Roxroy McLean, Gleaner Intern

Seft Chong (left) and Crystal Robinson having a chat.

Although a number of other events were set for the night, there was no spoiling Carlos' Café's 18th anniversary celebration, which was held on location at Belmont Road, New Kingston.

And, Carlos Max-Brown could not help but show his appreciation for the support he received over the years for his business, which is now one of the finest dining spots around.

The patrons, who were treated to well-prepared cocktail dishes, which set the pace for the evening, evidently had a good time. Brown was left beaming.

"I'm pleased with the support of the patrons. If you leave your home and want to go somewhere comfortable, then this is the place," Brown told The Gleaner.

While patrons danced to the beats of Cindy Lauper's Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and the lyrics of Ring My Bell, Brown told The Gleaner that his work has paid off, and rated the support as five-star.

"It's our appreciation day for the 18 years of support. We are trying to reach 20. It's been good, the support is tremendous and it is because of our hard work, which is to conceptionalise Carlos' Café. People always talk about our ambience," he said.

The music continued throughout the evening and went into a more hard-core segment, with Shabba Rank's Slow And Sexy leading the charge.

The patrons got more involved during a raffle for one of Digicel's Blackberry mobile phones. The bar girls were not to be left out. Some could be found dancing to Cobra's Flex.

When it appeared to be over, Reggae's elite crooners Ken Boothe and Bunny Brown were added to the mix before selector V-Mix dropped a bit of dancehall.

With songs like Oh Carolina, Dancehall Queen, and T.O.K's Murder the selector gave the patrons every reason to be present at the restaurant's 18th anniversary party.

Host Carlos Max-Brown (right) lymes a little with his mom Karlene and his daughter Karina (second right) and close friend Bernadette Wong (left) at Carlos' Café's 18th Anniversary party at 22 Belmont Road, on Saturday, November 22. - photos by Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer