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Akbar - Northern Indian

This is the best Indian restaurant in Kingston. It consists of four dining rooms, each outfitted in earth tones with touches of mint green. Don't overlook the possibility of a meal in the Moghul-style garden, within earshot of a splashing fountain. Menu items are rich with the seasonings of the East, with seafood, vegetarian, lamb, beef, and chicken dishes, as well as a selection of exotic breads. Specific and stellar examples include Chicken Moghlai cooked in cream sauce with nuts and egg butter; mutton in a spicy sauce; and beef Akbar - one of the most justifiably popular house specialties, skewered and flavored with herbs.

11 Holborn Rd. Reservations recommended. Main courses J$350-J$850 (US$8.05-US$19.55). AE, MC, V. Daily noon-4pm and 6-11pm.

Boon Hall Oasis - Jamaican

Down a series of pathways and steps carved into a remote hillside outside the city, this place serves Sunday brunches only beneath galvanized metal roofs in a series of dining pavilions, all within a garden. Well-prepared menu items include filet of red snapper with brown sauce or a vinegar-based escoveitch; three different preparations of shrimp (including one flambéed in honey-flavored rum sauce); and three different preparations of chicken. Art exhibitions and poetry readings sometimes take place here.

Stony Hill, St. Andrew. Reservations recommended. Sun brunch J$800 (US$18.40), No credit cards. Sun 11am-3pm (last order). Take a taxi from Kingston, or turn on Seaview Rd. (opposite Petcom Gas Station-Stony Hill Sq.). Take the third left onto Airy Castle Rd., then look out for the signs pointing to Boon Hall Oasis.

Chelsea Jerk Centre - Jamaican

This is the city's most popular purveyor of jerked meats. Set in a low-slung angular concrete building, it offers food to take out or eat in a comfortably battered dining area. Although no formal appetizers are served, you might order a side portion of what the scrawled-on chalkboard refers to as "festival" (fried cornmeal dumplings). The best bargain is Chelsea's Special: rice, peas, and vegetables, plus jerked pork or chicken. Remember to order the various components of your meal at different kiosks in the huge hall; oxtail, stewed fish and beer are also available.

7 Chelsea Ave. Reservations not accepted. Jerk half-chicken J$260 ($6); 1 Ib. (0.5kg) jerk pork J$340 ($7.80). AE, MC, V. Mon-Thurs 10am-10pm; Fri-Sun 10am-1am. Between the New Kingston Shopping Centre and the Wyndham New Kingston Hotel.

Grogg Shoppe - Jamaican

In the Devon House complex near Trafalgar Park, this is one of the more atmospheric places to stop in for a drink or food when you're in Kingston on a shopping and sightseeing trip. The restaurant occupies the brick-sided former servants' quarters of Kingston's most-visited mansion, Devon House. The kitchens turn out dishes with an authentic Jamaican flavor, including jerk pork appetizers or perhaps a Jamaica red pea soup (it's really a bean). Roast suckling pig is often featured, as are curries such as seafood, and even that Jamaican standby, ackee and salt fish. Homemade ice creams often come in unusual flavors, perhaps soursop. You can sit and enjoy drinks on two terraces.

26 Hope Rd. Lunch main courses J$180-J$250 (US$4.15-US$5.75); dinner main courses J$390-J$490 (US$8.95-US$11.25).AE, MC, V. Mon-Sat noon-10pm.