Suga visits Tai Tai Ice Cream, the newest spot for rolled Ice Cream in Kingston!

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Suga’s Ratings for Tai Tai Ice Cream Rolls

Date and time of visit: Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 10:00pm

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★☆

Ambience: ★☆☆☆☆

Décor: ★★★☆☆

Comfort: ★★★☆☆

Service: ★★★★★

Speed: ★★★★☆

Food quality: ★★★★☆

Serving amount: ★★★★★

Presentation: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★★★☆

Suga’s Breakdown:

Kingston needed another ice cream shop and we got it! Cute, ice cream shop tucked away in Northside Plaza with a warm greeting as you step in and great service. The workers seem happy and serve you up your ice cream with a smile as they should. They have a variety of flavours to choose from and give you the options to have with a waffle or two ($150 – $350JMD) and to add liquor on top for $150 – $250JMD.

If you are confused about the steps when ordering ice cream rolls, it’s pretty easy. Tell the cashier your choices as follows:

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You will see your ice cream poured, chopped, spread and rolled on cold steel, your toppings added and voila!

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Cookies and Cream ice cream rolls with gummy bears on top from Tai Tai Ice cream rolls last Saturday.

Tai Tai Ice Cream Rolls

Location: 20 Northside Drive. Shop #1, Liguanea (Northside Plaza)

Ph: 876.627.8891

Email: [email protected]

Instagram; Facebook: @taitaiicecreamrolls

Opening Hours: Tues. – Thurs. 12pm-10pm; Fri. – Sun. 12pm – 11pm

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Broken Plate or Broken Teeth? New Restaurant in Town

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Gabby a.k.a Suga from Suga Lifestyle (L) with her ‘Eat Good Crew’ coming to a Restaurant near you! – Tiffany Simmonds (C) and Gillian Jackson (R) took it to the streets with Suga for GNO last Saturday, June 2, 2018 with Broken Plate as the first stop.

Suga’s Ratings for Broken Plate

Date and time of visit: Saturday, June 2, 2018 at 8:15pm

No. of diners: 3

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★☆☆

Décor: ★★★★☆

Comfort: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★☆☆

Speed: ★★★☆☆

Food quality: ★★☆☆☆

Serving amount: ★★★★☆

Plating: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★☆☆☆

SuGa Endorsement: ★★☆☆☆

Comments: 

New restaurant with modern décor and comfortable indoor and outdoor seating by a faux garden. It was an expected full house on a Saturday night, 3 weeks after opening. I think the full house affected the attentiveness of the staff and the speed of the kitchen. The quality of the food was fair, borderline poor and at the end of the night I felt like I made a bad gamble in Vegas and lost. A Wine and Spirits list is currently available. A Bar with Blended drinks and Cocktails are in future plans. The Restaurant has potential and I will probably return, but I am in no rush to do so.

Suga’s Breakdown

Appetizers

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Spicy Rosemary Mussels – $1350JMD +tx

We started off with the Spicy Rosemary Mussels and Duck Bruschetta. The Mussels were flavourful, succulent and indeed spicy. The Duck was tasty, but the bread was over toasted. It was deeply charred instead of golden brown. We could not bite into it. The use of tomatoes, which are traditionally added to Bruschettas was absent.

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Duck Breast Bruschetta – $1250JMD +tx

Entrées

The Oxtail Bolognese only had a trace of Oxtail and was predominantly minced Beef. When two of us ordered the Oxtail Bolognese, we were told it would have some minced Beef in it. We said no problem, but when it arrived, although it was savoury, it was predominantly minced Beef with a trace of Oxtail. I told our waiter, Chris that they need to rename the dish on the menu. Maybe they ran out of Oxtail too, but if so, we should have been advised.

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‘Oxtail’ Bolognese – $1850JMD +tx

Thankfully our friend who was just returning from Cabo and tasted authentic, richly flavoured Tacos enjoyed her Seafood Tacos even though she said the shrimp was a bit salty.

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Seafood Tacos with Shrimp – $2150JMD +5x

Dessert

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Crispy Duffle Sandwich (Top- $1550JMD+tx) and Maple Glazed Bacon Cookie Sandwich (Below- $1300JMD+tx)

The Maple Glazed Bacon Cookie Sandwich and Crispy Duffle Sandwich for dessert was tough as rocks. No wonder it was served with a kitchen knife. Note that we made that choice for dessert because the Fruit Parfait looked like a mixture of yogurt and canned fruit. But we still didn’t win. Tough cookies. Literally.

Service

I could see that with the full house, they tried and probably did their best, but the full house affected how attentive they were. Appetizers took too long to come out as well as our bottle of wine. The Wine we wanted was not chilled, so we told Chris that he could bring it out with the main. He seemed to have forgotten, so by the time we got his attention, we were almost through and just asked for a glass.

Suggestions from Suga

★ Hire additional staff for the Opening rush.

★Revise the Dessert menu.

★ Have the supervisor or manager take a walk around the restaurant now and then to get honest feedback from diners.

Good Luck to Broken Plate because I understand the concept and vision. We need more Restaurants that think outside the box, breaking away from the traditional menu in Kingston!

Broken Plate

Location: 14 Canberra Crescent off Munroe Road. Kgn. 6. Ja.

Ph: 876-667-6891

Email: [email protected]

Opening Hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 11am to 10pm

Facebook & Instagram: @brokenplateja

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Suga revisits the Deck at Cellar 8!

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Suga’s Ratings for Cellar 8

Date and time of visit: Friday, May 11, 2018 at 10:00pm

No. of diners: 2

NB. Ratings fill 5 stars maximum

Parking: ★★★★★

Ambience: ★★★★☆

Décor: ★★★☆☆

Comfort: ★★★★☆

Service: ★★★☆☆

Speed: ★★★☆☆

Food quality: ★★★★☆

Serving amount: ★★★★☆

Plating: ★★★★☆

Value for $: ★★★☆☆

SuGa Endorsement: ★★★☆☆

Comments: Cellar 8 has not only made changes to their space with a Deck, but their staff and management as well. Courteous, enthusiastic staff and delicious food. Service time could have been quicker and quality of drinks could have been better. Cellar 8 has always been a bit overpriced, but is no longer the new ‘it’ bar and has lost a superb mixologist. They should probably consider reducing their prices so customers can feel they are getting value for money.

Suga’s Breakdown

I thought Cellar 8 would have been busier 3 Friday nights ago, but with the opening of new Bars such as the Sky Lounge, they seemed to have lost their Friday night buzz. However, members of their new staff were courteous and the presence and supervision of the new management was felt. Since it wasn’t a full night, I thought service could have been a bit quicker, but our server, Davion was quite attentive and kept us up to date.  Drinks were decent, but the gifted hands of their mixologust, Milton Wisdom who is no longer there, were missed. The quality of food was good, but the wrong Pasta dish was served to my husband, Randy. We wondered if the Chef was trying to sneak in the wrong dish, since it was similar to what was ordered and we were not told that the desired dish was finished. Anyhow, it was replaced soon after with my husband’s secondary dish of choice that he still enjoyed.

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My Glazed Snapper Fillet with cous cous and veggies – $2600JMD+tx + 5% serv. charge
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Randy’s Pasta Marinara and Basil with added Shrimp – $1400 + $800JMD+tx + 5% serv. charge

We were about to call it a night, but we were smartly interrupted by a purposeful temptation of a trolley full of Dessert wheeled to us to choose from.

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We couldn’t pass that up. So I had the Strawberry Cheesecake and Randy had the Chocolate cheesecake. Sumptuous!

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Strawberry Cheesecake – $800JMD+tx +5% serv. charge

Cellar 8 Wine Bar

Location: Shop 10, Upper Manor Park Plaza

Ph: 876-613-5934

Opening Hours: Tuesdays-Sundays, 4pm – 11pm

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Review, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

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How to make Easter Mini Cheesecakes!

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Photo: Kraftrecipes.com

 

Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 3 Hours 20 mins (Don’t worry, it includes 2 hours chilling time in the fridge)
Servings: 18

Ingredients
– 1 cup Graham cracker crumbs
– 3/4 cup and 2 tbsp. Sugar, divided
– 3 tbsp. Butter or Margarine, melted
– 3 pkg. (8 oz. each) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
– 1 tsp. Vanilla
– 3 Eggs
– 1 cup and 2 Tbsp. Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut, toasted
– 54 (3 per mini cheesecake) speckled malted milk eggs/Chocolate eggs

Method

1. Heat oven to 325°F.

2. Mix Graham crumbs, 2 tbsp. Sugar and Butter, then press onto bottoms of 18 paper-lined muffin cups.

3. Beat Cream cheese, Vanilla and remaining Sugar with mixer until blended. Add Eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low-speed after each, just until blended.

4. Spoon mixture over crusts.

5. Bake 25 to 30 min. or until centers are almost set.

6. Cool completely. Refrigerate 2 hours.

7. Top each mini Cheesecake with 1 tbsp. coconut and shape to resemble bird’s nest. Add 3 malted milk eggs to each.

Recipe Source: Kraftrecipes.com

Don’t have the time?
Although cooking from scratch usually tastes better, you can get the Betty Crocker No-Bake Cheesecake Mix that includes the crumb base.

Here is how you buy less ingredients and cut 7 steps to 4!

Ingredients
– Betty Crocker Cheesecake Mix
– 90g melted Butter
– 400ml cold Whole Milk (or Almond Milk to cut down on the sat. fat)
– 1 cup and 2 Tbsp. Baker’s Angel Flake Coconut, toasted
– 54 (3 per mini cheesecake) speckled malted milk eggs/Chocolate eggs

 

Method
1. Blend biscuit crumbs with melted butter. Press into base of paper cup in pan.

2. Beat mix with milk in large bowl on low-speed until moistened. Scrape the bowl and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until thick and creamy.

3. Spread on top of biscuit base. Put in fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.

4. Decorate with Coconut and Chocolate Eggs, and serve!

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Voila! (Photo: Kraftrecipes.com)

Enjoy and Have a Happy and Holy Easter!

By: Gabrielle Burgess 

If you liked this Recipe, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.   

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Last Day for Chairman’s Egg Nog at Cafe Blue!

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My friend and I weren’t amused when we went to Cafe Blue in Sovereign Mall over the holidays specifically for Egg Nog and they didn’t have it.

Maybe I will give them another chance today, although the season is over and my annual Egg Nog partner is back in Florida.

Last Day to get it folks! Have a great Weekend!

Enjoy at Sovereign Mall, Irish Town or NMIA in Kingston or Shoppes at Rose Hall or Fontana in Montego Bay!

By: Gabrielle Burgess

If you liked this Promo, follow Suga Lifestyle or like the Suga Lifestyle Facebook page.

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How was Sunday Dinner for Suga at The Terra Nova for Restaurant Week (Epicurean)?!

Last Sunday at 6:30pm, I had Dinner at The Terrace, Terra Nova All Suite Hotel. The Terrace is in the Epicurean category ($4300JMD) for Restaurant Week and my husband, Randy and I were looking forward to having sumptuous dishes.

We had a great start with the Appetizers. I preferred the Seafood Medley.

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Coquille de Mer – Medley of Seafood in a rich cream sauce with mushroom and cheese
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Confit of Pimento Chicken – On a medallion of hard dough bread and a drizzle of pineapple pepper jelly

We both had the Lobster Bisque to follow, which was rich Lobster Soup, finished with cream and Brandy. I appreciated that the Soup was not salty. It was rich indeed and tasty.

Apart from a long wait before the Entrees, service was smooth. When we were waiting a little bit more than half an hour with no update on the arrival of the Entrees, a waiter caught my eye looking around and said that our Entrees were coming out shortly and they did. Besides that hiccup, the staff were cordial and quite attentive. The food was sumptuous as expected too.

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Terra Nova Petit Fillet – Petit prime Filet Mignon grilled, topped with Shrimp and Blue Mussel scampi with Scallop Potato and roasted Vegetable.

With the above salivating description of a Surf n’ Turf, I think they could have served more than a single Shrimp and Mussel. Props to the Chef though, because that cut of meat was perfection  and cooked to order, medium rare, exactly how we like it. Same goes for the Lamb Chops! No disappointment there, because Terra Nova is known to have the best on the island. I thoroughly enjoyed those portions.

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Terra Nova Half Rack of Lamb – Marinated New Zealand Lamb crusted with garlic and rosemary, roasted and served with mint and Pomegranate Au Jus

Dessert was decadent and quite a delightful ending to our Sunday Dinner.

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Dessert served at The Terrace, Terra Nova All Suite Hotel last Sunday, November 12, 2017.

The three courses with the addition of a beverage, service charge and G.C.T came to about $6000JMD per person. The Terrace at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel was definitely value for money and is Suga Endorsed for Restaurant Week.

There are still three nights left for Restaurant Week and it may not be too late to make those Reservations!

Enjoy!

The Terrace at the Terra Nova All Suite Hotel 

***Reservations Recommended***

Location: 17 Waterloo Road. Kgn. 10.

Ph: 876-926-2211; 876-926-9334

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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Flawless Service from Fromage Gourmet Market & Bistro for Restaurant Week’s Delectable Category!

Suga had a fabulous date with husband, Randy Burgess last Saturday night. Reservations were for 7pm at Fromage Gourmet Market & Bistro on Hillcrest Avenue and we were on time.

This Fromage was listed under the Delectable Category ($3800JMD) for Restaurant Week (RW). So dinner with a beverage including 5% service charge and tax can run you up to $5500JMD for one person.

We chose an early time for dinner, when the newly refurbished and slightly more spacious Fromage would not have been filled to capacity as yet. It reached full capacity midway through dinner though.

The Staff were courteous and extremely attentive without being overwhelming. All members of Staff were on the floor, paying attention to the tables whether they were serving that table or not. A sign of well-trained staff. Our server was Dimel, who I am familiar with. Always a pleasure.

Food came out like clockwork and water glasses were topped up when necessary. Great service.

The Appetizers were flavourful.

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Bacon wrapped maple smoked Prawns

I had the Bacon wrapped maple smoked Prawns and Randy had the Marlin Corn Fritter Stack. I always enjoy Fromage’s house-made Pepper Jelly that has that divine mix of spicy and sweet as the name suggests.

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Marlin Corn Fritter Stack – Sweet Corn Fritter stack topped with Marlin and Pepper Jelly

As we wrapped up with the Appetizers, JPS had a promotion going on throughout the night for RW diners to download their JPS App and drop their card with contact information into a bag. They came during dinner service to do the first raffle draw for the night.

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Suga a.k.a Gabby from Suga Lifestyle was the first lucky winner at Fromage Gourmet Market & Bistro for downloading the ‘My JPS’ App!

Our Main dishes came out shortly after the excitement of shaving $5000JMD off of our next Light bill.

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Guinness BBQ Ribs with Sweet Potato Mash and Steamed Market Fresh Vegetables

My BBQ Ribs pleased my taste buds as described. They were lean, juicy, well seasoned and slow-cooked to a tender perfection.

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Steak Au Poivre – Peppercorn Crusted Beef Tenderloin in a Brandy cream sauce with Sautéed Potatoes and Steamed Market Fresh Vegetables

Randy’s Steak Au Poivre was cooked to order. It was so succulent. Bravo Chef!

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Medium rare Steak cooked to order!
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Caramel Bread Pudding

Without a doubt, dinner came to a close for me with their popular Caramel Bread Pudding. It was warm and scrumptious as usual with their salivating caramel crumble on top.

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Bailey’s Ice Cream Sundae

Randy thoroughly enjoyed his Bailey’s Ice Cream Sundae.

Fromage Gourmet Market & Bistro is Suga Endorsed for Restaurant Week. Pay them a visit if you can and continue to enjoy.

Stay tuned for Terra Nova’s review for the Epicurean Category!

Remember that the Menus with Restaurant Locations and Contact numbers are online at:

http://go-jamaica.com/rw/

***Prices for each category include choice of Appetizer, Main Course and Dessert. Beverages, G.C.T and Gratuity additional.***

Fromage Gourmet Market & Bistro

***Reservations Recommended – 15 minutes holding time***

Ph#: (876) 622-9856; (876) 927-7062

Address: 8 Hillcrest Ave., Kingston 6

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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New Restaurant in Kingston! Steak House on the Verandah at Devon House!

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The Launch of the New Restaurant at Devon House, Steak House on the Verandah owned by Marilyn Burrowes was held almost a month ago on Sunday, October 15th.

The Steak House resides at the exquisite location once held by late Culinary icon, Norma Shirley who owned Norma’s on the Terrace.

The Restaurant is managed by Michael Fulford and the man responsible in the kitchen is Chef Alex D-Great.

Premium local, Dry-Aged Steaks are their specialty and they offer other delectable delights and desserts accompanied by a substantial selection of wines.

I visited the Steak House for a Lunch date with my other half, Randy last Saturday at 2pm. We were greeted pleasantly by the staff and our waitress was Princess, who we were familiar with from another establishment.

She took us through the menu and after giving us a few minutes, she took our orders and was quite attentive throughout our stay.

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Challah Bread served to start off our Lunch!

Appetizers

Randy had the Jamdung Onion Soup, which was different from others out there. The cheese was on the bread instead of in the soup and the soup was more like a beef broth, richly flavoured with onion. For something that had a scotch bonnet label, it was not spicy though.

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Jamdung Onion Soup ($900JMD) – Very rich scotch bonnet beef stock, loaded onion and served with a Gruyère cheese corn bread.

There were other choices that I wasn’t interested in, such as Salads, Wings, Pumpkin Shrimp Bisque and Tempura Shrimp ranging from $900-$1200JMD. I knew they offered Bone Marrow, however Princess told us that was on their Dinner menu. She quickly offered to speak with the Chef and he agreed to fulfil my desired preference. Thank you Chef!

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Spicy Bone Marrow ($1150JMD)

That Spicy Bone Marrow was divine. It was so seductive, sweeting me up with the sauce, then hitting me up with a fiery, zesty flavour.

Entrees

Steak House on the Verandah sources their Steak locally from The Meat Experts Ltd. Meat Experts operates out of St. Ann and they have been making quite a name for themselves with their high quality, hormone-free meats.

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12oz Rare Dry-Aged Ribeye Steak ($5750JMD) with Black Truffle Butter, Béarnaise Sauce, Sautéed Vegetables and Mashed Potatoes (Photo credit: Craig Anthony Fleming)

I had my mind set on having the Ribeye Steak ($5750JMD), but they were all out.

We had the Filet Mignon and Dry-Aged New York Steak with our choice of two sides and a sauce. We both requested our Steaks to be cooked medium rare. Mine arrived overcooked, but I decided not to reorder. It was still tender in some areas. The Steaks were delish, especially with the Coffee Demi Glaze.

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Filet Mignon ($4100JMD) served with Coconut Callaloo, a Cheese Potato Croquette and Coffee
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Dry Aged New York Steak ($4900JMD) with Red Wine Reduction Sauce, Mashed Potatoes and Sautéed Vegetables + ($150JMD – Caramelized onion)

If you are a Steak Eater, especially a lover of premium cuts, your bill may turn out to be quite high. A couple going for 3 Courses over two glasses of wine and sharing Dessert can rack up a $20,000JMD bill. However, there are more affordable options excluding the premium cuts. The menu also satisfies persons who aren’t Steak lovers with plates of Chargrilled Salmon ($4050JMD), Rosemary Herbed Chicken Breast ($2150JMD) and Fettucine Fungi Alfredo ($1250JMD) with the options to add Chicken ($600JMD) and Shrimp ($1000JMD).

Dessert

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Flourless Chocolate Cake with Strawberry Ice cream ($1200)

They did not have Vanilla Ice Cream. How come?! Not disappointing though, because I like Strawberry Ice cream. The Cake was warm and tasty.

Coffee/Tea ($350) was the other option for Dessert, but there was no need for a range of options. Persons can walk around afterwards and choose from many other shops to satisfy the sweet tooth while enjoying the historic grounds as well.

I enjoyed the succulent food served amidst the ambience and attentive service by the staff on my Lunch date at the new Steak House. I will return not only for the Ribeye, but to try their Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich for $1400JMD, which consists of Julienne Steak cuts, mushrooms, bell peppers and caramalized onion with a side of seasoned fries.

Great start Steak House on the Verandah! Keep it up. #SugaEndorsed

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Gabby a.k.a Suga from Suga Lifestyle and husband, Randy Burgess enjoying Lunch at Steak House on the Verandah last Saturday, November 4, 2017.

Steak House on the Verandah

***Reservations Recommended***

Location: Devon House

Ph: 876-616-8833

Facebook: @steakhouseja

Opening Hours:

Mon. to Thurs. @ 12noon – 9:30pm

Fri. & Sat. @ 12noon – 10:30pm

***Closed on Sundays*** 

By: Gabrielle Burgess

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