Jacala
French cuisine in Anguilla
A day’s outing by boat, planned and looked forward to, is one of the highlights of living in St. Maarten. It is certainly the thing to do when guests arrive on island – get them out on a boat as soon as possible – and for us it happened this past Sunday. We had checked the weather and all seemed perfect for a boat trip, although we did hear that a system was going to come through later Sunday and Monday.
Sun and reasonably calm seas, a stop off to snorkel on Sandy Island, and then to Meads Bay where we anchored stern to the white sand beach in front of Jacala. We could see dark (almost black) storm clouds behind the restaurant over towards St. Maarten and to the south we could see the rain squalls; but right where we were, the sun was shining and a wedding was being set up on the beach.
We made our way up the beach to the fresh water shower where towels are ready for guests to use. It is all so civilized. Our table had been booked so they were ready for us. The restaurant has a veranda feel to it. There are tables under an awning and under a solid roof. A bar is centre to the room and there seemed to be a passage to an open door on the St. Maarten side. Suddenly, a big gust of wind set the glasses hanging at the bar swaying and the clouds came over, the sea went totally flat as the gust blew through the restaurant, across the beach and out onto the water and then the sun shone again.
Our waiter settled us in with water and wine and the owner then came over to explain to us the special of the day and to take our order. The menu is fairly small, we chose our starters and mains and settled in to chat – we were a tad nervous that the sea may be very rough on the way back. We saw on WhatsApp that the rain was increasing on the French side of St. Maarten.
The most delicious conch ceviche, tuna carpaccio and lobster soup arrived. The tuna was a hit (well, so was the conk) the tuna came with a smidgen of wasabi and seaweed salad – Dang! It was good! There was plenty of good bread to mop up the sauces. The lobster soup (we assumed it would be bisque like) was a thin broth-like soup with plenty of lobster pieces, served with a crispy pastry stick; it was incredibly light and hit the spot.
Our mains were perfect too. One of our party had had a meal there not long ago and said that we should try the calamari risotto as it was out of this world. Some of us did order it, but as there was no calamari (chef’s apologies) it came with shrimp instead. This risotto is truly the best risotto I have ever had. It was not as cheesy as those I’ve had in Africa; there was not as much rice as those I’ve had in England; it was not as “al dente” as those I’ve had in Italy – it was softer, creamier, tastier than any risotto I have ever laboured over myself. The amount of rice was less than is often served, but it was topped with a delicious fresh and dried tomatoconcasse, a caramelized tomato sauce that was full of tender, pink shrimp. We want to return again soonest for this rich and hot, delicious risotto. The other order was mahi-mahi in a foamy coconut, curry sauce. More bread was ordered for mopping up the juices. It was an exquisite blend of favours that tantalized every mouthful.
The dessert menu was shown to us on a chalk board. The suggestions, everyone’s favourites, were all there, including crème brûlée, chocolate pudding, and the sampling of all of the items called coffee gourmand. The unusual is what I look for and therefore I ordered a mint pana cottawith pawpaw “marmalade.” I preferred to eat them separately as one overpowered the other. On their own, they were sublime. Pawpaw (papaya) is not often found on the menus.
The meal over, we were offered the rum shot – lemony or spicy? The spicy shots were incredible: ginger, hot pepper and rum – nothing could be more conducive than this to end an excellent meal.
The sun was still shining as we made our way back to St. Maarten; we had the luck of the sun god with us all day. The sea was not too bumpy as we crossed the channel on our way to La Samana; we noticed thick rain clouds were still over Orient and there was a little lightning, but a stop for a swim in the warm sea was a go before making our way back to Simpson Lagoon. Our first-time guests were extremely happy to say the least.
Then all hell broke loose during the night! Thunder, lightning and more rain than is needed bucketed down, but being the Caribbean, the weather cleared quickly and visitors will be back enjoying the sun drenched beaches in no time.
Jacala
Meads BayAI-2640, Anguilla
Phone: +1 (264) 498-5888
Cuisine: French
Good: Happy quick service, easy access by boat or car.
Price range: $$$
Ratings:
Staff friendliness ****
Service speed ****
Restaurant cleanliness ****
Food quality *****
Value for money ****
Ambience ****
