Recommended Restaurants in Negril

Negril was once the bad boy of Jamaica, a place where hippies went to spend time in hammocks under the palm trees, smoking ganja and following a hippie lifestyle.

Today this westernmost community has gained respectability and is home to all types of resorts that attract everyone from swingers to families. Law mandates that no building here can be taller than a palm tree so the look is low rise, following the coast from Bloody Bay (named for the days when the whalers cleaned their catch here) to the cliffs at its southern end where the Negril Lighthouse still signals the rocks to ships.

Negril is best known for its seven miles of beach, home to the largest share of accommodations and plenty of small restaurants. Travelers staying along this stretch can walk the beach from property to property.

RECOMMENDED RESTAURANTS

Bamboo Restaurant, $
Root's Bamboo
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4479
Dress code: casual
Reservations: no
Jamaican and international dishes are served up at this casual eatery or just stop by to visit the Root's Bamboo Beach Bar for fun along Negril's famous seven mile beach.

Cosmo's Seafood Restaurant and Bar, $$-$$$
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4330
Dress code: casual
Reservations: no
Cosmo's is a long-time favorite with Negril travelers looking for good seafood. Super casual, the restaurant is right on the beach and visitors travel in and out of the restaurant to the beach. Specialties here include conch, lobster, and daily catches.

Feathers Continental Restaurant, AI
Couples Swept Away
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4061
Dress code: casually elegant or dressy
Reservations: required, usually 24 hours in advance
Fine dining is the order of the day at Feathers, the gourmet restaurant of Swept Away. Menu offerings start with pan seared sweetbreads in a vermouth reduction, courvoisier escargot in crisped phyllo, and Cornish game hen galantine on a berry and lemon grass relish. Entrees range from baked Black River crayfish to ackee enhanced vegetable bolognaise to roasted loin of pork with a grain mustard and lugur crust accompanied by mango chutney.

The Hungry Lion, $-$$
West End Road
876/957-4486
Dress code: casual
Reservations: suggested
This relaxed eatery serves up excellent vegetarian cuisine. Dishes such as a meatless shepherd's pie, pastas, and more are flavorful.

Kuyaba on the Beach, $-$$
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4318
Dress code: casual
Reservations: no
Dine on international dishes with a Jamaican flair. The mood here is as casual as can be and feel free to go from the restaurant right out to the beach. Free pickup from area hotels.

LaVendome Restaurant, $$$
Charela Inn
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4277
Dress code: casual
Reservations: suggested
Dine inside or outdoor just steps off the sand at this fun restaurant that features Jamaican dishes with a French twist.

Margueritaville, $$-$$$
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4467
Dress code: casual
Reservations: no
Like its sister restaurant in Montego Bay, this new restaurant is a favorite with tourists looking for rowdy fun. Super casual, the restaurant is better known for its party atmosphere than its food. Look for a Frisbee golf course, volleyball, basketball, a beach club. Oh, yeah, there's food, too: burgers, sandwiches, fish, chicken, and lobster, not to mention over 50 types of margaritas.

Otaheite
Couples Negril
Norman Manley Blvd.
Dress code: dressy
Reservations: required
Otaheite is the fine dining restaurant at Couples Negril, offering a gourmet twist on local cuisine. Start with appetizers such as seared beef carpaccio, jerk pork and provolone turnover, or roasted corn and crab fritters. Soups reveal the richness of Jamaica's many offerings: roasted pumpkin puree, Middle Quarters shrimp consommé, pasta and roasted eggplant chowder, or green pea puree with bacon crisps. Chefs really outdo themselves with the entrees, which marry Jamaican ingredients and gourmet talents. Dine on Cornish hen paella (in which Jamaican jerk sausage spices up the Spanish dish), baked yellowtail snapper with a smoked marlin mousse stuffing, pan seared Atlantic salmon with jerk coating, or thyme skewered swordfish and prawns. One of the most unique dishes is Ethiopian Doro Wat, the national dish of modern day Abyssinia, a skinless chicken stew with a fragrant Berbere flavored sauce.

Piacere, AI
Grand Lido Negril
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-5011
Dress code: dressy (jackets required)
Reservations: required
This elegant eatery is one of the best all-inclusive restaurants on the island. Start the meal with Chausson of Duck Confit, Slivers of Home Smoked Pork Tenderloin, Seafood Symphony Pancake, Double Doe Consommé, or Chilled Mango Nectar. Entrees are equally intriguing: tournedos of Black Angus Beef Tenderloin, Swordfish Grenadine Grilled, Skillet Roasted Provimi Veal chop, Pan Fried Pave of Deep Sea Halibut, and Roast Crown of Lamb. Finish off the evening with a taste of Blue Mountain coffee and a decadent dessert. We loved our dinner here and must say this restaurant really stands out in our memories.

The Rockhouse Restaurant and Bar, $-$$
Rockhouse
West End Rd.
876/957-4373, Fax 876/957-4373
Dress code: casual
Reservations: recommended for dinner
Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served at this open-air eatery, just steps from busy West End Road. Once through the gates at Rockhouse and seated beneath the restaurant's thatched roof, you'll feel that you are tucked away from the world. The restaurant and bar are perched high on Negril's bluffs and look directly out to sea and an unbeatable sunset. Jamaican cuisine with European influences are the specialties here.

Seaside Bar and Grill $-$$
Coco La Palm Seaside Resort
Norman Manley Blvd.
876/957-4227
Dress code: casual
Reservations: not required
We came to Coco La Palm after almost a week of eating our way around Jamaica. Would it be fair to judge a restaurant after so many excellent meals? Were we up to another Jamaican feast? There was only one way to know.

Coco La Palm made the task easy. We could dine at this excellent open-air restaurant night after night and never have enough. A diverse menu keeps things interesting, Jamaican specialties transformed into culinary masterpieces.

We started with Smoked Marlin and Ackee Cream cheese Tart (see recipe), a tasty blend of flavors with flavorful cream cheese and ackee to calm the taste of the smoked marlin (or marlin firing up the flavor of the cream cheese and ackee, depending how you look at it!) The night was off to a good start.

From there we moved on to some serious eating. The choices were all appealing: Jerk Festival Fettucine, Rum and Lime Broiled Chicken Breast, Broiled Mahi-Mahi Fillet with papaya salsa, Lobster and Shrimp Curry, the list went on and on. We made our choices: John had Coconut Crusted Snapper Fillet. Paris had Rasta Pasta with Shrimp, colorful rotini with sautéed shrimp and ackee in a Jamaican spiced sauce. Good selections, both.

But the task was not yet completed. Jamaican Coconut Rum Cheesecake remained. Nestled in a moist graham cracker crust, we later learned a slice of the devilish dessert had nearly 40 grams of fat. We'd work it off with a long swim tomorrow. No problem.

Sweet Spice, $
1 White Hall Rd.
876/957-4321
Dress code: casual
Reservations: no
We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at this real Jamaican eatery. You'll be cooled by a small fan and the breeze that comes through the open doorway. Artwork on the blue tinted walls consists of framed towels with Jamaican axioms. But this restaurant is the real thing: a Jamaican diner with food to match. Conch steak, curried goat, barbecued chicken, curried shrimp, and curried chicken are top offerings, served with rice. Cool off with a pawpaw daiquiri or a piña colada.

For a real taste of Jamaica home cooking, this restaurant is one of the best spots to visit in Negril.