3 Best Restaurants in Dominica

You can expect an abundance of vegetables, fruits, and root crops to appear on menus around the island. Dominica's economy, after all, is based on agriculture. Sweet ripe plantains, kushkush (cornmeal), yams, breadfruit, dasheen (also called taro), fresh fish, and chicken prepared at least a dozen different ways are all staples. The local drink is a spiced rum steeped with herbs such as anisette (called nanny) and pweve (lemongrass). Dominican cuisine is also famous for its use of local game, such as the manicou (a small opossum) and the agouti (a large indigenous rodent), but you'll have to be an intrepid diner to go that route. The government has banned "mountain chicken" (a euphemism for a large frog called crapaud) because a fungal disease, overhunting, and other problems have greatly reduced its numbers.

What to Wear: Most Dominicans dress nicely but practically when eating out—for dinner it's shirts and trousers for men and modest dresses for women. During the day, nice shorts are acceptable at most places; beach attire is frowned on unless you're eating on the beach.

The Palisades Restaurant

$$$ Fodor's choice

Waterfront Restaurant, Dominica — Waterfront Restaurant Overlooking the Sea

Dine in the air-conditioned interior or on the wraparound balcony of this elegant, romantic, and smartly refurbished restaurant in Fort Young Hotel, at the southern end of the Roseau bayfront. The changing menu features traditional international and local dishes, as well as seafood creations such as lionfish bon femme, char-grilled lobster, and jerk octopus.

Guiyave

This popular restaurant in a quaint Caribbean town house also has a shop downstairs serving a scrumptious selection of sweet and savory pastries, tarts, and cakes, which can also be ordered upstairs, along with breakfast and a Caribbean buffet for lunch. Choose to dine either in the airy dining room or on the sunny, narrow balcony perched above Roseau's colorful streets.

Pagua Bay Bar & Grill

$$$

This intimate, industrial-chic spot has a lovely pool terrace with a gorgeous bay view, a full-service bar, and free Wi-Fi. For breakfast, choose from homemade bagels or multigrain buns, as well as eggs and pancakes; the lunch menu features sandwiches, salads, and specialty tacos, while the dinner menu showcases farm-to-table American/Caribbean fusion–styled dishes such as curried goat.

Dominica

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