Antillean Review: Pan-Caribbean Restaurant & Bar

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Antillean Review: Pan-Caribbean Restaurant & Bar

Conveniently located a stone throw away from Southwark Underground tube station, you’ll find this modern, relaxed restaurant boasting a truly impressive collection of rum alongside their menu featuring a variety of exciting flavours from across the Caribbean and its global influences.

Mainly inspired by the Antilles, Pan-Caribbean restaurant Antillean is the brainchild of Chef Patron, Michael Hanbury and culinary director Baziz Rachedi.

We were very warmly welcomed by Gary, the barman who treated us to an exotic trip around the Caribbean islands (via South East London) with his deep knowledge of the various rums. He primes us with a rum cocktail – the likes of those swim-up bars on holiday resorts (remember those?), topped with – you guessed it, more rum.

His own recipe, Gary promises flavours from his home, proudly topping his ‘sunset’ and ‘sunrise’ cocktails with his native Bermudian rum. Whilst I won’t give the entire recipe away (mostly because I don’t know it), I can tell you my cocktail included tangerine syrup and peach schnapps, resulting in a sweet and citrus tropical taste that packed a punch.

A truly impressive collection of rum alongside their menu featuring a variety of exciting flavours.

Pan-Caribbean Dining

We moved into the lower floor of the dining area and I was immediately taken by how spacious it was with very high ceilings and stretching further back than we could initially see from the bar, we chose to sit in one of the booths along the wall.

Our friendly host for dinner recommended some small plates and we took her up on her recommendations. First up, the cobia ceviche with watermelon – if you’re unfamiliar, ceviche is a method of curing raw fish in citrus juices, these were really light and fresh tapas portions with a slight kick. The watermelon rounded the bite off with a sweet and refreshing finish.

My guest ordered the chicken skewers with tomato and mango salsita and said they were tender with a crispy coating. She compared the taste to the warming spice of jerk chicken and thought it might have been better paired with a sweeter sauce.

For me, the winner of the evening, the grilled octopus with mango, cucumber, mint and scotch bonnet emulsion was the perfect texture (not too chewy). It was soft and chargrilled with spicy salsa and mango slices served with a delicious creamy sauce with a hint of spice.

The texture was almost like a tender chicken breast, I’m told to achieve this optimum texture, the octopus was poached or slow-cooked in a water bath then marinated and chargrilled for the crispy coating. I also love how beautifully the dish is plated like a colourful work of art.

Grilled octopus with mango, cucumber, mint and scotch bonnet emulsion.

For our mains, we decided on the crab claw curry made with soft shell crab for myself which had a sweet creamy texture, with a slight tang from the fruit. The crab was slightly lost amongst those flavours.

My guest chose the braised oxtail with sweet potato purée and said the oxtail was delicious paired with the mashed potato however she didn’t appreciate the full flavour until pouring the accompanying gravy.

Our sides included rice and peas which were a soft fluffy texture with a perfect amount of coconut fused through the rice, the lobster mac n cheese was a lovely filling winter warming dish with the upgrade of light flakes of lobster.

I am not used to macaroni cheese having peppers in it but on reflection, this gave the dish another dimension, I found the stir-fried callaloo (indigenous Caribbean vegetable) to be rather salty which sadly overpowered the dish.

My maternal heritage is Jamaican, however, I’m not familiar with all cuisines across the Caribbean islands so some may well have a different approach to familiar dishes and I enjoy learning about the different ingredients and recipes.

Crab claw curry made with soft shell crab with a sweet creamy texture and a slight tang from the fruit.

Dessert at Antillean

Dessert time and I was excited to try their creations of rum-based desserts. I chose the rum baba which I had never had before, it was like mini muffins or sponge cakes generously soaked in a spiced rum syrup on a sheet of pineapple.

I liked the strong, sweet taste but wasn’t used to that dessert texture served in a cold dish. My guest opted for the plantain tart tatin which was served warm, it was caramelised with raisins but the plantain itself wasn’t very ripe so it wasn’t as sweet as we imagined it would be but the tart itself was delicious and had a sweet, light and flaky crust.

We were also treated to a dreamy Guinness punch ice cream which was smooth, creamy and packed a powerful punch. This was made with condensed milk and a hint of cinnamon.

We were also treated to a dreamy Guinness punch ice cream which was smooth, creamy.

Expert Opinion:

Overall, whilst I preferred some dishes over others, I enjoyed my experience with Antillean and would like to try more of their fusion flavours which are a welcome addition to the London restaurant scene; they impressed with their rum-based dishes and cocktails and I can tell a lot of consideration and creativity has gone into putting each dish together.

The customer service from every member of staff encountered was excellent and this was echoed throughout the restaurant with other diners.

A 3-course meal would cost you approx. £30-40pp each which I think is reasonable for the quality of food. There’s an unlimited Antillean Carnival Brunch if a brunch is your answer to a good weekend, 5 courses for £75, otherwise Antillean is a great option to add to your list for an after-work meal of Pre-theatre dining.