Hi!

My boyfriend and I are going to Atlantis in March for 4 nights. It's the first time to the Bahamas for both of us and we would love to experience both on-site restaurants and local cusine.

(1) Do you need to make reservations in advance to eat at the Atlantis restaurants?

(2) Are there Atlantis restaurants more suited to couples than families?

(3) Are there are any recomended non-Atlantis restaurants within walking distance of the resort?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

I would make reservations in Advance for the Atlanits restaurants. Our favorite restaurant at Atlantis is Villa D'Este. Great for ouples. We also like the Bahamian Club and Fathoms. We were disappointed in Five Twins. You can walk across the street to Anthony's Caribbean Grille.

If you want to dine at a specific time and place, then yes I would make my reservations prior. You can always cancel them when you get there. The gourmet are the better restaurants and less children will be in them than the buffets.
Our favorites are the Bahamian Club (steakhouse) and the Villa D Este(italian). The Five Twins was the most expensive and our worst meal. I would not recommend it. I could have been an off night, but we did not enjoy it.
Fathoms is a cool place that gives you the feeling of being underwater. We did not get to dine here. My dad loved his meal and my mom thought the food was so-so. It is a seafood restaurant.
March is also a popular spring break time for families. I would make my reservations prior and I would dine at a later hour(7:00-7:30). This will also mean less small children. When we went with our kids we always sat down at 6-6:30 pm.

You can make your reservation a month prior and I would do so since they book up quickly and some restaurants are closed one or two days a week. We enjoyed Fathoms and ate at most of the formal (non-buffet) restaurants. Overall, the food was good but not great. I wish we had ventured off the property more. You can also make a reservation at Dunes at the One and Only Ocean Club. They have some type of reciprocal arrangement. We had a reservation but had to cancel.

Make dinner reservations now. I made mine last week for April and not too many times to choose from. It was early 6:15 or 8:30. March and April are big spring break times when Atlantis is filled.

I enjoyed Fathoms-- thought it had a really great atmosphere and also Dune at the Ocean Club. Dune is a "cool" restaurant with great food. You can take a free shuttle over to the Ocean Club. It also gives you the opportunity to see the Ocean Club. The bar there is also very nice. Would highly recommend both. Another good local place off the premises is the Poop Deck. It's only a 10 minute taxi ride. I also heard that Carmine's and Nobu recently opened down there at the Atlantis. Carmine's is an excellent italian restaurant... might be worth a try. Also, if you're into sushi, Nobu would be a good choice.

Can you wear shorts at Fathoms or Bahmian Club?

They request no shorts, but we saw people wearing them.

Hi Brit -
We ate off property a fair amount and there are three places we thought were very good - Anthony's, Zio Gigi's (Italian restaurant not far from Anthony's ask around, I can't remember the name of the plaza) and Poop Deck. We walked to the first two and got a taxi to the Poop Deck. Enjoy!

In Nassau, you should enjoy Cafe Matisse, Lucianos, Chez Willie, Montegue Gardens, and the Poop Deck.
If you're looking for authentic bahamian cooking, head to the Fish Fry at Arawak Cay. It's a small village of a dozen or so casual local restaurants. Twin Brothers, Goldies, Seafood Haven and Briland Lounge are my favorites, you can pick up a daiquri made with fresh fruit or a bowl of freshly made conch salad.