12 Best Restaurants in Barbados

Chiryl Newman's snazzy seaside restaurant is in an old Bajan home just off the main road in Rockley. The cliff-top setting overlooking the eastern end of Accra Beach offers daytime diners—about 75% local businesspeople—a panoramic view of the sea and a relaxing Caribbean atmosphere in the evening. The portions are hearty, and the food is well seasoned with Caribbean flavors—Bajan fried flying fish with caper dressing, West Indian chicken curry, lionfish, or herb-crusted rack of lamb. Dining out with the family? There's a kids' menu, too. Nearly all the artwork gracing the walls is by Barbadian artists and may be purchased through the on-site gallery.

Perched on an oceanfront cliff overlooking Crane Beach, L'Azure is an informal breakfast and luncheon spot by day that becomes elegant after dark. Enjoy seafood chowder or a light salad or sandwich while absorbing the breathtaking panoramic view of the beach and sea beyond. At dinner, candlelight and soft guitar music enhance baked snapper or chargrilled kingfish. If you're not in the mood for seafood, try the grilled strip steak, five-spice duck breast, or vegetable tandoori. Sunday is really special, with a gospel brunch at 9 or 10 am and a Bajan buffet lunch at 12:30 pm.

Next door to The Cliff, its sister restaurant serves up a selection of delectable Caribbean and international cuisine from the catch of the day to mouthwatering surf and turf. Opened at the end of 2021, this seaside bistro with ultra-modern finishes boasts of catering to all dietary needs. Prices are mid-range but service and quality are top-notch.

Commonly known as Lemon Arbour, this is the place to be on a Saturday afternoon, as Bajans from all walks of life descend on this family-run restaurant and bar overlooking the countryside. Try some pudding and souse—a local dish combining steamed sweet potato (the pudding) and pickled pork (souse)—it tastes better than it sounds! There are a variety of other dishes available as well, including fried pork, baked chicken, and macaroni pie.

Plan a fun afternoon with a group of friends, but if you're on your own, you're likely to be invited to join a table of locals.

Enjoy the breathtaking views overlooking St. Lawrence Bay—you may see sea turtles bobbing around in the shallow surf during the day—paired with a diverse menu and cocktail list. The reasonably priced menu caters to various diets and restrictions, featuring local dishes with fresh fish, as well as international dishes. Pudding and souse (a local dish) and fried seacat (octopus) is served for lunch on Saturday. Happy hour is 5 to 6 pm.

As local as local gets, this open-air waterfront beach bar (a former rum shop) is built on stilts a stone's throw from the Speightstown fish market. For years, fishermen and other locals have come here for the inexpensive authentic Bajan lunch buffet. Soak up the atmosphere and fill your plate with fried flying fish, stewed chicken or pork, curried goat or lamb, pepperpot, macaroni pie, fried plantain, peas and rice, sweet potatoes, cou-cou, and crisp green salad. Eat inside or on the deck. And on Wednesday night, you can also dance—or simply listen—to catchy steel pan or calypso music. (Whether dinner is served varies from season to season, so call ahead.)

Once you've stepped through the somewhat innocuous roadside building, you're transported to an open beachfront environment decorated with African-inspired artwork, thatched ceilings, and an endless view of the ocean. But wait. . .there's more; the cuisine here features French and Thai dishes (seafood thermidor, beef filet with peppercorn sauce, red or green curry with jasmine rice), along with local Bajan specialties (saltfish cakes, flying fish cutters). Desserts are amazing, and there's a children's menu. Juma's celebrates every Sunday afternoon with a beach barbecue (fish, chicken, burgers, and more), along with live music, complimentary beach loungers and umbrellas—even free showers if you take a dip in the ocean!

Locals and visitors alike gather at this no-frills fast-casual restaurant for affordable, relatively healthy, and delicious local food. Simple dishes like grilled catch of the day and grilled steak deliver the goods, but the barbecued ribs, jerk chicken, and Caesar salad are excellent. There is a second location in Holetown.

Situated within the Carlisle Bay area just outside the capital, this family-friendly location is a great spot to sample a variety of Caribbean and international dishes. A mixture of a food-truck park and beach bar with an adjacent events venue, you can go from the beach (rent a beach chair and shared umbrella for $8) to enjoying a drink at the bar with friends or dining on tacos, sandwiches, kebabs, Bajan dishes, Jamaican jerk chicken, or even plant-based options.

The food at Surfers Cafe is hearty, traditional, and Bajan---think homemade Bajan fish cakes, buljol (chopped salted cod, tomatoes, and chilies), or flying fish---with good-size portions. The decor is rustic and the views are amazing; if you're lucky enough to be seated at the large table outside, you'll feel as if you're on board an old-fashioned pirate ship. There's live music most evenings. Service can be a little slow and the Wi-Fi is patchy, but if you're looking for a place to eat and relax, this is the place to go in Oistins.

Operating out of an old retrofitted fishing boat, this rustic self-sustaining eatery serves up tasty and satisfying fish cutters (fish sandwiches) prepared by owner Wayne Francois. Located a stone’s throw from the beautiful Heywoods Beach, the intimate open-air setting creates a comfy family-friendly atmosphere.

Bright and cheery by day and relaxed and cozy by night, The Fish Pot offers a tasty dining experience in a setting that's classier than its name might suggest. Just north of Speightstown and the little fishing village of Six Men's Bay, this attractive restaurant serves internationally inspired, modern Caribbean cuisine. Gaze seaward through windows framed with pale-green louvered shutters while you dine.