British Virgin Islands / Special Interests / Food and Cooking

You can generally eat well on the British Virgin Islands. What with the connections to the US Virgin Islands next door, which most “Belongers” know and visit regularly, and with the huge number of American visitors, the food is American in style in quite a few places – there is a never-ending supply of burgers and ribs. And with quite a few British visitors there are even a few English dishes on the menu, for instance fish and chips, even occasional roasts. However, there is a strong enough expatriate community to have encouraged some other metropolitan restaurants too, including French and Italian, and there are a number of more sophisticated restaurants and dining rooms.

Although there have long been cooks on-board yachts in the BVI, there has never been a lot of chefs attached to villas. Now, though, it is possible to order catered meals in advance.

Di-Namic Catering, Tortola - They offer a private chef to come and cook for you or a drop-off service with ready-prepared meals

Local food also has its own strong tradition, and although it might not be what you would like to eat for a whole week, it can be interesting to experience and there is a handful of good local restaurants where you can sample it in congenial surroundings. Also, most hotels have a weekly buffet of local food, which will give you a taster.

Like many West Indian islands, the traditional food in the BVI is based in dense and starchy staple ingredients, often accompanied by a stew. Take a walk around the grocery shops and you’ll see root vegetables with wonderful names on display – plantain, cassava and tannia. Breadfruit is an acquired taste but excellent as soup and fried as chips. Many small local restaurants offer a side dish called fungi. Similar to polenta, it is made from cornmeal. Another integral element of local food is the generous amount of seasoning which creates pungent and aromatic flavours. Local dishes that you will encounter in local restaurants are pig-tail, souse (pig’s trotters), oxtail and “stew mutton” or “stew fish” (there are a lot of fish dishes). Saltfish is also a favourite breakfast ingredient, particularly when accompanied by a “Johnny cake”, a slightly sweet deep-fried bread dough. At lunch you will find people eating freshly fried “patties” of fish, chicken or beef. The roti, an envelope of dough containing a spicy sauce and chunks of meat, originated in Trinidad and has steadily been making its way north through the islands, reaching the BVI about 20 years ago.

Local fare is most often found at street festivals, rum shops and, on occasions, even at fresh food counters at supermarkets.

Restaurants worth trying specifically for local food include:

C&F Restaurant, Road Town, Tortola - A fun place in the back streets of Road Town that has built a reputation for its West Indian fare and BBQ food. Dark, cramped and not well lit, and with a telly blaring in the background, it’s not the most inviting of places but it is an institution. Huge racks of baby back ribs or half chicken, generously covered with a tasty, but not overpowering sauce served with bowls of potato salad and coleslaw. Their conch in butter sauce is excellent, as is the traditionally prepared steamed fish with mayonnaise sauce (though this may not sound that appetising, it is really very good).

Clem’s by the Sea, Carrot Bay, Tortola - Excellent local fare in a sleepy and unassuming bar set back from the main road in Carrot Bay. It serves local fish and seafood as well as stewed and curried goat with rice ‘n’ peas or a tonnage of ground provisions. Clem’s is also home to the steel band Clem and the Starlights. You can occasionally catch them playing there when they’re not booked by another bar or restaurant.

Palm’s Delight, Carrot Bay, Tortola - West Indian food family-style on the waterfront in Carrot Bay near the west of the north shore. It serves rotis, curried goat and fish with rice ‘n’ peas.

The Island Pot, South Valley, Virgin Gorda - Excellent local fare by Ziska Stevens on Wednesday, Friday & Saturday, the best BBQ ribs and Johnny Cakes ever – eat in or take away. Opposite Road Town Wholesale.