Restaurants

Brown Sugar’s spacious interior and chic looks create an excellent first impression – which isn’t always the case with Caribbean restaurants. On the food side, they aren’t doing too badly either. The menu, which is described as ‘classic’ with a ‘unique contemporary slant’, offers something for everyone, including a fair share of options for vegetarians. The most enticing-sounding starter was ‘spicy pepper medley’ (sautéed sweet peppers served on hardough bread), but the irresistible combination of green banana and saltfish – in this instance as a salad – won out. Tempting main courses included Caribbean cod with green banana, spinach and okra, okra medley (sautéed okra with sweet peppers, shallots, garlic and scotch bonnet peppers) and the ubiquitous jerk chicken with rice and peas. Our chosen dishes of curried goat and callaloo royale (callaloo greens stir-fried with sweet peppers, chilli, garlic and shallots) were delicious, but a little too spicy. Brown Sugar offers a good dining experience – the decor, service and atmosphere are all great – but the food, though tasty, doesn’t quite have the wow factor to match.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008