3 Best Restaurants in Ocho Rios, Jamaica

With nearly 20 locations across the island, the Ocho Rios branch of this eat-in or take-out restaurant about a block from the main tourist area serves a Jamaican version of fast food. Jerk chicken, sandwiches, soups, and Jamaican dinner combo meals (called yabbas, an African-Jamaican term for bowl) are among the specialties. Many meals are served with festivals (sweet, fried dumpling) and are spiced for the local palate.

This canopied, open-air eatery is a great place for island fare like fiery jerk meals, wings, and burgers, or seafood such as fish and shrimp, which are perfectly complemented by frosty Red Stripe beers and signature cocktails. Milder barbecued meats are sold by weight (a quarter- or half-pound makes a good serving). It's busy at lunch, especially when passengers from cruise ships swamp the place.

A favorite with locals traveling the North Coast Highway, Ultimate Jerk Centre is an open-air eatery, across from the Green Grotto Caves. Jerk meals are on the menu as well as fish, and the traditional Jamaican side dishes. A separate bar, housed in a colorful rondavel (a round hut with a thatch roof), serves drinks and sodas.