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OCHO RIOS DINING
Jamaica Inn
Two miles east of Ocho Rios, North Coast Highway
876-974-2514, fax 876-974-2449
Dress code: dressy; jacket and tie required for dinner in all
but summer season
Reservations: required
$$$$
Chef Wilbert Matheson serves up varied fare in this al fresco
restaurant. No children under age 14 are permitted to dine here,
as the restaurant strives for an elegant atmosphere. Reservations
are required. Some of the most tempting entres are grilled beef
tenderloin topped with chicken liver compote, poached yellowtail
tuna with steamed mussels and tomato concasse and porkloin with
a pineapple and honey glaze.
Plantation Inn
Main Street
876-974-5601
Dress code: dressy
Reservations: required
$$$$
This elegant restaurant has been a favorite with Jamaica vacationers
for over four decades. Guests can start their day with breakfast
served right on their oceanview balcony, complete with starched
linens and silver service. Or they can opt for breakfast in
the main dining room with local specialties such as ackee and
codfish, liver and bananas, pan-fried fish, or eggs, pancakes
and freshly-baked breads.
The Ruins
DaCosta Drive
876-974-2442
Dress code: casually elegant
Reservations: suggested
$$-$$$
Just as the name suggests, this restaurant is perched right
beside a waterfall. Tables sit at the base of this 40-foot cascade,
a wonderfully romantic site for lunch or dinner. The menu here
is diverse: Oriental specialties such as lotus lily lobster
and Far Eastern chicken, Jamaican specials, and even vegetarian
dishes. The site of the restaurant has an interesting history.
In 1831, Englishman Robert Rutherford built a sugar factory
near these falls, using their energy to grind the cane. Allegedly,
he married a local girl named Rose Dale and they moved into
a great house near the falls. Later, while Rutherford was in
England on business, Rose fell in love with one of the plantation's
overseers. When her husband returned home, he learned of his
wife's indiscretions and began spending time with Annie Palmer,
better known as the White Witch of Rose Hall (see page 96) in
Montego Bay. One night, after finding his wife with her lover,
he took Rose and the lover to a cave between the falls, chained
the couple to the walls, and sealed the cave with a boulder.
Later Rutherford married Annie Palmer and the plantation became,
literally, ruins.
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