Celebrity Chef, 2 Doctors Open Caribbean Restaurant In Anne Arundel County

ANNAPOLIS, MD — The tropics are coming to Annapolis thanks to a pair of doctors and a celebrity chef. Rumhouse, a new upscale Caribbean restaurant, opens Wednesday in the city's Eastport neighborhood.

Famed Trinidadian chef Natasha de Bourg will lead the eatery, drawing from her experience in the world's best kitchens and her appearances on multiple TV shows. With 173,000 followers on Instagram, de Bourg is most widely known as the chef on Season 2 of Bravo TV's reality show "Below Deck Sailing Yacht." She has also appeared four times on the TV talk show "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen."

De Bourg has worked at seven of the top restaurants in the world, including the 3-Michelin-starred Mirazur in Menton, France. She has cooked for dignitaries, celebrities and monarchs.

"I think [the] question is, 'Why Annapolis?' But my question would always be, 'Why not Annapolis?'" Executive Chef de Bourg told Capital Gazette. "You have a blend of the coastal charm, you have coastal elegance and also have history here."

The menu will feature a fusion of flavors from Jamaica, Venezuela, Japan, India, New Orleans and Charleston.

One plate will be doubles, a Trinidadian classic with two golden fried flatbreads, called bara, stuffed with curried chickpeas.

The crab cake will take a Venezuelan style. It will be served with guasacaca, a bright green sauce made with avocado, garlic and cilantro.

Rumhouse will soon launch a reservation-only Saturday afternoon tea with three sweet and savory courses. Sunday brunch will also be available.

De Bourg will serve a reservation-only $150 tasting menu each Friday and Saturday. The six-course meal changes weekly.

Cocktails available include mojitos and Madame Coco, a silky sip featuring clarified milk, punch and housemade lemongrass rum.

The rum selection includes top-shelf pours from Jamaica, Mexico, Barbados, Mauritius, the Dominican Republic, Bermuda and Trinidad. Rum flights are available for $18 to $78.

"Cooking is culture, culture is family. And food is the one thing that brings people together," de Bourg said in a press release. "One of the pillars of Rumhouse as a restaurant is welcoming you to the family. We aim to be a destination hub, a place to feel the spirit of the Caribbean."

The eatery is owned by Anne Arundel County couple Coryse Brathwaite Zebovitz and Edward Zebovitz. Both are doctors and longtime Anne Arundel County residents.

Capital Gazette said Edward Zebovitz is an oral surgeon and Coryse Brathwaite Zebovitz is an OB-GYN originally from Trinidad.

"I love our cuisine, I love our food, I love our culture, and I do think Anapolitans are familiar with the culture and the cuisine … many [here] sail and spend a lot of their time in the Caribbean, and so it just seemed to fit. Quite honestly, it will be familiar, but fresh," Coryse Brathwaite Zebovitz told Capital Gazette.

The couple is also active in philanthropy, supporting Surgeons for Smiles and the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County.

Their son, Jonathan Dean, will be Rumhouse's director of hospitality. He has a background in music, law and finance.

Rumhouse will be located at 422 6th St. near the Eastport side of the Spa Creek Bridge.

The restaurant is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday hours are 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday brunch runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Customers can learn more by visiting rumhouseannapolis.com or following the business on Facebook and Instagram. Reservations, which are suggested, are available here.