Guadeloupe Restaurants

Creole cooking is the result of a fusion of influences: African, European, Indian, and Caribbean. It's colorful, spicy, and made up primarily of local seafood and vegetables (including squashlike christophenes), root vegetables, and plantains, always with a healthy dose of pepper sauce. Favorite appetizers include accras (salted codfish fritters), boudin (highly seasoned blood sausage), and crabes farcis (stuffed land crabs). Langouste (lobster), lambi (conch), chatrou (octopus), and ouassous (crayfish) are considered delicacies. Souchy (like ceviche and Tahitian-style), raw fish that is "cooked" when marinated in lime juice or similar marinades, is best at seafront restaurants. Moules et frites (mussels in broth served with fries) can be found at cafés in Gosier and at the Bas du Fort Marina. As of January 2008, all restaurants and bars are smoke-free, as decreed by French law.

Diverse culinary options range from pizza and crepes to Indian cuisine. Look for fine-dining restaurants that belong to the gastronomic association l'Union des Arts Culinaires (UAC). For a quick and inexpensive meal, visit a boulangerie, where you can buy luscious French pastries and simple sandwiches. Look for the recommendable chain Délifrance, too. Good news: menu prices seem high but include tax and service (which is split among the entire staff.) If service is to your liking, be generous and leave some extra euros—it's good public relations. In most restaurants in Guadeloupe (as throughout the Caribbean), lobster is the most expensive item on the menu and can easily top EUR 40 and often comes as a prix-fixe menu.

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