Inside Trini Vybez, D.C.’s Anticipated Ode to Trinidad and Tobago

Trini Vybez got its start in 2020 as a food truck slinging Trinidadian street foods all over town. For its latest iteration as a brick-and-mortar restaurant, founder Natalia Kalloo expands her menu with a selection of roti platters, seasoned sides, and doubles — a Caribbean favorite of fried dough stuffed with curried chickpeas and sauces. At Trini Vybez, the typically vegan dish can be tweaked with shrimp, chicken, or goat.

The two-part project brings cuisine from Kalloo’s native Trinidad and Tobago to the heart of Columbia Heights on Tuesday, October 1 (1400 Meridian Place NW).

Trini Vybez

On the first floor, Soca Cafe and Wine Bar is a sleek white destination for fruit and cheese boards, espresso drinks, oxtail sliders on hops bread, pepper roti, and a global wine list served by the glass, half-carafe, and bottle. Up top at bright-red Trini Vybez, the idyllic island country is celebrated across a full-service dinner menu full of doughy starters, roti dishes, sides served in carved-out coconuts, and stewed meats by the skillet. Trinidadian rum punch, which goes heavy on Angostura bitters over fruits, will also make an appearance at the bar framed with a leafy look, bucket swings, and colorful art. The neighborhood newcomer, which sits on the same block as Laotian hit Thip Khao, opens both floors at 5 p.m.

D.C.’s rising Caribbean food scene includes Bib Gourmand-designated Cane on H Street and its newer sibling St. James on 14th Street NW, with more options on the way. Eater has learned that top Trinidadian chef Peter Prime recently left his head post at Bammy’s Modern Caribbean in Navy Yard to start fresh and open a new D.C. restaurant — complete with his famed jerk wings — some time this fall. (Stay tuned for details.)

Kalloo first drew notice around town for her line of all-natural spices and seasonings sold at farmers markets, as well as a roving Roti-On food truck that specialized in roti-wrapped proteins. For her first-ever restaurant, the offering is a little more tailored. Choose from shredded paratha bread that dips well in curry or dhalpuri — a seasoned version made with split peas and spices — alongside various vegetables, sauces, and condiments. Roti can be ordered vegan with a choice of curry potatoes (aloo) or curry tofu.

Dishes also pay homage to Trinidad’s capital, Port of Spain, and its melting pot of influences from West Africa, East India, China, Portugal, France, and other geographies. The growing menu will introduce stewed calalloo, cornmeal coo-coo, Trini Chinese-style wings, mango salads made meatless or with shrimp and chicken, and other Trinidadian staples like “bake and shark” — a popular pocket sandwich found at beach shacks and street stalls across the island.

Kalloo, an active member of DC Food Policy Council’s Entrepreneurship and Food Jobs Working Group, received a 2023 Great Streets grant to help get the project off the ground.