Discovery Bay


Location: The restaurant is situated in Wood Street within the town centre. Wood Street runs parallel with John William Street and the restaurant is adjacent to Coffee Evolution.

Parking/Transport: As the restaurant is in the town centre, access to it is not a problem. Parking is available in the surrounding streets by meter up to 6.00 pm and afterwards it is free.

Opening hours: The restaurant is closed Monday and Tuesday and is opened the following hours:

Wednesday 5.00pm – 11.00 pm
Thursday/Friday/Saturday 12.00pm – 11.00 pm
Sunday 2.00pm – 6.00 pm

The restaurant is available on Monday and Tuesday for private functions.

Building: The building in which the restaurant is located is a Grade 2 Listed property, formerly used as a retail outlet. The frontage is now very inviting, has kerb appeal and would perhaps warrant a more prominent position on the main roads of the town centre.


Date and time of visit:

Kathy and I visited the restaurant on Wednesday 8th November at approx. 6.00 pm. The front entrance opened directly onto the restaurant area with a small elevated bar area to the rear ( 4 bar stools and two settees ) being accessed by several stairs.

Initial Greeting: We were the first customers of the evening and we received an absolutely superb friendly welcome from the staff which immediately put us at ease. All staff were smartly dressed in matching black uniforms.


Atmosphere/décor/lighting:

The restaurant did lack atmosphere upon our arrival, due mainly to the absence of diners however, the friendliness of the staff quickly compensated for this. The décor is excellent, being 1970’s retro, minimalist and sharp. The colours of black cream and red blended subtly to produce an overall pleasing impact. There was reggae background music playing and the lighting was gradually dimmed as the evening progressed. We counted 31 covers on the basis of the table layout that existed.

Smoking: Smoking was not permitted anywhere in the restaurant.

Food: As this was our first visit to a Caribbean restaurant, we decided not to make the same choices from the menu, in order that we could experience contrasting dishes. For starters we chose Salt Fish Fritters seasoned with herbs and spices and Cocktail Patties, (short crust pastry stuffed with spiced beef mince meat filling), both of which we found different and appealing. Our main courses were Peppered Steak with a highly spiced sauce and Jerk Chicken (Caribbean special), which is chicken marinated in homemade jerk seasoning, barbequed and covered with Discovery Bay special sauce. The meals were served with rice and black peas. Again we found both dishes unusual and in the case of the peppered steak, extremely hot and tangy. Both choices were very well presented on square, almost transparent table crockery, complementing the décor.

We were encouraged to try a dessert and were told that the owner’s mother made the Sweet Potato Puddings which were listed on the menu, and also recommended was the Gazada which is a sweet pastry with spicy coconut and jam filling, served with ice cream or custard. Following the excesses of the main course, we decided to share the Gazada. We found this to be tasty but rather heavy.

Vegetarian Option: Vegetarians are specifically catered for and examples of this are Red Pea Stew and Vegetable Curry.

Children: No apparent separate menu for children, although we did observe high chairs folded away at the side of the restaurant

Disabled Access: No problems whatsoever with access from the street into the restaurant however, as mentioned earlier, the bar area is elevated and accessed by stairs, and the toilets are in the basement. This would mean that access to these facilities would not be possible for the disabled. To be fair to the proprietors no other configuration of the floor space would seem to be feasible to accommodate a ground floor disabled toilet.

Service: Excellent, efficient, relaxed and super friendly.

Toilets: As stated above, the toilets are in the basement. The separate male and female toilets are immaculate. There is a communal ultra modern washbasin facility which serves both toilets, with very attractive fittings and an efficient electric hand dryer.

Atmosphere: Throughout the evening, only two other diners arrived at the restaurant before we left at 8.00 pm, although we were informed that Friday and Saturday evenings are extremely busy which will undoubtedly add to the ambience of the restaurant.

Price: £45 for two, including drinks and a bottle of house wine. Starters range in price from £3.50 to £5.50. Mains from £7.50 - £12.50 and desserts from £3.00 to £4.00. Wines from £10.00 - £15.00 per bottle.

Experience: We loved the refreshing friendliness of the staff. We talked at length with all of them and discovered that the restaurant is a family venture and the closeness of this arrangement reflects in their cheerful dispositions. In our opinion, this factor makes the restaurant stand out from any other in Town. It is different and it deserves to succeed, to add to the growing cosmopolitan nature of the Huddersfield eating experience.

‘A ray of spicy Caribbean sunshine comes to Huddersfield with a great family twist’


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Discovery Bay

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Restaurant Address: 12 Wood Street, Huddersfield
Visited On: Wednesday 8th November 2006 6pm
Reviewed By: John & Kathy - Edgerton
 

 

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