Getting fruity in Camden

We messed up on ordering, and didn't notice the specials on the other side of the menu, but didn't feel deprived for only having half the menu to choose from. The food is traditional and modern Caribbean cuisine - all dishes stick closely to Caribbean flavours and ingredients. We ate classics that had been spruced up and plated in a posh style. To start, I had some sweet and tender steamed green-lip mussels with a ginger, scallions, garlic and coconut sauce - the sauce was perfectly balanced. Paul the drama student, however, didn't rate his crab and potato balls, saying they lacked a distinct flavour.

Mains were patchy too. Creole snapper with mango and green peppercorn sauce was a robust and meaty piece of fried fish with a light sauce. Loved it. But while I've seen 'Camden's famous goat curry' (as it says on the menu) lauded in reviews, Paul the drama student was unimpressed, and said it was more stew than curry. The meat was meltingly soft and tasted good and goaty, but seasoning was indifferent. We all agreed we'd had more exciting, if bonier, goat curries at Carnival.

My bro had jerk chicken - it's one of his comfortfood standards. He's a jerk aficionado. He said, 'I've never seen it boneless, fanned on the plate and surrounded by a luscious jus. But other than that, it's ordinary jerk.'

The side dishes were fantastic. Plantain, white- and sweet-potato mash, and rice and peas were all stand-out. The plantain, fried to a nut-brown in its skin, tasted perfect.

The prices are good here, too. Our bill was only hiked up by two bottles of extremely ordinary organic Rioja. Largely, Mango Room deserves its good reputation. It is packed every night. But I have heard complaints about people being hurried off tables for the second sitting, which seems a bit miserably West End for Camden.

Service was odd. Efficient, yes, but one of our waitresses was unsmiling and unresponsive, which isn't on in an ethnic restaurant that pitches itself this posh. The drama student also wondered why there weren't any black waiting staff. We wondered if that was an un-PC or a PC thing to say, and he told us not to be such ponces.

There was only one rum on offer, Wray And Nephew. My bro likes a drop of rum and was disappointed - there aren't many places in London with an interesting selection, and Mango Room would be absolutely the place to have one. I was pleased - the last thing we needed was a midweek encounter with over-proof rum.