Xaymaca Experience

Xaymaca Experience is billed as the city's only Caribbean Restaurant. With the promise of well-cooked Carribean-style food, a vibrant atmosphere and reasonable prices Xaymaca would seem to be the missing Caribbean restauraunt Birmingham needs. The reality is somewhat different however. Arriving on a Thursday night, we didn't expect XE to be jumping, but rather embarrassingly we were the only people there. After a prolonged wait in the "bar area" sampling some of the well-made cocktails, we were led through to the dining room, - having declined the offer of a limbo dance through the doors... - The dining room is dominated by a mural of what appears to be 'life on the islands', a unique attempt at adding some Caribbean colour to an otherwise staid area. However, the mural is TOO oppressive, and by the end of the meal had induced something of a schizophrenic headache. - Also to try and lull you into a relaxed mood, XE has a television in the dining room. - When another party finally arrived, the poor buggers were seated facing the television and seemed transfixed by it. We ordered from the starter selection and the mains, predicting rightly that the dessert menu would be a step too far. The starters were superb - the Palmtree Prawns were lightly battered, and served in a fantastic piquant sauce with fried plaintain, while the ackee and saltfish dumpling married the starchy dough with a hot and deliciously salty filling, lifted by the strident sauce. Extremely tasty, and offered a tantalising promise of what was to come... Which was a slap in the face, gastronomically speaking. My girlfriend opted for Stew Peas, the vegetarian dish on the menu, which turned out to be little more than a small bowl of gloopy bean soup and rice, whilst I had elected the Jerk Chicken to try. When it finally arrived, the chicken was presented pleasantly enough, the breast sliced lengthways and adorned with three slices of plaintain, but it was there the postives ended. The jerk coating tasted of nothing more than a supermarket-style cajun spice. The sauce that the chicken sat in was pleasant enough, but failed to lift the already staid chicken. The rice and peas were good, but not enough to save the meal. XE is clearly in need of help - the over-priced menu is clearly there to compensate for spiraling overheads. £11 for a bowl of bean soup, and - if I remember correctly - £13 for one sliced chicken breast is NOT good value for money. Too little, too late for us I'm afraid. Jake

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