The north coast's secret supper club

Martin Baxter, Gleaner Writer

The Lobster Shack, at Reggae Beach in St Mary, has struck gold in finding the right recipe for gourmet dining on the north coast. Its venue is a breath of fresh sea air and, unlike many great ideas, its management team and staff are driven and focused to ensure it succeeds. Dubbed 'The Supper Club', those in charge are targeting a specific demographic with high-quality food, drink and customer service.

On the evening that Food visited The Lobster Shack, a martini party was under way. Guests were treated to a select number of martini creations mixed in-house. Lychee, cherry and apple martinis were served in cocktail glasses etched with an image of a bamboo tree - a reference to The Supper Club's daytime sibling, the Bamboo Beach Club.

Their eye for details can be found in everything - from the carefully positioned lighting and the bonfires that lined the beach, to the manner in which the food was served, to the very fabric that was neatly draped across the tables.

The appetisers of jerked crab cakes and calamari rings were beautifully served with a jerk salsa, adding flavour and a distinct Caribbean colour to the dish. The salsa helped to balance the texture of the food and refresh the palate in preparation for the next course.

Food was presented with two entrées: Asian grilled baby-back ribs and grilled lobster with a sesame Thai sauce. Both were served with an Italian-inspired Parmesan-seasoned fluffy couscous, and a separate helping of grilled vegetables, which added texture and a sweet flavour to accompany the comparatively neutral couscous. The baby-back ribs were cooked in a char siu sauce that added China to the food's culinary origins, and the grilled lobster was served with a jerk sauce, bringing the flavour back to the venue's Jamaican setting.

Dessert was a mouth-watering dulce-de-leche crêpe with ice cream, which possessed a hint of rum flavouring upon reaching the centre. Coupled with ice cream, this gave the dessert a sincere rum-and-raisin flavour that helped the entire experience remain distinctively Jamaican.

Tyrell Lee is the culinary mastermind behind The Lobster Shack's Supper Club. Questioning reveals a familial background in cuisine and a clear entrepreneurial streak. He told Food about his love affair with food.

"What it is, is a love for fresh ingredients, and I always tell people that it's five things I look for when it comes to food: taste, texture, service on a whole, which also includes the experience. The food has to look good, it has to smell good, everything has to be aromatic and ready for people to eat. Once these five things come together, then everybody will love the food".

Between sips of his apple martini, he added: "We want to surprise people, and, once you stick to those five things, it's going to blow their minds. So the hope is that each week they're going to come back and try something new, and each week we'll have something new to offer them".

With new additions to the menu each week, and an ambience which is unique to the restaurant, Lee et al have a formula that has the right ingredients to be a winning one.

Those wanting to visit The Lobster Shack at Reggae Beach can do so every day of the week. However, those wanting to join The Supper Club should find themselves at The Lobster Shack on Friday and Saturday from 6 p.m., and on Sundays at 2 p.m. until 10 p.m.