3 Best Restaurants in Soufrière and the Southwest Coast, Saint Lucia

This pair of small rustic restaurants are two of the most popular spots to enjoy a Creole lunch when touring the natural sights in and around Soufrière. Bamboo offers à la carte options at both lunch and dinner, while the Creole Pot serves breakfast daily. Nearly all ingredients are locally sourced. Wash it all down with a local fruit juice or evening rum punch, and finish with something sweet such as coconut or banana cake. Private dinners by candlelight are offered at The Creole Pot. The à la carte menu often features a choice of seafood, chicken, beef, and pasta dishes with a local twist—pepper pot, for example. Most people who come for lunch also take the Heritage Tour of the estate and learn about how the cacao growing on the plantation is turned into delicious chocolate, which you can purchase at the gift shop. 

Cacoa Sainte Lucie's second-story restaurant sits perched above their chocolate shop and processing facility with rainforest views of the surrounding hillsides. The menu is, of course, chocolate inspired, with cocoa inventively worked into sauces and seasonings. Burgers, wraps, salads, and entrees like cocoa-crusted grilled mahi are available, as are milkshakes, smoothies, and desserts. Downstairs, a tantalizing display of chocolate bonbons and bars flavored with local spices, nuts, and fruit tempt you in. Cacoa Sainte Lucie also does chocolate-making and tasting workshops. 

As you're traveling south to Soufrière, watch for this tiny bakery in Anse La Verdure, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it spot on the West Coast Road between Anse La Raye and Canaries. Cinnamon, cherries, raisins, coconut, and other flavorings are added, then the dough—13 varieties in all—is formed into small buns, placed on banana leaves, and baked over hot coals. Plas Kassav (Creole for "Cassava Place") began as a small family bakery in 1998 and has grown into a popular local enterprise simply by word of mouth. There is a small sign, but taxi drivers all know where it is and will not hesitate to stop so you can try a warm mouthwatering treat that is a staple of St. Lucia's traditional cuisine.  If you're there early enough, you can see the cassava roots being grated and processed into flour using traditional methods, as well as the cassava bread dough being mixed in huge copper caldrons.