Jamaica

Eating out in Jamaica

From hot to haute, and everything in between, Jamaican cooking is a culinary melting pot that combines a hint of Spanish and English, a good dash of Indian and Chinese, and a wallop of African ingredients that together cook up the Caribbean's most creative cuisine. The Jamaican national dish is ackee and salt-fish - a concoction made from imported salted cod and the fruit of the ackee tree, mixed with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. Jamaican food is a living testament to the island's history and natural abundance. For example, the Arawak Indian cassava is used today as "bammie," a toasted flat cake eaten with fried fish. The Maroons - escaped slaves always on the run from the British after the 1655 invasion - devised a way of spicing and slow-cooking pork that they called "jerking," recognized world-wide as the definitive Jamaican flavor. Breadfruit arrived courtesy of Captain Bligh and the Bounty. The native pimento tree, the source of allspice, is used in numerous Jamaican dishes, and there's a fair bit of intrigue regarding whether it is, or is not, a key ingredients of the famous Pickapeppa Sauce, a recipe that's closely guarded.

Montego Bay.

Gourmet

The Houseboat Restaurant is anchored in the lovely Bogue Lagoon, where guests arrive by hand-drawn ferry. The scrumptious European fare begins with a cheese fondue and dessert is always a highlight of local tropical fruits dipped in hot chocolate sauce!.

Highly Recommended

Pier One Restaurant and Bar serves savory international and local dishes in an elegant dining room or on the rustic nautical deck, both overlooking the bay and its gorgeous view of the sunset.

Local Flair

The Pork Pit is the established champ of jerk barbecue. This is no-frills place where the frills aren't missed a bit because all that matters is that they serve the best jerk pork and jerk chicken in Jamaica, chased with local Red Stripe brew.

Romantic

The Calico is a 55-foot wooden boat that sails several nights each week. Dining and dancing into the sunset makes this the best and most romantic evening of your trip!.

Negril.

Gourmet

The Orchid Terrace Restaurant specializes in local and international cuisine, complemented with a collection of fine wine. The beat of Jamaican folk music fills the air as you dine in this graceful restaurant or mingle at the weekly manager's cocktail party!.

Local Flair

Country Country, on Negril's famous Seven-Mile Beach, is a cluster of colonial-style, rustic cottages that epitomize the best of old Jamaican country living while peppering the experience with modern luxury. It is well-known for its sumptuous Chinese and Jamaican cuisine, which is served directly on the beach.

Highly Recommended

The Rockhouse Restaurant is one of Negril's finest dining experiences, serving Jamaican dishes with a hint of European influences. The restaurant is a charming stone and thatch-roofed structure with a balcony suspended over Pristine Cove, promising an ambiance of tropical bliss!.

Romantic

The Blue Horizon West Restaurant has a relaxing atmosphere and a delicious menu, with meals served in the unassuming dining room or al fresco overlooking the Caribbean.

Ocho Rios.

Gourmet

Evita's Italian Restaurant is a popular Jamaican-Italian eatery where "rasta-pasta" is the specialty of the house.

Highly Recommended

At The Almond Tree, diners sit high above a Caribbean cove and dine on mouth-watering cuisine including the chef's special fondues.

Local Flair

The Ocho Rios Village Jerk Centre is a popular place to sample lots of different seafood and spicy jerk chicken and pork, served outdoors under a canopy.

Romantic

The Ruins Restaurant specializes in tasty Chinese and Jamaican dishes, which you enjoy while dining by a waterfall on the lush banks of the Turtle River!.

Port Antonio.

Gourmet

The Trident Villas and Hotel Restaurant features excellent food and the service to match, in a polished, candlelight setting.

Highly Recommended

The Jamaica Palace Hotel Restaurant offers top-notch fine dining with live entertainment.

Local Flair

The Bonnie View Hotel Restaurant, perched high on a sea cliff, has unbeatable Jamaican cuisine and a tantalizing view of Port Antonio far below.

Romantic

Mille Fleurs serves creative Jamaican cuisine with a Continental flair in the "garden of a thousand flowers" with a sensational panoramic view.

Going party in Jamaica

Kick off your evening with rum, the Jamaican national drink you can mix with just about anything. Try it with coconut water for the ultimate native refreshment and head out to dance and party all night long in the home of reggae! Every town has some degree of nightlife, and it's up to you to choose what you're up for. Small bars with a jukebox, cabaret entertainment, high-tech dance clubs, beach parties and, of course, karaoke are sprinkled throughout the island. More recently, street dances have become the rage with the younger dance hall crowd. Curiously, given Jamaica's musical heritage, there is a noticeable lack of tourist nightclubs outside of hotels, so rather than you going to the bands, the bands come to you. Hotel club hop and see what's going on, but keep in mind that performances are ever-changing, so it's a good idea to check with your concierge for a current schedule of events and scan the local paper.

Montego Bay.

Combo at Lollypop on the Beach

A rollicking beach party with seafood and jerk meats, reggae, dancing, and oh-no, limbo!.

Negril.

Compulsion

This discotheque is open every night, but really pumps the parties from Wednesday to Sunday.

Alfred's Ocean Palace

Right on the beach, it has live socca music and a show every Friday night, as well as reggae bands a few nights each week.

Ocho Rios.

There are several jamming party places to go wild here, including the nucleus of local nightlife at the Jamaica Me Crazy club in the Renaissance Jamaica Grande Hotel, the Silks Disco in the Shaw Park Hotel, and the Acropolis nightclub.

Port Antonio.

This region is a very quiet, laid back hideaway with little in the way of nightlife, but if you're looking to spice up the evening hours, check with your concierge, he'll know what entertainment is on each night.

Common events in Jamaica

Montego Bay.

The Bob Marley Birthday Bash

A time for serious partying every year when popular reggae artists from around the world make a pilgrimage to Jamaica to honor their patriarch. February.

Spring Break

Spotlights reggae concerts and beach volleyball competitions during an annual program of discounted rates at select hotels, attractions, restaurants, and nightclubs designed to create an affordable great time for students needing an escape! March.

Carnival in Jamaica

It lasts for one week with a multi-city series of fetes, concerts, and street parades. Flamboyantly-costumed groups of all ages dance through the streets. April.

Negril.

Spring Break

Spotlights reggae concerts and beach volleyball competitions during an annual program of discounted rates at select hotels, attractions, restaurants, and nightclubs designed to create an affordable great time affordable for students needing an escape! March.

Ocho Rios.

Spring Break

Spotlights reggae concerts and beach volleyball competitions during an annual program of discounted rates at select hotels, attractions, restaurants, and nightclubs designed to create an affordable great time affordable for students needing an escape! March.

Carnival in Jamaica

It lasts for one week with a multi-city series of fetes, concerts, and street parades. Flamboyantly-costumed groups of all ages dance through the streets. April.

The Ocho Rios Jazz Festival

Draws international performers every year from Great Britain, Europe, Japan, the United States, and the Caribbean to perform alongside Jamaican jazz musicians. It's all the jazz you could possibly imagine, with jazz concerts, jazz lunches, jazz teas, jazz river feasts, and jazz barbecues.

Port Antonio.

The Port Antonio Blue Marlin Tournament

This is one of the oldest and most prestigious sport-fishing events in the Caribbean, with competing anglers from Europe and North America. October.