Updated Review – August 2009
Sweet Fingers is a Jamaican restaurant that has been opened in San Leandro since May. And yet, it wasn’t until a couple of days ago that I finally visited it.
It’s not that I didn’t try to go before, but even though it does have a sign with the Jamaican flag outside, it is still pretty hidden. The best way to locate it is to remember that it’s just across the street from Angelina’s.
Sweet Fingers is located in what probably used to be a bar. There are no windows, and the bar area is quite large. There isn’t much in the way of decor, just wire tables and chairs. It’s definitely a no-frills sort of place. That said, they have reggae music on weekends, and it’s perhaps better considered a music spot where they also serve food. Indeed, we were the only people who were there for lunch that Tuesday at noon.
It’s a pity because the food at Sweet Fingers is pretty good. Nothing outstanding, you won’t go home thinking San Leandro finally has the restaurant it deserves, but I liked it nonetheless.
Their lunch menu is very short. If you want meat, your choices are between jerk chicken and curry chicken – there is also a fish sandwich and quite a few vegetarian options. The dinner menu is broader and includes beef, lamb and oxtail as well as several seafood choices. The vegetarians are, once again, well covered. Lunch prices are $6-11, while most dinners are $15-16.
Aamani decided to go for the jerk chicken dish ($8), while I had the curry chicken ($9) just to be different. Indeed, the main difference between the two dishes seemed to be the curry sauce. We both found the chicken to be very good, moist and tender. The slightly spicy jerked flavor was very nice, but the skin could have been crispier. Perhaps it was better that it wasn’t, as there was little temptation to eat it. The curry sauce was very mild, nice but not compelling. The dishes came with rice and beans (I thought they were OK, but I’m not crazy about rice and beans to begin with) and with two slices of fried banana, these were great. A side dish of cornbread ($2) brought a huge, crumbly slice. I couldn’t decide how much I liked it. I think it was nice, but not extraordinary. Finally, my coke was flat.
Service was good but slow. That’s probably because the food had to be made from scratch when we got there – and we did appreciate the freshness of it.
I’ll definitely go again. Next time I’d like to try it for dinner, though. It’d also be an ideal place to go late at night, on weekdays it doesn’t close until midnight.
Sweet Fingers
464 E. 14th St.
San Leandro ,CA
510.553.9869
M-Th 11 AM – 12 AM
F-Sa 11 AM on
http://www.sweetfingersrestaurant.com/
San Leandro Restaurant Reviews
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The San Francisco Chronicle featured Sweet Fingers in a short article in their “Bargain Bites” category. They raved about the jerk chicken, perhaps it’s time to go back again. I’d love to try their oxtail stew, but probably won’t given concerns about mad cow disease.