Pepenero is located at Limegrove Mall in Barbados in a casual but pleasant setting. During weekends, it offers an excellent opportunity to listen to some Caribbean tunes from live bands while enjoying a meal in one of the fantastic restaurants in the open-air plaza. Pepenero offers Italian cuisine and by far one of the best things on the menu is the homemade arrabbiata sauce. After trying it, it wasn’t easy to guess that local peppers were in the list of the ingredients, which the waitress reaffirmed a bit later on in the evening. If you come to Barbados you must take one of the local pepper sauces back home; it will be impressive to even the most connoisseur of pepper eaters. To continue with the experience at this restaurant, the arugula, and marinated sundried tomatoes mixed perfectly with the pasta made of linguine all’ arrabbiata, one of the preferred dishes to order. Pepenero also offers an array of pasta, grilled salmon, grilled pork escalopes and a selection of pizzas that are to die for.
Opa is located at Limegrove, one of the fanciest malls in Barbados. However, this cute little Greek spot is not hard in the pocket. The prices are accessible, offering all types of appetizers from Greek dips with an assortment of flatbreads to the delicious “Spanakopita” a spinach and feta cheese wrapped in a pastry. To continue with the feta ride is impossible to leave without trying the feta fries, which are crunchy, and the consistency just gets better with all the crumbled feta on top that is bathed in their homemade Greek salad dressing. If taking care of the diet, the best options on the menu are the dips with pita bread, with a selection of hummus, olive/sundried tomato tapenade, spicy feta, taramosalata, and tzatziki to choose from – Genius way to “escape the pallet” to the Greek islands, all the way from a cosy Caribbean locale.
Flow Wine Bar and Kitchen is a location not to be missed in St. Vincent and The Grenadines. It is possibly one of the most thought out menus on the island; it is a fusion of local and international cuisine, but yet it does not lose its Caribbean vibe. This restaurant is located in the heart of Kingstown, with all of the dishes being carefully selected to please the toughest of palates. The chef and staff put extra care into the plate presentation and the ambient of the location with warm lighting, lounge music, and excellent service. The menu is extensive, but after going several times while living in St. Vincent & The Grenadines some of the best dishes are the spicy panko-coconut shrimp with chilli-mustard dip, and of course, the coconut curry chicken with potatoes, naan, basil, and mango chutney. Prices are affordable, and it is a great restaurant to celebrate special occasions while on an island.
St. Vincent is a small island, with very few to no café’s and cute little places to enjoy coffee, pastry or something small to eat. Therefore, finding this new location on the island felt like a success. Lola’s Café offers a healthy edition menu with themes such as “pesto signature” where all dishes have pesto on them giving their dishes that zesty, flavourful spread. They also offer all kind of smoothies, coffee preparations, and delicious pastries to pair them with. One of the best and healthier dishes is the veggie pesto sandwich accompanied with salad since it has that crunchiness and full of flavor from the perfectly grilled vegetables – A lovely restaurant that will make anyone feel in a city again.
Young Island Resort is the ideal location to have dinner on a secluded island in the Caribbean. In this spot it is possible to have a sundowner in front of the sea, followed by a beautiful evening in your dining kiosk. Young Island Resort is an enjoyable private and quiet island to spend the day, and have a lovely breakfast, lunch or dinner while enjoying the sweet sounds of the waves, which invite everyone to get into a Caribbean mood. The menus change every day, and on Saturdays, they offer a BBQ buffet dinner. However, one of the most delicious things on their evening menu, are the variety of their homemade bread selection. They have everything from cinnamon, coconut, whole-wheat and all kinds of gourmet bread ready to take the hardest to please. A smart choice is to try the grilled filet mignon, with roasted potatoes and black peppercorn sauce.
Chill Spot Bar & Grill is one of the local’s favourite spot in St. Vincent & the Grenadines. It is a place where both young and old can enjoy a cheap meal, local juices, all while enjoying the Caribbean ambient, and tunes from the DJ usually making everyone dance while waiting for the food and making the customers feel “chill.” This restaurant was just renovated a couple of months ago, and offers outside and inside seating and the opportunity to try their special meals that change almost every day. The portions are abundant, and the menu is extensive, giving the option to pick between their grilled conch, grilled lobster (when in season), grilled chicken breast, roasted pork, curried chicken, a variety of soups, pasta, wraps, salads, and burgers. The grilled chicken breast with three sides it is not to be missed with its sides to choose from such as potato salad, carrot rice, eggplant casserole, stewed callaloo, steamed vegetables and tossed salad. The perfect drink to go with this Vincentian meal is a cold local beer to one of their local juices. This meal will leave you satisfied and ready to explore the rest of the island.
El Camello Jr. a place bustling with people throughout the day is immensely popular for their pocket-friendly menu. Vastly popular among the locals, this roadside eatery serves giant portions of fresh fish and seafood, shrimp nachos to octopus ceviche to fish tacos.
Taqueria Honorio is a simple roadside taco restaurant. You can find breakfast tacos here and they open up as early as 6:00 am in the morning and the day is done by 1:30 pm in the afternoon. They roast their pig all night long and the tortillas are handmade upon order. It is a place where you will get good Mexican food and of course with a little taste of Yucatán. The secret behind the great taste of the meat is because of the hard work that goes beyond it and the way it is prepared. The preparation for pork meat is done in a location which is 7 kilometers away from Tulum. The lechon is seasoned and prepared in a brick oven for about 12 hours while the meat for cochinita pibil tacos is cooked in a special outdoor oven on heated tzalam wood and coal. The pans are loaded and covered with metal sheets and pixoy branches. At 5:00 am each morning the cooked meat is collected and then taken to the taqueria for tacos.
Highly recommended by the locals as well as by the visitors to Tulum, the Mexican steakhouse El Asadero is considered as one of the best in this resort town of Mexico. Arrachera steak and beef taco are a must order from the menu apart from the amazing drinks and the grilled tuna. The steaks are grilled over an open flame in front of the restaurant. Try the steak specials and the taco combo (mixed chorizo, chicken, and beef). Making a reservation is highly commended.
Hartwood, the postcard-perfect beach resort of Tulum, is located on a jungle road along the Caribbean Sea. Serving vibrantly colored seafood dishes which speak highly of the strong Mayan influence was started from scratch by a husband and wife duo and Ex-New Yorker's Eric Werner and Mya Henry in 2010 when they ditched their fast-paced life of New York. The food is prepared by an open fire on hand-made wood burning oven and grill using the wood-fired cooking techniques. The seafood is of the daily catch from the nearby Bay while other elements are locally sourced from the interior of the Yucatán markets and the Maya farms called Milpas. The photo of a locked up restaurant is symbolic of how hard it is to get a table here. The supposedly friendly walk-in policy is offset by high demand and real "attitude" at the door.