Caribbean restaurants are a dime a dozen in Brooklyn. On every other corner is a roti shop, ital spot or West Indian bakery where you can get a glass of mauby, a piece of salara or escovitch fish if you are so moved. Caribbean-Americans make up almost 1/3 of NYC’s immigrant population and with almost 1 million of us residing in Brooklyn it’s to be expected that you’ll find our cuisine everywhere.
Many of these spots are storefronts with little ambiance. They are good for takeout or to stop in for a quick bite, but if you’re looking for somewhere where you can really lime, say for a girl’s night out or a romantic dinner with your boo, the selection dwindles a bit. Especially if you live deeper into Brooklyn and aren’t trying to go all the way downtown for a good time. Which, as a non-driving resident of the OMB (Old Mill Basin in the house!!) I’m always on the look out for a new spot to hang that doesn’t require several bus/train/dolla van rides or a $20+ cab fare.
So I was super excited when Caribbean digital diva, Mikelah Rose, invited me to her blog, Style & Vibes , 7th anniversary celebration at Suede Restaurant right here in the Flatlands area of Brooklyn. Located at 5610 Clarendon Road and the corner of East 56th Street, Suede is literally a 5 minute bus-ride from my house. Yay!
So one rainy evening I hustled after work to meet up with Mikelah and a small group of amazing Caribbean/Caribbean-American women (Jay of Jay Blessed Media, Kerry-Anne of Carry On Friends, Stacey Bethel of Triple the Focus Magazine, Tisha of Scotty Beama, and professional makeup artist Renee Baptiste) at Suede to raise our glasses to her online success.
We had a great time. Good food + good people. Ya cyan’t go wrong wit dem two tings. But so you understand why Suede qualifies as ‘good food’, leh me break it down for you one time:
1st IMPRESSIONS
Getting off the B46 bus at Clarendon and Utica Ave, I made my way up Clarendon wondering how exactly does a restaurant fit into this neighborhood? This is ungentrified Brooklyn. Residential and very neighborhood-y in look and feel. As I came up to 56th street I saw a corner store on my left and a tire shop on my right. Did I have the right address? Walk a few feet past the tire shop and there, like an oasis in the dessert, was Suede. Though it was dark and rainy I was impressed by the chic exterior and beautiful light display visible from outside.
The doorman was courteous and pleasant. The maître d’ as well. A hostess guided me through the main dining room to the loft area where the other Caribbean digital divas were gathering. In true Caribbean fashion, I arrived with a big shopping bag (TJ Maxx had sale that day :-)) which the hostess noticed and kindly offered to place in coat check for me.
THE DECOR/VIBE
Suede is beautifully designed. Gorgeous exposed brick, wood paneling and elegant lighting fixtures throughout. The main dining area and bar are long and narrow but even when full of diners it doesn’t feel tight and crowded.
The smaller loft space, which overlooks the main dining room, is where we dined and was cozy and intimate in feel. Some nice chunes did play in the background. And not so loud that you couldn’t chat with your party.
THE SERVICE
The waitstaff were pleasant and attentive. As the night went on and the place got busier I did find we had to wait a little bit for small things like replacement silverware or water refills. A little annoying but as they had only been open a few weeks I’m sure they were still working out the kinks.
and the most important element:
THE FOOD
Suede touts itself as modern Caribbean fusion. So don’t be surprised to see menu items like: Chicken with Rum Raisin Waffles, Island Tacos and Oxtail Pizza along with more traditional fare like Jerk Chicken, Braised Oxtails and Codfish Fritters. Now, if you know me, you know I’m a picky eater. But Suede’s menu was diverse enough to please even me.
Marketing Director, Emmanuel “Manny” Mensah, was kind enough to give us a brief presentation on the concept and history behind the restaurant before we dug in.
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First up, replacing the traditional bread basket, was a basket of plantain chips and salsa. Then appetizers, which Suede generously comped for our group. The jerk shrimp was too spicy for my American taste buds. Jamaicans Tisha and Mikelah didn’t seem to think it too spicy at all. LOL. I wasn’t able with it so moved onto the mango BBQ wings. Awesome. Loved the rich, slight sweet flavor. Me nah eat corn or codfish (told you I was picky) but the the other ladies nyamed up all the Caribbean street corn and codfish fritters so I’m sure they were quite tasty as well.
Jay was kind enough to share her salmon crabcake with me and it was amazing. I’ve never been big into crabcakes but Suede’s version was excellent. Definitely adding them to my approved foods list. For the main course I ordered the short ribs but they were out so had the steamed snapper instead. I wasn’t disappointed. It was tender and well spiced.
It was all washed down with alternating glasses of Bartenura Moscato (say what you will, I love moscato!) and water (I’m a lightweight so try to keep my alcohol intake to a minimum.)
PRICE
As a sista on a budget, I found Suede’s pricing pretty reasonable and on par with similar restaurants/lounges in Brooklyn. If I want an inexpensive roti, there are plenty of places I can run into to get one. But if I’m going out, I dun know I gwan haffi spend some money for the evening. You can always save some $$ by sharing an appetizer and limiting your cocktails. Just don’t skimp on the tip. That’s not cute.
RECOMMEND TO A FRIEND?
Mos def! The tasty food, vibe and location make it a great venue for a night out with friends, birthday celebration, or romantic evening with your honey. I look forward to my next night out at Suede.
For more coverage on Suede & Style & Vibes anniversary celebration check out Scotty Beama’s recap here and Mikelah’s post here.
