Barbados: a taste of luxury
THE sun’s dropping towards the horizon, the palm trees are swaying, there’s the gentle clink of glasses and your eyes are torn between the scenery and the menu. Barbados is a culinary destination like no other, a tropical isle where fabulous seafront restaurants offer a contemporary take on Bajan dishes but also somewhere that extraordinary food can be had from street shacks and markets.
Enjoy spectacular vistas at fine oceanside restaurants, such as the The Cliff (lit by fiery lanterns and voted one of the world’s top 50 restaurants), the tropically chic Cin Cin by the Sea and the rustic Animal Flower Cave which has spectacular views over bluffs and the sea at the island’s northern tip.
Go casual at the seafront with Oistins Fish Market on a Friday or Saturday night – savour the freshest seafood imaginable, fried or grilled, as locals and visitors alike party to calypso music while sipping local Banks beer, or a heady cocktail with Mount Gay Rum.
The Mount Gay distillery is open for tours and offers the chance to relax over more local specialities in the seaview veranda restaurant.
Barbados is the culinary capital of the Caribbean, and it can be enjoyed in shady cafes, in outdoor shopping malls, in more than 1,600 ‘rum shops’ and in trendy pop-up outdoor dining experiences.
The sea’s bounty is plentiful, from flying fish and swordfish to tuna, lobster and shrimp. The national dish is cou-cou (cornmeal and okra) with flying fish. Other favourites include the spicy pepperpot stew and jug-jug – a mixture of guinea corn, pigeon peas and salted meat.
The wonderful food and drink play perfect partners to a host of activities. Enjoy a catamaran cruise to one of the island’s perfect beaches – where, of course, there will be a splendid lunch. Or take the Atlantis submarine down 150ft to the coral-dotted seabed where you can see plenty of vibrantly coloured fish; these are not on the menu.
Barbados has a full and varied menu of beaches. Those on the west coast are some of the most idyllic, where you can see flying fish glitter as they leap from the water in that magical setting sun. In the east, where the island flirts with the Atlantic, they are wild with crashing waves – perfect for windsurfers and surfers (or at least for watching them!).
Hotels here are also part of the good-living vibe. Wherever you go – whether it’s Fustic House, a 17th-century plantation house given a contemporary makeover, or one of the modern beach resorts – their restaurants are filled with tastes of the Caribbean.
There really is little better than sipping a cool cocktail and dining on magnificent food as the warm night-time air surrounds you and the gentle surf ruffles the sand…
INFORMATION: visitbarbados.org