Travel writer Angelina Villa-Clarke on finding the true flavor of this Caribbean island – through its foodie scene, of course.

Updated May 2020
By Angelina Villa-Clarke

All about life with a laid-back, joyful vibe, Ocho Rios, on the north coast of Jamaica, has to be my favorite Caribbean town – a world away from the urban hustle of Kingston and the big touristy resorts lining Montego Bay. To get under the skin of the place, try a plate of authentic jerk chicken with rice and peas. Scotchies (found just 10 minutes from Ocho Rios' port) serves some of the best jerk on the island. Little more than a roadside hut, you eat perched on revamped oil drums, under a thatched-raffia umbrella. The spiced meat is cooked on open-fire grills and served with a line-up of traditional accompaniments, such as bammy (a cassava flatbread) and festival (a sweet, fried dumpling). If you dare, add a dollop of the homemade pepper sauce – made liberally with marinated scotch bonnet peppers. Be warned: it’s hot, hot, hot.

Tracks & Records, meanwhile, on Main Street, is headed up by another famous Jamaican export – Usain Bolt. Inspired by the home-cooked flavors of Jamaica, its curried shrimp and plantain will have you putting the restaurant on a culinary pedestal all of its own.

Miss T's kitchen, where flavors come alive.
Miss T's kitchen, where flavors come alive.
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The vibrant Miss T’s Kitchen (above), just off Ocho Rios’ main street, has a soundtrack of old-school reggae in a colorful dining room. Run by Anna-Kay Tomlinson, it puts at its heart the island’s rustic country cooking – from lobster rundown (cooked in coconut milk and herbs) to veggie dishes, like pumpkin stew or chickpea stack (in honor of the Rastafari, some of whom are vegetarian).

Once you’ve sated your appetite, you’ll find that Ocho Rios also satisfies the soul with its huge range of things to do and see. The Reggae Xplosion Museum (found in the Island Village shopping center) celebrates the island as the birthplace of reggae and traces the history of the genre back to its African roots. Adrenaline junkies can ‘tube’ along three miles of the dramatic White River or zipline over Dunn’s River Falls – the 600 ft cascading waterfall. As Jamaicans would say, ‘It’s totally irie’.