Caribbean restaurant with a twist to open in Shirley

By day, Culture Caff will be serving your typical British greasy spoon classics.

But by night, the Shirley Road eatery will transport diners to the Caribbean with some more exotic dishes.

The owner of the new eatery – Aaron Stevens, who also owns Shirley Deli on the same road – told the Echo how Caribbean cuisine is proving to be more in demand than ever.

He said: "We make our own sauces, our own marinades, and our own flavours that’s all genuine, so we’re hoping to just do that little bit better."

Culture Caff is set to offer customers the likes of smoked jerk wings, oxtail and butterbeans, aas well as curry goat on the bone.

Aaron studied to be a chef before transferring his skills into business, and the 38-year-old is looking forward to working in the kitchen, alongside his friend and business partner Sean Smith.

The 38-year-old said: “Sean’s a friend and we’d always said how if the opportunity came up in Shirley, we’d love to work on it together.

READ MORE: Eddoes Direct owner helping Southampton's Nigerian community

“Without Sean, this wouldn’t be possible – he’s an excellent chef and vital to the business - and we’re looking forward to working together and producing the best food and service that we possibly can.”

Taking over from 5 Sons Café, Aaron invested £30,000 into the eatery that will finally open on Saturday after two months of planning.

Aaron added: “It’s been in the pipeline for two months.

“I didn’t need to do much redecorating as the colour scheme of the interior was already here with the previous owners.

“We’ve just added some pictures to the wall to try and get the theming right and made the outside a bit more colourful.

“We’re going to have some music in here too, so I’d like to think it has something for everyone where we operate as a café throughout the day, serving the same people that have been coming here for years and having their breakfast.  

“Then in the evening we’d like to think we’re in a great spot to offer something a little different.

“Our grand opening is on Saturday, October 28, everyone’s invited to sample the food and we have a steel band adding to the atmosphere.”