By Hannah Powling
Vesi and I had the pleasure of paying Cottons Rhum Shack Restaurant a visit, to delve into their Caribbean cuisine, and feast on a hearty meal in Camden after a long day at work. And my, it was a treat.
Cottons Rhum Shack have been serving up a slice of sunshine to London since 1985 in their Camden restaurant, located only a short walk from Chalk Farm Station. Their food takes inspiration from Caribbean islands from Jamaica to Margarita, with a little hint of St Lucia in what they call ‘Nouvelle cuisine Caribbean’. To celebrate 30 years of Cottons, they have renovated their original Camden restaurant and given the menu a little revamp! We were lucky enough to go and experience their funky food and dine with them, with a host of live music too which really adds to the whole authentic experience.
- Rhum Shack Cocktails and Bar
As we were sat down in the cosy dining area, naturally we took advantage of the cocktail hour, and Vesi picked a Sorrel Sling; a large measure of gin laced with sorrel squash, lemon juice, cherry brandy, topped with soda, while I opted for a Strawberry Daiquiri.
We decided to skip starters and tuck into the mains. Their menu offering is tremendous and after much deliberation, Vesi decided on the Trio of Jerked Seabass, Parrot fish and Tilapia, smothered in a light coconut curry sauce, served with basmati rice and grilled aubergines. The fish was extremely fresh and tender and was described as ‘melt in the mouth’. The light curry sauce complemented perfectly by adding extra depth and spices into the mix. I opted for a vegetarian dish – The Island Platter, which is made up of chick pea fritter, black eyed bean fritter, sweet potato & pumpkin fritters with Caribbean vegetable dauphinoise, jerk sauce, rice n’ peas and fried plantain; it was a big meal! I will tell you now – you can’t visit Cottons without trying their fried plantain. It’s a must.
As the portions at Cottons are extremely generous, we had to turn down the dessert menu! But it was an enjoyable experience, and we’d recommend paying them a visit for some great food, great atmosphere and some delicious cocktails to top it all off.
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Cottons Rhum Shack
55 Chalk Farm Road
London NW1 8AN
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