St Vincent and the Grenadines

Eating out in St Vincent and the Grenadines

There are several wonderful small cafés and restaurants serving both local specialties like breadfruit dishes and callaloo soup, as well as international classics. Fresh seafood, typically of the Caribbean, is the prime menu item just about everywhere.

Gourmet

French Restaurant is located in clapboard house near a pier. A long, comfortable bar leads to the rear verandah where diners sit among vine-laced lattices and look out at moored yachts. The delicious menu includes such choices as seafood casserole, curried conch, shrimp in garlic sauce, and fresh fish in ginger with peppercorn sauce. Villa Beach, Kingstown.

Highly Recommended

Rooftop Restaurant and Bar is set three stories above the center of Kingstown. Diners have the choice of an indoor room decorated in earth tones or a patio open to the trade winds. The international menu includes lobster, snapper with lemon-butter and garlic sauce, and steak with onions and mushrooms.There are also traditional Creole dishes, made from fresh fish, chicken, mutton, beef, and goat. More than sixty drinks are featured at the bar. Bay Street, Kingstown.

Local Flair

Bounty draws locals and tourists alike to its central Kingstown location. The staff is friendly and welcoming. Diners are treated to a wide assortment of pastries, rotis, sandwiches, homemade soups, quiche and pizza. The menu also has an interesting drink selection - including passion fruit and golden apple - and a gallery with works by local artists. Egmont Street, Kingstown.

Romantic

Basil's Bar and Restaurant is set within a 19th-century sugar warehouse. Inside, exposed brick and stone, a mahogany bar, soaring arches, and candlelight set a romantic scene. The menu includes grilled lobster, escargots, shrimp cocktail, grilled red snapper, and grilled filet mignon. A wide selection of French wines is also available. Bay Street, Kingstown.

Going party in St Vincent and the Grenadines

The majority of the nightlife is in the hotels, with nightly barbecues and dancing to steel bands among the popular activities.

The Aquatic Club

This is the loudest and liveliest nightspot on St Vincent. Bands play reggae, soca and calypso music, and the club is centered around an open-air verandah and an outdoor deck. Kingstown.

The Attic

Features live jazz and easy-listening music. There's also karaoke on Wednesday nights. Kingstown.

The Emerald Valley Casino

This small casino has 3 roulette tables, 3 blackjack tables, and a Caribbean stud-poker table, and a craps table. Penniston Valley.

Touch Entertainment Center

An extremely popular hang-out, with disco nights and a DJ spinning mixes on weekends. Kingstown.

Common events in St Vincent and the Grenadines

Fisherman's Week

Celebrates local fisherman and their contribution to the livelihood of the islands. April through May.

Carnival

Known locally as Vincy Mas, this event lasts 10 days and brings the islands' best brass, steel and calypso bands, folk and calypso dancing, and costume designs together. The festival ends with a parade featuring bands and depicting scenes from mythology and folklore. June - July.

Canouan Annual Regatta

In addition to various regattas, there are fishing competitions, a cricket match, donkey relay races, a Calypso competition, and crab races. July - August.

The Festival of the Nine Mornings

This event begins, appropriately, nine mornings before Christmas, with people parading through the streets before dawn. Organized dances are held in dance halls on each of the nine mornings. December.