Restaurant Week diners will get Complimemtary Henna Tattoos this evening at Mystic India in Montego Bay.
***Reservations are recommended for Henna.
Mystic India is in the Savoury category ($2800JMD excl. G.C.T, Bar & Income tax).
Give them a visit, enjoy some Indian cuisine and get your Henna on!
Mystic India
Location: Whitter Village, Ironshore. Montego Bay
Ph: 876-953-9460
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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The Great Escape at Runaway Bay Golf Club is a fairly new Restaurant that opened on August 26th this year. It is a few minutes down the road from L’Escargot and across the road from Jewel Runaway Bay Beach Resort. They offer Guests at Jewel a $25USD surcharge for a 3-course meal if they wish to dine there.
The Great Escape was the last stop for my husband, Randy and I before heading back to Kingston last Sunday and it was the best stop, other than duty free shopping.
We arrived a few minutes before our 5:30pm reservation to the new and well kept property. We felt welcomed from the parking lot to the lobby and then right upstairs to the Restaurant. Such pleasant staff.
We were seated and brought up to speed with what they had to offer by the well informed hostess and then came Ramiro, our unforgettable waiter. He was both charming and humorous and moved quickly and efficiently each time he came to our table.
We felt comfortable overlooking picturesque views of the well manicured Golf Course, a farm and just a touch of the Caribbean Sea across the road.
Before I start with the Appetizers,  I have to mention their freshly baked bread. Yes, the bread. They served two types of bread. There were slices with cinnamon and raisins and slices with swirls of callaloo. The bread was not on ration either. Kudos to them and a promising start.
Randy and I had the ‘Farmer’s’ Pumpkin and Basil Soup with rosemary skewered grilled Shrimp. The Soup was spicy and the rosemary skewer was a nice touch adding more flavour.
We also peeked over at another table and saw that the Runaway Bay ‘Jerked Chicken’ Cigars (Crisp Spring roll filled with Jerk Chicken, orange glaze, red and white cabbage slaw) actually came in what looked like a Cigar box! So creative! When we saw that and how well our Soup was presented, we were instantly reminded of our visit to Blue Ridge Restaurant in Blue Mountain, whose creativity in plating was on a different level.
Our table was cleared as soon as we were finished with our Soup and the Entrees came out right after like clockwork as it should.
Randy’s Free Range Chicken Breast and Crayfish had a sizzling arrival to our table. Plating and presentation were lovely. He had the choices of herbs, salsa and a sauce that were neatly laid out as well to add more flavour.
It was Free Range Chicken so it was not fatty and its pairing with the Crayfish was delightful.
His dish seemed exciting but mine was delicious as well. I had the ‘Appleton-Guava Glazed’ Salmon that was well cooked, floating on shrimp and potato mash, sautéed mushroom, roasted corn, bell pepper salsa and guava.
Our Potato mash was tasty, fluffy and flavourful with a few herbs.
Dessert was not as spectacular but we appreciated that it was freshly baked by the restaurant and at that point we had our fill anyway. Randy had the Hazel Nut and Ganache ‘Fried Brioche’ hand rolled and filled, topped with cinnamon cream, but he could hardly taste any of the filling. I am not a big fan of flourless Chocolate Cake but Randy likes anything with chocolate so he enjoyed taking a few bites of mine, while I enjoyed the Sorbet.
I look forward to visiting the Great Escape again and encourage others to do so too. It is definitely Suga endorsed. Great service, creative plating and menu, lovely presentation and delicious, affordable food. For the Savoury category for Restaurant Week ($2800JMD excluding Bar, Service Charge, G.C.T), it was surely value for money. Keep it up Great Escape!
Great Escape Restaurant, Runaway Bay Golf Club
Location: Main Street, Runaway Bay. St. Ann, Ocho Rios
Ph: 876-973-4239
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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L’Escargot is owned by Chef Neville Anderson, well known for what was once Café Aubergine in Market Place, Kingston and his Jamaican Restaurant in Munich.
L’Escargot is also probably the most anticipated Restaurant to visit or hear about this year for Restaurant Week, not only because it is fairly new but because of their raving reviews and salivating menu. So I thought it would be a fabulous, fantastic experience but they fell short of that. It was just good, not great.
My husband and I ​arrived last Saturday night at 8:40pm, a few minutes late for our 8:30pm reservation.
We were greeted and seated. Staff were courteous but not cordial. The Table setting was exquisite with a fresh, white orchid as the centrepiece that was a nice touch. I can see where the dim lighting and décor with instrumental piano music playing in the background would take guests to France. The waiters were a perfect part of the French theme as well in white attire with red ties and berets.
We were shown their regular menu for the night as well as the Restaurant Week Menu. It was a hard decision but we stuck to the plan and ordered from the Restaurant Week Menu at 9pm. If you weren’t ordering a meal over $30USD, there were tempting main dishes available for $20-$25USD so I don’t think the Restaurant Week offer was a huge save, especially if you opted out of Dessert.
Quite a few diners were present and more came in as the night grew older, but the wait for Appetizers was still too long. Also note that this was not just a result of Restaurant Week because I have received feedback from persons who visited before that they had a long wait for their food as well. It was approaching 25 minutes before we got our Escargots and Smoked Marlin. The Smoked Marlin was a huge disappointment. Quite plain, arriving with just the Chef’s special mousse. It was tasty and complemented the Marlin well but at least a salad should have been added to it. We reminisced about Chef Conroy Arnold’s special Marlin Salad from Christopher’s at Hermosa Cove that put that dish to shame.
But serve my husband right, thou shall not go to L’Escargot and not order Escargot.
My Escargots? Decent serving, and it was delicious with just the right texture and taste, not rubbery or salty. L’Escargot specialises in French cuisine and Escargots are usually served as a starter in France, Spain and Portugal so they deservedly get the edge over the Escargots I’ve had at Toscanini Italian.
Our table was cleared at 9:30pm and our Entrees did not arrive until half an hour later. Our waiter did not visit during that half hour to reassure us that our Main dishes were on their way either. Luckily we weren’t on a first date because after about 15 or 20 minutes there would be crickets of awkward silence.
The serving size was decent for our Entrees. Randy’s Beef Tenderloin was savoury and cooked as ordered (medium rare). My Lamb Chops were savoury as well but one of them was medium rare bordering rare and I requested it be medium. I didn’t mind but that may not be the case with everyone. The sauces did not highlight or complement the meats in any special way. The Filet Mignon at Marguerites by the Sea is still a winner for Randy.
We had the Crème Brûlée and Chocolate Mousse for Dessert but they were nothing to write home about. I prefer Rojo at Spanish Court Hotel’s Crème Brulee.
I didn’t see their Dessert menu, but the French are well known for Parisian Cafés and I think they could have been more creative, offering a signature Crêpe, Éclair or Macaron for Restaurant Week.
French cuisine is known for being one of the finest in the world. Afterall, they are the ones that published the Michelin guide and thus award stars for excellence to a select few restaurants. Although L’Escargot is French and Toscanini is Italian, they are often compared considering they are both high end restaurants on the North coast offering similar dishes. I prefer Toscanini. The hostess and waiters at L’Escargot were efficient for the most part but more like robots doing what they were supposed to do, lacking the charisma needed for such a restaurant.
Even though I wasn’t wowed, I still look forward to returning to L’Escargot to enjoy their ambience again. Randy looks forward to trying their French Onion Soup, while I look forward to trying their Bouillabaisse and Risotto with Escargots and Scallops.
L’Escargot
Location: Main Street, Runaway Bay. St. Ann, Ocho Rios
Ph: 973-5652; 973-5589
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Suga’s Top 7 picks for the Tasty ($1850) Category (excluding Beverages, Service & G.C.T) are:
KINGSTON
â— Crystal Edge Restaurant
Crystal Edge (876-944-8053; 355-3673) is located beside Cafe Blue in Irish Town where it is nice and cool with a view. It’s homey and comfortable. They have a simple but decent menu where the star dish is their Braised Oxtail that slides off the bone!
â— Dragon Court Restaurant
Dragon Court Restaurant by 6 South Avenue is an oldie but goodie. Consistently good food for years. Check them out.
â— Pizza Hut Dine-In Restaurant
Great value for money. Complimentary serving of Breadsticks with every meal! Go get your carb binge on.
*Suga usually promotes Sea Deck with their tasty food and large serving size but their service and quality have fallen off drastically. Hopefully they pick it up back soon.
MONTEGO BAY
â— Pizza Hut Dine-In Restaurant
Great to have a double up on locations for this category.
â— MVP Smokehouse
MVP Smokehouse on Bogue Road in Montego Bay (1st of 3 gambles for my top picks) looks like a decent option with Shrimp in Cilantro Garlic Sauce, BBQ Ribs and more. Their dessert options look lovely too.
â— Debut Fine Wine & Grill (Brick Oven Pizza)
Debut Fine Wine & Grill (Dry Harbour Place, 1-3 Gloucester Avenue – 2nd of 3 gambles for my top picks) looks like it has yummy Appetizers and a good variety of options for the Main, more than just Pizza.
OCHO RIOS
â— Boardwalk Bistro
Boardwalk Bistro (3rd of 3 gambles for my top picks) in Island Village Plaza has spicy Tuna and cream cheese dip with Plantain chips, Roast Snapper with Callaloo, Okra and more as well as Rum Fire Ice Cream, all of which I am looking forward to this weekend.
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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CPJ Deli’s Discounted Lunch Special menu looks like Value for Money in RW’s Nyam and Scram Category. With a glass of vino included, you can’t really lose.
Check them out as well as the others from a previous post. Click on link below:
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Suga visited the newest Japanese Restaurant to date in Jamaica, Sora Japanese Sky Cuisine almost 3 weeks ago on a Saturday afternoon at about 4:30pm.
It took a few flights of stairs to get to the top floor where it is located and I don’t remember seeing any options for persons with wheelchairs. I really did feel like I reached the sky. Nice, new, modern décor awaited and pleasant faces. I prefer the outside seating and loved that they had a Bar out there.
Their menus were extensive for Food, Drinks/Cocktails and Wine. They had a special on Hardy’s wine (Merlot, Shiraz, Chardonnay, Moscato) from Select Brands for $450/glass and $1850/bottle which is probably much less compared to other Restaurants and Bars for decent enough Wine.
The name of our waiter slipped my memory but he offered excellent service. They have a buzzer for each table as well.
I would have preferred for Food to arrive quicker but it was still within a reasonable time.
Our waiter was very knowledgeable of the menu and I was happy with his suggested Appetizer of Seafood Sumiso ($820JMD) -Boiled Shrimp & Scallops in a nice homemade Vinegar Miso Sauce that complemented it well.
My husband and I also had Miso Soup ($280JMD), Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura ($1750JMD), the Philly Roll ($1050JMD), California Roll ($730JMD) and another roll.
We didn’t expect the Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura to be all fried into one, meaning you couldn’t see the vegetables. So that was a bit disappointing but the Rolls were good as expected.
We topped dinner off with the Oreo rare Cheesecake ($780JMD) that was lovely and actually tasted homemade.
In terms of prices, they are comparable to the other Japanese Restaurants with regards to food. So basically, high metabolism folks like myself would have to order multiple dishes to feel satisfied because 1 Japanese dish/entrée in general is not filling enough, which racks up your bill.
Suga had a pleasant visit and will return.
***Note that Sora will be participating in Restaurant Week (RW) in the Savoury ($2800JMD) category (excluding Bar, Service and G.C T) and is recommended by Suga.
Sora Japanese Sky Cuisine
(Reservations Recommended)
Location: 9-11 Phoenix Avenue. Kingston
Ph: 876-649-0131; 876-649-0132
Opening Hours: Mon-Sat, 11:30am-11pm
*Closed on Sundays*
Some more Savoury Picks from Suga for RW! :
Other than Sora Japanese, in Kingston, Suga selected Fromage Gourmet Bistro and The Palms Restaurant at C&C South Beach.
Suga did not select any Indian Restaurants in this Category because if you are going to go with Indian, why go halfway? Go all out in the Delectable Category.
Fromage Gourmet Bistro has consistently good food and service. Their menu of Steak, Crab stuffed Chicken, Lasagna Florentine is quite inviting.
The Palms Restaurant at C&C South Beach’s Smoked Pork Chops are delish! They do large servings that taste good. Great value for money.
For the 2nd city, Montego Bay, Suga’s pick is the good old Pelican Grill, where the Surf and Turf should be a pleaser.
For Ocho Rios, if Suga were to choose what looks like good gambles, I would go with Caffe da Vinci Ochi that suits Vegetarions, Meat lovers and Seafood lovers and the Great Escape Restaurant at Runaway Bay Golf Club.
***For Reservations***
â— Fromage Gourmet Bistro
Location: 8 Hillcrest Avenue, Kingston
Ph: 876-622-9856; 876-927-7062
â— The Palms Restaurant at C&C South Beach
Location: 2 Brompton Rd., Kingston 5
Ph: 876-630-4571; 876-630-4163
â— Pelican Grill
Location: Gloucester Avenue Strip, Montego Bay
Ph: 876-952-3171
â— Caffe da Vinci (Ocho Rios)
Location: 7/13 Turtle River Road. St. Ann, Ocho Rios
Ph: 876-630-7025
â— Great Escape Restaurant, Runaway Bay Golf Club
Location: Main Street, Runaway Bay. St. Ann, Ocho Rios
Ph: 876-973-4239
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Suga could not select a clear #1 choice for RW’s Delectable Category ($3800JMD excl. Bar, GCT, Service charge) this year because of the difference in Cuisines.
So Suga’s Top 2 picks are the relatively new kid on the block, Nirvanna Indian Fusion Cuisine in Kingston and the always outstanding, Houseboat Grill in Montego Bay based on their menus and in turn value for money, ambience, décor and service.
The Surf and Turf from The Houseboat Grill should be to die for!
Remember that the Delectable and Epicurean categories are excellent considerations for Date nights or to dress up and go out with Friends and Family. Shampoo!
Dinner from Nirvanna last December 2015!
For Kingston, the runner-up choice for me is Redbones Blues Café. They do a lovely Lobster Pasta. I expect more of the same from Majestic and Whitebones so did not consider them. The Restaurants listed under Kingston should be revised for this Category.
The runner-up for Montego Bay is the new, Mystic Thai. I think they could do better with their menu based on what they are capable of offering though.
For Ocho Rios, I gave Evita’s Italian Restaurant the edge over Christopher’s at Hermosa Cove for those that haven’t visited Evita’s in years. Both have good service and food but Christopher’s has the better view if seated outside. So Christopher’s is known for delicious, authentic food with a seaside view but even though the menu for Evita’s seems more of the same, their Linguine ‘Contessa’ Fettuccine was one of my most memorable and favourite RW dishes to date. Whole Lobster in the shell tossed with Baby Shrimp and Lobster meat! The Salmon Risotto was lovely as well.
Evita’s RW 2014!
***For Reservations***
â— The Houseboat Grill
Location: Montego Freeport, St. James. Montego Bay
Ph: 876-979-8845
â— Nirvanna Indian Fusion Cuisine
Location: Unit 1, 80 Lady Musgrave, Kingston 10
Ph: 876-927-9077; 876-927-9634
â— Evita’s Italian Restaurant
Location: Eden Bower Road. St. Ann. Ocho Rios
Ph: 876-974-1012;876-974-2333
◠Redbones Blues Café
Location: 1 Argyle Road. Kingston 10
Ph: 876-978-6091
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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TGIF! We have 1 week to go until Restaurant Week Jamaica (RW) starts next Friday, November 11 and runs through to Saturday, November 19th.
The Epicurean Category ($4310JMD excluding Bar, GCT, Service Charge) has been a drag with the same Restaurants every year so Suga is excited to make the new addition, L’Escargot in Ocho Rios the top pick overall for Epicurean this year.
L’Escargot has been on my ‘Places to Go’ list for some time and their menu looks inviting. Their signature Escargots sautéed in garlic butter, herbs and white wine is highly anticipated for the Appetizer. I am wondering how it will compare to the famous, award winning Toscanini Italian Restaurant that is also in Ocho Rios. There are choices of Smoked Blue Marlin or Sautéed Sea Scallops as well.
Lamb Chops, Fillet Mignon and Grilled Giant Prawns are the salivating Entrée choices.
Créme brulee, Créme caramel and Chocolate mousse are the choices for Dessert.
Do you have your passport Suga Bears? Ochi here I come!
For those who are doubling up or can’t make it to Ocho Rios for RW, my top pick for Kingston is Rojo Restaurant at the Spanish Court Hotel, which strives to give consistently great service and serve consistently good quality food compared to Terra Nova. Terra Nova usually lives up to their polished reputation for Restaurant Week but Rojo’s menu is Suga’s preferred choice.
Fling Back Friday (#fbf) to RW 2013 at Rojo Restaurant
Marguerites Seafood by the Sea, which was my choice last year, is my top pick this year for Montego Bay. The menus from Sugar Mill and Restaurant at Round Hill haven’t grabbed me. I love that Marguerites revised their RW menu. The Pepper Steak Moderne accompanied by a Caribbean risotto topped with oxtail ragout should be a treat. I was thoroughly impressed by my visit last year, which was perfection.
#fbf RW 2015 at Marguerites!
***For Reservations***
â— L’Escargot
Location: Main Street, Runaway Bay. St. Ann, Ocho Rios
Ph: 973-5652; 973-5589
â— Rojo Restaurant at The Spanish Court Hotel
Location: 1 St. Lucia Avenue. Kingston.
Ph: 926-0000
â— Marguerites Seafood By the Sea
Cloucester Avenue, Montego Bay
Ph: 952-4777
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Suga visited 15th Street Fisheries in Florida over Heroes Weekend a few weeks ago.
I heard many good things about it and loved that they were by the water with a view, offering freshly grilled Fish. They have different menus for Upstairs and Downstairs, where Downstairs is more casual and Upstairs is Reservations only with a more tempting and pricey menu.
My reservation was for a group of 9 on October 15th, a Saturday night at 8:00pm. We were a bit late but they were ready for us nonetheless. We were greeted pleasantly and taken upstairs and seated by our table which was right by the window. Loved the view and activity of boats docking and leaving. The Restaurant was comfortable with rustic décor including old boats, anchors, bottles with chains, lanterns and more.
The menu had an insane variety of Seafood dishes to choose from for both Appetizers and Entrees. There were options such as Grilled New York Strip, Slow Roasted Prime Rib of Beef and Grilled Chicken Breast for the Meat lovers. A Wine menu was available as well.
The Appetizers came out a bit after 20 minutes, so could have been quicker. We weren’t blown away by the taste of the Appetizers. The Crab Cakes ($16USD) were decent. The Red Shrimp Cocktail ($16USD) had a homemade cocktail sauce that was a bit too tangy, overpowering the shrimp, fresh salsa and cucumber strings. Two of us that ordered the Soup Du Jour ($8USD), a Bahamian style Conch Chowder, were not too fond of it. To me it tasted like a thick Canned soup.
The Fisheries Salad ($10USD), however was the winner. It was a huge, tasty salad filled with Romaine lettuce, Wild Florida Rock Shrimp, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Sliced Almonds, Fresh Strawberries and Papaya Chutney Dressing.
Thankfully, the Entrees were a complete 180 in quality compared to the disappointing Appetizers.
I had the Dry Rubbed Mahi Mahi ($32USD) with crab fried rice, sautéed brocolini and brandy blackened cream sauce. The crab fried rice infused with the brandy blackened cream sauce excited my taste buds. My Mahi Mahi was well cooked and I enjoyed it.
Everyone else was happy with their Entrees as well. Some of which included Sautéed Red Shrimp ($34USD), Spiny Lobster Tail ($37USD) and Pan Roasted Black Grouper ($35USD). I have to highlight that the Pan Roasted Black Grouper was served with red and golden quinoa, wild mushroom, baby clam meat, white Vermont cheddar cheese, lobster sherry cream sauce and potato crisps. It was absolutely fantastic.
Entrée Servings were large, the Seafood was fresh, well cooked and the flavours were amazing.
At this point, everyone was quite full and content and had no capacity for Dessert. However, there is always one or 2 with a high metabolism like me with the desire to share a huge dessert.
Their Dessert menu, including Gluten free options was way too tempting. They had Dessert Martinis, Coffee Drinks and Ports/Dessert Wine listed in addition to Créme Brulee, Cheesecake, Sorbets, Brownies and more!
Of course when I saw Lemon Blueberry Bread Pudding ($10USD) with White Chocolate Sauce, Anglaise, served with Vanilla Ice Cream and fresh berries, I could not refuse.
Voilà ! Ok it still wasn’t a Fromage Gourmet Bread Pudding but it was divine!
Our waiter needed to touch up on his housekeeping manners towards the end of dinner but we did not allow it to spoil our night and the Managers dealt with and appeased the situation accordingly.
The night may not have been perfect but we were full with delicious Entrees, great conversation and absolutely delicious dessert to top it off.
Suga would return for sure.
15th Street Fisheries
Location: 1900 SE 15th St., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316, USA
Ph: 954-763-2777
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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Get ready to get your Lunch in Kingston in a quick and reasonable fashion during Restaurant Week (RW) Jamaica 2016 from Friday, November 11 to Saturday, November 19.
Suga’s 5 picks for the Nyam & Scram Category are:
â— Cannonball Cafe located in Manor Park, Sovereign North, Loshusan-Barbican and the 3M Building-New Kingston
Decent RW Combos of Soups, Wraps/Salads/Paninis with a side and Coffee
Prices range from $896 – $1211.
â— Devon House Cafe in Devon House
Offering reasonable RW Combos similar to Cannonball including Waffles with Eggs and Chicken Pastrami/Wraps/Paninis with Salad/Chips and Smoothies/Shakes/Coffee
Prices range from $630-$957.
â— Nirvanna (Indian Fusion Cuisine) on 80 Lady Musgrave Avenue have RW Combos ranging from $1100-$1300 including Fusion dishes.
â— The Brick Oven on Hope Road beside TGIF will be offering $600 RW Combos including a Chicken Wrap, Fish Sandwich and Vegetarian Patty, Soup/Soda and a Dessert option.
â— Triple T’z Eatery on Annette Crescent will be having RW Combos for less than $1000. There will be a Lobster and Fish Combo + sides with Vegetable soup and a Chicken and Curried Goat Combo with Vegetable soup.
***Remember prices are per person and do not include G.C.T, Beverages or Service tax unless otherwise stated in RW Combo.
Information and Menus available on:
www.go-jamaica.com/rw/
By: Gabrielle Burgess
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