Drakes Point is not your average location, but it is as accessible as any Road Town restaurant. It is situated within the walls of a historical monument, Fort Burt, the garrison built by Dutch colonists and then taken over by the English.
Photo by Nick Cunha.
Remodeled as a hotel and restaurant in the 1950s, Drakes Point is under the management of BVI long-timer Eddie Brockbank. In his 23 years on Island, Eddie has done his time in many restaurants, including the William Thornton, the Royal BVI Yacht Club, Spaghetti Junction, Peg Legs and now his own at Drakes. As enthusiastic as probably the first day he arrived in the BVI as a teenager, Eddie shows me and Nick around the restaurant, the hotel and the still intact armory. The theme of the Fort has carried on in its refurbishment, and Nick and I are thrilled with the corner room turret pools that are part of a special treat for guests.
Photo by Nick Cunha.
The ambiance in the restaurant is old world. With dark woods everywhere, a small bar and a seating area with arm chairs facing a wide screen TV and then a terraced beer garden with large old wooden barrels as tables, I am reminded of an old English pub. As I peer over the balcony, we are looking at the original cannons. Not an English pub after all, I tell myself. This thought is further reinforced by the view of the Sir Francis Drake Channel which is stunning and breezy, only 200 feet from sea level. Tales of history in the Channel begin to pass around the table as we discuss living in Road Town in the old days as sailors, and we imagine the tall ships and vast trading in the port, as well as the shipwrecks and infamous pirating.
Photo by Dan O'Connor.
Back to reality again as the food arrives. A chicken avocado wrap, straight off the grill from the impressive, vast kitchen now lead by BVI culinary chef Bruce Dixon. The food is good and wholesome. (A pint of bitter comes to mind. Probably not a good idea. I have to go back to the office.) Eddie has already set about establishing a good dinner crowd and entertainment on the weekends. His biggest surprise is the amount of functions he has been doing, and as we look at the size of the kitchen and the 150-seated restaurant that can hold 300, no surprise. The place is an acoustic paradise, have you been to Waxy O’Connor’s in central London? It’s a labyrinth of wooden coves and old beer tables where everyone is talking but nobody is in another’s space. That’s pretty relaxing. Like Drakes Point.
