The Beach House Grill & Lounge

by Ron Anejo, Food Critic,  The Puerto Plata Report

One of Cofresi’s most venerable beach bars is back on the scene sporting a new name, a unique menu, satellite sports TV and other attractions that add appeal to the laid-back atmosphere and oh-so-cold beer that have made it a perennial favorite among visitors and residents in Cofresi for the last two decades.

The original Captain Cook, recently christened by its new Sun Village owners as The Beach House Grill and Lounge, is the kind of place that appeals to people whose idea of a good time is spending a few hours mixing up cocktails, good conversation and great food in a place where “Hi I’m Stacie your server for tonight” isn’t trying to rush you through for the next sitting.

Continues below

In the background, a cool mix of R&B, retro rock and jazz; blended with the sound of waves slapping the shoreline just a few yards off the front terrace. At your service, a crew of salty dogs, mostly expats hailing from other shores, each with his own grab bag of seafaring stories.

They say that when you travel you’re supposed to eat the local food because it’s the cultural thing to do. That’s fine, but after a few days of playing good sport with this culinary/cultural obligation, there’s no need to feel guilty about having a hankering for a whack of ribs, a New York strip, a plate of wings or a juicy down-home burger. Add your longing for an ice-cold bucket of Coronas or Buds, and The Beach House is the place you’re looking for.

But at the Beach House, any freedom from guilt over wanting something other than rice and beans, will quickly resurface with the temptation to over-indulge.

The Beach House menu was developed by Ted Reader, a celebrity barbecue chef known in Canada for his syndicated “King of the Q” television show. In addition to contributing to the Beach House his appreciation for generous portions, his creations include succulent Mamajuana*-smoked St-Louis style ribs; “to-die-for” quesadillas; the infamous Ludicrous Burger, made with two eight ounce beef patties piled between two grilled cheese sandwiches; and a chicken grill-sickle: a rum-soaked sugarcane skewer of sweet tangy chicken breast glazed and crusted with roasted cashews and peanuts. Dessert involves things like a chocolate browny orgy that most people can’t finish; and a deep-fried Milky Way chocolate bar, a hot, melty, must-try invention served with a mound of chocolate ice cream.

Beachfront, yes; cold beers, yes; amazing flavors, yes. But the best thing about the Beach House is how it’s likely to go down in your memory as one of those dressed-down, hang-out, one-of-a-kind places you’re supposed to find when you come to the Caribbean; that place that, when you were on vacation, became your home away from home.

The Beach House is located on Paradise Drive in Cofresi, beachfront between Sun Village and Ocean World. Major credit cards accepted. Tel. 809 970-7672.

*Mamajuana is a folkloric Dominican rum concoction involving herbs, special woods and other ingredients that enable basic rum to become a cure-all for absolutely anything that ails you. It’s actually extremely tasty; and if it doesn’t cure what ails you, it certainly helps you forget.