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The Grand Bahama dining scene stretches well beyond traditional Bahamian cuisine. The resorts and shopping centers have eateries that serve up everything from West Indian rotis to fine Continental and creative Pacific Rim specialties. For a true Bahamian dining experience, look for restaurants named after the owner or cook—such as Billy Joe's, Geneva's, or Mary Ann's.
A native fish fry takes place every Wednesday evening at Smith's Point, east of Port Lucaya (taxi drivers know the way). Here you can sample fresh fish, sweet-potato bread, conch salad, and all the fixings cooked outdoors at the beach. It's a great opportunity to meet local residents and taste real Bahamian cuisine—and there's no better place than seaside under the pines and palms.
A gratuity or "service charge" (15%) is often added to the bill automatically; be sure to check your total before adding an additional tip.
This well-established restaurant has changed location but offers the same reliable quality. The extensive pizza menu offers five sizes and a multitude of topping combinations, including the popular and unique Alfredo pizzas (with a rich Alfredo sauce instead of the typical tomato sauce). Pisces is also known for its rich curries with chicken, seafood, or veggies, and they even offer a curry pizza.
This Port Lucaya Marketplace spot offers Mexican staples with a unique Caribbean and Bahamian blend. The Caribbean Jerk Burrito is packed with chicken or shrimp, black beans, rice, roasted corn, bell pepper, and their signature creamy jerk sauce. The Latin Burger is topped with guacamole, bacon, and fried jalapeños. Their unique and tasty cuisine and various drink specials make this a popular and lively spot.
Directly on Fortune Beach, Banana Bay is a great place for lunch or daytime cocktails, whether you sit on the restaurant's shaded deck or on a lounger in the sand. In addition to daily fresh fish specials, the kitchen serves up homemade warm loaves of banana bread along with salads, sandwiches, wraps, and seafood appetizers like conch fritters and crab cakes. On windy days, you will have a front-row seat to kite surfers in action. A few times a week, cruise ships drop off tourists en masse, so you can expect service to get a little slow—but that just gives you more time to enjoy your Bahama Mama. As the tide rolls out, the beach grows, creating a wonderful shallow lagoon and sandbar, perfect for wading and for frolicking kids.
Located in the Port Lucaya Marketplace along the water, Big Daddy Brown's offers fresh conch salad and authentic Bahamian staples. Watch this family team put on a show as they prepare the salad right in front of you; they also serve conch fritters, fried fish, and fried lobster in this little, brightly painted shack. Grab a cold Sands beer at any of the open-air bars surrounding the stand and enjoy sipping and munching while people-watching in Market Square.
This cozy little café offers strong gourmet coffees, delicious pastries, and creative and delicious chocolates, handcrafted in-store. It's also a great spot to cool off with handmade ice-cream treats. Try inventive flavors, such as black tea and ginger, goat pepper and balsamic caramel, or Bahamian sea salt and hibiscus caramel—a unique taste of The Bahamas to take home. Large windows allow you to peek into the kitchen to watch the chocolates being made.
This family-run cozy Italian restaurant offers consistently good food and great service. Traditional comfort pasta dishes adorn the menu, like pesto gnocchi and seafood linguine, in addition to steaks and daily fresh fish specials. The dining room and outside patio are both small and intimate, which makes this restaurant the most charming and romantic choice in Port Lucaya.
Each seat in this small but sophisticated old Bahamian manor home-styled dining room has a view into the open kitchen. With just 30 diners at a time, it's like the chef and his team are cooking dinner for an intimate group of friends as they watch. The menu is small, but you'll have a hard time choosing as it hits all the right notes. On the menu are steaks, chops, and seafood, as well as seasonal specialties like lobster. Reservations are essential as they only prep for as many as they know are coming.
One of the finest culinary experiences in the Caribbean, Flying Fish serves an eclectic collection of seafood and Bahamian favorites, made with only the best, sustainable ingredients. The owners, originally from Canada, are local couple Tim and Rebecca Tibbits—Tim being the genius behind the food, Rebecca the genius behind the wine. Ask Rebecca for a pairing, and she will find something to both delight and surprise you (sake or tequila may be her choice). The restaurant is on the canal front and has an ambience that is both romantic and contemporary. Sit indoors or outside on the patio or the floating dock and choose from the tapas menu or from their extensive selection of gourmet burgers.
At this cozy, toes-in-the-sand bar, the bartender treats you like an old friend. Party photos adorn the walls along with velvet paintings of Elvis. Menu favorites include fish-and-chips, conch burgers and fries, Greek salads, and Philly cheesesteaks, among other Bahamian and American comfort foods. It's the place to be for Sunday football games (especially Miami Dolphins fans).
Offering French cuisine with a strong Bahamian influence, Merport Bistro is the spot in downtown Freeport for the local business crowd. Their weekly specials are worth checking out, and although the menu changes constantly, there is something for everyone, from wraps and sandwiches and a variety of soups, to seafood or chicken vol-au-vent, juicy stacked burgers or hearty steaks. There's not much else for the tourist crowd in the area, but it's definitely worth the drive into town.
Pier One has one of the most unique settings of any restaurant in Grand Bahama and two different menus to choose from: sushi or cooked continental fare. Built on stilts above the ocean near Freeport Harbour, it offers one-of-a-kind views of magnificent sunsets, larger-than-life cruise ships departing, and sharks swimming for chum. The sushi menu is both creative and extensive. Diners can eat inside or outside, but the large tables on the balcony offer the best views of the shark feedings, which happen every hour on the hour starting at 7 pm. For those who prefer their food cooked, the other menu includes grilled fish, vegetable pasta, steaks, and chicken.
This is the perfect spot to enjoy a delicious cocktail while looking out over the Port Lucaya Marina or nestled among the twinkling lights and palm trees around the pool deck. The lunch and dinner menu is a fun fusion of Bahamian and American favorites. They serve a variety of tasty wings and seafood dishes (try the lemon peppered and shrimp-crusted grouper or the sesame-seed–crusted tuna with an Asian salad), and steaks, burgers, and flatbreads to boot. Be warned that service can sometimes be slow, but the staff are welcoming and friendly.
For the most authentic Bahamian food, head to Smith's Point for the famous weekly fish fry. Every Wednesday night, this little settlement by Taino Beach comes to life when the open-air beach shacks along the street serve fried fish (with the head and tail still on), cracked conch (pounded and fried), lobster tail, fried grouper, and barbecue chicken down-home style. Outriggers Beach Club is the generational property of an old island family, and the most popular, but you'll often find long lines. Try any of the other stands, including Da Bus Stop, Gully Wash Beach Bar, Snapper Shoal, and Penny's Fish Fry for similar menus. Restaurants start serving around 6 pm. Come early for the food; stay late for the party. Occasional beach bonfires add to the fun and festive atmosphere.
The Stoned Crab is a place to see and be seen. Open glass walls all around provide every seat with a view of the ocean off Taino Beach, and vaulted white wooden ceilings that rise into the spectacular dual triangular peaked roof make it feel larger than it is. They serve delicious options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The menu is an eclectic mix with culinary hints from around the world. Nutella crepes, a full English breakfast, or Mississippi-style shrimp-and-grits get the day started, and later you can nosh on Thai chicken curry, rack of lamb, or stone crab legs (in season). At lunch, you can dine inside or grab one of the luxurious lounge chairs on the beach and have your food and drinks served right there.
For a taste of the local beach scene, follow the music to this weathered, thatch-roof shack at Taino Beach and get your fill of mouthwatering roast conch, the specialty of the "house." Operated by local personality Anthony "Tony Macaroni" Hanna, the popular eatery also sells conch salad, roast lobster and shrimp, and Gully Wash cocktails (fresh coconut water, sweetened condensed milk, a healthy dose of gin, and a sprinkle of nutmeg) for noshing alfresco on a stilted deck overlooking pristine sands and sea.
Enjoy a great cup of coffee or specialty boba tea any time of day or night at this quaint café immediately adjacent to Zorba's Greek Restaurant. Try fresh-baked croissants, chocolate eclairs, and tiramisu, as well as a variety of other sweet and savory treats. An homage to the owner's Greek roots, they serve specialties like baklava and a selection of Greek coffees. There's a small bar behind the pastry counter. Cocktails are available all day.
Besides Greek favorites, this longtime Port Lucaya restaurant serves popular Bahamian dishes. Join the port's yacht-in clientele, shoppers, and locals for breakfast, lunch, or dinner on the white-and-blue-trimmed sidewalk porch. Specialties include gyros, moussaka, Greek salad, pizza, conch fritters, fried snapper, and roasted leg of lamb. Dishes are reasonably priced, and the service is consistently friendly and efficient.
A longtime favorite of locals and visitors who venture out to Lucayan National Park (about 6 miles away) and into the East End's settlements, Bishop's serves all the fried Bahamian favorites with a view of the sea. The beach bar itself doesn't sell food, so you'll have to make the short walk across the parking lot to order in the restaurant and they will bring it out to you. Conch fritters, cracked conch, fish fingers, burgers, and crab salad are a few of the menu choices, but the food isn't what makes this place special. Bishop himself mans this kick-back beach bar along with his dog, and plays great music that adds to the ambience. Come for a cold drink and stay for the beach.
This relaxing outdoor poolside bar and grill at UNEXSO is great for lunch and weekend brunch, with delicious and creative menu items. Kids and adults alike can splash in the pool (which has underwater windows to the marina, so bring goggles) while adults sip spicy Bloody Marys and tropical drinks. This is a popular evening spot on weekends for relaxing and dancing as local bands are often invited to play.
Tucked in at the end of a Port Lucaya row, this spot serves up fresh, flavorful, and unique cuisine that offers a break from the standard fried fare found elsewhere. Choose a seat indoors or on the small porch for a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner or come for the all-day brunch on weekends. They offer a selection of bowls and wraps, salads, and more substantial meals—try the chef's curry which you can order meat-free or with chicken, fish, or shrimp. This is one of the few local spots where special dietary needs and restrictions can be accommodated with tasty options.
Offering the healthiest food option on the island, this little shop (located in a shabby strip mall) doesn't look like much, but the quality of the food tells a different story. Livity blends up fresh fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies with names like Flu Shot, Pressure Reliever, and Incredible Hulk. Lunch includes daily specials such as chickpea stew, sautéed green beans, and mushrooms served on quinoa or wild rice, in addition to barbecued tofu and Rasta pasta. Fruit and vegetable salads, veggie fritters, soups, veggie burgers, and salmon burgers are staples on the menu.
This Mexican-themed party place fills with cruise-ship passengers in port for the day and sends them back to the boat happy, fed, and full of rum drinks. The location at the Freeport Harbour is open-air and full of life, complete with a dance stage, large flat-screen TVs, a wraparound bar, and seating for more than 100 people. The music is loud, the crowd is lively, especially around spring break months, and the Mexican menu has fun Bahamian and tropical twists. Watch out for waiters who run around blowing whistles and pouring tequila down your throat, and if your party endurance is ready for a challenge, try your luck at a musical chairs game that includes two shots with every circle.
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