D's Modern Caribbean Cuisine — Restaurant in Trent Hills

TL;DR: flavourful, uplifted, perfectly balanced, well-rounded creative Caribbean dishes - the flavours dance on your tongue, delights the senses, and leaves one happy and satisfied.

I'm Trinidadian, and I'm VERY picky. I've gone to Caribbean restaurants before, which promised to be elevated, and either the vibe was low-quality but with good food, or the vibe was okay but the food was substandard.

D's Modern Caribbean Cuisine blows it all out of the water!

Upscale without being pretentious. The decor and ambiance are superb. The team is superb. D herself is warm, welcoming, personable, and REAL. The food is out of this world superb.

I've never seen anyone successfully get creative with Caribbean fare. Everything my husband and I ate was perfectly balanced, rounded, flavourful, and delicious. We had: Accra, Doubles, Fish Tacos, Crispy Macaroni Pie, Curry Lobster Roti, and Saheena. Our drinks were virgin Sorrel cocktails.

Accra: all of the accra I've ever had in my life has been drier, thinner, and the salt fish component obvious... it's just the norm and what's expected. D's takes Accra to a higher level which I didn't think possible: tender, perfectly balanced flavourful moist balls with tamarind sauce... the tamarind sauce alone I'd love to purchase and take home... it's that good.

Doubles: a lovely take on Doubles, flavourful, tender, with perfect sauces. I'll have this again when I'm in need of a Doubles kick.

Fish Tacos: yummmm, this was my hubby's food and he shared some with me... I wanted more and more. I've never enjoyed fish tacos as I've found them over hyped.. but this? Ooooh yes! The chunks of fish are thick, moist, and full of flavour. The seasoning, sauces, and pineapple are just superb and like everything we've had the flavours dance on your tongue like a beautiful tango.

Curry Lobster Roti: gotta be honest with you, I was worried about ordering this because curry + lobster could go terribly wrong. I'm thrilled to report that this was the absolute star of our meal. I loved it so much that when we were already out of Campbellford, I wanted to turn back and get a second order for dinner. The paratha roti in which the curry lobster was wrapped was absolute perfection and impressed me from first touch, first bite, first taste: tender, moist, excellent texture and flavour. The filling, my God the filling! Generous thick chunks of moist tender flavourful lobster, the curry and the coconut were perfectly balanced, nothing overwhelming each other, you can taste the lobster and the curry without it being "CURRY!!!!" hitting you upside the head. Again the experience is that of a perfectly balanced, rounded, flavourful dance in my mouth. I reluctantly shared it with my husband so he could taste it, and I swear to you in all this time in our marriage I've never experienced the man fighting me over my food... he wanted more of it and didn't want to give it back! We will make the drive all the way for this astoundingly perfect dish.

Crispy Macaroni Pie: this was served with a touch of Callalloo, it's a perfect pairing and delicious.

Saheena: I'm partial to Saheena Rolls, they're my favourite, but they require soooo much work that I do appreciate a good Saheena. Once again D's delivers as this dish is well-balanced, rounded, and flavourful.

The entire experience with D was superlative. I expect this establishment will blow up with foodies flocking into town just for the food, ambiance, and experience. It takes guts and a solid and deep background in Trinidadian and Caribbean cooking to be successfully creative with this food, and D's has hit all the marks. One can always get traditional Trinidadian food in cities and some towns, but this creative, perfectly balanced, well rounded, flavourful take, that brings it to a higher level, AND gives you a delightful elevated experience? I can without a doubt say that only D's Modern Caribbean Cuisine has managed to do it, and do it superlatively...

Simply the best Caribbean food I’ve ever had in Canada. The flavours were incredibly rich and the presentation on the dishes was immaculate. It felt like a fine dining experience (but under $20 a plate).

We arrived around 11:30am and as it was early, the owner was the one who took our order. She was energetic and friendly and she offered fantastic recommendations. As a party of 8, I got to try many things on the menu.

We started with apps - the plantain bowls were crispy and filled with deliciously seasoned beef. Definitely something I’ve never seen before and was thoroughly impressed. We also had the doubles which very good.

For the mains, I had the veggie roti stack which was loaded with tender and flavourful vegetables. The roti itself was the best I’ve ever had. I also had a taste of the jerk chicken dinner (the gravy that comes with it fantastic), the goat roti, and the curry chicken roti, all of which were great. The other members of my party were all left very satisfied with their meals.

My meal was served with a micro green salad which I thought was kind of an interesting decision. The salad was fine (wasn’t a fan of the dressing), but I do think a different side would have suited the meal better.

Finally, there’s no alcohol but a wide selection of non-alcoholic beers, wines, and cocktails. I’m personally not a fan of this type of drink, so I regret getting one, but to each their own. The owner explained the great lengths that she went in taste testing and sourcing these drinks, so I certainly appreciate the effort she put in here!

One warning: the table hot sauce is exceptionally hot. For me this was a plus; I love hot sauce and I love that it made me sweat behind my ears! But if you’re not a fan of spice, I wouldn’t even go near it.

Overall, the next time I’m in campbellford, this place will be a centrepiece...

Second time at D’s for my wife and I today. The first time was last year when we ordered takeout, but today we decided to dine in for lunch.

This year the decor has changed, the transformation of the interior into a dining destination is tasteful and the atmosphere is amazing.

One thing that hasn’t changed is that when you enter through the front door you are warmly greeted by D and feel immediately welcomed.

The menu is right sized, not too many choices, just enough to satisfy and challenge your taste buds. You will not leave D’s disappointed.

My wife had the veg Roti stack, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I had the jerk chicken with peas n rice, plantain, gravy for dipping and coleslaw. On my plate was a side of hot pepper sauce which I was warned about by D…..thanks D, scotch bonnet pepper sauce….hot, hot, hot….had to try it…lol.

This is a non licensed premises, however they do have a great selection of non alcoholic beverages, including zero alcohol beers, mixed island drinks, wine & more traditional beverages.

We left no room for desert, but the desert menu looked amazing, I think we should have gotten desert to go.

We enjoyed the hospitality, the service was excellent and the food amazing, we will be back next time we are in Campbellford.

Rick &...