Miss Lily’s at Skylark Negril Beach Resort — Restaurant in undefined

Our party of 3 adults + 2 kids went to Miss Lily’s for dinner tonight, with high hopes that were shattered. Here is my food critique for Chef Andre Fowles, the 3x Chopped Winner. If this is his cooking, I will go against him any day and am confident I will win, as a moderately skilled home cook.

a) Watermelon salad should always be made to order. We were served one that had been sitting out, and therefore soggy and swimming in several ounces of fluid. Also the watermelon, the supposed star of the dish, was overly ripe, partially gone bad already. It’s a disgrace, priced at $15. b) Sweet potato salad was too sweet, I think made with added sugar vs sweet potatoes (aka yams). Also was cold, served right out of fridge, vs the room temp that the dish requires. Absolutely disgusting, sent back immediately. c) Curry shrimp had a nice aroma. It was however way too strong to envelope the sweet meat of delicate shrimp that begs a much lighter hand in sauces. That curry strength would have been appropriate for a root vegetable for instance, given you want to rely on the sauce for the overall taste for when the main ingredient doesn’t have a taste that will come through. Burying shrimp in that sauce is not cooking; it is murder. d) The chicken jerk pasta was overcooked. The coconut cream was a good choice given its harmony with the jerk sauce. Pasta should have been al dente, so the overall dish would not have the uniform soft texture it had, almost like a stew. e) Banana cream dessert was made with artificial ingredients - def no banana or real cream in that. Even my kids that normally devour anything with sugar said it tasted ‘weird’ and dropped it. They ate the cookie from the dessert and the vanilla ice cream we ordered, clearly (and thankfully) both store bought. f) The complimentary pepper pot soup shot was the only good thing that came out of that kitchen. It was the right amount of spice and the taste of callaloo shined through.

The service was inattentive, with 30 mins going by without anyone asking if we wanted another cocktail, etc. The main dishes took over 1.5 hrs to come out. It’s ironic given how they were not even made to order. We were comped for the salads we sent back, but...

This is THE place to go for dinner/drinks in Negril. I came to Jamaica on a girls trip with 3 friends and we loved this restaurant so much we came here twice (I rarely do that on a trip as i like to try different places). The food is incredible, authentic and flavourful and prices are very fair considering this is at a beautiful, beachside boutique hotel. Service was really thoughtful and warm. The GM came around to check on us and make sure we were enjoying ourselves. The DJ is also so good, we were dancing in our seats. We also love the retro inspired decor of the restaurant and bar area - great for photos and just a nice vibe all around.

I had the steamed fish one night (yummy, big portion, comes with rice and beans, calalloo, okra) and the other night I had the slow roasted root vegetables as I wanted something lighter (could have been boring but the feta and dressing made it more satisfying). They have great cocktails - I tried the herbal tonic (nice, light, refreshing) and the coco lily (sweet, creamy, basically like a pina colada). For dessert, the coconut rum cake and grapenut ice cream were both decadent and delicious (portions big enough for sharing). My friend also couldn't stop raving about the jerk chicken pasta.

I definitely recommend coming here for a nice dinner while you are in Negril.

(Also, if you are vegetarian, they have a whole separate vegetarian menu so it is easy to know what...

Nestled in the middle of Jamaica's 7 mile beach in Negril, is this quaint restaurant and bar inside the Skylark hotel and the atmosphere is one of kind as it is tranquil and relaxing.

Most of the staff is super friendly and go out of their way to make you feel at home in true Jamaican fashion. I visited just after hurricane 🌀 Beryl devastated the island and you would not know it based on the eagerness and warmth of the staff. From Candy's premier service to Abbi's smile and welcoming demeanor, I thank them for taking care of us as we will definitely be back because of the service.

Getting your meals sometimes took a little time but that was expected because as I mentioned before, they just went through a major hurricane, but I tell you.... it was worth the wait. The taste of freshness and the quality was unlike anywhere else. While I was disappointed I did not get any ackee with my salt fish ( the Jamaican national dish) everything I ate was tasty, and filling 😋. Oh, by the way, you have to try their coconut pancake. Needless to say, the view is breathtaking 😍 especially when you feel that powdered white sand under your feet.

Footnote: I need to know who to talk to about getting that pancake...