The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2026 - Issue 39

Jada Brookes attended the opening party of the new Rum Kitchen in Camden Town, where drinks flowed, music played, and food satisfied. bitecuisine I n December 2012, Rum Kitchen, a Caribbean beach shack and cellar bar on All Saints Road in Notting Hill, opened. Founded by entrepreneurs Alex Potter and Jonny Boud, it was created to fill a gap in the capital’s dining scene with its signature jerk cooking, rum cocktails, and reggae music. The site was previously The Mangrove, a legendary Caribbean res- taurant founded in 1968 by civil rights activist Frank Crichlow, serving as a vital cultural hub and meeting place for the Black community before closing in 1992. Described as a party disguised as a restaurant, the jerk smoke, reggae, and cocktails hit you before you’d even sat down. It had a ‘beach shack’ vibe with mismatched furniture, bright colours, and a slightly ramshackle charm. Rum Kitchen was praised for its atmosphere above all else. The cellar bar, in particular, be- came a magnet: dark, sweaty, packed, and pulsing with DJs who played reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop. It quickly developed a reputation as a late‑night haunt where time seemed to pass.