Have highway, have wheels, have money for the toll. Welcome to Thursday Life ‘s great escape.

The road leads us this time to Runaway Bay and to the Great Escape Restaurant located at the Runaway Bay Golf Club.

The restaurant, which opened its door to the public on August 26, is worth a lunch and/or dinner stop. Stepping up the stairs into the wide open space with sweeping vistas of the lush green golf course and the homes on the hill, one might be led to believe — the result of the visuals of one-time Hollywood screen legend Steve McQueen — that the American World War II epic was shot on location. It was not! What it does however — this according to Runaway Bay Golf Club General Manager Alicia Thomas — “is bring to the fore the history of the area Runaway Bay, the fleeing point of the Spanish soldiers retreating from English troops, as well as the point of departure of African slaves to the caves.

The Great Escape movie is based on the escape of British Commonwealth prisoners of war from a German POW camp during World War II.

Thursday Life suggests that you place your order first and then enjoy the Great Escape scenes placed along the walls.

The menu offers lunch and dinner options as well as one for children. Our wine consultant Christopher Reckord would, we suspect, be delighted to know that there is a comprehensive wine menu, too, that not only lists the wine but also its characteristics.

Executive Chef Mark Scott presents his lunch menu offerings in interesting groups.

First Bites

Taco Taco: choice of soft flour tortilla or crisp lettuce with a choice of chicken or fish served with pickled onions, tomatoes and avocado cream

Shaking Beef: spicy chilli and cane sugar sauce or lemongrass roasted chicken

Hot Pot Liquid: cream of locally grown pumpkin and basil with bammy sticks and escallion oil.

Carnival Salads like chop chop and mango slaw

Master Piece Handwiches, jerk pork press:cheese, spicy mustard, pickles, ham, passion and mayo

Escape Burgers, with Scotch bonnet pepper and pineapple and a salmon BLT: brown sugar cured bacon, escallion and coconut mayo spread

Caribbean Bowls of rice and peas or basmati rice alongside butter chicken, braised oxtail or curried mutton

While dinner… adds “Escape” beginnings like smoked marlin and ackee on mini bammy croutons drizzled with balsamic syrup or Runaway Bay jerked chicken cigars – crisp spring rolls filled with jerked chicken with an orange glaze.

Coastline… Chilean sea bass, Appleton-Guava glazed salmon and fisherman’s steamed fish

Hot Rocks… tenderloin of beef – coffee-spiced rubbed, escallion and coconut butter,

Free-range chicken breast and crayfish with island herbs, goat cheese and June plum cream; and Sugar cane skewered jerk pork loin with apple and red bean salad and mango barbecue jerk sauce.

What this culinary team does, and exceptionally well to boot, is to create tasty specialities with elegant and creative styling. The impressive styling is the unexpected; this is what will ensure a return visit.

Never ones to leave without having dessert – the duo of crème brûlée: mango, coconut, “burnt” with rock sugar, white chocolate tart filled with fresh fruits, guava cheesecake on coconut biscuit – and chocolate chocolate cake are worth trying.

The Great Escape Restaurant

Runaway Bay Golf Club

Main Street, Runaway Bay,

St Ann

Telephone: 973-4239

Prices are quoted in US$,

plus a 16.5 % GCT charge