The Rum Kitchen is a Caribbean Jerk restaurant and bar in the exciting Kingly Court, Carnaby Street. The menu boasts the most excellent jerk chicken and the best sweet potato fries I have ever had, and with all mains around £10, it’s incredibly affordable. I am just in love with this restaurant, I can’t rave about it enough. The winning combination of quirky décor, chill vibe, great prices and just fantastic food will send you running back at the next excuse.
Before you’ve even walked in the door, the wafts of Caribbean spices pull you into the beach-shack-esque nestle of high wooden tables and decadent bar. It has a really chill carnival vibe with bold graphics, colourful lighting and bubbly waiters. The waiters are really knowledgeable on the menus both food and drink, which is really helpful if, like me, it takes you half an hour to choose a cocktail. Since the tables are quite close it often just happens that you see something that looks amazing and just order that, this is apparently quite common. This is what Charley did, seeing the fabulous colours of the jerk bowl at the table next to me she didn’t even have to look at the menu. One of the best date spots too, a great vibe with some fab cocktails, the banter will be flowing in no time.
The chicken in my burger is the nicest chicken I’ve had all year. A crescendo of flavours as the spices form the most magical combination. Also very succulent which is often not the case, especially in this price range. The burgers I admit are a little big to manage with one bite, but they also look fabulous. The scotch bonnet mayonnaise gives the burger a kick as well as being the perfect dip for the sweet potato fries. Let me just take a minute for these fries… cooking them in chilli and maple syrup gives them the sweetest of tastes whilst also being slightly spicy, honestly phenomenal. Perfect amount of crispiness, not limp like most other restaurants serve, and one side is enough for two people.
The bar is award winning, quite a few people come just for the drinks. These are certainly more in line with the typical London price, nevertheless, the mixology makes for some tantalising flavours that’ll definitely give you a buzz. A brilliant attention to detail is the symbol by each drink on the menu showing what type of glass the drink will be served in. As someone who always prefers high ball glasses with meals this makes making the choice much easier. The waiter helped me choose the ‘Clear As Day’ cocktail due to the elderflower (I am such a fan of elderflower cocktails) which is pretty much The Rum Kitchen’s take on a Hugo. Prosecco and elderflower is a winning combination already but add the Matusalem Platinum and it adds something extra that’ll take you from day to night. The only qualms I have with the drinks is that I always find it very odd to pay the same price for my drink as my main, but here this is because the bar is something separate to itself, and is such a renowned one at that.
The Rum Kitchen’s a popular one so reservations are a good idea. No issue if you do turn up on the door though, if it’s busy they’ll take your number and give you a call in about 20-30 minutes when a table comes free giving you the chance to wander about the hive and bustle of Carnaby Street. I promise, the wait flashes by.
Overall this restaurant has won me over totally. With phenomenal food at such great prices, there’s no need to wait for an occasion. Get yourself over there with a friend, sibling or lover, and see if it’s really all its jerked up to be.
What did we have?
Holly
- Jerk chicken burger £9.50
- Chilli maple syrup sweet potato fries (shared) £4
- ‘Clear As Day’ cocktail £8.50
- Overall £22
Charley
- Jerk bowl £9.50
- Chilli maple syrup sweet potato fries (shared) £4
- ‘Mango Swizzle’ mocktail £5.50
- Overall £19
