product they sell. (It is not the equivalent say of Heinz Ketchup.) But Mabel's hot sauce is an eye opening revelation. My mac and cheese was already good. But the Mabel's made this a dish to remember totally. * * * I don't think much of Cuatro Gato as a bar. But Trap House makes a trip to Cuatro Gato an interesting proposition. After you are finished, you can go dancing next door at the eminently worthwhile Coconut Club. An open side door connects both establishments.

Talk about a hidden gem!! Don't know how long this place has been open, but as my first time was nicely surprised at the level of service and quality of food I received!! After seeing a review on IG (@thedaviddouglas), ordered online and within 27 minutes exactly my order was ready. The ease of ordering was perfection: functional site, be customiziable selections and built in SMS notifications. Love it!! Although parking is horrible, after circling the block three times I finally found a parking space. Was Immediately greeted by a young lady at the door. Food was picked up at the bar by a friendly face, and then once made it home, I dived in. Ordered a little of everything:, jerk chicken, oxtails, curry goat, three patties (chicken, beef, oxtails). All meals came with two sides so I tried them all: macaroni & cheese, cabbage, sweet potatoes, potato salad, rice and peas, and collard greens. EVERYTHING WAS GOOD, seriously! Favs: oxtails, beef patty, curry goat, sweet potatoes, and potato salad IN THAT ORDER. Only negatives were the curry goat was not a freshly hot like the order dishes (still tasty tho!!) and the oxtail patty was a complete rip off!! Not worth nearly $9 for the size. Also the cabbage was blah...could be seasoned better. Other than that, I will DEFINITELY return!

I had a jerk chicken taco which was delicious and an asada taco which was ok. Service was ok, not great not horrible. The music was upbeat and it appeared clean. I would go back for the jerk chicken taco but I'd probably get it to go. It wasn't a bad experience and it wasn't a great experience. It just wasn't inviting.

Went here for lunch shortly after they opened up so parking was really not an issue for me. I was able to get something in front of the building but it definitely is not easy to get parking in that area. They have lunch special where you can pack a bowl with various things and so I just went with whatever the recommendation was. So it was the shredded pork with the coconut rice and just loaded with everything. All the veggies, all the cheese and the trap sauce and the mojo sauce which I really enjoyed and it was a really good portion for the price. They also have half price fatties and that was a really good deal because I don't know if I'd really want to pay full price considering how small they were but everything I got was really good. I got one of everything except for the black bean and I enjoyed them all. The oxtail was probably maybe one of my favorites along with a jackfruit. I can't say what it is late at night, but during lunch time it was fine. It was a nice vibe. We had really friendly service. It does take a while to get your food made because I think they make everything from scratch, but I appreciate having something different in the downtown area and their food is delicious.

Ordered from doordash a bit after midnight so I'm going to assume they just put something together to get an order out. Chicken take like it was cooked in the oven the skin was still fatty and horribly chewy (almost inedible). The jerk sauce was interesting wasn't bad but left wanting more. Basic Mac n cheese. The coconut rice and peas !! Hardly close to authentic, used basmati rice and peas that wasn't ready. The taste was bland. Based on the photos here there is no consistency in rice they use. The plantains was good. The portions was good. I feel played as the doordash rate was high and this is what I got. Smh

A must stop spot in Austin, the best Caribbean food in the city and it's locally owned and operated! Great and friendly service. Super cute chill space to dine in and dance. Live DJ and karaoke on certain days and great happy hour prices! Highly recommend the phattys, Mac n cheese, oxtail, and trap juice. What can I say, I'm a thc addict! Thanks for being my munchie cure ya'll!

AMAZING FOOD. Like really I'm in awe. Got the oxtail plate on DoorDash and now I want to come back in person and eat everything else on the menu.

Food was good service was fast and friendly ambiance was nice they had some good music playing. Definitely worth it I definitely recommend this spot

Was in town for UT game decided to stop by around 930 pm. The vibe was great there was a live DJ. The young lady in the register was VERYheloful. She told us about the popular items, her faves and was realistic with food wait time. Everything came out in about 15 min. The food was fresh, well seasoned, great spice level as well. We had the curry chicken and curry goat with cabbage and plantain as our sides with jungle juice ( refreshing). Would recommend if in Austin looking for Caribbean try this place.

They have a great happy hour starting at 11 where I had two delicious tacos- one a vegan jerk jackfruit and a chicken taco. I was full and loved it. I grabbed my food to go home and it came out well packaged and quickly. The interior was empty and I went around lunch time. I can't believe I've been missing out on this.

Not sure what all the hype is about. This Caribbean wasn't Caribbean-ing. The jerk isn't real jerk, and the Rasta pasta is missing the Rasta. Being Guyanese I would like to think I know about good food and this ain't it. More like spicy bbq and, pasta, and the patty wasn't good either. The service is outstanding and the vibe is cool. But the food...I would never come back

The Jerk Chicken, Macaroni and Cheese and Collard Greens was phenomenal! It was definitely worth the wait! I would suggest this to anyone who loves Island and Caribbean food.

Ordered oxtails last night. Spicy, with a lot of cartilage, but I enjoyed it. Mac n cheese is not the kind made from bechamel or roux. It's made with penne and a couple steps above the Kraft deluxe.

The food is definitely mediocre, customer service okay not sure why it's called trap house rainbow house maybe definitely not trap house

Went in to find out this is a ghost kitchen location. Which is no problem. We ordered our food online. Ran into a minor hiccup. Though the item was labeled jerk jackfruit plate the description said chicken. So we called to really make sure we were getting jackfruit and no chicken. Also let them know about the error on the website. I went ahead and got 4 different phattys 2 vegan 2 meat as I was buying 2 strictly for me and 2 strictly for my spouse. They're the reason why this review is 4 instead of 5 stars. No one in the kitchen bother to label which is which. They were all in their own bags which was great. But a nice V on the vegan ones would have been such s nice touch. Before we can even eat we had to sit down and tear each one apart to make sure the right person was getting the right one. They're also much smaller than anticipated. Luckily I got these during their happy hour sale. But original price for these is $6. $6 for something that small?? Is crazy. The taste was there and the sauce they come with is pretty good. But I personally wouldn't get those again just due to size and price. The jackfruit plate was really good. Super spicy to the point we had to keep stopping from eating it which is fine. I love spicy. Very flavorful and really good. I really enjoyed the plate. I'm thankful for so many vegan things on the menu. I'd come back to try items I didn't have be

Me and my family decided to try this place out. 7/19/24 we walked into the restaurant to dine in. However there is very limited seating and since we had children with us we did not have access to another part of the restaurant. It was early evening. So we decided to leave since there was not enough seating to accommodate 4 people. 7/20/24 we decide to DoorDash. The food arrived before the expected time which was nice. Ratings 1. Oxtails 7/10. Very tender but the gravy was not flavorful 2. Plantains 10/10 perfect. 3. Cabbage 2/10 extremely bland and could've had addl veggies like peppers and onions and seasonings. 4. Rice and peas 3/10 tender but lacked flavor. Did not improve with the gravy either 5. Jerk chicken 4/10 grilled chicken basted with jerk bbq sauce. Disappointing 6. Beef patty 3/10 super tiny. Tasted like ground beef with a sprinkle of jerk or curry. Overall 5/10.

Big pice of chicken there was no flavor in the rice the sauce was like extremely spicy you couldn't enjoy it the mac and cheese was a 10/10 other than that 3/10

I tried the patties for an organization meeting on campus (SOCA) and it was sooo amazing. I will definitely be making a stop here on my own at some point.

Ordered from Doordash and the food was excellent. Great portion size. The jerk chicken was so flavorful. Also ordered the trap juice and Rasta pasta. Everything was so tasty, would definitely order again.

Amazing addition and culture added to the Austin area. HUGE shoutout to Te'Andre who was so kind and helpful when going over the menu! Te'Andres service definitely makes us want to come back!!

Been waiting to try this place and so glad i got to as they were part of the savory farmers market in south austin. The jerk chicken was some of the best I've had i could not stop eating the mean fall off the bone with the rich flavors of the sauces and seasoning. The empanada Patties we're also decadent. Filled with spiced and tasty meat, fried to perfection in vegan dough, you can't go wrong. Can't wait to be back (also amazing restaurant name and all the dishes)

Super legit! Whatever you get... Make sure you get some Trap sauce. Te'Andre is so dope and amazing. You won't be disappointed

This is NOT authentic jerk chicken. It's essentially BACKED CHICKEN WITH jerkers sauce. The chicken was flavored well but well beyond what would be considered jerk. Also obe never had jerk food other balasamti rice, which I love BTW.

Food was amazing! 10/10 . I got the Rasta pasta and it was perfect . My bf got the loaded Mac n cheese and it was also fire. Definitely will come back here. Adding this to my top 3 food places in Austin.

I stumbled upon the location off of 4th st and immediately was intrigued to try out their vegan options while out dancing. I love this place. Such a great vibe, good food, and music. The service was great and quick for a Saturday night after 10:30pm. Also the margaritas were solid. I recommend if you are in the area, need some more fuel for the night out, come check this place out! I will be back and will be recommending to others. I fully enjoyed the experience and food.

We dropped in for an early pre-theatre dinner on a Saturday evening. Loud music, just a few other customers, we were able to order right away and get a seat easily. We ordered oxtail and a three taco (jackfruit, shrimp and chicken) plate. Everything was really good. The oxtail was rich and hearty and spicy - it came in a take-out box, which was useful since we had plenty to take home. The plantain and cabbage sides were a great accompaniment. The tacos were very good too - we got them on corn tortillas, which were soft but crisped up on the griddle. All were flavorful in their own unique ways. It would have been nice if the taco plate came with one side, maybe... We also got one beef patty. Very flavorful, but would have preferred it being baked rather than deep fried. All in all, an excellent meal. Bonus - there was an event going on next door with some folks wearing the most amazing outfits with sky-high sparkly stilettos. We had an awesome time people-watching while we waiting for our food.

Wow! What a pleasant surprise. By far the best carebean food I've had in Austin. Such bold & dynamic flavors. I have found my go to restaurant. Can't wait to come back.

Amazing shrimp plate. The oxtail was plastic fork tender, but very mildly seasoned, not carribean-level seasoned.

The food taste so good! It was worth every penny. It's definitely a great place to try

I have searched for years...since I relocated here...for Caribbean food that reminded me of home. I've finally found it. The oxtails are to die for and those pattys...sweet Jesus!!!

This was honestly a disappointing experience. The food was overpriced for the mediocre level of attention that was taken to making the food. I have never eaten Jamaican/Caribbean food that was so unflavored and under seasoned. The oxtail was barely spiced on a bed of plain white rice. The plantains were under riped. The 'jerk' chicken was covered in a layer of barbecue sauce. To top it off, we did not receive the correct pattys (a weird cheese and spinach mix instead of beef; it literally wasn't even a menu item so I don't know how they messed that up. The food was delayed and after reaching out to the business owner, they were not direct in answering questions and didn't attempt to take ownership for a subpar meal overall (they said they would reach out to the owner, who in fact was them). I have had food from this place before and the drop in quality was stunning. I wouldn't be so disappointed with this experience had it not cost over $50. I'm all about supporting black businesses but I would not recommend this.