A new restaurant In Swansea, Wales, features a fusion of Welsh and Jamaican foods. Jamaican Jills: Food Fusion, its full name, already has venues in Neath and Swansea City Center, and now it has expanded into Uplands. The restaurant’s goal is to combine the flavors of the Caribbean with more traditional Welsh and British fare, including full breakfasts and jacket potatoes.

The décor of the restaurant also features a melding of the cultures, with a floral and rustic ambiance rather than bright colors. According to owner Mark Davies, the idea is to combine an “on-trend” look with Jamaican atmosphere. There is a painting of a beach that most people associate with Jamaica, but “it’s also a colonial boutique,” said Davies. The model galleon displayed on a wall acknowledges Sir Henry Morgan, the Welsh pirate. The background music is relaxing Jamaican, and one the outside patio, diners can enjoy their meals “al fresco” thanks to a flame-effect patio heater.

The menu includes lamb shanks, plain or with jerk. The jacket potato can be had with British toppings – cheese, beans, chili – or Jamaican toppings – reggae mince, bean curry, jerk chicken, and curry chicken. The chief Jamaican dish is curry goat, which Davies recommends, adding that the staff is happy to explain Jamaican food to new diners. Goat is similar to lamb, he said, and the dish is slow cooked until it is very tender. The menu also includes chicken curry and five-bean curry for vegetarians.

The drinks menu features 40 different cocktails, including a prosecco cocktail, a rum punch made with Jamaican white rum, dark rum, orange, pineapple juice, grenadine and lime. Thirteen of the cocktail choices provide “smoke” due to the addition of dry ice for dramatic flair. There are daily specials, and Tuesday is vegan night.

Source: Wales Online