Naseer “Moh” Mohamed never thought he would open his own restaurant. The former construction worker simply enjoyed cooking for friends and the local Caribbean festival. It turned out the demand for his island cuisine was too strong to ignore, which led to the opening of D’Caribbean Curry Spot in Pearland.

“I had a big backyard, and I used to cook Caribbean dishes for [friends],” Mohamed said. “They would say, ‘Man, you should open a restaurant. Your food is so good.’”

The feedback from those backyard cookouts led Mohamed—a native of Trinidad and Tobago—to start sharing his dishes with the public in 2003.

“They used to have a Trinidad carnival [in Houston] at Tom Bass Park,” he said. “So I decided to do a booth there. You wouldn’t believe [the response].”

For three years numerous festival attendees asked for Mohamed’s phone number to request more of his Caribbean meals, he said. Mohamed then began catering on weekends serving doubles—fried-dough sandwiches stuffed with curried chickpeas commonly served in the streets of Trinidad and Tobago—and rotis, which are curried potatoes and meat wrapped in flatbread.

In 2006 Mohamed and his wife, Sherry, decided to turn their weekend service into a full-time business. Unlike New York City—where Mohamed moved to from Trinidad and Tobago in 1993—Pearland lacked a Caribbean restaurant with a Trinidadian spin, he said.

The unique cuisine might be unfamiliar to some. To help customers discover the tastes of his home country, Mohamed offers samples to those who are curious or undecided.“As soon as they stick their fork in the food [they say], ‘Oh my gosh, this is good. I don’t know what to order now,’” he said.

In addition to traditional Caribbean food cooked with ingredients shipped from Trinidad and Tobago, D’Caribbean offers island sodas and homemade drinks, such as peanut punch and sorrel, that each provide different health benefits, Mohamed said.

Despite the restaurant’s popularity, Mohamed said he does not advertise. He does not want to outgrow the ability of his staff—composed of his wife, two children and a pair of part-time workers—to maintain the quality and detail that goes into each dish.

“I know if I advertise it will get crazy in here,” Mohamed said. “I like to keep it like this. When you go too [big], you’ve got to [cook] stuff too fast.”

D’Caribbean Curry Spot
8201 W. Broadway St., Ste. 105, Pearland • 281-412-0849
www.dcaribbeancurryspot.com
Hours: Tue.-Thu., Sun. 11 a.m.-9 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.