Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judge for the parish of St Ann, Andrew Salm, shares his first hidden gem – Spring Garden

Some time ago I took my wife and our two friends for dinner at a restaurant called Spring Garden just off the bypass outside Ocho Rios. I had always heard good reports of it, but even though I drove past it daily, we had never paid a visit. The first thing you realise when you drive in off the bypass is that the restaurant has an incredibly inviting atmosphere. This is surprising, as it is right off a busy main road and although one might not think of it as a romantic location, the restaurant is extremely popular with couples in the evening.

Even as you drive into the car park, you already feel distant from the hustle and bustle of Ocho Rios. The low ceilings and fairy-lit bar area have a distinct Christmas feel all year round and the place has lots of small areas splintered off from one another, giving you a sense of privacy wherever you are situated.

We were met and greeted by a lovely hostess, and were offered a wide choice of seating areas, including an inside air-conditioned section. We settled on the deck area outside, which was cool and breezy, and the muted noise from the road only seemed to enhance the atmosphere of the restaurant. Our waitress knew her menu well, which was impressive, as it has quite a wide range of different seafood options, from an entire page of different lobster tail options to King crab and everything else one can imagine from the Caribbean Sea. She graciously pointed out the various choices from the menu, including her favourites, which most of us went for.

We had a variety of starters including the conch fritters, the calamari and the coconut shrimp. Although my friends said the calamari was slightly hard, it was cooked well, without too much grease (a hard thing to find in many restaurants) and was accompanied by a sweet and sour dipping sauce. It tasted fantastic. The conch fritters were excellent and the starters came out right after we had finished our second round of drinks. Perfect.

For our main course we had the shrimp rundown, a chicken curry and two of us had the fried fish with a side of garlic butter (garlic butter wasn’t on the menu, but the chef made it for us anyway). All of these were exceptional! The fish meat was bright and the outside perfectly crispy, and cooked to perfection. The steamed vegetables were a good selection, still crunchy and not overcooked, and the pumpkin rice was delicious. The wine list was not extensive, but there is a good range of spirits and top-shelf liquor, which obviously appeals to both locals and tourists alike who frequent the place. All in all, the bill came to about JA$3,500 per head, including a bottle of wine and excluding service.

We have been back many times since then for lunch and dinner, and are 98 per cent pleased with our choices and our dining experience. The range of side dishes is strictly Jamaican in terms of variety, so if you are looking for international cuisine and plenty of imagination and creativity, then this might not be for you. But if you are looking for incredible seafood and value for money, this is a hidden gem, and I would advise anyone from outside of St Ann to put it in their sights. So if you are coming to Ocho Rios and are looking for Jamaican seafood done consistently well, then Spring Garden is definitely a must.