Dining and Drinking

St. Kitts is not an island with an overabundance of places to dine. Most restaurants are connected with hotels, so it is to the hotels, and particularly the plantation inns, where one should look for good food. There are, however, a few free-standing restaurants, and we'll start with those.

Two fantastic restaurants overlook The Circus in the centre square. Ballahoo, located on the second story of a local shop, is a great place to people watch, meet friends, and generally hang out for meals, or just coffee. Across from it is The Circus Grill, that has good food and great view.

Near the Ocean Terrace Inn, right on the water is Fisherman's Wharf, and like the name implies, it's right on the sea at one end of Basseterre and presents the finest seafood around.

Near Frigate Bay beach area, there are several restaurants connected with hotels, and few independent ones. The Sunset Café, the hotel restaurant for the Timothy Beach Resort, is outdoors near the water, and turns out terrific food, including many seafood entrees. The café attracts people all day and night and is located right on the water at a popular beach—a nice place for a meal or just a pina colada. Up the hill is the Frigate Bay Beach Hotel where continental and Caribbean meals are prepared regularly and served along with live music some nights. Bird Rock Beach Resort has the Sunburst Restaurant, which serves food influenced by European, America and West Indian flavors.

The plantation inns have outstanding cuisine, in keeping with their high level of service. The Royal Palm Restaurant at Ottley's Plantation Inn, which is alfresco located next to the pool. Golden Lemon restaurant is gourmet American and Caribbean serving dishes in an elegant setting.

Further afield, out on the Southwest coast is Manhattan Gardens, located in a large old West Indian house with gingerbread trim, this restaurant serves delicious local foods and brunch on Sundays.

A must-do spot on the island is Turtle Beach Bar & Grill, located at the far end of the Southeast peninsula, directly across the two-mile-wide channel which runs between St. Kitts and Nevis. Most popular on Sundays when the restaurant owners serve the West Indian barbeque, but Turtle Beach is best-known for its mango coladas. On Sundays, a live steel band performs and young kids dance in their masquerade outfits.

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