Jamaica Observer Table Talk Food Awards judge for the parish of Westmoreland, attorney-at-law Michael Erskine, adds Cosmo’s Seafood Restaurant & Bar and Indians Seafood and Beer Joint to his list of culinary gems.

My very first dining experience in Negril, Westmoreland some 30 years ago was at a restaurant known as Cosmo’s Seafood Restaurant and bar. It was an experience that has forever remained etched in my memory.

As I recall, it was during the tourist season and the place was filled with tourists eating lobsters, shrimp, escoveitch fish and bammy. The car park was filled with taxis and mini-buses and the beach was peppered with tourists relaxing in the sun and drinking Red Stripe beer, daiquiries and rum cream.

How proud I was when I heard that this restaurant and bar, located on prime real estate on the beach in Negril and sandwiched by two luxury all- inclusive hotels, was owned by a native Jamaican, born and bred in Negril.

Cosmo Brown, the owner of Cosmo’s Seafood Restaurant and Bar, is a true Jamaican pioneer, a man with a vision and ambition to succeed by dint of hard work, skill and determination.

In 1975 Cosmo Brown had worked his way up to the position of manager of a restaurant; one of 15 in a chain of restaurants in Chicago, USA. He was the first black man to hold such a position in that restaurant chain. Yes, he was doing well but felt he could do better if he returned to Jamaica and started his own restaurant in Negril.

Armed with the knowledge and experience he had gained in Chicago, in 1976 Cosmo packed his bag, resigned his job in Chicago and returned to Jamaica and started Cosmo’s Seafood Restaurant and Bar with J$1,000, one employee and an outside kitchen.

At that time his peers said he was mad to have left his “good job” in America to come back to Jamaica to open a restaurant in “a crab hole and a mosquito-infested swamp”.

Today, after 39 years of consistent improvement, Cosmo’s Seafood Restaurant and Bar houses four main buildings, two enclosed dining areas as well as an outdoor dining area on the beach, 10 permanent employees, five casual workers and has a reputation for excellence.

This restaurant is the most popular on the famous seven-mile beach strip in Negril and is well supported not only by tourists, but also by returning residents and Jamaicans generally.

It is also supported by the all-inclusive hotels who frequently recommend Cosmo’s to their guests who want to dine in a ‘safe’ place off property.

Cosmo’s also hosts weddings, birthday parties, Mother’s Day functions and small seminars and is a favourite among church groups and political leaders on both sides of the political divide, as well as private sector leaders.

Dining at Cosmo’s is a really pleasurable experience.

In addition to the usual seafood menu, there are a lot of local dishes like escoveitch fish with bammy, oxtail, curried goat and jerk chicken, among other favourites. The grilled smoked pork chops, done the old-fashioned way, with pineapple sauce is a winner.

When next you visit Negril check out Cosmo’s, I am sure you will be more than satisfied.

Small bowl red peas soup JM$400

Grilled Smoked Pork JM$1,100

Escoveitch fish with bammy JM$1,400

Blended Fruit Punch JM$450

For reservations, call: 876-957-4784/876-957-4330

Indian Seafood and Beer Joint

Situated one mile out of the town of Savanna-la-Mar is Indian Seafood and Beer Joint. All lovers of fish, especially steamed roast fish, must visit this down-to-earth, roots establishment. Fish, conch and lobster are steamed or roasted on a grill right in front of you and you can choose the one you want.

The man behind this rather unique establishment is Michael Dussie, known more popularly to all his customers and friends as ‘Indian’.

Indian started this business 21 years ago after returning to Jamaica, having given up his job working on a cruise ship.

He made the fireplace himself with bricks, stones and blocks on which he placed a thick tin sheet and with the help of family members he constructed the wooden structure that houses the operation.

In the beginning things were a bit difficult, but eventually the concept caught on and the business took off and is now thriving and well established in Savanna-la-Mar.

Indians Seafood and Beer joint is a very popular after-work meeting and eating place. It is also a favourite with visitors and returning residents.

This fish joint is not your usual restaurant, there are no tables and chairs, only stools, as if you are around a bar and very often because of the popularity and the tastiness of the food you have to wait your turn to be seated.

The fish and conch are prepared in a very special and unique way. The fish is seasoned and has a with a special stuffing made of okra, callaloo and other secret ingredients which Indian keeps very close to his chest.

For most of the foreigners who patronise Indians Seafood and Beer Joint, the first question they ask is, “what is that you use to stuff the fish with?” Indian will always smile and say “afta yuh come here 10 times I will let you in on the secret”. Both the fish and the conch are served steamingly hot wrapped in a foil with roti.

There’s no daytime at this establishment. Action begins at about 7:00 pm and ends at about midnight or whenever the fish and conch prepared for sale that night have been sold off! Sometimes this can be as early as 10:30 or 11:00 pm. What I can assure you is that there is never any left over fish or conch to be sold the following night. All fish that is sold at Indian Seafood is fresh fish collected from the fishermen earlier in the day or directly from Indian’s own fishing boat.

Personally, I enjoy going to Indian Seafood; it is a regular after-work eating spot for me as well as for many other professionals such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, sports enthusiasts and politicians of every stripe.

Apart from the good, healthy food at Indian Seafood the discussions are usually lively, entertaining, very spirited, good-humoured and never rancorous.

There is always a wide range of fish from which to choose — from the popular doctor and angel fish to snapper, butter, grunt and turbit, which Indian calls “old wife”, as well as the snuck and mud fish which comes from the nearby Cabarita River. As Indian always says “pick your choice, all a dem nice’.

You can also get lobster when in season, salt fish chokka, dawl with your roti and your fish with steamed crackers by special order. Whenever my family members visit me from abroad one of the places I always take them is Indian Seafood and Beer Joint and they are never disappointed. In fact, sometimes they demand that I take them there.

Fish price ranges from $300-$1,500

Lobster $1,500-$2,000

Conch $250

Conch Soup $100 per cup

Fish Tea $100 per cup