Food Fusion: Cool Run Inn brings the Caribbean to Innsbruck!

28 August 2020

Post originally written in: English

As you walk in the door, the first thing that hits you about Cool Run Inn is the Caribbean sounds and delicious aroma – they instantly give you the vibe of the place.

The owner Ben is from the Caribbean and has been in Innsbruck for 20 years. He opened his place on 15^th May 2020, after being delayed due to the coronavirus lockdown.

Cool Run Inn owner Ben

It was for sure a tough time to be opening, especially serving drink and food. It’s great to see this place now doing well already – it’s regularly busy, especially in the evening at the weekend. If you want to make sure you get a table, you can book by calling (contact details below!) or get down there between 2-5pm on weekdays.

One Love

Cool Run Inn brings a Caribbean flair to Innsbruck. Ben learnt to cook here and he wanted to mix international food with a Caribbean flair, using his own recipes and what he learnt from his mother.

Fried king prawns on coconut risotto

The Caribbean vibes are complete with wicked reggae music plus great cocktails, rum, Guinness, and a cool place to hang out.

Mouth watering Mojito

Ben wanted to create a space for him to be himself, singing along to Bob Marley, making great food & cocktails and talking with people. He also has music entertainment at the weekend.

Caipirinha cocktail with a mountain view

Cool Run Inn: Where did the name come from?

So many people in Innsbruck asked Ben if he’d seen the movie Cool Runnings.

Cool Run Inn

Of course he’d seen it! So he thought he’d combine that with the river Inn that runs directly opposite, perfect.

Ben wanted to be clear that Cool Run Inn is not a restaurant, it’s a cafe/bar which happens to have great food.

Inside, it is small, but with the outdoor seating there is room for more where you can watch the world go by. It’s open for drinks until 11pm Tuesday to Saturday, and the kitchen is open until 10pm. It’s closed on Sundays and Mondays.

A chilled Guinness in the hot sun

Caribbean Fusion Food in Innsbruck

Soul fish stew, a Caribbean national dish, is Ben’s favourite meal. My fav is either chicken/veggie rolls or the beef stew when I have a larger appetite. The beef stew’s mix of herbs and spices is something I’ve never tasted before – Ben’s own special recipe along with his homemade mango salad dressing and butter rice, holy moly what a combo!

Caribbean Beef Stew

The beef was top quality and the unique taste was to die for – you can really taste the love that’s gone into this food.

In between the main course and desert, Ben gave me his Hugo (Mango Sorbet Prosecco). I’m not a cocktail fan, but this was delightful.

Hugo – Mango Sorbet Prosecco

To finish, I had an explosion of sweetness – coconut panna cotta with mango ice cream.

Delicious dessert

Ben is continuously developing the menu. He tells me that his classics will always be on the menu, but he will introduce new dishes over time to evolve his menu into perfection, such as the latest addition: Rump steak served with wild mushrooms, which was absolutely fantastic!

Rump steak

Fancy a trip to the Caribbean?

Ben has put a lot of thought and energy into offering Innsbruck something different – a food fusion to send your taste buds on overdrive, delivered to you with a lot of love and in a chilled-out setting. Cool Run Inn is pushing boundaries in what is possible, and that is very refreshing to see in these times!