| Open any night but reservations required At a glance:
3 Prix-fixe menus include
Entrée
Soup
Main plate
Salad
Dessert
(Seasonal Special Menus upon request).
US$25 + drinks Note: Try to arrange your ride up to the Castle Club in a group to reduce the cost per person for the taxi. Fulltext:
The Castle Club isn’t quite a restaurant, but rather fine gourmet cuisine served in a truly extraordinary private home. Situated in the low tropical mountains about 20 min. taxi ride from Cabarete, the Castle Club sits atop a hill, surrounded on all sides by hills and palm trees and a faint glimmer of the ocean in the distance. The owners, Doug and Marguerite Beers, open their home to small groups of diners (reservations required), inviting them into their beautiful kitchen, to their living room that resembles a small cathedral, and seat them in their dining room to enjoy one of the finest meals to be found in the Dominican Republic. The open airy architecture of their house beautifully echoes the couple’s welcoming nature while also giving guests terrific views of the surrounding hills and magnificent sunsets. And it is clear from the enormous and welcoming kitchen that Doug and Marguerite truly enjoy entertaining.
The fare in each of the pre-selected menus can be described as Caribbean fusion (if I can make that term up) and makes use of such local ingredients as passion fruit and coconut. Many of the ingredients are grown right on the couple’s large property including herbs from their kitchen garden and goat cheese from their own Toggenburg goats. Our meal began with amuse-bouche served with drinks while chatting in the kitchen – a pesto with goat cheese in a dainty pastry cup that popped perfectly into one’s mouth. After being seated in the dining room, we were presented with a delightful Caribbean Carrot soup with a creamy coconut base accented with ginger and a hint of peanut. We particularly enjoyed the main dish, Mero filets (grouper) prepared in a tangy and rich sauce with ginger and passion fruit. It arrived accompanied by Fiesta Rice and a Thai-style cabbage salad topped with blackened sesame seeds – a recipe Doug told me he learned from a friend who is a pilot for Thai Airlines and whom he met in Kansas. The peregrinating source of that recipe certainly explains the fusion aspect of Doug’s cuisine, but don’t let that confuse you, the food is absolutely delicious.
The Castle Club is open year round for small groups of diners by reservation only (minimum 6 persons). If you are traveling alone, find a few new friends to team up with for an unforgettable dinner together. You won’t be at a loss for conversation once you walk through Doug and Marguerite’s door. Written by Calin
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