I'm always happy to devour jerk chicken, rice and peas served to me on a paper plate at a festival or street food event but, so far, I'm ashamed to say I can't recall enjoying this cuisine as a proper dining out experience.
That is until a friend told me about Mellow's - a restaurant near Birmingham city centre that serves up Caribbean food that is so delicious it is always booked up weeks in advance.
Michelin-starred places or the 'see and be seen' prominent city-centre bars and eateries with glamorous decor and even glitzier drinks are usually the type of places that are hard to book.
To discover there was a Caribbean eatery tucked away behind Broad Street that was just as exclusive seemed very exciting.
Sure enough, when I later clicked onto Mellow's restaurant website to try to book a table, my friend proved he had not been overhyping or exaggerating in the slightest.
Getting an evening reservation was nigh on impossible and the weekends were fully booked out.
After a couple of weeks of trying to book a weekend slot, I finally wrangled a table at Mellow's on a Saturday afternoon - to find out exactly why this place is so in demand.
Read more: Review of The Cod's Scallops in Harborne - 'the UK's best fish and chips.'
The setting
Mellow's is situated a few doors down from a fast food takeaway and dry cleaners on Grosvenor Street, just 200 metres away from Broad Street, nightclubs and skyscrapers.
Grosvenor Street is not a destination place - and is mostly known as being on many bus routes out of town.
The rather smart-looking exterior of Mellow's does seem incongruous to its surroundings.
Even more so inside. We entered into a very nicely lit and spacious bar area with chandeliers adding a touch of glam - the perfect place to enjoy a pre-dinner drink -and as I later discovered - after dinner tipples when you need to vacate your prized Mellow's table.
The bright restaurant area behind the bar is decked out in modern, understated decor with stylish velvety chairs and interesting artwork.
Pictures of prominent figures throughout black history - such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Maya Angelou, Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X - adorn the walls.
There is also a photograph of the main main himself - chef owner Derek Rawlins, aka Chef Mellow Beezy.
The food
The food menu is the most mouth-watering I've read in a long time.
It is split into starters, mains, XL mains, pasta, patties, kids menu, burgers, Mellow's specials, vegan dishes and sides.
The starters include chicken wings and dumplings with akee.
On the mains, there is jerk chicken, jerk lamb and jerk prawns served with a choice of one side.
There is also sea bass fillet, sweet chilli prawns and jerk salmon served with spinach and a choice of one side.
I have previously been schooled on which order the words 'goat' and 'curry' are placed in - when you're referring to Caribbean food. It is always curry goat! And thats how it appears on the Mellow's menu.
Mellow's curry goat is served with coleslaw and one side.
The choice of sides includes rice and peas, sweet potato fries, Cajun potatoes, Dauphinoise potatoes, mac and cheese, spinach and plantain.
The XL meals allow you enjoy your main fish or meat with a choice of two sides rather than one - they are so Extra Large - they are served on tray shaped plates!
You can even make it a double XL for £7 extra and have two meats or fish.
We opted for the basic mains offerings but, when they arrived at our table, it was clear there was nothing at all basic about them.
I had gone for jerk prawns with rice and peas while my partner plumped for curry goat with mac and cheese.
Both plates arrived piping hot and served with fresh, crisp, colourful salad and coleslaw.
The jerk prawns were succulent and smoky - a very slight delicate spice coming through in fragrant gravy but nothing overpowering the sweetness of the big juicy prawns.
The rice and peas were more like a main serving than a side. The portions were huge!
Over the other side of the table, there wasn't much chat as my partner tucked into his curry goat.
I tried some and could see why he was so quiet. The tender meat fell away from the bones and the rich dark allspice gravy stew was simply gorgeous - full of incredible flavour.
The accompanying mac and cheese was also wonderful - and surprisingly light so it complemented the glorious goat meat.
We were only given knives and forks but, in lieu of spoons, our side order of dumplings proved the perfect utensil to scoop up the prawn and goat gravy - soaking up all the delicious sauce and mopping up the plate.
There was far too much food on my plate but everything tasted far too good to leave.
I should have enquired about doggy bags but Mellow's really lives up to its name. I found the atmosphere was so chilled and relaxing I didn't want to move. So I thought maybe I'd just take a little eating break and have a cocktail instead.
Swaying along to the reggae music playing I was tempted by the Mellow's signature drinks.
But decided a glass of white might better help re-stimulate my appetite so I could try and finish my meal.
My partner did not have the same problem. It looked like he had licked the plate clean - with only the bones left.
We visited Mellow's again a week later and my partner again ordered the curry goat (it is that good).
Second time around, I ordered the sea bass special - fried seabass, Dauphinoise potatoes, spinach, wild rocket, basil pesto sauce and balsamic glaze. A beautifully presented elegant plate of food - but packed with punchy flavours.
The drink
Mellow's offers two-for-£12 on cocktails every day from 2pm - 5 pm. The cocktail menu is split into classics and signatures.
The signatures are drinks designed to transport to more tropical climes - and all with fabulous names.
There is the lush sounding Rumbay Punch - Bacardi, coconut rum, pineapple juice, orange juice, Grenadine.
Mellow Dramatic - strawberries, Bacardi. coconut rum, Absolute vanilla, Grenadine and lemonade.
And also Tropical Melody Rain - Blue Curacao, vodka, rum, Grenadine, pineapple juice.
Diners around me enjoyed these very colourful drinks which certainly defied the grey skies outside. My partner opted for a Guinness Punch from the beer menu.
I've never heard of Guinness Punch but I'm told it is as Caribbean as jerk chicken. My dining partner explained it is usually made with Guinness, milk and condensed milk.
He also regaled me with a tale of how in his teens he worked with Neville, a gentleman from Montego Bay who used to make a big pan of Guinness Punch that he would share among colleagues. What a legend Neville was!
I'm a sucker for a glass of creamy Bailey's at Christmas but, as I discovered at Mellow's, a milky Guinness Punch is so much better - sweet without being sickly and with a bold underlying taste of the Guinness.
Turns out the eatery makes it the same way as Neville did. Our server explained that a lady comes in every day to make up a massive batch of Guinness Punch.
The waiter added that the lady - only known to staff as auntie - also comes in daily to cook the fried chicken and dumplings for the restaurant. Sadly on our second Mellow's visit auntie's pan of Guinness Punch was empty - so were were not able to order.
Instead, we enjoyed Mango Spice cocktails - Absolute mango, coconut rum, apple and mango juice, sugar syrup and a definite hit of chilli. Lovely!
While the beers and cocktails will certainly knock your socks off, the wine menu leaves a lot to be desired. There are three types of white and three types of red available - your bog standard pinot grigio, chardonnay, merlot and shiraz. There are also mocktails available.
The service
Service was smiley and efficient. On my first visit, I initially ordered lemonade - it tasted more like tonic water and my partner agreed but, swaying along to Bob Marley, I wasn't really bothered - so did not ask the staff to change it.
On our second visit on a Friday night - the restaurant was much buzzier - full of groups celebrating birthdays and special occasions. Although super busy, we found the service was much slicker and professional for the evening trade.
The cost
The cost: £45 for two main meals with sides, two fried dumplings, one Guinness Punch, one lemonade and a glass of wine.
Overall
The pleasures of good food, drink and atmosphere can all be savoured at Mellow's.
The place serves up hearty yet very elegant Caribbean food with all the mellow vibes you need to transport you to the islands. The food is fresh, flavourful and there is real refinement in the cooking and the use of spicing.
Somewhat ironically, though, booking a table at Mellow's was far from easy going. But it really was worth me persevering.
For the first visit, I could only manage to secure a Saturday afternoon booking.
Afterwards, I spent the following week obsessively checking the booking system daily - for any cancellations on weekend evening bookings - and eventually I was rewarded with a Friday 7 pm booking.
For our Friday evening visit, the daytime reggae tracks were replaced by RnB bangers played by a DJ in the Mellow's bar - creating a buzzy but still chilled atmosphere.
Mellow's is an absolute delight - comfortably occupying the top end of my list of all-time favourite places to eat in Birmingham.
Best of luck getting a table!
57 Grosvenor St W, Birmingham B16 8HJ
5/5
Need to know
Mellow's is open Tuesday to Saturday from 2 pm to 11 pm. Last food orders at 9.30 pm. Vegan dishes are available.
On Friday and Saturday nights, there is a Mellow's DJ playing old school R'n'B and hip hop.
