Islandvibes Vacations

Restaurants

 

Your Personal Domestic Assistant has tremendous culinary skills. However, if you want to dine in a different and more formal atmosphere there are numerous restaurants in the surrounding Ocho Rios area.  Below you will find a partial list of restaurants for your convenience:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Asian Restaurants

 

DRAGONS

Renaissance Jamaica Grande

Main Street, Ocho Rios

876-974-2201

($$)

If you’re ready for a break from Caribbean dishes, try some authentic Cantonese and Szechwan cooking. Located in the South Tower Lobby adjoining the Dragons Lounge, this delightful restaurant is open 6 to 11 pm for dinner. Dragons menu selections include: sweet and sour pork, Szechwan-style chicken and nuts, chow mein, duck in plum sauce, lemon fish and fried rice.

 

THE RUINS

DaCosta Drive

876-974-2442

($$-$$$)

This restaurant is perched right beside a waterfall, its tables at the base of a 40-foot cascade. The menu here is diverse, with Oriental specialties such as lotus lily lobster and Far Eastern chicken, Jamaican dishes and some vegetarian choices.

 

A RUINED ROMANCE

 

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 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.

 

Caribbean Cuisine

 

THE RUINS

DaCosta Drive

876-974-2442

($$-$$$)

See listing above.

 

Continental Cuisine

 

ALMOND TREE

83 Main Street

876-974-2813

($$-$$$)

 

The menu at this popular eatery reflects both Jamaican and continental tastes. Diners enjoy spectacular views from their table al fresco. The menu is extensive. Live music entertains diners three times weekly.

 

JAMAICA INN

Two miles east of Ocho Rios, North Coast Highway

876-974-2514, fax 876-974-2449

($$$$)

Chef Wilbert Matheson conjures up varied fare in this al fresco restaurant. Some of the most tempting entrées 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.

Jacket and tie are required after 7 pm in all but the summer season. No children under age 14 are permitted to dine here, as the restaurant strives for an elegant atmosphere. Reservations are required.

 

PLANTATION INN

Main Street

876-974-5601

($$$$)

This elegant restaurant has been a favorite with Jamaica vacationers for over four decades. Visitors 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.

 

Italian Restaurants

 

BAYSIDE

Couples Ocho Rios, North Coast Highway, east of Ocho Rios

876-975-4271

($$$) (All-inclusive)

Bayside is the perfect spot for a dinner right by the water’s edge. As its name suggests, this open-air eatery sits right on the bay. Specialties of the house are Italian, with a wide selection of pasta sauces from which to choose. The restaurant is open for dinner only from 6:30 to 9:30pm.

If you are not a guest at Couples Ocho Rios, you can purchase an evening pass which includes drinks during your stay, the evening meal (including tips) and the nightly show.

 

EVITA’S

Mantalent Inn, Eden Bower Road

876-974-2333

($-$$)

This longtime favorite is patronized by travelers and locals alike for good Italian fare. Perched high over the city in a house more than a century old, Evita’s is especially noted for its numerous pasta and seafood dishes.Menu selections include homemade fettucine with meat sauce; fettucine Alfredo; and red snapper fillet stuffed with crab meat and jumbo shrimp sautéed in garlic butter, white wine and tomatoes. Operated by Eva Myers from Venice, Italy.

 

L’ALLEGRO

Renaissance Jamaica Grande, Main Street

876-974-2201

($-$$$)

This restaurant, with both indoor and open-air seating, offers fine Northern Italian cuisine, including pizzas made in a Tuscan wood-burning brick oven. Selections include pizza with blue cheese, tuna, artichoke and bacon and another with toppings of jerk chicken, yam and tomato sauce atop mozzarella cheese. Located in the South Tower of the resort, this restaurant offers an extensive wine list.

 

TOSCANINI ITALIAN RESTAURANT

Harmony Hall, Tower Isle

876-975 4785

($$$)

When you’re ready to take a break from shopping at Harmony Hall, refuel with a stop at this authentic Italian restaurant open for lunch and dinner. The menu offers many classic Italian dishes supplemented by ever-changing specials, dependent upon available fresh produce. The carefully selected wine list features vintages from around the world, while the fully stocked bar caters to all tastes. Toscanini is popular with visitors and local residents. Its delightful setting makes it an ideal spot for lunch, light or long, and for a romantic candlelit dinner.

 

Jamaican Restaurants

 

ALMOND TREE

83 Main Street

876-974-2813

($$-$$$)

See listing above

 

CALABASH

Couples Ocho Rios, North Coast Highway, east of Ocho Rios

876-975-4271

($$$) (All-inclusive)

This Jamaican restaurant serves dinner nightly, except Wednesday and Saturday. Each of the dishes reflects the rich cuisine of the island, starting with such appetizers as May Pen mushroom pie and scallops and crab cakes mixed with virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and herbs. Entrées include mahi-mahi with grilled pineapple and curried tomato vinaigrette, Kingston Kiev chicken breast stuffed with herbed garlic butter, and baked christophines (cho-cho) with vegetable spaghetti and red pepper sauce. There’s also jerked chicken, jerked pork, red snapper escovitch and peppered steak.

 

CARDIFF HALL RESTAURANT

Heart Hotel, Runaway Bay

876-973-2671

($$)

Local and international dishes fill the menu at this indoor restaurant, which serves seafood, steaks, salads and vintage wines. As a training institute, the restaurant offers classic European table service.

 

MANOR RESTAURANT

Ciboney, Main Street

876-974-1027

($$$) (All-inclusive)

Jamaican dishes prepared with a gourmet flair are the order of the day at this elegant eatery.

 

OCHO RIOS VILLAGE JERK CENTRE

DaCosta Drive

876-974-2549

($)

This open-air eatery looks like an all-American hamburger joint with its striped canopy and casual atmosphere, but take a whiff of that smoky jerk and you’ll know this is no burger bar. Jamaican jerk is the star of the day here; try the pork, chicken or fish.

 

Middle Eastern Cuisine

 

SULTAN’S TABLE

The Enchanted Garden, Eden Bower Road

876-974-1400

($$$) (All-inclusive)

This fine dining restaurant serves delights from Morocco, Lebanon, Israel, Algeria and Turkey. The Middle East theme is carried out in the resplendent decor, which features rich Turkish rugs, ornate brass screens and hand-carved ornaments. Offerings include stuffed peppers with beef and cous cous; slow-cooked chicken with chick peas; and snapper fillet with tahini-yogurt sauce.

 

Vegetarian Dining

 

THE RUINS

DaCosta Drive

876-974-2442

($$-$$$)

See listing above