Reviews of Three Dives Restaurant and Bar

What makes 3 Dives so special? Why not ask some of our customers?

Rosemary Parkins for the Jamaica Gleaner "Next it was straight to 3 Dives. It takes a policeman from Los Angeles to show me a place in Negril! Right next to Xtabi is this little spot with the most incredible grilled lobster you could want - three lobsters cut in half, garlic butter sauce, rice and peas and salad knocks you back J$1,000 ­ believe it or not. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Remember though ­ 3 Dives is chock-a-block with people so get there early. By the time we arrived, lobsters were coming out 'en masse'. " http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030828/cook/cook2.html

Natalie and Barry from Illinois: "On our first trip to Negril, we wandered over to 3 Dives, this was the beginning of numerous visits. We like to consider ourselves food connoisseurs, Lydie did not disappoint us. We ate jerk chicken (which was the best I have ever tasted) and lobster tails to die for. Although the food was absolutely wonderful, what we really enjoyed was the conversation and companionship that Lydie and Paula offered. They are so much more than just proprietors. We felt so at home at 3 Dives, eat if you want to; drink if you can; just come to visit with them--they don't pressure you into purchasing anything. Lydie and Paula are True Jamaicans, the best of the best!"

Sharon S. from Philadelphia, PA: "I was just in Negril for a whole week and let me tell. If you don't experience the food at 3 Dives you are truly missing something wonderful. I had the grilled lobster, rice and peas, and salad. I would highly recommend that anyone traveling to Negril, make a stop over to 3 Dives. Great food, friendly people and wonderful view."

Bill from Illinois: By now it is almost 5:30 looking forward to supper and we know Lloydie at 3 Dives is supposed to have the best jerk in town. As you approach from the cliffs 3 Dives is almost hidden from view. Lloydie is busy just getting started and explains that there will be about a 1 hour wait. In my visits to Jamaica I have learned everything is soon come. We check for the proper necessaries that are required for the wait. Let's see now 3 Dives has the coldest beer in town, check, table to sit on and the best view around and, check. Ok we stay, so here we sit thanking God that it has been days since we last saw a cornfield, smoking, drinking and watching the boats cross the horizon. How much better could it get? Let me tell you I glance off to the west about 50 yards from shore just in time to see a bottlenose dolphin leap out of the water. Now we are talking, I am a huge dolphin fan. The pod spends about 15 mins playing in view of us.

Smell that? That faint odor of pimento wood burning, the scent of jerk on a open fire, can you hear the sizzle of the chicken cooking, the subtle splat of juices dripping down into the coals? Ok wipe the drool from your chin and join us mentally as Lloydie serves us a huge ½ chicken with peas and rice apiece, topped off with two cool red stripes, the dew sliding down the bottles. Now you must try Grannies sauce on your chicken, nothing better.

Muse of Fire & Just Dave: "The best jerk Sauce and the best ambiance of anywhere we ate - we can't wait to go back!"

Tanis from Alberta, Canada: "...don't miss Three Dives. We once took a cab from the beach to there and the cab driver, when we told him where we wanted to go said "Three Dives, that's a great place - it's not fussy". Not fussy, describes it very well as it's a mostly undeveloped piece of ocean front land (great place for sun sets) with a small shack built on it. Paula and Lydie cooked us up probably the best food we had while in Negril. (That says a lot as we had some fabulous meals). "

Robert from Illinois: "When looking for a taste of the "real Jamaica" one need not look any further then the picturesque cliffs of the West End of Negril! That is where you will find a quiet little piece of paradise known simply as 3 Dives. For many years those lucky enough to discover this little hideaway have been treated to some of the best food and best fellowship found anywhere in Negril! Throw in some of the best sunsets found anywhere on the planet and you have one very special place! So whether you're staying at the most fabulous All-Inclusive or the simplest of Negril accommodations, make sure you find your way to 3 Dives to enjoy a scrumptious meal, something cool to drink, a beautiful sunset or just the warm hospitality of Lydie and Paula! You will quickly find out why, for myself and many other returning visitors, a stop at 3 Dives is a must!"

Chet and Coleen from Iowa: "We all nested in a small circle of warmth in a stormy night - then came what C considers the best meal we have ever had in Ja (remember we have eaten at some of the best, all inclusives, Hopewell, MoBay, Ocho, many places in Negril so this is a pretty informed recommendation) for her 4 grilled to perfection lobster tails with a garlic butter sauce (Lydie sliced the garlic so thin it was like pieces of transparency floating in the yellow glow of the butter) for myself some of the best jerk chicken I've ever had (remember I grew up in Kansas City the home of bar-b-que, and I had to tell Lydie that Arthur Bryant and Ollie Gates had nothing on him)"

A revisit from Chet and Coleen: The more we go to Negril the harder dining decisions become while we are there - there are just to many absolutely fantastic dining experiences available for the number of eating times available - 3 Dives twice. That place is absolutely addictive - excellent food the whole sunset on cliffs to table experience is a study in time.

Anonymous reviewer: One of our most memorable Negril moments: Wandering the cliff road, dodging traffic mid afternoon. Hubby and I - first timers - in search of a place I had read about on the boards that made the journey out from our haven at the Caves a must-do. Finally come across a wood "shack", some picnic tables, several large kettle drums and some hand painted signs that let us know we have arrived at our destination.

Greeted with a smile, we placed our orders and sat at a road-side table to watch and sip our stripes. Soon come...platefuls of chicken arrive, hard bread, the works. Our eyes widen...Who ordered this much food? Ah well, we'll have leftovers. Silence as we both take our first bites...we look up at each other at the exact moment of revelation, in complete amazement...nearly weeping with joy...Jah has truly blessed us with 3 Dives jerk chicken.

Jake from Ohio:"...just wanted to say thanks for telling us to try 3 Dives sauce! This being our 12th trip, I haven't had any better anywhere else!! I told Lydie we'd be back next year for more sauce!"

Jackie & Peter, New Brunswick, Canada "We discovered 3 Dives while staying at Xtabi next door. Paula and Lydie are great hosts and the atmosphere is very laid back and fun. Peter would wander over and put our order in for the best jerk chicken you can find....and we would stroll over when we were ready for the evening. They also serve the best grilled lobster that we've had in Negril. We were also entertained at night down at the cliff bar by Lydie's magician friend who puts on a great show....lots of laughs! We've spent many nights there during our stay in Negril...and look forward to repeat visits every year. 3 Dives gets a Five Star rating from us!"

David (aka Scotchbonnet): "I've been to Negril 4 times, and I've eaten at 3 Dives at least a 6 or 8 times. The best jerk in Negril, especially if you like the pepper--the scotch bonnet, that is."

TC & Becca "...we decided to grab the gang from the hotel and take them to my favorite place………3-Dives. Lydie & Paula are simply the best hosts there are on the cliffs. The food is outstanding and cooked fresh every night. His grill is cleaner than my teeth after a visit to the dentist! When we arrive at 3-Dives, our friends are there eating. Seems they got a little hungry on the walk (they got a long way to go too). He always turns me on to some killer old-school reggae that I haven’t heard. A lot of local stuff too. No doubt, though the star here is the food. Our friens had chicken this night (with lots of granny sauce, hot hot). Lydie even drove to the store and got us some callaloo to go with the rice & peas. Some like Rocky’s sauce the best but I’m a granny man all the way (we just made pork with it last night here at home! mmm). They are such great company too (you must go and hang out for at least three hours). I had fresh snapper and Bec had the lobster. I can close my eyes and taste it. I thought seriously about licking my plate. Note: We rarely eat at the same place twice on vacation but we wound up at 3-Dives two more times!). "

"Little Mermaid" " I can't remember the number of times we ate at 3 Dives. The food there was excellent and the beer cold."

Liz and Philip from Ohio: "We headed up to Three Dives, next door to Xtabi on the cliffs. This was to become our Negril home away from home. Paula and Lloydie are fantastic hosts. Nothing like sitting down for good conversation and a great meal with the owners of the place you're in. We had some of Lloydie's excellent jerk chicken...Philip finally did the dive the last day we were there. If you can dive Rick's you can dive here easily but there's also a (long) ladder to the water if you just want to swim or snorkel. We did sunset at 3 Dives most of the days we were there. Great view and VERY laid back atmosphere. Everything on the menu is great but don't miss the lobster with garlic butter or the chicken (we get both and share)! Also ask for the granny sauce and the marinade to take home...when we run out we know it's time to go back!"

Dave W from Ohio: Monday night, Pat and I head to Three Dives. This place is a shack. A shack with 4 tables outside. I have never eaten at a better shack. Lightie, the owner/cook/manager/bartender/farmer/butcher/chef is the man. I respect his work on the chicken population with great "mutual respect" mon. He turns them into Jerk Chicken: some of the tastiest grub the island had to offer. The next night, a crew of about 40 of us ate there. I bought a liter of his jerk chicken sauce for my home use.

"j" (Jan 2002:The food in Jamaica is awesome - after Mexico last year the kids were skeptical but our first dinner at 3 Dives won them over. We had lobster, kingfish, jerk chicken, callilou and rice and peas. The callilou was our first and was the best at 3 Dives. We did not make it to sunset. We enjoyed our meal so much. I had been advised on the board that the food can generally take a long time in Jamaica as nothing is prepared ahead - so we were not surprised to wait. When we arrived a girl was cutting up the ingredients I later determined were scallion-types for the callilou. Everyone must eat at 3 Dives - in retrospect a trip to Negril would not be right without this. A fellow played a ricketty guitar and sang the entire 2 1/2 hours of dinner with 2 short breaks for recorded music. He sang continuosly from song to song - his repertoire including "How much is that doggie in the window."

Roman from Detroit: My wife and I stopped by 3 Dives on our honeymoon in Sept 2003. We have been coming to Jamaica nearly every year since we started dating and met Lloydie on our first trip there together. The food is excellent, the prices are more than reasonable, and the portions are generous. What we like most about 3 Dives is the hospitality of both Lloydie and Paula. We consider them part of our family.

queenb, Memphis: We decide to get fortified with some decent food. I had told a friend that I would pass a message to Lloydie at 3 Dives, and I'd never been there, so that's where we decide to go for dinner. We hop in a cab and go to the West End. Lloydie is as nice a person as I've heard, and his food is to die for. He has round picnic tables to eat at, which I liked. You can sit there and everyone you like is right in your field of view, so conversation flows. And so did the beer and booze. People who complain about how long it takes are crazy. If you are with a compatible group of people determined to drink all the alcohol in the place, even if you’re starving the alcohol holds off the hunger pains for just about the proper length of time. Just as we were beginning to wonder about dinner (uhh, did we eat yet?), Lloydie and crew began to crowd our table with the most enormous platters full of lobster. My friend took 3 halves, and passed the platter to my other friend before more platters arrived and she realized that the whole platter was hers! Bowls of rice & peas, and calaloo appeared, and we began to throw down. We were all determined to finish everything there, and we did. (Did your parents tell you about the starving children in China?) We could have fed them all with the food on that table; even sending for more rice & peas. Hard to believe that we could finish, but we did.

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