A year after chef Wesley Campbell relocated his Jamaican-fusion eatery to the Sebastian riverfront, the Mo-Bay Grill seems on the verge of bursting out of its new home.
Clearly, a lot of people have discovered this talented chef since the restaurant moved from North County down to this closer-in location. When we arrived last Saturday evening for a 7 o’clock reservation, the restaurant was packed.
We were greeted by an apologetic Campbell – who spends more time chatting up his diners than most chefs – and then waited 10 minutes, huddled with other customers in the doorway between the dining room and the bar, until a small table became available.
Once seated, a very helpful server took our drink order before telling us of the evening’s three specials. It was not always easy to hear him (the restaurant tends to become quite noisy when full) but the seafood dishes sounded extremely tempting.
For starters on this evening, my husband and I both had a cup of the soup du jour, a well-seasoned Louisiana seafood bisque that was every bit as good as the excellent “she-crab” soup we enjoyed on a previous occasion.
If neither of these dishes sounds Jamaican, Campbell worked in several of the better restaurants in the Washington, D.C., area before coming here. But along with these Cajun and low-country soups, this native of Montego Bay is equally adept at making shrimp pepper pot soup – a long-simmered Jamaican classic.
We followed the soup course on this visit with house salads, prepared with a classic vinaigrette dressing.
For entrées, I had decided to try Mo-Bay’s five-course prix fixe, in which you get the soup, salad, an entrée, dessert and a small carafe of sangria for $22.99. The entrée choices this evening were curry chicken breast, parmesan crusted chicken, braised beef pot roast and potato crusted haddock. The server declared the pot roast the best he had ever tasted, so the choice was made.
My husband decided to go with one of the specials the waiter had described earlier, the butterflied hog snapper topped with crab Florentine (28.29), and our companion ordered the bleu cheese sirloin steak ($28.99) off the regular menu.
My pot roast was very tender, though a tad too salty for my taste, and was accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and vegetables. Our companion’s tender steak was very well seasoned (all the dishes are well seasoned here) and was accompanied by garlic mashed potatoes and veggies.
My husband’s hog snapper was a big hit, a beautiful piece of fish – which could easily have stood on its own – topped with creamed spinach and a smidgen of crabmeat.
We accompanied our meals on this most recent visit with a moderately priced wine ($6 per glass), but other options include the Jamaican Red Stripe beer and tropical iced tea, a refreshing beverage with hints of mango, passion fruit, and guava.
None of the entrees we enjoyed on this most recent visit evoked memories of Jamaica, but on previous occasions we have had only raves for the jerk half chicken, the jerk mahi mahi, and the Mo-Bay style seafood paella – a casserole of grouper, shrimp, mussels and Andouille sausage tossed in red beans and rice.
There are enough classic Jamaican dishes on the menu to satisfy any craving for this unique island cuisine (we still have never tried the curried goat), but there are plenty of options for those who don’t fancy the hot jerk taste. The menu is as much an international melting pot as it is Jamaican.
Dinner for two at the Mo-Bay Grill, depending on what you drink, will run $60 to $80 not including tax or tip.
Whether you are craving tastes from the islands or the American South, the Mo-Bay Grill has emerged in the past year as arguably the best restaurant in Sebastian.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
