If you’re looking for a posh restaurant, Blue Cilantro fits
the bill: thick white linens and shining silverware all swathed in an azure
blue, so it’s almost like you’re dining in an aquarium – a fancy one, of
course. We sat in the solarium at the front, which was lightly air conditioned so
we wouldn’t freeze in our dresses and cover-ups. The setting was tranquil, yet
offered some people watching capabilities as it overlooks a busy main road.
Being a fine dining establishment, Blue Cilantro presented
the customary complimentary bites: an amuse bouche of smooth pureed cantaloupe topped
with crispy plantain chip and selection of fairly sweet chocolates at the end.
Two plump ravioli (CI$14) arrived in the appetizer portion –
they looked great with a fairly thin pasta and glistening sauce. Indeed, the buttery
pumpkin chorizo sauce even tasted good, with the truffle oil emitting a decadent
scent. This dish could have exquisite if it weren’t for the overcooked lobster
inside, robbed of its sweetness and reduced to what tasted like pieces of eraser.
Similarly, the yellow fin tuna (CI$14) appeared fantastic with
its carefully placed mico herbs and artfully chosen colours. Yet the fussiness
over powered the fish: shichimi
spices, sweet pomegranate seed, pickled cabbage, horseradish cream, fried
jalapenos and dashi! All great tasty
ingredients and if limited to a few would have been delicious, but with them
all was excessive for me.
It was the simple clay oven breads (CI$8 for four flavours)
that finally satisfied. A cross between
freshly made naan and laffa, they are thin, smoky and chewy then enhanced with
other ingredients.
\
With a variety of options to choose from, we tried many from
the “stuffed” series: the pepper jack cheese (very difficult to not like melted
cheese and bread), black forest ham (micro-fine pieces of the salty meat paired
nicely with the pineapple chutney), and Yukon gold potato (incorporated some
curry and heat, but I added extra jalapeño chutney to it anyways). The sole
unstuffed bread was the roasted garlic, which was tasty, if not a tad oily, but
went well with the sweet tomato relish.
Wanting to end my last Caymans meal with more seafood, the
Asian aromatic seafood (CI$39) main sounded like a blessing: a mix of lobster,
scallops, shrimps, clams and mussels?!
Overall, like most of Blue Cilantro’s dishes, it presents better
than it tastes. The young coconut broth promised hints of Thai, but really
ended up being a sweet sauce that lacked other aromatics despite being a
reddish-orange hue. Thankfully, the seafood was cooked adequately (although the
shellfish needs to be soaked longer as the mussels and clams left a grittiness)
and there was a nice selection to accompany the sticky sushi rice.
In the end, as I said, if you’re looking for a posh restaurant, Blue Cilantro has all the elements
you’re seeking: fancy tableware, hushed attentive service and a serene
environment. But, if you want to taste skillfully
executed dishes it hasn’t hit the mark. After all, with the promise of lobster
ravioli, glistening tunas and a seafood cacophony; it’s a tad disappointing
when the most impressive dish was bread stuffed with potato, meat and cheese.
How To Find Them
Location: Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman
Address: 1 Gecko Link (Fidelity Financial Center)
Address: 1 Gecko Link (Fidelity Financial Center)
Website: http://bluecilantrocayman.com/
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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