Nightlife

Nightlife is not guaranteed at Montego Bay's top hotels. In winter the restaurants and bars of the Ritz-Carlton or Half Moon have the most diverse amusements. After dark it's sleepy at Round Hill and Tryall.

The following clubs attract mainly a crowd of 20- to 40-somethings.

A highly visible and popular nightspot in Mo Bay is a two-in-one restaurant, Marguerite's Seafood by the Sea and Margueritaville Sports Bar & Grill, Gloucester Avenue (tel. 876/952-4777), across from the Coral Cliff Hotel. It specializes in moderately priced seafood and margaritas served on a breezy terrace overlooking the sea. The sports bar and grill features a 33m (110-ft.) Hydroslide, live music, satellite TV, a sun deck, a CD jukebox, and a straightforward menu of seafood, sandwiches, pasta, pizza, salads, and snacks -- nothing fussy.

What's our favorite down-home evening hangout in Montego Bay? It's Scotchies, Coral Gardens Main Highway (the A1), in Ironshore (tel. 876/953-8041). Set behind a dusty-looking cement-block barrier, about 5km (3 miles) east of Montego Bay's town center, it's the place where after-office Jamaicans meet and greet one another in a setting that's well-lubricated with rum, jerk food, and music. A lot of friendships and romances have been sparked at this place. The thing that surprises us the most about it is its setting, behind a masonry wall that's coated with the dust of a nearby construction project. Kenny Rogers and jazz singer Alicia Keys have both been spotted here, along with a healthy mixture of local residents and hip tourists. A half-pound portion of jerk pork, chicken, or sausage costs J$350 (US$5.60); a half-pound portion of jerk fish goes for J$300 (US$4.80). Red Stripes cost J$80 (US$1.30), and a portion of roasted breadfruit, yams, or sweet potatoes, J$100 (US$1.60) each. MasterCard and Visa are both accepted. Technically, the place opens every day around 2pm, shuffling along on a low-key level until 6pm, when it gets crowded. It's packed by around 8:30pm, when there's some kind of live music performed. The joint usually closes by 2am.

The newest and most deliberately upscale bar in Montego Bay is Nikkita's, on Gloucester Avenue (tel. 876/979-6373). Much of its creative forces are lavished on the restaurant which is attached to this bar, but since the bar does a healthy and sometimes bustling business in its own right, many people come here just for a cocktail or two amid a dark-paneled decor that might have been lifted intact from a stylish watering hole in San Francisco or London. Rum punches cost $4.50 each; a shot of Jack Daniels costs $8. It's open daily from 6pm until 3am.

Where should you go if you're looking to hang out someplace that's a bit earthier and rowdier than Nikkita's? Consider a restaurant and nightspot with the most whimsical name of any in Jamaica, the Jamaica Bobsled Café, 69 Gloucester Ave. (tel. 876/940-7009). Prefaced with the bright colors of the Jamaican flag, and an oversized digital clock that counts down the minutes to the next Winter Olympic Games, this is a tongue-in-cheek reminder of one of the most effective public relations and press campaigns in the history of Jamaica: the Jamaican bobsled team. Prominently displayed is the actual bobsled that was used by the Jamaican team in the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. Burgers, platters, and salads at this place cost from $5 to $9 each. It's open Monday to Thursday from 10am to 2am; Friday to Sunday from 7am to 2am.

Cricket Club, at Wyndham Rose Hall (tel. 876/953-2650), is more than just a sports bar; it's where people go to meet and mingle with an international crowd. Televised sports, karaoke singalongs, tournament darts, and backgammon are all part of the fun. It's open daily from 8pm to 2am; there's no cover.

We've enjoyed the atmosphere at Sun Daze, 39 Gloucester Ave. (tel. 876/952-9391), which has an authentic Jamaican laid-back feel -- complete with a constant flow of calypso and reggae music from as early as 10am daily (for the diehards) until 2am. This restaurant/club draws an equal mixture of locals and visitors, nearly all under 40.

If you want to stick to the more familiar, try Witches Nightclub, Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort (tel. 876/953-2485). Nonguests of the hotel can pick up a pass at the front desk for $95, which allows them all-inclusive privileges at the nightclub. The pass includes a buffet and all the drinks and dancing you can handle. The house/disco/jazz music is as imaginative as what you'll find at a club in the United States. It's open daily from 6pm to 2am.

The Brewery, Gloucester Avenue (tel. 876/940-2433), is one of the city's most popular nightlife hangouts. It's a cross between an English pub and a Jamaican jerk-pork pit. There's a woodsy-looking bar where everyone is into Red Stripe and reggae, lots of neo-medieval memorabilia, and a covered veranda in back overlooking busy Gloucester Avenue.

When it comes to gambling parlors, Mo Bay is no San Juan, much less Las Vegas. If you must, there's the Coral Cliff Gaming Lounge on Gloucester Avenue (tel. 876/952-4130), open 24 hours so that locals can play for small stakes at its slot machines -- nearly 100 in all. Don't expect large jackpots. On site is a big-screen TV and bar, drawing a Bud-swilling sports crowd.

Hunting the Green Flash -- In Jamaica, people gather for what's known as a "sundowner" to watch the day's last flickering rays.

The place we head for our sundowner is Richmond Hill Inn. This 1806 plantation-style house was once owned by the Dewars, of Scotch whisky fame. Perhaps out of memory of the long-ago occupants, a Scotch will do. But those fruit punches seem to win out instead. In a building constructed of limestone and molasses, you can wander among antiques and take your drink out onto the terrace for a grand sweep of the resort and the bay.

Count yourself lucky if you see a sudden "green flash" the moment the sun sets. This rare refraction of sunlight, which sometimes occurs in the West Indies on cloudless evenings, is said to guarantee true love to couples who witness it.

Rum & Reggae -- & an Escape -- When you want to escape, head for Time n' Place, just east of Falmouth (tel. 876/954-4371). From Montego Bay, you'll spot the sign by the side of the road before you reach Falmouth: "If you got the time, then we got the place." On an almost deserted 3km (1 3/4-mile) beach sits this funky beach bar built of driftwood. Sit back in this relaxed, friendly place and listen to the reggae from the local stations. You can order the island's best daiquiris, made from fresh local fruit, or stick around for peppery jerk chicken or lobster. Time n' Place isn't completely undiscovered -- somehow, fashion editors of Vogue have swooped down on the place, using it as a backdrop for beach fashion shots.