Trenchtown has arrived in Edinburgh and has painted the town, well, an array of different colours! The Caribbean themed restaurant certainly ticks the sunshine box, and the food is pretty good too. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit a number of destinations in the Caribbean including Haiti, Jamaica, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Turks & Caicos and St Maarten. So I’ve tasted a bit of the local cuisine and know roughly what I’m looking for.

The menu is as colourful as the restaurant with lots to choose from, including some very nice rum cocktails.

We started with Sweetcorn Fritters. These were similar in texture and colour to an onion bhaji and served with spiced mango and lime sauce. If you’re sensitive to spice then these are a good option. With a generous portion of four fritters costing just £4.25, they also felt like good value.

Our other starter was a Duck Roll – shredded duck rolled up in a toasted flatbread with orange chutney. It was pleasant enough, but it’s the fritters I’d return for.

The service at Trenchtown is really friendly, our waiter was even from the Caribbean which was a nice touch.

The mains were a spicy affair, if you don’t like your food fiery I’d give Trenchtown a miss as even the milder options still pack a punch.

My friend had the Jerk Chicken Breast with the milder coconut sauce, this was served with the traditional rice an’ peas. Bone in chicken versions of this dish go right up to a full chicken for those with a big appetite. A Caribbean slaw added the colour the dish needed.

I chose the Babi Bak Ribs, these tasted like they had been slow cooked in the jerk sauce. The meat fell away from the bone, not ribs to be eaten with your hands – definitely a knife and fork job! As you can see, this is not pretty food, and that’s very much in keeping with the Caribbean style – it’s all about the flavour.

There wasn’t much space left for dessert and the choice is quite limited in comparison to the rest of the menu so we had a light option – BBQ Pineapple and Coconut Ice Cream – I make something similar to this at home with a rum and chilli syrup, and that would have been a nice addition here.

Trenchtown felt like something fresh and different, with a relaxed vibe and good value food, I can definitely see me going back to try some of the other options, I have my eye on the Kingston King Burger next!

Trenchtown
Location: 4-8 Lochrin Buildings
Price: Mains £7.50 – £17.50
Good for: Caribbean flavours