Island Soul

Stepping inside Columbia City’s Island Soul, which opened in June, feels a lot like stepping into a sun-drenched Caribbean cabana, and not just because its color palette is borrowed from the tropics: cool turquoise, washed yellows, warm terra cottas. It’s also because you’re likely to hear a bellowing “Hi there!” from owner Theo Martin as he works in the open kitchen with chef Bobby Laing. Martin’s welcoming spirit sets a friendly tone, one that carries over to the servers, who’re likely to call you “hon” and nod knowingly when you swoon over the sticky, cake-like coconut cornbread muffins that arrive with every order on the Caribbean menu. That generous spirit also comes through in Island Soul’s slow-cooked goat meat stew ($14.95), a plentiful portion of spicy curry sauce with hunks of falling-off-the-bone meat that hums with warm spices. The Caribbean jerk chicken ($11.95), coated with a heady, house-made spice rub that’ll heat you from within, is another worthy dish. For brighter flavor profiles, dive into the crunchy Key West prawn salad ($7.95), mixed greens tossed in a lively balsamic vinaigrette, topped with grilled sweet-pepper-onion-tropical-fruit skewers and crowned with six perfectly grilled prawns. Lunch and dinner Mon.–Sat. Columbia City, 4869 Rainier Ave. S; 206.329.1202