Over The Edge in Bodden TownGood Food, Good People
Cayman Net News' RestaurantExplorer
It might be the food. It might be the friendlywaitstaff. It might be the beautiful blue Caribbean Sea lappingup on a silken strand of sandy beach. Whatever the reason, itseems as though everyone is heading to The Edge for lunch thesedays.
Perched along the waterfront in Bodden Town, The Edge Cafe andLounge is a peaceful haven on hot summer afternoons. Even itsparking space offers one of the most spectacular views in GrandCayman, a stunning vista of sun-kissed water that runs for milesalong the shore.
Inside, visitors find the kind of friendliness and casual atmospherethey expect from one of Cayman's beachfront eateries: sleepy,sun-drenched tables and an easygoing staff dressed in shorts,tees and sandals, complete with a cheerfully efficient residentbartender.
Decor is rustic and nostalgic: wooden tables and a sunny bar leadinevitably past faded fishing nets, traps and sea fans to thesun-bleached wooden deck, where diners lose themselves in thewhispering surf and cool ocean breezes of the island's coastline.
This is a feet-up sort of place, where you're just as likely tofind local families tarrying over lunch or a group of touringcyclists marking time in the middle of a long Sunday ride.
The perfect complement to a busy week of high finance or happysnorkeling, The Edge offers family entertainment of the old-fashionedkind: children are free to explore the shore behind the restaurantwith bucket and spade while parents relax, snapping the occasionalpicture or just sunning themselves over drinks. Mudslides, ofcourse, are the specialty of the house, served up milky in tall,cool glasses as the perfect answer to the heavy summer heat.
Of course, all that sea air can make a person hungry, and theEdge is a great place to combine a lazy afternoon with a littlelight lunch, miles away from the hustle and bustle of Seven MileBeach.
The menu caters to simple, unaffected down-home tastes, with amix of sandwiches, burgers, seafood, chicken and beef. Luncheonplates - served with rice and beans or french fries, vegetablesand a slice of plantain - offer reasonably priced, if not heapinghelpings of some very decent Caribbean-style food.
The mahi-mahi sandwich, served grilled or fried on a white breadroll with tomato, lettuce and onion, costs $6.95 at lunchtime,but the Spicy Cajun Chicken Breast, tender and succulent in alight spicy sauce bursting with onions and peppers, is a treasureat $6.75.
Other options run the gamut from such delicacies as Fried CaymanRock Lobster to Sauteed Jumbo Shrimp, Island Style Fried Chickenand Cayman Style Pan-Fried Conch Steak. For the less adventurous,burgers are on offer for a modest $5.00 along with grilled cheeseand club sandwiches for the very faint of heart.
The grub is good if you like it simple, and the location, of course,is to die for.
Your children may complain when it's time to go home, but withthe crystal blue water lapping peacefully at the shoreline andthe easy conversation drifting lazily from table to table in thispeaceful seaside joint, you may have stepped too far 'over theedge' to notice.