I returned from a 2 week vacation in Jamaica and had an amazing time. Stayed at Xtabi Resort in Negril which is located in the West End of Negril on the cliffs. I liked Xtabi, it was more of a budget, no-frills place to stay, however, the beautiful location and scenery on the cliffs more than made up for the non-fancy rooms. Plus, we weren't in the room all that much anyways. We spent most of our honeymoon snorkeling right outside our resort or at the beach a few miles away. It was fantastic.Before going to Jamaica, everyone told us to stay in the resort and not to walk around town. We always walked around outside the resort. People are friendly, and really, they just want to sell you things. These things may range from bracelets, wood carvings, to tours to various places in Jamaica. Also, you should be prepared for pretty much everyone there trying to sell you ganja (marijuana). A simple no usually works, but you may have to be more firm with the more persistent ones. Never ignore a "higgler" (person trying to sell you things), it is very insulting to them. The locals are simply trying to make some money, as the country is very dependent on tourism. Be friendly to them and a firm "no, but thank you" usually works. From what we were told, the locals take care of the tourists (even if they are trying to sell you things) so we figured it was good to make a few friends.
One thing I decided to blog about was the food in Jamaica. It was phenomenal. I am also allergic to dairy and gluten, which makes it EXTREMELY difficult to eat at restaurants. Needless to say, I was a bit worried about finding food to eat during our stay in Jamaica. Before we went, I googled vegetarian restaurants in Negril and found some leads to places such as Royal Kitchen Vegetarian Cafe and Just Natural. When we arrived in Negril, I was thrilled to find out both places were within walking distance to the hotel. I decided to do this blog as kind of a review of all the restaurants we tried while in Jamaica in hopes that it may be a resource for other vegetarian Jamaica travelers. Most of the restaurants have no street addresses. Service is typically slow in Jamaica because food is cooked to order so be patient.
Royal Kitchen Vegetarian Cafe:
Royal Kitchen is located on West End Road about a 5 minute walk from our hotel, next to Choices Restaurant, and across from a resort, I believe the name was Samsara. Royal Kitchen serves Rastafarian cuisine, all of which was vegan. The owner Errol is soft spoken an
d super nice. The food is cooked to order, so sometimes you have to wait a bit, but it is completely worth it. The meals were always absolutely delicious here. We would get a combo plate, which was a little bit of everything that was prepared for the day. It was typically a veggie stew, rice and peas, tofu, callaloo and veggie chunks. The veggie stew was a delicious curry. Veggie chunks were made of (I think) TVP and tasted so much like meat, I had to ask to make sure it wasn't. A platter was $400 Jamaican, (under $5USD)Note: right next to the restaurant a bunch of locals always hang out. They are very friendly and will try very hard to sell you ganja (marijuana) or tours to places around the island. We never took them up on any of their sales pitches and enjoyed chatting with them for the most part. (Until they started sitting down with us at our dinner table!!)
Roots Cafe:
Another place we ate at several times was Roots Cafe which was the restaurant at Roots Bamboo Negril Beach Resort. Roots Cafe was an interesting place to eat at. The service was just... strange. But the food was quite good. So anyways, there were a few things we found strange. Granted, it was the off season, so that might explain things. One strange thing was that the place was closed for food inexplicably a few times. When we arrived, you could never tell if the place was open for food or not, so we would have to ask. Also, when we would come in for dinner, the host would look annoyed! However, they had a couple veggie options and the food was always delicious. I typically ordered the veggie platter, which was a veggie curry. Roots is worth a visit for food.
Just Natural:
Just Natural was a small restaurant located right next to Xtabi. I cannot say enough good things about this place. The owner, Theresa, was the nicest lady you could ever meet. Most of the food was not vegetarian, however, there were vegetarian options and Theresa was always willing to accomodate. We ate breakfast there every day except for sundays (closed). All the food is completely fresh and cooked to order. I would order the "full house" omelette without cheese and every day, it was a little bit different, depending on what veggies she had. For dinner, there were 3 vegetarian options, a pasta, veggie platter and veggie lasagna. I ordered the veggie platter, which was a tasty veggie stew with rice and peas and fresh veggies. The juices were also delicious, freshly prepared. The prices were extremely reasonable. Breakfast was about $3.50 to $5.00 a plate. Dinner was closer to $5 a plate. Seating was outside in her beautiful front yard. I highly recommed this place.
Kuyaba:
Kuyaba on the Beach was another place we enjoyed when we wanted a more date-like experience. There were several vegetarian options. Kuyaba was right on the beach and during dinner you could watch the sunset. The food was more pricey, but the place was very nice and service was excellent. The lentil dip with sweet potato chips was particulary good, as well as the veggie platter (a curry stew).
Ras Rody Organic Sips and Bites:
www.rasrodyorganics.com
Another gem we discovered in Negril was Ras Rody's. Ras Rody's Organics was a little roadside stand with a single bench to sit on to eat. The place was run by Ras Rody and his family. All the food was "ital", vegan and organic, usually from Rody's farm. The food, quite simply put, was the best food I have ever tasted in my life. Everything was prepared on top of a fire. For $5 you could get a little bit of everything he made. It was usually an amazingly flavorful veggie curry, rice and peas, callaloo, veggie chunks, sweet potato, breadfruit and a soup. It was so good. It was so fun to go there and talk to Rody and his children, particularly his son Shadrock. A couple times we got to watch them cook, which I did intently, taking mental notes and asking questions about how the food is cooked. Rody is more than happy to share, as he feels that food is your medicine and it should be shared. Rody has written a cookbook and it will be published hopefully soon. If you are in Negril, you need to check this place out!
Negril Yoga Center:
We stopped in at Negril Yoga Center once for lunch. The place is only open till 3 pm while we were in Negril. The one meal we had there was really quite good. They have a delicious pumpkin soup and vegetarian options. We never got a chance to go there again as they closed before dinner time.
Cosmos Seafood Restaurant and Bar:
Cosmos was another place we went to frequently as it had good beach access without too many "higglers" bothering you, there were a few vegetarian options, good drinks and very comfy hammocks to nap in on the beach. We would usually get bammy and fries for lunch, and spend some time on the beach. They did have a decent veggie platter, but it wasn't spectacular. Still, we enjoyed Cosmos as it was a nice place to enjoy the beach without tons of people trying to sell you things. Also, there was a lady offering very good massages that were inexpensive. She is the one in the white tent, I can't remember her name. On the beach to the other side, the ladies there offer hair braiding and massage, but it was a lousy massage.
Margaritaville:
We stopped in at Margaritaville to see what all the fuss was about and for a place to enjoy the beach without being hassled. The security for the most part kept "higglers" off the beach, you could lounge on chairs with umbrellas and get drinks and food brought to you on the beach. There was also a water trampoline in the ocean for guests to enjoy. The food was ok, drinks were good, beach was crowded but fun.
Xtabi Restaurant:
Our resort, Xtabi, had a restaurant located right on the cliffs. The view was breathtakingly beautiful. The food was good, a little pricier than other places, and there were some vegetarian options. There was also a bar there, and the bartenders were always friendly.
Sweet Spice:
Sweet Spice was near the center of town, a little bit down on A2. There was a steamed veggie platter as the vegetarian option. It was tasty, mostly made of cabbage and other veggies. I wouldn't eat this every day, but it was good.
