PGs Jamaican Restaurant

At loose ends just after noon in White Rock, we chose not to brave the nightmare that is Marine Drive on a sunny weekend. How about Jamaican food a little further uptown? We certainly don't have an excess of Jamaican food in Metro Vancouver so it's a good move to take advantage when it's in the area.  In PGs Jamaican Restaurant on 152nd in White Rock, we saw a 1992 Anne Garbour review from the Province framed and posted on the wall. Apparently, PGs has been successfully serving Jamaican food for a long time although back in those days, they were in a downtown Vancouver location.

With fewer than 20 seats, PGs is cozy and has a casual 'island' vibe complete with faux straw hut bar and reggae tunes. We ordered Cod Fritters to start.

These were tasty albeit maybe a bit chewier than I expected. Served artfully with a side salad featuring pineapple and maybe a mango and pineapple chutney. The salt cod was subtle and the fritters nicely crispy. 

We also ordered a beef patty that was something special. I'm not sure if they make these in house or not but the pastry was flakey and the beef filling nicely spicey. This was very good.

We like to order Saltfish and Ackee when it is available and we thought this was a very good version. Ackee is a fruit and I have just read that it can be poisonous if eaten unripe (don't worry as this comes from a can) but I have always found to be a little reminiscent of scrambled eggs! Served with salt cod ( that is soaked in water to remove the salt), onions and peppers in a sort of stir-fry, it is part of Jamaica's national dish and quite tasty!

PGs have a daily special and on Saturday it is Jerk Chicken. I knew the heat was coming but I really wanted to try this. Jerk chicken can be very spicy thanks to the famous Scotch Bonnett pepper but a good rub is quite complex beyond that, often with 5 spice, nutmeg and thyme. Sure enough, while we did not get ambushed by so much of the mouth burning you might associate with spicy food, it made me sweat! It was worth the extra napkins as this was a wonderful dish. Tender chicken with the wonderful rub was grilled and served with a salsa type sauce. Both entrees came with coconut rice, cabbage slaw and a nice little baked bun.

Both the chicken and saltfish and ackee are dishes where you can expand your dining repertoire and a little bit and be rewarded. One note: the heat of the jerk seasoning can not really be turned down! It is what it is! Just set caution aside and enjoy something very good!

Don't worry! There is plenty on the menu for the fainter of heart!

Come and try this long time family-run restaurant. White Rock is lucky to have it.

For what its worth, we give PG's 4 out of 5.