Calypso Grill October 2, 2008

This is a favorite in the Cayman Islands. Why wouldnt it be? It is a little treck to get out there if you are coming from the South, but it is so worth it.
The great thing about Calypso is that it has the 3 things that everyone wants in a dinner experience.
First off, when you walk in, the atmosphere is fantastic. The hustle and bustle of chatter, clinking glasses and background music sets the scene. The patio is one of the best on the island. OK, so it is a little dark in the corner tables and you cannot see the menu too well – but the ‘Europeanesque’ service is standard and above fair. And the food.
A lot of restaurants on the island have a similar menu. Steak, Lamb, fish – the usual. Times are hard in the restaurant industry with increasing costs to all businesses. It starts from the source of food, predominantly on the main land and is added too; all the way to the back door of the restaurant. Such costs are passed on to the consumer. Before I sound like a economic teacher, I guess I am trying to say it is tough to run a food and beverage outlet in such times. I am not too sure if this justifies the $36.00 fillet on the menu; or even the CI$15 appetizer crab cakes! – but still. The speed of service is great and you would realize why it has to be as they can turn that restaurant 2 or 3 times in season I would guess. Pulling up in your boat would allow for a wait if necessary. If you had a boat you could probably afford the crab cakes to start with. The Greek Salad is chunky and refreshing as it mixes the feta cheese with prepared huge olives. This with a glass of wine as the sun goes down allows you to forget whats going on back down South. The Lobster Bisque is also as good and you should spend some time deciding which one to go for.
So, it seems the staple Cayman restaurants seem to be doing the best on the island. It is safe to say, longevity and building relationships are as a big a factor in ensuring success as controlling costs are. Calypso has it.

Prime October 1, 2008

What a great looking restaurant. The boys from Decker’s fame have reinvented the Brazilian wonder that is Churrascaria. Basically it is all you can eat from the various cuts of meat that are carved at your table by dashing men for the most part. What was once a male dominated gluttony inspired affair may be trying to appeal to the opposite sex as well. Whatever the case this is not a new idea in the World that has arrived in the Cayman Islands. Was the food as good as the decor?

The distressed look of the entrance way is pleasant. the warm and cosey atmosphere it portrays immediately makes you want to take off your coat and loosen your belt as you are going to be in for a night of chewing.

The waitress was cocky to say the least. It was almost as if she was doing us the favor of serving us. A little strange as there were only 5 other tables in the establishment. Still – once she dictated exactly what was going to happen the carvers slowly started arriving. The meat was tender and the cuts were plentiful. The drinks kept coming and overall the experience was good. The key here is to not go to strong on the salad buffet beforehand. After all you have to get value for money for the ticket price they hit you with at the end. Some of the meat was over seasoned. Far too salty in some cases. We understand that beef needs to be salted or even garlic salted to allow for the beefs natural flavor to come out – but it was a little heavy in some cases.

The General Manager didnt do too much apart from swipe credit cards and say goodbye. It has always baffled me as to why salaries are paid to those who don’t take ownership of the customers – let alone the business.

Value for money here is debatable. I hope that this will be examined in the near future. If it doesn’t Prime will have to rely on a solid word of mouth through to the overnight tourist as this is not somewhere a Cayman resident would return to too often.

Governor’s Square, Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
Telephone: (345) 623 7272
www.prime.ky