Top Taste Restaurant, which opened in July in Royal Palm Beach, has brought Caribbean flavors to the western communities. The Jamaican restaurant offers all the Caribbean island’s staples such as jerk chicken and Jamaican beef patties.
Owner Delroy Blake has been in the restaurant industry for more than 20 years, from being a cook to owning his previous Jamaican restaurant in West Palm Beach.
Blake recently decided to sell his West Palm Beach restaurant and relocate to the western communities to open Top Taste Restaurant. “This is a better location,” Blake said. “Although we are open to everybody coming here, there are lot of Caribbean people living here.”
Top Taste Restaurant has a Jamaican vibe as soon as customers walk in the front door. With items such as a collection of framed pictures of Jamaican notables, from athletes such as Usain Bolt to iconic musicians such as Bob Marley.
Once customers enter Top Taste Restaurant, they have the option of either dining in or ordering takeout. Customers who choose to dine in are free to grab any seat they like, and one of the three employees will take their order. For takeout, customers have to make the line and pick out whatever they like from the menu. The food is contained in a heated area behind the counter with a glass partition. “We have glass separating the food from the customers so that they get to see while we prepare their food for them,” Blake said.
The meals include either a fish or meat such as curry chicken, with two sides of vegetables, fried plantains or rice. “We make sure to always have what the customers want on the menu,” Blake said. “If it’s on the menu, then we have it.”
Some of the popular menu items include ackee and saltfish, oxtail, curry chicken and fried chicken. “Our fried chicken is what makes us the best,” Blake said. “I have a special secret sauce for it that all the customers like.”
The restaurant also serves breakfast, which features typical Jamaican-style options. “We have fried dumplings, ackee and saltfish, callaloo, liver, kidney, bananas and soups,” Blake said. “These are all things that we eat in Jamaica in the morning, and it reminds people of the islands.”
At Top Taste Restaurant, customers can enjoy a refreshing Caribbean drink along with their meal. The restaurant offers beverages such as Cola Champagne, which is a fruity soda popular throughout the Caribbean.
Blake noted that a true Jamaican cook, who learned how to cook in Jamaica, makes the food. “He is the real deal, and he knows how to cook like they do in Jamaica, and our customers can taste that,” Blake said.
Blake added that he has always known he wanted to be in the restaurant business. “I love cooking,” he said. “That’s why I take pride and joy in what I do.”
Originally from Jamaica, for many years Blake lived in New York, where he worked at another Jamaican restaurant as a cook. He believes that his experience in the industry has also given him the expertise to run a successful restaurant. “If I see any little mistakes, I can immediately correct them because I know exactly all the mistakes that I have seen made in other restaurants,” Blake said.
Top Taste Restaurant is located in the Target Plaza at 10233 Okeechobee Blvd., Suite B-11, Royal Palm Beach. For more information, call (561) 795-8440.
Above: Top Taste Restaurant owner Delroy Blake in front of his Royal Palm Beach restaurant.
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