by “The Food Guy” – Food Blogger / Restaurant Critic for Vero Vine and Vero Beach Foodie
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Ah, such fond memories of my VERY FIRST restaurant I reviewed for Vero Vine and what ultimately influenced the start of Vero Beach Foodie almost 3 1/2 years ago. While International Cuisine is what Chef Wesley Campbell, owner and Executive Chef of Mo-Bay Grill serves, there is a heavy influence on Jamaican and Caribbean flavors used in his cooking. Caribbean flavors are definitely one of my Top 5 favorite cuisine types because of the bold use of spices, and the sweet and spicy flavors, so I was excited to review this place once again.
The restaurant had a comfortable, yet cozy atmosphere but did not feel cramped at all, especially with all the windows at the front of the dining room. Southwestern colors adorn the walls along with murals of life in Jamaica and the Caribbean. Lighting was soft, but we had plenty of daylight to read our menus and enjoy the water view across the street from the restaurant. We were seated in the dining room to the right side of the bar since we had a larger party here for the Restaurant Review Dining Experience.
Now let’s dive right in and see what this place has to offer and what we had to eat!
The first dish of the night is a coconut encrusted snapper filet served with a lemon butter sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked, flaky and very tender. The coconut added a subtle flavor and texture to each bite and was wonderful! We had one guest dining with us that doesn’t care for fish or coconut, yet they cleaned their plate and really enjoyed the dish.
This dish was so good that I cannot stop thinking about it. Chef Campbell does not usually have this dish on his menu, but let me tell you, it’s SPECTACULAR! Next time you are there, ask Chef if he has the ingredients on hand to make this dish for you. The scallops were as tender and perfectly cooked as it gets. The blackened seasoning added tons of flavor with minimal heat. They are then covered with a sweet plantain butter sauce that I can only describe as HEAVEN. Can you tell that I liked this dish? I liked it so much that it’s already made it’s way to one of my Top 10 Best Dishes of 2019 and we are only halfway through the year.
I had this same dish for the first review and it has changed a little bit, but for the better in my opinion. Last time Chef used bone-in chicken thighs, this time he used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, which made the dish a little easier to eat. Here were my comments from my first review: “The chicken was still on the bone, and very tender, but was not that easy to pick out the bones. It would have been better without the bones, but that is where some of the additional flavors come from, so I understand why the chef left them in”.
Last but certainly not least, was this Jerk Chicken Pasta dish! It’s made with Jerk spiced chicken breast that has been sliced into strips and served over bow tie pasta in a creamy parmesan herb sauce. Garlic Bread was served alongside. The pasta was cooked al dente, the jerk chicken was tender and flavorful with a touch of heat, and the garlic bread has a slight sweetness and a nice crunch on the edges.
In Conclusion:
“My expectation of this place was set fairly high after reading other diners reviews and I was not disappointed. The restaurant has a great location, atmosphere, and of course the food is outstanding! I will definitely be returning in the near future for another great meal at Mo-Bay Grill and I suggest you give them a try too!” Why did I use the same “In Conclusion” as my first review for this review? Because I could not have said it better “myself”!
Mo-Bay Grill Website | Mo-Bay Grill Facebook
1401 Indian River Dr, Sebastian, FL 32958
Hours of Operation: Monday – Friday, 11am till 9pm, Saturday 8am – 9pm, and on Sunday from 8am till 8pm
This experience was part of our new “Restaurant Review Dining Experience” where you have an opportunity to join me, “The Food Guy” on an actual restaurant review and go behind the lens to see how I work and taste all of the amazing food you have seen in my articles! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, subscribe to our email newsletter and text alerts so you know when tickets go on sale for our upcoming events!
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