Food – 4.5

Ambience – 5

Location – 3.5

Service – 4

Standout Dish – Saltfish Fritters

Website – http://therumkitchen.com/

There’s food that fills your belly and there’s food that does that while feeding your soul, The Rum Kitchen is the latter. I have heard rave reviews about the Rum Kitchen from so many people and last week I finally got a chance to visit the Notting Hill branch of this Caribbean restaurant.

It was an evening filled with girly chat and yummy cocktails but above all amazing food that just took away my troubles. I paid a visit to the Dominican Republic a few years ago and this took me right back. The mellow vibe, the colourful, quirky and bright décor and the happy faces. Everything told me the food was going to be just amazing and it would be like taking a journey to the soul land just like I did those years ago. I

IT was a dreary, cold Thursday evening when my friend and fellow blogger Bina rocked up the The Rum Kitchen ready to have your taste buds explode.

We were shown to our reserved table ( I would suggest booking as it got really busy) and we started with some cocktails and the salt fish fritters and the baby squid.

The salt fish was soooo divine! Like, literally the tastiest fish I have ever tasted! It was fragrant, lush smelling, well presented, inviting, tangy, fresh, soft but crispy and melt in your mouth. It was served with a tomato relish. Or as my friend Bina said ‘it’s like fish bhajia innit.’

The squid was also delicious. It was freshly made (you can just taste the freshness in all the food), spicy, crunch, more-ish and indulgent. It was served with a spicy mayo.

Moving onto mains…

My friend had the curried mutton which smelt just heavenly and nicely packed with flavour. It was lightly spiced and well complemented with rice & peas and coleslaw.

I went for the jerk chicken supreme and supreme it was. A generous piece of jerk chicken (my first time eating jerk chicken and it was not my last) was tender, light yet filling, well presented and oh so succulent. It was served with a gravy like sauce (not sure what it was called) chillies and spinach.

We had a couple of sides. The plantain and sweet potato fries. Both were fried pieces of vegetable delight

Cocktails

We tried a few different cocktails.. we started with the Reuben Carter which was a long fruity, punchy, refreshing drink. The L.D.D was a short cocktail which was fresh, strong, authentic and pretty! Later on Bina had the Coco Lola which was a coke float style cocktail which took you back to your childhood. It was coconutty, thick, sweet and creamy. I ended with the strange fruit which was served in a really cute little glass and was fruity, sweetened with maple syrup and pretty.

With their calm, relaxed, chilled and soulful approach to the food we had an amazing time at The Rum Kitchen and can see it becoming a regular hang out. The Rum Kitchen has great ambience, it is quirky and makes you feel like you’re on holiday. The Rum Kitchen is Soulfood made with love.

Priya Mulji