Sisserou’s brings savory Caribbean-inspired dishes to the Brady District of Downtown Tulsa.

At JustTulsa, I’m usually the one voting to eat Caribbean-style food when the topic of discussion changes to deciding where to eat dinner — in Tulsa or elsewhere.

While Mexican food has always reigned supreme at lunchtime at JustTulsa, I believe I may have finally found the Caribbean addition that the rest of the group will enjoy. While I was beyond satisfied with the general experience of dining at Sisserou’s Caribbean Restaurant, there is one standout dish that I’m really excited to tell our readers about.

More on that in just a second.

“Let’s try something we haven’t had before…”

Saturday evening, we found ourselves starting get restless around the 6 o’clock hour, having yet to decide on a mutually-agreeable dinner location.

We wanted to try something new. Considering that we spend quite a bit of time downtown, it’s a short list of restaurants that we haven’t eaten at yet.

Sisserou’s came up as an option and we decided that since we hadn’t gotten around to trying their food yet, now would be as good of time as any to give it a try.

We loaded up in the shuttle van (big thanks to DoubleTree Downtown Tulsa for putting us up for the evening) and asked the driver to drop us off at the intersection of Archer and Main. Sisserou’s actually shares a private parking lot with Coney Island and Mexicali so there were actually plenty of spaces.

We were greeted at the door by two gentlemen who opened the doors for us and greeted us with kind smiles. Upon walking into the colorful dining area, we were greeted again by a hostess who showed us to our table without wasting any time.

Our waitress, Mallory, brought us out glasses of water and a gorgeous loaf of a Jamaican-style bread made from white flour. Along with a most delicious butter, she brought out a small cup of a bright orange sauce,  which she explained with a slight smirk and “a little goes a long way.” Later in the meal, another gentleman who stopped by to check on us after our food was served mentioned that this hot sauce is made from scotch bonnet peppers and habaneros; a combination that by all rights sounds painfully unenjoyable. This is not the case, however.

As someone who thoroughly enjoys trying new hot sauces, I’ll tell you this right now: this is the best “made-in-Tulsa” hot sauce I’ve ever had.

I told the gentleman that I’d gladly buy a few bottles of this hot sauce if they sold them. He told me that they were actually in the process of arranging a deal to bottle the sauce, so I’m looking forward to that.

So many choices…

Browsing their menu, we had trouble deciding what to order. Everything sounded good and we had successfully whetted our appetites with that crumbly Jamaican bread and their mouthwatering hot sauce.

We eventually decided to order a jerk chicken sandwich and a Cuban sandwich, so we could halve them and share. Divide and conquer, we always say. (It probably goes without saying, but this is a superb way to try more new foods.)

We felt like it wouldn’t be right to eat at a Caribbean-style restaurant and not at least try the jerk chicken. Besides, jerk chicken is a good point of reference — much like a chicken fried steak — for getting a general idea on how well a restaurant can “do” a particular dish.

No disappointment there. Our jerk chicken — seasoned with Sisserou’s own in-house jerk seasoning — was served on a lightly toasted wheat bun with fresh vegetables and a slick little avocado cream. A few slices of Swiss cheese atop the chicken breast helped make a great flavor/texture combination.

I was thrilled with this sandwich, but the other half of our dinner was the part that straight-up sold us on Sisserou’s. I’m actually getting hungry thinking about it right now.

Sometimes I go through little phases with certain dishes. I mean, specific dishes.

I’ve kind of been going through something like that with Cuban sandwiches for the last year or so, where the combination of tender meats and sweet flavor notes just sound good all the time. I can’t help it.

This sandwich is probably the worst thing that could happen to me, given what I just told you. Not only is this by far the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had, but I would confidently say that this sandwich is easily one of the top 5 or so sandwiches I’ve had in Tulsa.

Slow-roasted pork shoulder marinated in what their menu describes as “traditional Mojo (garlic, citrus)” is cooked until it is “look-at-it-and-it-falls-apart” tender, then placed on a Cuban loaf of bread, drizzled with their own habanero mayonnaise (add this to the list of bottle condiments I’ll gladly buy from Sisserou’s, if they ever sold them that way), then topped with Dijon, sweet pickles, Swiss cheese, and ham.

The ingredients mentioned sound great in their own regard, but until you experience this behemoth of a sandwich with your own taste buds, I can only describe the flavor for you so well.

Also worth a quick mention, were the perfectly crisped sweet potato chips. These were served generously and they were a joy to snack on!

Sisserou’s cocktail and wine list is also quite impressive. I decided to try a drink they refer to as a Caribbean Mule — a more tropical twist, no doubt, on the copper-clad classic: the Russian Mule.

While the drink was super cold, strong, and fruity, I failed to notice that the menu mentioned a “dash of bitters” as an ingredient. Me and bitters don’t really agree (that’s just me, though.) I slid the chilly copper vessel to my partner in crime, who absolutely loved this cocktail. I can’t wait to try it without the bitters next time!

All in all, the prices were fine — Sisserou’s isn’t what I would call cheap, but it is definitely a more-than-fair value. The service, food quality, creative dishes and cocktails, and environment make Sisserou’s a great place for a casual meal, date, or dinner meeting.

I’m definitely glad we finally got around to trying this place. I have a feeling I’ll be staring down that big Cuban sandwich again very soon.

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