Larrupin’ Cafe

Larrupin’ Cafe delivers a fantastic, family-style dining experience in Trinidad with massive portions and great overall quality.

The appetizers and seafood are exceptional on their own. The starter board with the pumpernickel rye, lox, apples, and cheese was beautifully presented and packed with clean, fresh flavors. For the mains, the steelhead was exceptional, cooked perfectly over the mesquite grill and paired with a really nice, fragrant coconut rice.

The non-seafood items were where the kitchen stumbled a bit. The brisket was a letdown, leaning too close to a tough, bacon-like texture rather than a traditional tender braise. The baked sweet potato topped with maple butter was also overwhelmingly sweet, with the syrup masking any of the natural, earthy sweetness of the potato itself. On the bright side, the accompanying salad was incredibly fresh and crispy.

The dessert was a bit of a miss. While the underlying goat cheese component was nice and creamy, the raspberry sauce poured over it was a bit too heavy-handed and overpowering, making the dish as a whole not very memorable.

Overall, it is a solid experience, and I would definitely come back when I’m in the area. If you stick to the appetizers and the excellent seafood, it easily plays at a higher level.

Wife and I stopped after a long day exploring Redwood National Park. We dont recommend our approach but we went in with no reservation, thinking we would be turned away. I had read about it, tried to call but couldnt reach them so we gave it a shot.

Instead the hostess found us a lovely spot inside on the 1st floor near a window. That was sheer luck and we thank them because we overheard servers talking about how they had to turn away folks all night. The interior has a very cozy (as my wife might say) vibe and the exterior patio is beautiful.

With that settled, our waitress was very kind, helpful, and attentive. The restaurant serves entrees with a starter charcuterie board which was excellent. All details were well executed both in taste and presentation.

I ordered the pork chop and my wife had the nights special, a snapper plate with risotto. Both were absolutely excellent. Flavor, portion size, presentation excellent.

We finished with 2 deserts, a chocolate pecan cake and a creme bru’le. Both were very good but the creme bru’le was spectacular. We had tea with the deserts as well.

The overall experience was awesome and we would stop again in a moments notice. Pricing is not the least expensive but thats not why your here. If you stop, you wont be disappointed!

** They don’t take American Express **
It was interesting that you wait for your table in front of an open kitchen door. Has a way of removing the mystery of the experience. The decor was eclectic but enjoyable. Once we were seated, it was a while before we got our water and an introduction to the restaurant. I ordered the bone in pork chop with the twice baked potato and it was delightful. My bride had the red snapper with the creamy risotto and a delightful salad. She enjoyed her meal. All in all the experience was enjoyable even with having to wait for service too many times.