There is no question that your palate will appreciate the wealth of culinary opportunities that Grenada has to offer.  The good news is that you will never be served a meal that is anything less than exquisite, if you stick to the restaurants listed here.   The bad news is that there are other fine establishments not listed here, only because there were not enough days to try them out.  In other words, there are more great restaurants available than the number of days you will be visiting.

You will most likely be taking a taxi to get to the restaurants, as they are spread all over.  You can arrange for the driver to deliver you to the restaurant, and pick you up afterwards for $60 - $70 EC.

Depending on the anchorage, you might already be near your restaurant of choice, or be within walking distance.  True Blue Bay Restaurant is of course at True Blue Bay. Ocean View is at Mt. Hartman Bay.  The Boatyard is at the marina in Prickly Bay, while The Red Crab, Calabash, and Choo Light are a good 15 minute walk from there.  If you are sampling different anchorages, you may want to plan ahead to avoid a costly taxi ride to a restaurant at an anchorage you were at the day before!

Taiwan, Republic of China has close ties with Grenada, and with it, a well-staffed Embassy.  Their entire staff dine out every night, compliments of the RoC.  Given their dependency on the local dining establishments, they have local knowledge on all the great places.  If you encounter a table of about 20 Taiwanese, you have found them, and you know you are in a great restaurant.  Find out their itinerary and you will be treated to more great dining in Grenada.

The restaurants listed here are popular and often filled to capacity.  It is recommended that you reserve in advance to avoid being disappointed.  Most of the restaurants are closed one day a week and that day differs from place to place, so check in advance.

Aquarium

There is no question that Aquarium Beach Club & Restaurant tops the list as my favorite on the island, and with good reason.  The outstanding food, service, and ambiance is hard to beat.

Located at Point Salines, just past the airport, you will need a taxi to get there.  The restaurant itself is a unique open structure, built right on the beach, at the base of a cliff.  The parking lot is up on the cliff, so you have to descend down a stained glass skylit tunnel, which of course you won’t see at night.

The cliff forms the wall of the restaurant to the back and features an interesting waterfall and pool built into the rock.  The front is open to the sea, and the distant lights of St. George’s shimmer on the water.  The soft lighting, wood frame lofted roof, and plants everywhere really add to the ambiance.  This is a real comfortable place to share the company of friends and enjoy a great dinner.

Their pumpkin and ginger soup is outstanding.  They serve US prime steaks, grilled lobster, and local seafood that is first-rate.  Service is friendly and prompt.  Resist the urge to indulge in a Cuban cigar after dinner - the Hoyo de Monterrey cigars they have in their impressive display cannot possibly be from Cuba.  Be sure to walk out onto the beach after dinner to cap off the evening.  While the dining experience might be a little more on the expensive side, there is no question that it’s well worth it.

Being a Beach Club, you could spend an entire afternoon on the beach here.  They have beach chairs and a great bamboo bar.  Facing west, sundowners at the bar might result in a sighting of the elusive “green flash”.

True Blue Bay Restaurant

The restaurant at the True Blue Bay Resort is another favorite place, mainly because of the excellent food, personal service, and ambiance.  What else is there?

If you are anchored in True Blue Bay, then you need to go no further to get an outstanding meal.  The menu is sufficiently diverse that you could actually dine here three or four nights and not get bored.  With the exception of Aquarium, none of the other restaurants listed here offer anything better. 

The Doyle Guide, 9th Edition, still lists this establishment as Indigo’s, although it was acquired by Russ and Magdalena Fielden in October 1998.  The cuisine is a combination Caribbean and Mexican, since Magdalena is a native of Mexico.  They serve US prime steaks and outstanding seafood.  Their pumpkin and ginger soup is the best.

Built right over the water on stilts, the wood frame lofted roof, plants, and close proximity to the water create a dining atmosphere that is hard to beat.  A table at the water’s edge is a real great experience.  Be sure to reserve one of these special tables in advance, as this restaurant is often full to capacity.

The service provided by a very capable staff is friendly, prompt, and personal.  Linda, Arthur, and Terry are real professionals.  I have seen the kitchen handle a full-house without any degradation in service or quality.  A night out at this fine establishment is definitely one of the great Caribbean experiences.

Coconut Beach 

Located on the beach at Grand Anse, Coconut Beach is popular and once you’ve dined there, you’ll understand why.  You have the choice of a table right on the sand near the water, or something inside.  Choose the sand - you eat inside most of the year.  The inside dining area has recently been expanded and is open to the beach and the water.

The cuisine is French Creole, and it’s excellent.  Service is friendly and prompt.  Owner/manager Dennot “Scratch” McIntyre is friendly and engaging.  He will likely stop by your table to see if everything is satisfactory, and if you are so inclined, will sit down and chat with you for a few minutes.  A complete evening of dining on the beach is another original Caribbean experience.

Ocean View 

Ocean View is the restaurant at The Moorings Secret Harbour Resort in Mt. Hartman Bay.  Being part of a 5-star resort, the restaurant comes complete with 5-star decor, cuisine, and prices.  This is a more expensive night out, and although the food, service and ambiance is excellent, I’m not sure you get that much more bang for your buck, considering some of the other options available.

The dining area is located on a partially covered patio at the top of the hill with a spectacular view of Mt. Hartman Bay and the ocean. It is really quite nice, but expected given the price you pay. 

Saturdays feature a calypso barbecue with live entertainment, and usually, it’s quite good.  Monday is jazz night, while Wednesdays offer a Grenadian buffet and the music of a local steel pan band.

The Red Crab

A fifteen minute walk from Spice Island Marine, The Red Crab is the best place to eat if you are anchored in Prickly Bay.  It is a $60 EC return taxi ride from anyplace else, and really does not offer anything better or more unique than the other restaurants listed above.  The food and service however, is excellent, and the entire experience is reasonably priced.  It is a regular dining stop for the Taiwanese Embassy staff, so it has to be OK.

Located along the road to Prickly Bay, there is no view of any kind or anything exquisite about the decor.  There are plenty of mosquitoes and black flies, so apply bug repellant before going out.

The Boatyard

The Doyle Guide gives a strong recommendation to the Boatyard Grill and Tiki Bar  at Spice Island Marine in Prickly Bay.  My one experience at this establishment was less than positive, as I found the food and service did not match my expectations.  At least it was not expensive, however I considered the food barely better than Pub Grub, and for that, it was overpriced.

The Tiki Bar features daily Happy Hour and it does get busy.  Long-term cruisers meet and discuss the day’s inactivity before retiring back to their boats for dinner.  There are usually a host of other unruly looking characters lining the bar.  I’m not real sure I would want to hear the full story of how they ended up there, for fear of having to testify later in a court of law over what I heard.

Friday night features a local steel pan band and they are good.  Later in the evening, they go home and a DJ takes over.  The sounds echo out over the bay until the early hours of the morning.

Others

Too many restaurants, too little time!  A number of other restaurants were listed in the Doyle Guide and/or strongly recommended by numerous people during our stay.  We simply ran out of time.  They are worth mentioning solely on the strength of those recommendations.

The Beach House is on the beach, of course, near the Rex Grenadian Hotel at Point Salines.  This place was highly recommended by a number people.  A taxi is required for this expedition.

Cicely’s Restaurant at The Calabash Hotel is an upscale restaurant and bar that is very expensive.  I did scrape up enough EC to have a glass of ice water here one afternoon, so I can confirm that it is quite nice and the staff are extremely friendly. The menu is elegant and pricey.  This establishment is a 10 minute walk from Spice Island Marine.

Choo Light is an inexpensive alternative to seafood and local cuisine.  Right next door to The Red Crab, it is a fifteen minute walk from the marina at Prickly Bay.  Here you can feast on great Chinese food at a great price.  Owned and operated by the Choo family from Hong Kong, I am assured that you cannot go wrong dining here.

The Little Dipper is another inexpensive and popular place to eat, located up the hill from the dinghy dock in Woburn.  Owned and operated by Joan and her husband Rock Charles (the taxi driver), this quaint little place serves up excellent home-cooked seafood at unbeatable prices.