Profile

This venue is closed.

An appealing mix of laid back island hospitality and upscale elegance defines the Jamaican restaurant, The Blue Mahoe. The white-walled dining room comes across like a formal version of a veranda. A cluster of bamboo in a vase references the establishment's previous incarnation, Bambou, by the same owner. There's subdued lighting from gilded palm leaf sconces and hurricane lamps, reggae pulsing in the background, and overhead fans spinning languorously. As to the cuisine, the Caribbean standards are prepared with French touches, for fine-dining palettes. Mango and coconut flavors are a refrain that also shows up on the long list of tropical drinks. A full vegetarian menu augments chicken, lamb, and steak dishes, though the fruits of the sea are the stars. The crab cake appetizer comes in a savory saffron-infused patty, topped with a spicy mango-ginger vinaigrette. The hand of a deft saucier can be tasted in the jerk chicken, with its smooth brown sauce replacing the coarse seasonings of a traditional jerk. There's a healthy amount of scotch bonnet heat, but the flavor of the tender chicken still comes through. Between the fresh tropical flavors and the palms and birds of paradise along the walls, Jamaica doesn't seem so far away. — Ethan Wolff

Crab cake, $13; mussels in coconut curry broth, $12; jerk chicken, $15