If you’re a food lover then Barbados is the place for you. Possibly the only place in the world that doesn’t have a McDonalds, it does instead have something for just about every taste and budget. From the kid friendly fast food chain Chefette to award winning restaurants such as The Cliff, and L’Azure, the cliff-top restaurant overlooking the magnificent Crane Beach.
The following are 5 personal recommendations for where to eat in Barbados:
Oistins
For a real taste of Barbados head to Oistins, a fishing village on the south coast. Home to the weekly Friday Night Fish Fry, people from all across the island, together with tourists from all around the world, gather to eat, drink, dance, and party. Stop at any of the numerous stalls serving flying fish, rice, macaroni, and plantain, then find a table to enjoy this local specialty. Wash it down with a couple of Banks beers it is a meal to match the finest anywhere.
For breakfast or a light snack visit the Bean n’ Bagel in St. Lawrence Gap for breakfast, and while sitting on the terrace overlooking the Caribbean we eat a hearty breakfast of orange juice, omelets, fresh baked bagels, and gourmet coffee. I could happily sit here all morning and just watch the world go by
The Bean-n-Bagel Cafe (St. Lawrence Gap)
The Bean-n-Bagel Cafe is my favorite place for breakfast in Barbados. The original, located in St. Lawrence Gap, is also an Internet Cafe, so if you really can’t leave the office behind, or you just want to check in with family back home you can be in touch with the world while eating a fresh baked bagel, pastry or full breakfast of omelets and smoked salmon and a hot or iced coffee while relaxing in the morning sun.
They also serve sandwiches, vegetarian dishes, chicken Alfredo, pasta, crab salad, and pizza. Or if something sweet is more to your taste don’t miss the Tortuga Rum Cake, or my personal favourite, and I always get one to go home with, Mount Gay Great Cake.
The prices are reasonable, the atmosphere relaxed, the service friendly, the locations great, the food is good, and if surfing in the ocean is too strenuous you can surf the Internet! Two newer locations have also been opened, one in the West Coast Mall in Holetown, and the other overlooking the Careenage in Bridgetown.
Pisces Restaurant
For a romantic dinner on the edge of St. Lawrence Bay, Pisces in St. Lawrence Gap is a must. Enter through a grove of lush tropical foliage to a table overlooking the water. This most romantic restaurant is considered one of the finest on the island and one taste of the seafood linguine soon will tell you it is a well-deserved reputation.
Pisces is only open for dinner from 6pm, and is not inexpensive. Prices for starters are $14 – $25, and mains from $38 – $74. But for a special night out this is one restaurant not to be missed. Dress, as in most Bajan restaurants, is elegantly casual, and reservations are recommended.
Naniki
One of the most unique restaurants in Barbados set in the rolling hills of St. Joseph. The natural beauty of the landscape that lies just beyond its glass walls creates the ambience of the restaurant. An outdoor porch allows you to enjoy the views of the surrounding hills while enjoying a refreshing breeze along with your meal. The menu includes a selection of staples from the Caribbean, such as yam, sweet potato and breadfruit, together with the famous Bajan corn meal cou cou.
For lunch try seared flying fish, grilled dorado, stewed lambi (conch), curried chicken, or jerk chicken or pork. For dinner, grilled snapper, local black-belly lamb, seared shrimp, and pork loin are specialties. On Sundays, they serve ‘a taste of the Caribbean’ buffet with all the fixin’s.
Tides
On the west coast make reservations at Tides. This unique restaurant features an art gallery on the main floor featuring some of the best local artists and dining on both the main floor and the second floor. Ask for a table upstairs overlooking the Caribbean. There are so many great choices on the menu it’s difficult to decide what to eat. But try the Jamaican jerk chicken wrapped in Parma ham with pesto mash, leek and Calvados cream with caramelized apples, and seared local tuna with Wasabi sauce served on warm ginger, sesame and egg noodle salad and vegetable spring rolls, accompanied with a 2005 Petit Chablis. You won’t be disappointed.
Rum Shops
I know I said 5 Places To Eat in Barbados but there are reputed to be anywhere between 500 and 1500 Rum Shops in Barbados and no visit is complete without stopping in at least one. If you want a real Bajan experience you have to pay at least one visit to a rum shop. Rum shops are actually small bars found in every village and are social centers where residents gather to discuss politics, play dominoes, catch up on the latest news, gossip and… drink rum. The shops also act as grocery stores and are a good place to grab a snack, particularly cutters. Cutters are the Bajan equivalent of sandwiches, a round bun generously stacked with cheese, ham, fish or whatever else you may choose.