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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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this restaurant on Virtual Huddersfield click here >
Discovery Bay
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