Never having been to the Caribbean, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the food on Barbados. I think I expected rice, fish and fruit. What we found was so much more exciting. We enjoyed everything from low key burgers and wings, to top notch sushi and shellfish.

We stayed in a family run hotel on the West coast of the Island overlooking the sea and the boardwalk in Hastings. The restaurant here served well presented and tasty dishes, with us also enjoying the Bejan BBQ night when the chefs were having a night off. We had our breakfast in here every morning too so got to know the staff. You knew you were doing well if you were first in line for the omelette lady in the morning!

Opposite the hotel was Jake’s. A small but very characterful place with friendly staff and a great cocktail menu. The first night, after a long day of travelling, we just grabbed a few appetisers and went to bed. When we revisited a few days later after a long day of fishing we enjoyed spicy crab cakes, burgers, wings and plenty of rum. As part of the hotel we found we could add the food to our hotel bill too which made life easier as well as still being able to use the hotels wifi. The food menu itself was small but the food was scrumptious.

The hotel staff also recommended a few places for us to try. We wanted to eat real Bejan cuisine so asking the locals seemed the best place to start. As we had expected they knew all the best places to try and as a bonus could arrange the transport to get us there.

Brown sugar was first on their list was a bit classier with more of a family restaurant feel. Here I had fish chowder followed by garlic and lime shrimp and rice. My husband demolished a spicy fish fillet stuffed with crab. The staff here were also more than helpful, a recurring theme we found on the island. The people were just overwhelmingly pleasant to be around.

A receptionist also recommended Shakers bar and grill. We arrived just as it opened. This little restaurant had a very local vibe and after a while was packed with lots of guests who all seemed to know eachother. We shared a starter platter, which was basically all things in breadcrumbs that had been fried. But who doesn’t love a mozzarella stick or a popcorn shrimp right?! We then both had a burger as our main. Simple but tasty. There isn’t much else to say about it other than if you go there make sure you book!

Our treat meal during the week however leaves me much to write about. Naru was on the boardwalk with a beautiful view of the ocean. As we had booked we got a perfect seat from which to watch the sunset (See main blog photo). Touted as a Caribbean and sushi fusion restaurant we of course ordered masses of sushi as we adore it so much. With their own sushi chef we were presented with an enormous menu of options all with great names like the ‘Castle Black’ and the ‘Spider Pig’. It was so hard to choose but choose we did. The plates we received were so spectacularly colourful and vibrant that I probably spent as long photographing it all as I did eating it.

I enjoyed the ‘Songbird’ maki rolls. Tuna, avocado, crab, cream cheese and chives, togarashi powder (a spicy chilli seasoning) and chipotle mayo creation that was was honestly some of the freshest and tastiest sushi I have ever encountered. My husband had the ‘Wizard of Oz’ maki rolls. These were made up of salmon, tuna, hamachi (a yellowtail fish), avocado, cucumber, crab and wasabi mayo. We also shared a portion of tuna sashimi. Whilst still raving about our starters, the mains came. My husband ordered the seared yellowfin tuna and I yet again went for the prawn option. I had the pan fried shrimp with roasted garlic and potato mash with a spicy emulsion and vegetables. To be honest I can hardly remember the mains as I am still dreaming about the maki rolls haha.

Our first week on the island was truly wonderful with copious sun, sand and snacking. Normally when we visit somewhere we don’t tend to go again, but I’d definitely go back to this beautiful island, and not only for the food.

For our second week we were to board the Royal Clipper for a week of cruising around the other Caribbean Islands. That shall be my next blog. Thankyou for reading and let me know what your favourite Caribbean dish is!