Dinner at Morgan's

Day six came early, with another round of diving on the south sound of Grand Cayman. This led to another afternoon of relaxing as I typed up my thoughts on the previous night's feast at Blue by Eric Ripert. After such a grand meal, a smart person would plan on staying in the next evening and cooking something simple. We will definitely be doing that next year, but for now the Madre and I cleaned up and headed over to tonight's restaurant: Morgan's.


Morgan's is relatively new to the restaurant scene, opening a few years ago in its location at the Grand Cayman Yacht Club that had previously been destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. The layout is perfect for an island restaurant: big open interior space with a bar, surrounded by a multi-level terrace butting up again the water where the dining tables are located. The Madre and I were led to a two-top at the railing for the top terrace, yielding ample views of the tables below as well as Governor's Harbor.

Our server stopped over, filling our water glasses and leaving us a chalk-board with tonight's specials. After some deliberation, we opted to split an order of pork belly and an order of cracked conch. My main entrée was the surf 'n' turf, which included a jumbo shrimp and a filet mignon. With dinner I ordered a glass of Duckhorn Merlot.

Cracked conch
2017 Morgan's. Grand Cayman, BWI

 Both the cracked conch and the pork belly arrived at the same time, so the Madre and I took terms sampling both dishes. First the cracked conch: the conch was pounded thin, breaded, and fried akin to a veal Parmesan. The result was conch that was extraordinarily tender and delicious.

The conch offered its signature rich seafood flavors. The breading was not overly heavy, and flaked when I cut into the conch. As it was not heavily breaded, the batter did not dominate the flavor palette of the dish, further allowing the natural flavor of the conch to appear on the tongue.

The surprise to this dish, however, was the dill pickle mayo that came along side. It's as if dill pickles were puréed and added to a home made mayo. The end result was a bit of dill pickle flavor that complimented the friend conch rather nicely. Cracked conch is pretty common across the island, and most of the time it is served with either a jerk mayo or a curry mayo. Using dill pickle was a unique twist to this recipe, and the end result was  a refreshing and tasty take.

Seared pork belly
2017 Morgan's. Grand Cayman, BWI

The second appetizer was seared pork belly, served with a sweet and sour dipping sauce and wasabi glaze on the plate. The pork belly was perfectly cooked, with a nice crisp on the outer skin, and soft and delicious in the middle.

Even before adding any of the sauces that came with the dish, the pork belly plain had a nice varied flavor profile. The seared outer skin featured more charred smokey notes, while the interior featured that soft rich bacon flavor that makes pork belly so coveted.

The sauces added further flavor complexity, complimenting the pork belly nicely. The sweet and sour sauce lent an Asian influence to the dish, with hoisin, and garlic notes that played with the sweetness and saltiness of the meat. The wasabi glaze also paired nicely, cutting the richness of the pork belly with horseradish flavors. I took turns trying pieces plain, once sauce, or both, in order to see how the flavors paired with each other. All of them worked in their own way to either compliment or contrast the key flavors of the meat, making for an excellent appetizer.

Surf 'n' turf
2017 Morgan's. Grand Cayman, BWI

Tonight's main entrée was a surf 'n' turf consisting of a giant prawn (a little smaller than a Caribbean lobster) and a filet mignon. The prawn was grilled, then split and basted with a salted garlic butter. The filet was cooked to a perfect medium rare, then covered in a tasty demi glaze and given a pat of herbed garlic butter. This wonderful feast was also served with carrots, asparagus, and roasted potatoes.

The prawn was outstanding, with a firm flesh slightly less sweet that lobster. The salted garlic butter brought out the richness of the flesh, while the charcoal preparation imbued it with contrasting smokey charcoal notes. Turning to the filet, as said it was grilled to a perfect medium rare. The demi glaze added nice beef wine notes that accentuated the taste of the beef, while the herb garlic butter ushered in a contrasting herb cream flavor to round out the dish. Finally, the vegetables were perfectly cooked, and the potatoes had no trouble taking up any of the extra demi glaze.

Key lime pie
2017 Morgan's. Grand Cayman, BWI

Tonight's desert was a nice piece of key lime pie, with dollop of whipped cream on the side. The pie had nice creamy texture, and a lime flavor that was not too ambitious or tart. The crust was made from scratch from gingerbread cookies, and offered a nice contrasting flavor to the tart key lime pie. A delightful desert that was not overly rich or sweet, but had sophisticated flavors.

And as the last spoon of key lime pie fell, we were left to enjoy the al fresco atmosphere before receiving the check. Morgan's represents an excellent restaurant for any occasion, or none at all. The food was good, and the atmosphere out on the terrace incredible. No need to dress up; just stop on over with an empty stomach and take in the good food and island harbor vibes.