2 Best Restaurants in North Coast, Dominican Republic

NLB Nelson's Lounge & Bistro

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This family-run restaurant is a local favorite among Cabarete and Sosúa expats. The food is good, if unimaginative, and the atmosphere is warm and inviting. The menu is varied including seafood, meats, and pastas with international influences and local flair. There are sure to be options to please everyone, even picky eaters. Families will love the children's zone where kids can play in a towering castle with slide within view of outdoor seating and select tables inside. The owners are often around and when you see how they interact with their regulars, it's not hard to figure out why it's so popular; here it feels like being part of an extended family. When busy, service can be slow, as in most places. 

Woke Foods

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This cute spot tucked away in Cabarete's residential zone is popular among tourists and locals alike. Owner Ysanet Batista Vargas is a U.S.-born Dominican powerhouse known for food justice activism and her catering business operating in New York City; her Cabarete restaurant, a co-op, brings this same level of intensity to an ancestral, plant-based menu that highlights fresh, sometimes raw, organic, and locally sourced food. Staff is well-trained and efficient, and slight delays around peak hours are worth the wait as this is the only restaurant catering specifically to non-meat eaters in the area. Choose from hearty veggie remixes of traditional favorites like sancocho, guisados, and chowfan that can be washed down with local, fresh fruit juice or coconut water. Prices are in Dominican pesos, but U.S. dollars are accepted. Join the restaurant's WhatsApp group for information on cooking classes and workshops.