From sea to plate at Marina Palms

WESTERN BUREAU:

Long before the first diner settles into a waterfront seat at Marina Palms, Deidrick Miller may have already been at sea for hours.

Some mornings he leaves the dock as early as 5 o’clock, heading into the Caribbean Sea in search of the red snapper that will later appear on his customers’ plates.

And Miller is not the chef or the restaurant’s fisherman. He is its managing director.

“I do go to sea between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Depending on the weather, I always try to get off the dock by latest 7 a.m.,” Miller told Food.

There is no prescribed return time.

“I fish until the bait is finished,” he said. “When we are fishing, we don’t look at the phone, or we don’t look at watches.”

The expedition ends when the bait runs out, visibility becomes compromised, or the sun begins to set.

It is this almost obsessive commitment to freshness that Miller says has become part of the identity of Marina Palms, which reopened in August at its new home on Howard Cooke Boulevard in Montego Bay, St James.

The restaurant, which first opened in July 2020 at the Montego Bay Yacht Club in Montego Freeport, now occupies a waterfront location tucked into a small cove, with the Caribbean Sea flowing alongside its dining areas and a dock, allowing patrons to arrive by boat.

But for Miller, the water is not merely scenery. It is also his source of fresh seafood. “On a daily basis, I do go out and hunt the fresh red snapper for my customers, weather permitting,” he said.

So accustomed have regular customers become to the ritual that some call before coming to dine.

“They’ll call to find out if the boat went out, what time the boat is coming back,” Miller shared.

The red snapper is not the only local catch making its way into Marina Palms’ kitchen.

There is also ocean king crab, sourced from Jamaican waters and supplied either through the restaurant’s own fishing efforts or by local fishermen.

The crab served to Food came bathed in garlic sauce, after being cleaned, boiled, and simmered in the restaurant’s house garlic marinade.

Eating it requires a little work, and Marina Palms comes prepared.

Bibs and shell crackers arrive at the table so diners can get into the claws without sacrificing fingernails or wrestling unnecessarily with the shells.

And when he says crackers, Miller quickly clarified with a laugh, “I don’t mean Excelsior.”

It is messy, hands-on eating of the best kind, where decorum eventually gives way to the determination to extract that last sweet piece of crab from its shell.

The curry coconut red snapper requires considerably less work but delivers just as much pleasure.

The freshly caught fish is seasoned and steamed before being cooked down in a curry-coconut sauce, a preparation with echoes of the Jamaican rundown.

Miller describes the snapper as a “blank canvas”, explaining that its delicate flavour readily absorbs whatever seasonings and sauces accompany it.

“Anything that you put on that fish, that’s exactly what you’re going to get out,” he said.

The curry coconut preparation makes his point beautifully. The sauce clings to the tender snapper, with curry and coconut working together rather than fighting for attention.

For Miller, having that fish travel such a short distance from the Caribbean Sea to the kitchen is central to what Marina Palms is trying to offer.

“It’s a part of our core. It is a part of us and our identity and who we are,” he said.

In the restaurant’s earlier days, Miller recalled setting fish pots and heading out with members of staff to retrieve them. That involvement, he said, created a sense of pride among the team.

For diners who prefer land-based fare, two Jamaican favourites remain among the restaurant’s biggest sellers: oxtail and beans and curry goat.

“On a daily basis, our oxtail and beans and curry goat are an absolute go-to,” Miller said.

Then there is the salmon.

Grilled until the telltale char marks appear, it is finished with Marina Palms’ apple-honey glaze, producing a sweet-and-savoury combination that Miller says has become another favourite.

For diners uncertain about committing to the glaze, it can be served alongside the fish.

Miller, however, likes the odds. “Nine-point-five out of 10 times, everyone enjoys the sauce,” he said.

Food is only half the fun at Marina Palms. The establishment began in 2020 as a restaurant and cocktail bar, and its drinks still arrive with a healthy dose of theatre.

Among the signatures is the frozen steel base, a mix of mango and strawberry daiquiris, dark and white rum, and an inverted bottle of flavoured beer. A shaken version caters to those looking for something with a little more punch.

Then there is vitamin sea. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, it comes with an IV-inspired presentation. It survived the pandemic and remains a favourite.

Premium margaritas also come topped with miniature bottles of tequila, continuing a philosophy in which presentation is part of the drinking experience.

“They were all curated by us, for us, and enjoyed by all our patrons,” Miller said. Beyond the drinks, there is the setting. Marina Palms’ new Howard Cooke Boulevard home places diners almost at the water’s edge.

There are two distinct experiences: the Ocean Deck, quieter and more intimate, and the Bar Terrace, where the pace and energy pick up. About 200 diners can be accommodated comfortably across the outdoor spaces, Miller said, although the property could take considerably more. And what exists today is only part of the plan.

“The restaurant is only just one aspect of the destination,” he said. The dock is to be expanded and marine-related services introduced, while another restaurant, with its own name, identity, and menu, is planned for the ground floor of the building. Unlike the open-air Marina Palms experience, it will be smaller, air-conditioned, and more intimate.

Upstairs, plans call for two private conference and event rooms, the larger accommodating about 100 people and the smaller about half that number. A 360-degree deck will provide additional entertaining space.

For now, Marina Palms is allowing the food, the cocktails, and that enviable piece of Caribbean Sea to do the talking. And on mornings when the weather cooperates, it all starts before sunrise, when the managing director swaps the office for a boat, heads out from the dock, and goes looking for the freshest catch for Marina Palms.

janet.silvera@gleanerjm.com