The Caribbean culinary scene has never been stronger.
And much has changed since we first launched the 50 Best Restaurants in the Caribbean back in 2013.
Now, six years later, the world has begun to notice the gastronomic power of the Caribbean, appreciating it as what might be the most diverse culinary destination on earth — and are proud to say we have helped to move the needle in that regard.
With our newest edition of the 50 Best, we celebrate the best of the Caribbean’s eateries, concentrating as we always have on three major pillars: food, service and ambience.
Because these three things, when married skillfully, turn a place to eat into a world-class restaurant — and, happily, the Caribbean is teeming with them.
Our team of the world’s leading Caribbean travel experts scoured the region for culinary standouts, running the gamut from resort restaurants to celebrity chef outposts to tucked-away beach bars to funky food trucks.
What do they all have in common? They’re the 50 best restaurants in the Caribbean for 2018. Congratulations to all of the selections.
The Landing, Harbour Island, Bahamas It’s one of the first things you see when you arrive in Harbour Island. And this historic hotel is home to what is truly a legendary restaurant: The Landing, Harbour Island’s greatest table and, right now, the number one restaurant in the Caribbean for 2018. It’s all here: marvelous ambience straight out of a novel, impeccable service and the sort of meticulously sourced, exquisitely prepared cuisine that leaves you with a single memory of your meal: perfection.
Screaming Eagle, Aruba Chef Erwin Husken leads an increasingly strong culinary movement in Aruba with this truly unique gastronomic experience. The story here is the sourcing, which Husken does from the best purveyors all over the world.
Baoase Culinary Beach Restaurant, Curacao Chef Rene Klop has created Curacao’s essential dining experience at the Baoase luxury hotel, with a continental menu that serves up everything from tableside steak tartar to fresh Curacao lobster.
Blue by Eric Ripert at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman.
Blue by Eric Ripert, Cayman Islands This is, in short, one of the great meals you will ever eat in the Caribbean, with a menu that largely mirrors Ripert’s Le Bernardin in New York, focusing on mostly French takes on seafood. Make sure you go for the wine pairing menu.
The Stone Barn, St Kitts The newest addition to this list is instantly one of the best. The flagship restaurant at the new Park Hyatt St Kitts offers up a world-class experience, from a gorgeous stone interior to its inspired, story-style menu featuring both shared bites and entrees. It’s a new power player in the Caribbean culinary world.
Graycliff, set in a nearly three-hundred-year-old former pirate’s mansion.
Graycliff, Nassau, Bahamas It was the first five-star restaurant in the Caribbean when it opened decades ago, and today it’s better than ever, serving up culinary classics in as romantic a spot as there is in all of the Caribbean. A truly unforgettable meal, every time you go.
Sol e Luna, St Martin At the center of St Martin’s culinary renaissance is Sol e Luna, a bucket-list restaurant that exquisitely fuses world-class cuisine, romantic ambience and almost overwhelmingly good service (along with a marvelous wine list) into a true destination eatery. St Martin is back — and one of its most famous places to eat has taken the 2018 crown in the Caribbean 50.
Savant, St Croix, US Virgin Islands While St Croix has become one of the hottest culinary destinations in the hemisphere, no USVI eatery better exemplifies the art of fine dining than Savant, the Christiansted-area institution with an ever-changing menu and a broad mixology offering.
La Voile Blanche, Martinique Le Diamant on the southern coast of Martinique is rapidly becoming the next “it” beach town in the Caribbean, and this oceanfront eatery is a huge part of that, with tremendously good Martinique signatures and a focus on seafood, all served without an ounce of pretentiousness.
The Cliff at Cap, Saint Lucia It’s worth the trip to the very tip of the north of Saint Lucia to reach Chef Craig Jones’ gastronomic wonder, a creative, romantic, simply wonderful place to eat.
Steak marinated in Korean spices with kimchee salad.
Quarter Kitchen and Cocktail Bar, St Barth It isn’t easy to complete in St Barth’s heated culinary world — but this Gustavia outpost doesn’t just compete — it transcends the competition with a quirky, inventive menu and an always experimental, molecular gastronomy delivery.
Le Petibonum, Martinique Chef Guy Ferdinand is right at the forefront of Martinique’s culinary movement, turning a beach bar in Le Carbet into one of the region’s legendary restaurants. Everything here is about quality and creativity, from the on-site Rhum Agricole bar to an ever-changing offering of impeccably sourced food. Ask for the banana-foie gras fusion. You’ll never leave.
La Savane, Guadeloupe Tiny Deshaies (you may know it from the BBC series “Death in Paradise” is a quiet culinary capital — but none of the eateries here come close to La Savane, a beachfront French restaurant with Africa-inspired decor and remarkable seafood.
Bistrot Caraibes, St Martin It was one of the first of Grand Case’s legendary eateries to reopen after Irma, and this Grand Case Boulevard standout remains at the top, with out-of-this-world seafood and classic French food with a Caribbean twist.
Restaurant At Sea, Bonaire Bonaire has quietly become a food destination in recent years, and that’s almost exclusively thanks to this seaside eatery in Kralendijk where protein is the name of the game.
The views are breahtaking.
Dasheene, Saint Lucia No restaurant in the Caribbean serves up a more authentic and elegant meal than the flagship restaurant at Saint Lucia’s Ladera Resort.
Flying Fish Gastrobar, Grand Bahama, Bahamas Chef Tim Tibbitts continues to serve up his molecular gastronomy take on fresh Bahamian seafood. It’s the place to eat in Grand Bahama.
La Table de Marcel, Martinique The Michelin-starred Marcel Ravin returned to his Martinican roots with this tiny Fort-de-France-area studio-style experience that celebrates local ingredients and offers what is easily the most impressive plating in the Caribbean.
Sheer Rocks, Antigua It’s hard to think of a more beautiful view than the one you find from your cliffside table at Sheer Rocks, Antigua’s marvelous destination restaurant. And the food takes an already transcendent experience and brings things to the next level.
Veya, Anguilla Set in an old two-story colonial estate, this Anguilla signature has grown to become the island’s best restaurant, with impeccable service and truly extraordinary continental and local food by Chefs Carrie and Jerry Bogar,
Uptown Eatery, St Croix, US Virgin Islands It’s no contest: this tiny joint in the heart of historic Christiansted serves up the best lunch in the Caribbean, led by Chef Dave Kendrick’s Mahi Picatta, one of the region’s greatest dishes. (Oh, they serve dinner, too).
Parallel 23, Turks and Caicos Turks and Caicos’ most celebrated eatery is also its best, with a delightful courtyard setting at the Palms resort, inspired wine selections and always outstanding cuisine.
Marmalade, Puerto Rico Iowa’s Peter Schintler has turned a small space in Old San Juan into a culinary hotspot, that’s as gastronomically excellent as it is hip.
Cocovan, Turks and Caicos It just might be the funkiest restaurant in the region, an Airstream food truck somehow transformed into a romantic restaurant. But it just works — and the global food truck cuisine is truly exceptional.
The Cliff, Barbados What just might be the Caribbean’s most luxurious restaurant is Chef Paul Owens’ inspired, always impressive The Cliff, an elegant, out-of-this-world culinary experience.
Sui Ren, Turks and Caicos The new Shore Club on Long Bay has some of the most impressive architecture in the Caribbean — and one of its top restaurants. The Japanese-Peruvian fusion eatery does it all, with a particularly strong focus on beef.
Jose Enrique, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico has long been at the forefront of the region’s culinary movement, and few chefs have done more to move it forward than Enrique, whose Santurce outpost remains San Juan’s leading eatery.
The Restaurant at Round Hill, Jamaica Jamaica’s bold flavors are stewarded magnificently by Chef Martin Maginley at this north-coast stunner, where the views and the locally-focused cuisine deliver the goods.
Sapodilla, Bahamas It’s not hard to find a good restaurant in Nassau, which has catapulted in the Caribbean culinary rankings in recent years. And we particularly love this fusion eatery set in an old estate, where local chef Edwin Johnson continues to redefine fine Bahamian cuisine.
The Sugar Mill at Half Moon, Jamaica Long the go-to restaurant in Montego Bay, the Sugar Mill at Half Moon is back and better than ever, offering its quintessential fine-dining take on Jamaican favorites.
The Rooftop by Brandywine, Tortola, British Virgin Islands The newest eatery in the British Virgin Islands is a rooftop restaurant-lounge in the heart of Road Town, with French cuisine helmed by longtime Tortola Chef Regis Bourdon.
Shuang Ba, Nassau, Bahamas The Baha Mar has become a culinary hotspot in its own right, but the high-end Chinese eatery Shuang Ba is its most unique — and best — restaurant, with a truly impressive menu — and even more impressive service.
Luca, Cayman Islands It’s hard to know what’s better here: the wine selection or the pasta. Luckily, you don’t have to choose at this Seven Mile Beach standout.
Braata, St Croix, US Virgin Islands The newest entry on this list from the USVI is St Croix Chef Digby Stridiron’s latest venture, a West Indian rum bar with the culinary chops to match.
Jacala, Anguilla Toes-in-the-sand dining doesn’t get any better than this French restaurant on Meads Bay led by Chefs Alain Laurent and Jacques Borderon.
L’Esprit, St Barth Right now, there’s no more romantic place to eat in St Barth than this Grande Saline-area gem led by celebrated Chef Jean Claude Dufour.
Orlando’s Restaurant, Saint Lucia Chef Orlando Satchell is one of the great advocates for Caribbean cuisine anywhere, and this Soufriere-area eatery is his love letter to it, with bold flavors, impressive plating and warm, homestyle service.
Cin Cin By the Sea, Barbados It’s hip, its modern and it’s one of Barbados’ places to see and be seen. But the (mostly) Italian inspired menu seriously delivers, with the service and the sea views to match.
Rhodes, Grenada Grenada’s flagship restaurant is the signature eatery at the Calabash boutique hotel, serving up international cuisine with warm Grenadian service, the brainchild of celebrity Chef Gary Rhodes.
Chaud, Trinidad Uber-talented Chef Khalid Mohammed changed the culinary game in Trinidad when he first debuted the local-food-meets-haute cuisine Chaud. Now, it’s the country’s destination restaurant.
L’Auberge Gourmande, St Martin It’s great to see St Martin’s culinary comeback, and that includes the legendary L’Auberge Gourmande in Grand Case, where classic French Caribbean food joins unmatched Grand Case ambience.
Ti Taurus, Martinique It may seem like a simple waterfront eatery in Trois Ilets, but this new addition is anything but simple, with spectacular French and Caribbean dishes and particularly outstanding seafood (and serious cocktail making to boot).
Wilhelmina, Aruba Downtown Oranjestad is undergoing a renaissance right now, and the food is right at the center. Celebrate local Chef Dennis van Daatselaar has turned an old urban storefront into an eclectic, funky, wonderful restaurant.
Le Bistro, Antigua You’ll see the signs for this Antigua standout all over the island — because no matter where you’re staying, you’ll want to have a meal here. It’s a French-style bistro with an almost magical ambience and service that is the best on the island.
La Villa, St Martin This Grand Case institution serves up the best of St Martin fusion cuisine, whether you’re eating conch ravioli or perfectly prepared magret de canard.
Mafolie, St Thomas, US Virgin Islands Set in the charming Mafolie Hotel, this is St Thomas’ greatest restaurant, with a colorful, seafood-focused menu with everything from Cruzan Rum Lobster to its signature Potfish.
Papagallo, Cayman Islands There’s no contest when it comes to the most romantic restaurant in the Cayman Islands, and this lagoon-set institution offers up the Italian food to match — with an equally terrific wine list.
Lobster Alive, Barbados There’s just something endlessly lovable about this direct beachfront eatery on Brownes Beach, serving up a combination of ultra-fresh lobster from the Grenadines and live jazz.
Maroc, Aruba Dennis van Daatselaar’s other Oranjestad outpost, Maroc, is a remarkably authentic Moroccan-inspired tapas eatery, with lush North African decor and outrageously good food.
Masala Bay at Marigot Bay, Saint Lucia Set at the Marina Village in Marigot Bay, this second outpost of the Masala Bay brand is its best, with jaw-dropping views of the bay and unique Indian-Lucian fusion.
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