What to eat and drink in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
This post is a guide on what to eat and drink in this beautiful chain of islands country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, or more specifically, it is about what we did indeed eat or drink our time there.
Here are our top 7 food/drink experiences we had in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
7. Street Corn
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| Grilled corn in Kingstown in SVG |
Yes, you heard it right. Grilled street corn from Kingstown makes it to the list. Mostly because of its authenticity. It reminded of my childhood from Turkey where my dad used to grill market bought corns for the whole family. To my partner street corn reminded his Mumbai days, except he found the lack of salt and spices not as pleasant. Regardless, it was a nice surprise to be able to enjoy grilled corn from a street vendor while strolling around town in Kingstown. Grilled street corn is a must try if you are in Kingstown.
6. Fresh Juices and Smoothies
This item did not need its own picture as half the pictures below show either a cup of fresh juice or smoothie we had during our stay in SVG. After a day of hiking adventure to La Soufriere, or all day laying on the beach at Bequia, nothing beats a fresh cup of mango juice or a milky fruity smoothie. It was a great way to hydrate at the same time perfect way to satisfy our sweets cravings. Mango, passion fruit, orange are the most popular fruits we have noticed.
5. Fresh Baked Bread
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| Bread and ocean view for breakfast, Bequia, SVG |
I know, I know. I put bread on my top food list, but hear me out. There is a bakery in Kingstown downtown, can't remember the name unfortunately, I think it is on Lower Middle Street. Open from 5am to midnight. I am not talking about a fancy bakery selling croissants, this is an actual bread bakery where locals buy their breads, though they also sell banana bread style sweet pieces. We ran into this bakery while exploring the town and it smelled so yummy from outside we couldn't resist checking it out. Three words: Fresh baked bread. If you love bread, like me, you will love this bakery. The bread was so soft inside and slightly crunchy on the outside. When it is warm, I can finish the whole thing at once. During our 2 night stay in Kingstown we went to this bakery twice. The second time, I loaded up on the bread as we were about to take a ferry to Bequia, and I wanted to have some "snacks" to eat on the ferry. On the picture above, we are making egg sandwiches with this bread at our Airbnb enjoying the ocean view. It is a moment, I would like to go back and repeat in the future.
4. Conch fritters
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| Conch fritters and rum punch in Bequia, SVG |
Conch fritters is a must try dish if you are in SVG, or in any other Caribbean islands. In USA, you can also find it in Florida. It is a nice crispy appetizer. The taste of conch is not overpowering the dish, which makes it pretty similar to any other fritters in some sense, but you can still taste the conch. That is actually what I liked about it. To me, it is more about the crispy texture than the conch taste. But the conch taste is what makes this dish unique. The above picture is taken at Porthole restaurant at Bequia. They also serve conch roti (more on roti later on this post) and conch chowder both of which I would gladly try if I had more time on the island.
3. Rum
Any kind of food or drink made with rum: Rum punch, smoothie, rum cake, rum ice cream. In the above picture, I am drinking a rum punch with my conch fritters. Though I am not someone who enjoys drinking I have to admit it tasted pretty good. I am more of an eater, and of course I tried all the rum cakes. Anything with rum in it, do not pass. The Caribbean is the place to get all your rum cravings whether it is a drink or a cake or an ice cream.
2. Callaloo
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| Callaloo and roti and smoothie at Bequia, SVG |
Calaloo, or callaloo is a popular Caribbean soup made from local leafy greens. If you want to eat healthy during your stay, callaloo is the answer. If you want to eat a local dish, again, callaloo is the answer. The picture above shows callaloo soup we had at Porthole restaurant at Bequia. Apparently, it is made differently in different Caribbean countries. What we had in SVG was a creamy soup with strong earthy flavor. Me and my partner we both loved it, hence it is top two on our list.
1. Roti
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| Our favorite dish from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Roti |
The (Caribbean) roti is a wrap made with paratha or dalphuri outside and curried chickpeas, potatoes, or meat inside. To be more clear, paratha is a fried flatbread, and the Caribbean dalphuri is similar to paratha with one difference, it is actually made with lentils in addition to wheat flour. The roti name sounds indian, because this dish actually has indian origins. The Indian immigrants in Trinidad and Tobago have shaped the origins of this dish and the dish had spread all over the Caribbean from there. If you are looking for a cross cultural dish, this is it.
Pictures on the right and above, show two different roti representations. It can be wrapped like a burrito as seen above, but mostly it will be wrapped like a square packet as seen on the right. It is filling, and from our observations it seemed like it was a lunch choice for many locals. What I like the most about roti is the texture of the paratha style bread outside. And it is only lightly fried, which gives enough flavor but not too much fry taste so that you can still enjoy the curried ingredients inside the bread. Another thing I like about roti is that it can easily be made vegetarian (with chickpeas and potatoes) and non vegetarian (with any meat) as you wish. The picture on the right is from Vincy Roti in Kingstown, a local lunch place.
The view
Alright, we listed the top 7 foods from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. But I think there is one more item that needs to be mentioned here. It is not a food itself but it made all these food experiences even better. When we ate our egg sandwiches at our Airbnb or got our lunch at one of the Bequia restaurants, there was one thing common: the view. The view from Bequia and from the rest of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: no matter where you are, you are never too far from the ocean and a nice relaxing ocean view.
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| A typical restaurant view from Bequia, SVG |
Last words:
No matter what you eat in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, enjoy it with a nice ocean view!
We would be happy to hear your food experiences in SVG: what did you eat, what you liked the most, what you didn't like, what do you recommend.
[End notes: Traveled in 2019 and posted in 2020.]
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