Café culture meets Jamaican flavour at Setia
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The jerk chicken burger is served with a side of fries.
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Ricardo Jackson, Setia’s master barista, sports a radiant smile as he serves a fresh cappuccino.
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Artistry meets taste for this cappuccino.
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You can build your basmati rice bowl with your favourite protein, like jerk chicken.
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The ice cream taco.
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Chef Johnaton Grant poses with the basmati rice bowl featuring the signature jerk chicken.
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This Jamaican staple, stamp and go, also known as salt fish fritters, will have your taste buds bursting with excitement at every bite.
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This scrumptious salad, topped with salmon, is available with your choice of protein.
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Here’s to starting the hot mornings on a cooler note with this Setia ‘frap’.
When a friend invited me to the soft opening of a new café, I was excited to see what it had to offer. Never could I have imagined that this quaint eatery, dubbed Setia, which means loyalty in Indonesian and Malay, would set the tone for an unforgettable dining experience.
Owner Kemba Walters wasted no time in giving our team a taste of premium beverages, encouraging us all to place our orders for coffee and freshly prepared delights.
Master Barista Ricardo Jackson started things off with a cold brew. This handcrafted Setia frappé worked wonders in lifting my spirits with its bold and smooth flavour.
Then Walters recommended the Setia affogato. “We also have the macchiato, caramel macchiato, Americano, served hot or cold. We have the cappuccino, Blue Mountain coffee, lattes in the plain and flavoured variety, and we do have espressos. But you have to try the affogato,” she said. This decadent treat, a dessert of Italian origin, is a tasty combination of hot espresso and cold ice cream, which melts into the coffee. It is topped with pistachio, adding a unique texture to the mix, and here’s a fun fact: the ice cream is made in-house. So dessert and java lovers, this one is definitely for you.
Server Keireen Fearon had customers coming back for more samples of the sorbets, ice creams and waffle cones made fresh, along with other treats on offer, including taco ice cream.
Then there was the comfort food spearheaded by Chef Johnaton Grant, ranging from freshly prepared bagels, sandwiches, burgers and eggs any way you like them, to quesadillas, wraps, local staples like salt fish fritters and innovative varieties like the Jamaican taco bar.
“We love international and continental food, but the other cafés were missing a lot of our vibrant spice and flavour, hence the fried over boiled dumpling taco. We have pulled curry goat, ackee and salt fish, and just ackee,” Walters shared.
She told Food: “I cook with love at home, so I’m all about that comfort. I love breakfast and could eat it all day. I’m always supporting local cafés, but I didn’t believe they were celebrating our culture enough. I wanted to retain our culture while still having that international café experience.”
The mother of two boys is no stranger to entrepreneurship, but she was inspired to branch out into the restaurant business and call her café Setia because she wanted to maintain a commitment to both the culture and the customers who walk through the doors.
“We want when persons come in, they’re greeted by the barista and servers. We want to know them by name, know what they want, and pick up on their energies and moods, [encourage them] to try something new that will motivate, celebrate, brighten or lighten their days. Ultimately, we want to build a community where our customers can feel right at home,” said Walters.
krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com