Mango Room

London is a great place for ethnic food, probably among the best 2 places in the world. I think the likely closest challenger would probably be New York, but since I've never been there I can't definitively say. Anyway, one of the pleasures of eating in London is Afro-Caribbean food, which is fantastic, courtesy of the large local community.

Unfortunately good restaurants are quite rare. The best Afro-Caribbean food I've tasted is available only once a year at the end of August, during the Notting Hill Carnival. If I'm away during that particular bank holiday weekend, that's it until the next year - no ackee and saltfish inna dumpling, no freshly grilled jerk chicken. Fortunately, there's at least one place which does the cuisine to a decent standard - Mango Room.

Mango Room
10-12 Kentish Town Road
Camden
London NW1 9NX
+44 (0) 20 7482 5065

The Pretty Lady and I have been coming here since 2001. We stopped for a bit a couple of years back because they had raised the prices and the food had deteriorated a little in quality. When we came back here a few days ago though, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that not only had the prices remained the same (and thus become quite reasonable now) but that the food had improved a great deal.

It was a 6 person dinner meet-up, with AL, TL, KY and FZ plus the Pretty Lady and myself. We shared starters - ackee and saltfish, duck and apple skewer, scallops and melon salsa and tiger prawns on pineapple. The ackee and saltfish was as good as I remembered it, ackee as thick as scrambled egg, large chunks of salt cod, only with a tinge more scotch bonnet pepper. The duck and apple skewer was surprisingly tasty, chunks of grilled duck and apple drizzled with a red wine reduction on toasted gingerbread. Not particularly Caribbean, but who cares? The other seafood dishes passed muster, with the scallops and melon a fairly tasty combination.

On to the main courses - I had roast duck breast marinated in honey and ginger, with sweet potato and juniper berry jus, while the Pretty Lady had kingfish in jerk sauce. My duck breast was delicious, with the ginger cutting through the rich meat, and the juniper berries providing a peppery fragrant counterpoint to the sweet potato. The Pretty Lady's kingfish in jerk sauce proved to be too spicy for her liking, but I thought it was great - the addition of more scotch bonnet pepper to the spicy dishes has definitely improved both the taste and the authenticity of the dishes here. Good fresh fish too.

On previous occasions the Pretty Lady and I have enjoyed the curry goat - this restaurant's signature dish. Even when the food here was less good 2 years ago, the curry goat remained delicious. Boneless, sweet spicy, and coconutty. Yum yum. Perfect with the great side dishes available here - plantain, breadfruit and rice and peas are the best.

For dessert, I had Caribbean fruit cake with warm cream. Lovely and moist, with crystallised pineapple and my favourite glace cherries in - I always have this when I come here, and never anything else for dessert. This time I paired it with a glass of Baron de Sigognac armagnac. The Pretty Lady had passionfruit cheesecake, which seemed a nice idea in theory, but somehow didn't quite come off. The passionfruit jelly layer on top of the cheese had a harsh, slightly metallic taste.

We didn't have wine, opting instead for the extensive cocktail list. I particularly recommend a Jamaican mule - Appleton rum, ginger ale, and mint. I don't believe I've ever had wine here. My usual tipple of choice is Red Stripe.

Much better food than when we were here last. The kitchen staff must have changed, and the best dishes are just as good as they always were, while the so-so dishes are now a lot better. I'm definitely going to come here more often.

Scores:

11 August 2008: TFQ = 24, CS = 23, S = 15, AD = 7, VfM = 7. Total = 76 points.