IT’S a hot and clammy afternoon and so we are grateful to have snagged one of the three tables inside the Kingston location of Café Aubergine. Additional seating is available at the bar and three ladies are enjoying afternoon lunch. Those accustomed to the Moneague eatery will not only feel comfortable in the cosy setting but will applaud the owners’ attempt to recapture the mood of the country inn.

The bar dominates and yes, the signature canopy is in place. The wines are impressive and Anderson has, as usual, stocked up on the finest vintages. Our perfectly chilled, crisp Spanish house wine, Vera Libre slides effortlessly off the palate. Art takes up much of the wall space and a piano across from the bar further reduces the already intimate setting.

Nestling into the ample white cushions, we are at once at home and although the restaurant is buzzing (there’s nothing like the cacaphony of a new spot in town) we cannot suppress the urge to call up a few friends and share the good news.

The haunting sounds of, Edith Piaf, another of the restaurants signatures, is the final proof positive that it’s going to be yet another formidable dining experience. The menu, which runs throughout the day, is vintage Café Aubergine and includes favourites like the jaw-dropping, opulent Bouillabaisse with calamari, mussels, conch, two types of fish fillet (flounder and snapper), tomato roux with prawns, orange rind, white wine, garlic and saffron as well as the home-made pate. Today, however, we opt for the stuffed crab with white wine and fine herbs, vegetarian lasagna and tortellini in Gorgonzola sauce as starters.

Café Aubergine is a bistro and the appetisers ample enough to have with a glass of wine if you’re in the mood for a deliciously light, quick lunch.

We’re in no such mood and after tucking into hearty amounts of lasagna and allowing the decadently creamy aroma of the Tortellini Gorgonzola to penetrate the nostrils before delighting in mouthful after mouthful of its luxurious taste, we’re in Café Aubergine mode (no real place to go, lots of conversation, leisurely dining), and ponder entrees.

It’s a challenge but we eventually settle on the grilled fillet of snapper with mango vinaigrette, medallions of pork tenderloin in mushroom sherry sauce, linguine with mussels and clams in pesto wine sauce and refills of Vera Libre.

Anderson, the no-nonsense, detail-obsessed restaurateur, is worried about the size of the kitchen and is as usual lots more interested in us enjoying a hot meal than taking photos.

He need not be. The food, even after photographer Cummings’ lens has captured the image, is still ‘just prepared hot’ and delicious. Anderson’s keen eye picks up the fact that the linguine needs a tad more olive oil and yes, the mussels are not as slippery tender as they ought to be but can still pass muster at any of the world’s finest. Our conversation turns to the region, to life, to good fun and we applaud the ‘cooked to order and from scratch fare’.

Dessert is a must with the lemon mousse affording a great palate cleanser and the chocolate (mousse) post-meal bliss along with Illy espresso and a shot of Grappa di Chianti Classico.

SunDay Cuisine applauds the decision by both Neville Anderson and Rudi Gschloessi to open a Kingston branch of Café Aubergine. Let us support not just this new eatery but each and every one.

Café Aubergine- 2005 winner of the Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards for Most Romantic Restaurant and multi Restaurant of the Year nominee located at the Marketplace, 67 Constant Spring Road opens daily 12:00 – 10:00. Reservations will at least secure you a seat inside. There is al fresco dining as well as an outdoor bar.

Telephone#: 754-1865