Bahamas - Dining

Traditional Bahamian meals may include seafood like grouper, conch and snapper (usually broiled or baked in a tomato sauce), along with tropical fruits like guava and papaya. As former members of a British colony, Bahamians have adopted many traditional English dishes, or adapted them to suit local tastes. These include macaroni and cheese, peas and rice, boiled potatoes and other vegetable dishes. A Bahamian breakfast may consist of anything from fried eggs, bacon, toast, tomato and coffee to more Caribbean-influenced dishes like johnny cakes with coconut. Lunch tends toward seafood stews and soups or large conch salads.

With tourism expanding to the Bahamas, many different types of imported culinary styles have flourished here as well. On New Providence and Grand Bahama, you can find restaurants serving Continental, Mediterranean and Greek cuisine, and even Mexican and pan-Asian dishes, in elegant surroundings with excellent service and fine wines. Many of these restaurants are located at major hotels and resorts and require reservations, while other eateries in Nassau, Paradise Island and Grand Bahama operate independently and cater to a more eclectic crowd.

Every town or settlement in the Bahamas has its share of take-away restaurants, featuring traditional offerings like fried chicken, french fries and deep-fried seafood. Most Out Island restaurants serve fairly simple and uniform fare, usually fish, conch or fried chicken, with fresh Bahamian lobster a rare treat. Island desserts are often delightful, especially the coconut concoctions, rice pudding, gingerbread and fruit cocktail.

Bahamians are not much for drinking wine or liquor, though the national beer, Kalik, is a fine elixir enjoyed throughout the islands. Fruit juice and soft drinks are popular, and major brands like Coke and Pepsi are predictably ubiquitous. Fast-foo chains have also invaded the Bahamas, and the major islands all feature at least one pizza or hamburger joint from each chain.

BEST RESTAURANTS 

Chez Willie (Nassau, New Providence Island; ): This is one of the best, classiest restaurants on New Providence Island, overshadowing its competitors on Cable Beach. It's a throwback to the grandeur of Old Nassau in its Duke and Duchess of Windsor cafe society heyday. Your host, Willie Armstrong, oversees a smoothly run operation serving some of the best French and Bahamian cuisine found on island.

Sun And. . . (Nassau, New Providence Island; ): This is a favorite haunt of visiting celebrities. Most importantly, the restaurant serves top-notch food. As you cross a drawbridge to enter a soothing world with a fountain and rock pool, you'll begin to hear tantalizing sizzling sounds from the kitchen, which is always cooking up an array of vividly flavored fresh seafood, the hallmark of a master French chef. Try to save room for a soufflé -- they can hold their own with anything this side of France.

The Restaurant at Compass Point (Love Beach, New Providence Island; ): The California/Caribbean cuisine here has made this a hot spot for savvy foodies; it's one of The Bahamas's finest eateries. The menu is innovative, with many exotic touches: Everybody around here serves conch, but here it appears with agnolotti, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach in a tomato-basil cream sauce. Or try a Bahamian maki roll with conch, mango, and cucumber served with wasabi and pickled ginger.

Dune (in the Ocean Club, Paradise Island; ): The most cutting-edge restaurant in either Paradise Island or Nassau is this creation of French-born restaurant guru Jean-Georges Vongerichten, he of several of New York City's leading lights. Every dish served here is something special -- from shrimp dusted with orange powder to chicken and coconut-milk soup with shiitake cakes.

Five Twins (in the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Casino, Paradise Island; ): This trendy, upscale restaurant has generated more excitement than any other that opened during the 1990s. Located on a chic island across from Nassau and featuring Pacific Rim cuisine, it serves flavorful dishes with a flair that even James Bond might have appreciated. (Yes, 007 himself was seen dining on Paradise Island in Thunderball.) The chefs create refined dishes that justify the high prices.

Villa d'Este (in the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort and Casino, Paradise Island; ): This is the finest Italian restaurant on Paradise Island, with nothing in Nassau to top it, either. The setting is gracious, tasteful, and Old World, but it's the food that keeps visitors and locals alike clamoring for reservations. All the old favorites are here, including veal parmigiana and fettuccine Alfredo as fine as any you'd find in Rome. Fresh herbs add zest to many dishes, and the pasta dishes are particularly good.

Mangoes Restaurant (Marsh Harbour, the Abacos; ): For the best and most authentic Bahamian food in the Abaco chain, head for this welcoming spot, where both visiting yachters and locals flock for the fine cuisine. Order up a "conch burger" for lunch, then return in the evening for the catch of the day -- straight from the sea and grilled to your specifications. The namesake mango sauce really dresses up a plate of grilled pork tenderloin.

The Landing (Harbour Island, Eleuthera; ): This attractive restaurant at the ferry dock has awakened the sleepy taste buds of Eleuthera. Brenda Barry and daughter Tracy feed you well from a choice of international cuisines, often prepared from recipes gathered during world travels. Under mature trees in their garden, you feast on delicious pasta dishes, freshly made gazpacho, pan-fried grouper, or a warm duck salad.