Frommer's Review
This is the most aggressively upscale restaurant, with the most "fussed-over" cuisine, in Ocho Rios. It's marketed by the Sandals chain as the most prestigious dining option within any of their branches in Jamaica, and unlike most other members of the Sandals chain, this one is open to visitors who phone in advance for a reservation. The venue works hard to impress, and in most cases succeeds, albeit with an occasionally somewhat heavy-handed emphasis on its own glamour. It's located on the upper floor of what looks like a great house on steroids, whose neoclassical symmetry opens into a breathtaking decor that rivals some of the museums of Europe. At the top, past a bevy of formally dressed guardians, you'll find the only caviar-and-champagne bar in the Caribbean. (That's right: don't ask for a Red Stripe, at least not here?) Small jars of caviar are opened like holy relics -- dispensed with pomp, fanfare, and ceremony in service rituals that include the necessary condiments -- as part of rituals that can be delightful and fun or a wee bit pretentious, depending on your point of view. Frankly, we usually bypass the caviar bar here, opting instead for a seat in the artfully decorated Le Papillon. Here, amid cut-velvet wallpaper imported from France, within a room that evokes oceans of good taste, you'll enjoy formal meals with superb cuisine. Begin, perhaps, with roasted quail with an apple compote and black-pepper glaze; or tiger shrimp prepared three different ways (tempura, Cajun sauté, and jerk-style); move on to Caribbean-style lobster soup with black-pepper rum and crème fraîche. Main courses include a rock lobster spring roll; sea scallops on a skewer served with angel-hair pasta; parmesan-flavored grouper; a confit of duck with tamarind glaze and apple chutney; and one of the most upscale versions of surf and turf anywhere.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
