Food is one of the best reasons to visit Jamaica, and Montego Bay is a good place to start. The cooking blends African, British, Indian, Chinese and Indigenous influences into something very much its own, built on scotch bonnet heat, allspice, thyme, ginger and coconut. You can eat well here on any budget, from a roadside jerk centre to a tablecloth dinner at an old estate, and the best meals are often the simplest. This guide covers what to order, what to drink and how to eat well wherever you are staying.
Jerk, the national obsession
Jerk is meat, usually chicken or pork, rubbed or marinated with scotch bonnet pepper, allspice (pimento), thyme, scallion and spices, then cooked slowly over pimento wood. The result is smoky, spicy and fragrant, and it is served with festival, a sweet fried dumpling, roasted breadfruit or hard-dough bread. Real jerk is cooked at open-air jerk centres and roadside stands, often from steel drums, and Montego Bay has some famous ones on the roads to the east of the city. Ask for it with the sauce on the side if you are heat-averse, and expect to eat with your fingers.
Everyday Jamaican plates
For breakfast, try ackee and saltfish, the national dish, made from the soft yellow fruit of the ackee tree sautéed with salted cod, onion and pepper, served with fried dumplings, boiled green banana or callaloo. At lunch, look for curry goat, brown stew chicken, oxtail and rice and peas, which in Jamaica means rice cooked with kidney beans and coconut milk. Beef and vegetable patties, sold from bakeries and snack counters, make a cheap and filling snack, and coco bread turns a patty into a sandwich. Escovitch fish, fried and topped with a tangy pickle of onions and peppers, is a coastal favourite.
Seafood on the coast
Montego Bay’s position on the sea means fresh fish is easy to find, from grilled snapper with bammy, a flat cassava bread, to lobster in season and conch soup. Waterfront restaurants along the Hip Strip serve plenty of seafood with a view, and fishing beaches along the coast sell the catch simply grilled or fried. For a more unusual meal, a day trip to the south coast takes you to Floyd’s Pelican Bar, where fish is cooked to order on a sandbar in the sea.
Drinks worth knowing
Red Stripe is the island’s lager, light and cold, and goes well with jerk. Rum is the real star, and Jamaican rum is known for its rich, fruity flavour. Try a rum punch at the beach, a simple white rum with soda, and, if you can, an aged rum for sipping. A tour of Appleton Estate in St. Elizabeth is the best way to understand the spirit and taste a range of ages. Non-alcoholic choices are excellent, too, including Ting, the grapefruit soda, fresh coconut water, sorrel in the Christmas season, ginger beer and fresh juices. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee, grown in the hills above Kingston, is a worthy souvenir.
Where to eat, in practice
On the Hip Strip, you will find a mix of casual bars, beach restaurants and grills within a short walk of each other, which makes it the easiest area for eating out without a car. Larger resorts on the Rose Hall coast have several restaurants, and some, such as the Sugar Mill at Half Moon, may welcome non-guests who book ahead. For jerk, ask your hotel or driver for a favourite jerk centre and allow time for the drive. For a lively evening with food, music and a view of the harbour, the waterfront bars and beach clubs are the best bet.
Practical tips
Tap water is usually fine at resorts, but bottled water is a safe choice elsewhere. Carry small Jamaican dollars for roadside food, since small vendors may not take cards or US dollars. Tip around ten to fifteen percent in restaurants if service is not already added, and check your bill. If you have allergies or dietary needs, say so clearly, since many dishes use coconut, peanuts and shellfish. Vegetarians can enjoy Ital food, the salt-free vegetable cooking of the Rastafari, and a visit to the Rastafari village near Montego Bay often includes an Ital meal.
A simple food plan
Start with ackee and saltfish for breakfast, a patty on a day trip, jerk and a Red Stripe for lunch, and fresh fish with a rum punch at sunset. Add a distillery visit, a stop for fresh coconut water and a dinner on the Hip Strip, and you will have covered the best of Montego Bay’s flavours in just a few days.