In Trafalgar Place on West Bay Road, just before you get to Public Beach, lies one of the hidden gems of Cayman’s restaurant scene. From the moment you walk in the door, Neptune Restaurant welcomes with its Italian atmosphere and the ocean themes covering the walls.
 
The ocean theme carries through from the name, with the menu featuring a wide selection of seafood, with a strong Italian influence. More often than not the seafood is simply prepared, allowing the flavour of the food itself to come through rather than smothering it in too many other dominant flavours.
 
Owner Yunio Lopez is justifiably proud of the selection of dishes on the menu and the quality of the food.
 
“The main thing with the cooking is the passion. If you don’t cook with passion, you can cook with the best ingredients but you won’t make it - it won’t taste good. You have to cook with your heart, otherwise you cannot please people,” he says.
 
According to Yunio, the Linguine Fra’ Diavolo is a clear favourite. The dish combines linguine in a spicy tomato sauce with jumbo shrimps for the perfect combination of Italian and seafood. Another favourite is the mixed seafood curry - not Italian by a long shot but an absolute winner. This Indian classic contains lobster, shrimp and snapper for a tantalising seafood experience.
 
According to Yunio, the starters and mains as all very popular, although he jokes that the desserts do not do that well.
 
“My chef is too generous, he puts too much food on the plate, so we hardly sell a dessert - I keep telling them, but you know how things are,” he laughs.
 
Yunio says that although they do get tourists, most of the customers at Neptune are local repeat customers, as he believes in treating people like family.
 
“That’s all we do here, serve people, make them feel at home, make sure they enjoy their food, and send them home happy,” he smiles.   WH

Neptune is open for lunch from 11.30am to 2.30pm, with dinner being served from 5.30pm to 10pm.