Restaurants and Bars

For its size and population, Montserrat is well-supplied with restaurants and bars, and you are sure to find something to suit your taste. Informal, inexpensive lunch spots serving tasty, hot lunches are particularly well represented, but there are a few more sophisticated restaurants, which serve lunches as well as evening meals.

For that special lunch or evening meal try Tropical Mansion Restaurant at Sweeney's, the Good Life Restaurant at Little Bay, Tina's Restaurant in Brades, Gourmet Garden Bar & Restaurant in Olveston, or Ziggy's in Woodlands (dinner only). There are a variety of tasty dishes on the menu, which usually includes international as well as Caribbean cuisine, especially at dinnertime. Prices tend to be higher for dinner than for lunch, and dinner menus tend to be more elaborate, but both are tasty and pleasantly served. It's a good idea to book ahead for evening meals. During summer months, when some local residents go away, some of the restaurants open for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays only, so check well in advance to avoid being caught out.

On Sunday why not try Tropical Mansion Suites Sunday barbecue lunch? Grand View Bed & Breakfast also serves special lunches and dinners if booked ahead, and together with Tina's is on the schedule of Jenny's Day Tours from Antigua, which include breakfast and lunch.

For a quick and informal but satisfying lunch during the week, there are a host of informal lunch spots, which serve a choice of Caribbean hot meals, either to eat on the premises or to take away. Many of these cater to office and other workers on their lunch break, but are also popular with expats and visitors. Note that meal times are flexible at many of these spots, and once they are open a cooked meal is usually available even if it's not a conventional "meal time"..

Lunch menu favorites include chicken or fish, Caribbean style, with rice, salad and/or vegetables, and the price is very reasonable. Some serve roti (a Trinidadian dish with Indian origins, consisting of a tasty curried filling wrapped in a flat, pancake-like covering). You may also be able to sample goatwater, Montserrat's national dish, consisting of a tasty goat stew with lots of gravy, served in a cup with a bread roll. This however may be a special on Fridays only. Burgers, fries, hot dogs and other snack lunches are also standard at many restaurants.

For an informal or takeaway lunch, try Bitter End Bar & Restaurant at Little Bay, the Attic Restaurant (The) in Olveston, Wilson's in Salem, the People's Place at Hilltop, St. Peter's, or La Colage at Sweeney's. Bitter End also serves informal dinners in the evening, which are popular with the expat after-work crowd, especially on Friday nights. Jumping Jack's at Old Road Beach is popular with the expatriate community for an informal seafood lunch, and stay open on Friday nights for dinner and bridge.

Pizzas are a specialty at Tuitt's Pizzeria, Tina's, and the People's Place, while Bitter End and Jumping Jack's specialize in seafood. Locally made drinks such as passion fruit, guava, sorrel and ginger beer are available at some of these spots, and are a specialty at La Colage and at Fins and Wings in Cudjoe Head, where you can also get a quick snack or lunch on the run.

Drinking All restaurants serve soft drinks, and many feature a full alcohol bar, especially those serving evening meals. For an evening drink in a pleasant setting overlooking the sea, try the Good Life Restaurant and Night Club, which sometimes features disco music after ten on Friday and Saturday nights. For an informal drink, the Bitter End Beach Bar is always popular with locals, expatriates and visitors.

In addition, there are a host of small, roadside drinking spots, known locally as rum shops. Of these, Lydia's Treasure Spot Bar at Cudjoe Head is popular on Friday nights. Here, folks gather informally on the road to the sounds of impromptu singing and the One Man Band.