db eats: Barbados

After touring the Mount Gay or Malibu rum distilleries on Barbados you need an afternoon on the beach to decide where to eat in the evening.

The choices are plentiful ranging from the super-plush Sandy Lane resort to mixing with the locals amid blaring So-Sa music at the boisterous Friday night beach fry at Oistins, the fishing village just east of Bridgetown, the capital.

Most of the better restaurants are on the west coast but until December, the Cliff, Barbados’ self-proclaimed premier restaurant just south of Holetown, is not a possibility because it is closed for refurbishment.

Sailing past recently, the pneumatic drills created more atmosphere than the usual sepulchral tone at Paul Owen’s starred establishment where you need to book weeks in advance for a prized waterfront table at which the waiters glide up silently and whisper to you so as not to detract from the homage you are expected to pay to the chef’s talents.

At a minimum charge of about £80 a head for two courses, you would expect the cuisine to be outstanding – and it is – but the problem at the Cliff is that nobody seems to enjoy themselves, perhaps fearing that anything but obeisance to the food will be grounds for being refused at return visit.

Much more lively, and with food to rival the Cliff, is the Lone Star, just north of Holetown.

Exquisite fish tempura (a meal in itself) and perfectly grilled parrot fish washed down with a complex barrel-fermented 2007 Sauvignon Blanc from the Jordan vineyards near Stellenbosch was the highlight of a recent holiday.

The beachfront restaurant is famed for its celebrity New Year’s Eve party and is regularly frequented by visiting celebrities paying £600 for Cristal 2000 served by waiters wearing mechanics’ overalls (it was once a garage).

Dinner for two watching the ocean-going yachts heading for Port St Charles came to an acceptable £140.

More cheap (£45 a head including wine), but no less cheerful, is the Mews in Holetown itself. As with all local restaurants, fish dominates, but here there is an excellent bistro menu with generous portions and a surprisingly eclectic wine list.

Nor do you need a taxi to find the Mews – just ask the driver of a local “boogie” bus to drop you at the end of the street. At 50p no matter the length of the journey, a trip on one is an experience – but remember your earplugs!

Many of the west coast hotels offer high quality international cuisine, notable among them are Daphne’s (sister establishment to the Italian eaterie in Chelsea), Tamarind Cove and the Colony Club, but if you want a very different experience, get up early on Sunday and head to Crane Beach on the south coast.

On a cliff high above the beach itself you can breakfast while watching the Atlantic rollers accompanied by gospel singers from local churches. They’re good, and so is the breakfast buffet. It sets you up for a day in the sun.   

Ron Emler, 13.10.09