This was head and shoulders above any wine bar I had encountered in Jamaica and, in terms of ambience, layout, and decor, could easily be sited anywhere in the world. The display of the wine selection, a broad array of regional and international spirits, and a nice assortment of wine-related accoutrements, clearly spoke to the sophistication of the owners and/or their advisors.
We were welcomed by a uniformed staffer -- Shez -- who assigned us to the long central table based on our party size. A quick perusal of the wine list showed wines available by the glass as well as bottles arranged by old world countries and by varietal.
I ordered a Bouchard Pere & Fils 2014 Pouilly-Fuissé to begin and was pleased to see the appropriate stemware brought to the table. Shez was extremely professional in handling the wine service. I enquired as to where she had received her training and she said Select Brands, the distributor providing the wines on offer at the establishment. I followed up this bottle with a bottle of Pascal Jolivet Sancerre.
Between the two wines I ordered a salad. And that brings me to the food menu. It had a tight, excellent range of offereings which were highly suited to both the environment and the core products. I started out with the Greek Salad. It had more lettuce and less Feta than if I had bought it in Athens but, nonetheless, it was tasty.
For my main course I had a bunless burger. This meat was just a little more than medium but was tender and, thanks to the seasoning, full of flavor. We accompanied this course with a Cab and a Patz & Hall Pinot Noir. One of our local friends brought a bottle to the restaurant and they allowed us to pop it for a $10 corkage fee. Very reasonable to my mind.
Chef Lucian with David and Rachel |
©Wine -- Mise en abyme
No comments:
Post a Comment