Barbados / Restaurants

True to form, the restaurants along the West Coast of Barbados are smart, good and expensive. You can eat well there, putting paid to the Caribbean’s traditional image of ”burger-tory”. The West Coast restaurants also have excellent settings, either on the cliffs or going directly on to the sand and the waves. And finally, they are pretty well organised. There are some good growers on island, producing salads and herbs as well as normal tropical produce.

Unfeasibly, chefs in Barbados can get fresh ingredients from the United States and Europe, delivered on a weekly cargo plane. And the fishermen in Barbados actually carry mobile phones and phone back their catch, which enables the restaurateurs to plan their specials menus properly. The South Coast also has some good places to eat, along with a whole string of less expensive bars where you can get a reasonable meal.

While VAT will be included in the price of your meal, restaurants have different policies about service charge. Sometimes it is written on the menu, but you may want to check whether service has already been included in your bill.

Note – Smoking in public places is now an offence in Barbados. The smoking ban came into effect on 01 October 2010 and applies to any enclosed or substantially enclosed building, including restaurants, bars and hotels.

The price of a main course (excluding steak and lobster) is as follows: Inexpensive, less than US$15, Moderate – $15-35, Expensive – $35 plus

Here is a selection of our recommended restaurants in Barbados:

West Coast

Café Indigo, Holetown, moderate - Located upstairs with traditional wooden floors and jalousie shutters. Relaxed atmosphere for breakfast or lunch.

The Cliff, Derricks, expensive - Ever-fashionable, top-notch restaurant, with an exquisite setting on cliffs overlooking a tiny cove. Chef Paul Owens delivers consistently good, top quality cuisine. An excellent choice for an elegant, evening out.

Zaccios Restaurant (former Cocomos), Holetown, moderate - Popular beach front bistro and meeting place, simple fare, burgers, salads and fish platters.

Daphne’s, Paynes Bay, expensive - Elegant wooden veranda looking over flaming torches to the beach, refined Italian cuisine adapted to the Caribbean.

The Fish Pot, Shermans, moderate-expensive - Charming setting in an old fort, on a wooden deck right above the sand. Excellent lunch or evening out, well worth the drive beyond Speightstown.

Fisherman’s Pub, Speightstown, inexpensive - Very local waterfront bar and restaurant in Speightstown, chicken and fish (it’s next to the fish market).

Lone Star Restaurant, Mount Standfast, expensive - Superb Caribbean setting, on a wooden deck just above the waves, tastes from around the world. See a review of visiting the Lone Star with Children.

Mango’s by the Sea, Speightstown, expensive - Intimate, atmospheric setting on a deck hung with palms above the beach. Good Caribbean and international fare of mostly fresh fish and seafood - the grilled lobster is a popular choice.

The Mews, Holetown, expensive - Popular for dinner and for its bar. International menu with lots of fish. An integral part of Holetown’s social scene, with live music every Friday night.

Nishi Restaurant (formerly Olives), Holetown, moderate-expensive - Classic townhouse setting, re-opened late 2009 offering both Asian and Caribbean cuisine. Open for dinner- only with sushi and sashimi in the air-conditioned upstairs section, with either table or bar dining. Downstairs is the Bistro serving Caribbean cuisine - choice of air-conditioned dining room or garden courtyard with bar.

Patisserie Bistro Flindt, Holetown, inexpensive - Excellent array of desserts and light fare for breakfast (full English breakfast Saturday and Sunday), lunch and dinner. Open for dinner Monday-Friday only.

Sassafras at Sugar Hill, Mount Standfast, expensive - Eclectic international fare, with great views from a gingerbread veranda with pool side setting.

The Tides Restaurant, Holetown, expensive - A big success on the West Coast, run by chef Guy Beasley and his wife Tammie. Superb setting right on the beach, with high quality Caribbean cuisine, with an Asian touch. Open for lunch Monday-Friday and dinner every night. Home of the Tides Art Gallery.

Just Grillin’, Holetown, inexpensive - Located at Sunset Crest, near Holetown, this casual eaterie (which has a sister restaurant at Rockley on the South Coast) is popular with locals and visitors. The emphasis is on casual, with diners sitting at large picnic-style benches either inside or outside. It serves grilled sandwiches, burgers, grilled fish, chicken and steak platters, jerk and barbecued chicken, all served with fries, rice, salad, baked potato or grilled vegetables. Takeaway service available. Open Monday-Saturday 11.30am-10pm and Sunday 5.30pm-10pm.

South Coast

Bellini’s Trattoria, St Lawrence Gap, moderate - Italian fare, fresh pasta made daily and a selection of seafood, overlooking the bay.

Black Pearl Seafood & Steakhouse Wine Bar (formerly Opa!), Hastings, moderate - Relaxed oceanfront restaurant run by owner Dimitri Vamvakas, who has restyled his former Greek restaurant overlooking the waterfront boardwalk with a more contemporary feel. There are two dining areas now and two wine bars, so diners have a number of menus to choose from, including a quality steak and seafood evening menu, bar snacks and oven-baked homemade pizzas, as well as the original Opa! dinner menu. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner, occasional live entertainment.

Bubba’s Sports Bar, Hastings, inexpensive - Air-conditioned, serving American-style food, at reasonable prices. Popular with families.

Café Luna - Little Arches Hotel, Enterprise Beach, moderate-expensive - A delightful restaurant on a roof-top terrace, with tables among sprays of bougainvillea and wrought iron lamps. The nightly changing menu takes tastes from around the world and puts them together in a tropical fusion - there is a core of French, but there are also Mediterranean, Latin American and some Oriental tastes too. There are sushi nights on Thursday and Friday and Champagne and lobster on Saturdays.

Café Sol Mexican Grill & Margarita Bar, St Lawrence Gap, inexpensive - Very lively early evening bar and restaurant serving Tex-Mex fare - burritos, taquitos, tacos and burgers. Drinks specials every night, and on the last Friday of every month there is a Wild Fiesta party. Now in a new location on the corner of the entrance to The Gap, following extensive fire damage sustained at the original location in October 2010. Now open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Champers Wine Bar & Restaurant, Rockley, moderate-expensive - An immensely popular restaurant, even more so in its new cliff-top setting with fabulous coastal views. The downstairs dining area extends out to open-air dining terraces and a large gazebo set along the seafront, whilst upstairs is a covered dining gallery. International cuisine with Caribbean influence of a consistently good standard. Dedicated art gallery; WiFi available; internet café. Open for lunch and dinner.

Carib Beach Bar, Worthing, inexpensive - Simple but trusty fare, fritters, burgers and fish platters, on a deck right above the sand of Sandy Beach.

Josef’s Restaurant, St Lawrence Gap, expensive - Elegant dining in a former private home on the waterfront, with tastes garnered from around the world.

Just Grillin’, Rockley, inexpensive - Casual open-air dining on a covered deck in a small plaza close to Accra Beach, busy on weekends and popular with locals and visitors. Grilled sandwiches, burgers, grilled fish, chicken and steak platters, jerk and barbecued chicken, all served with fries, rice, salad, baked potato or grilled vegetables. Takeaway service available. Open Monday-Saturday 11.30am-10pm and Sun 5.30pm-10pm.

Mama Mia Italian Deli & Pizzeria, Hastings, inexpensive - Family-run bistro (a second restaurant, Luigi’s, is in Dover) with genuine Italian food. Home-made pasta and a wood- burning pizza oven. Popular lunch spot, cheerful and good value for money. Air-conditioned. Open Monday-Saturday 8.30am-9pm.

Oistins Fish Market, inexpensive - Easy evening hangout for a fish platter, or salt fish fritters and a beer. See a Review of a visit to Oistins Fish Fry with Children.

Patisserie Bistro Flindt, Worthing, inexpensive - Excellent array of desserts and light fare for breakfast (full English breakfast Tuesday-Friday), and lunch.

Pisces, St Lawrence Gap, expensive - Ever-popular restaurant right on the waterfront in St Lawrence Gap, endless fish dishes. Romantic setting.

Tapas, Hastings, moderate - Since opening late summer 2009, Tapas has become one of the “cool” places along Barbados’ South Coast boardwalk. It is set in a sleek looking, two-storey shorefront building of contemporary design. Upstairs is the spill-over dining area, so it is only open on busy nights (usually Fridays and Saturdays). Downstairs is a bar and lounge with the dining area extending out to the boardwalk. It is a popular meeting spot, so you can simply sit and enjoy a drink. Run by three Italian partners - Alfredo Giovine, part owner of Mama Mia, Franco Parisi former executive chef of Lone Star and Franco Diamanti of Dolce Gelato.

Bridgetown

Brown Sugar, Aquatic Gap, moderate - Traditional Bajan fare with popular lunch-time buffet, famous for its pepperpot.

Lobster Alive, Carlisle Bay, moderate - Fresh Grenadine spiny lobster (kept alive in a seawater tank) and selection of seafood dishes. Rustic, beach front setting with umbrellas and sun-loungers available. Live jazz on Sunday afternoons. Open for lunch and dinner. Reservations required. Home delivery and takeaway service.

The Waterfront Café, The Careenage, inexpensive-moderate - Popular café on the marina serving Caribbean cuisine. Since June 2011 the cafe is no longer open for dinner or for live entertainment. The new opening hours are now 10am to 5pm Monday to Saturday.

East Coast

The Atlantis, Tent Bay, moderate - Opened in 1884 and famous for its Sunday Bajan buffet lunch. Tthe Atlantis Hotel was originally built to serve the railway that ran from Bridgetown to Belleplaine from 1881 to 1937. The Atlantis is now under the ownership of Andrew Warden of Little Good Harbour, who reopened the hotel in December 2009 following extensive restoration work. The buffet has been retained and there are some new additions to the original traditional spread. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (except Sunday), with the Bajan buffet lunch available on Wednesday and Sunday.

The Cove Restaurant, Cattlewash, moderate - A very casual, homely daytime restaurant with views of the Atlantic from the covered deck of a traditional, blue and white Bajan beach house at Cattlewash. The Cove is the family home of chef and food writer LaurelAnn Morely, author of the award-winning cookbook Caribbean Recipes “Old & New”. A typical blackboard menu may feature split pea soup, stuffed crab back (the most popular dish), pepper jelly shrimp, fried flying fish, Caribbean coconut curry, Cove fudge pie and bread and butter pudding with rum sauce. Particularly popular with locals is the Sunday Bay House Buffet, when roast pork is the main attraction along with seasonal fish fried to order in a traditional coal pot. A bar and lounge area doubles as an art gallery for the work of Gordon Parkinson (LaurelAnn’s late father), whose watercolours also feature in the book. Opening days can vary so it is best to call in advance - normally open Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, also Tuesday during the high season. Reservations are required for the Sunday buffet.

Copies of Caribbean Recipes “Old & New” are on sale at The Cove or you can purchase a copy through Amazon.

Contributor: Deana Bellamy