The Best Restaurants in St Lucia

It’s not easy to find, but this local favorite is well worth seeking out the finest, yet affordable, Creole dishes. Built on a deck on the Vigie Marina – across the bay from Castries – this restaurant serves up an ever-changing menu of seafood chalked up on a blackboard each day, with highlights including callaloo soup and spicy stuffed crab. Book ahead if you’re hoping for a table by the water.

It may sound strange, but the cocoa-inspired menu at this hotel restaurant is one of the island’s gourmet highlights. The restaurant – within the Hotel Chocolat-owned Rabot Hotel in the hills south of Soufriere – is inspired by St Lucian cacao grown on the hotel’s estate. That doesn’t mean chocolate buttons as a starter, but rather beef fillet in a dark chocolate gravy and cacao cannelloni. Just be sure to save room for the phenomenal desserts, including meringue in the shape of the Piton peak, swimming in chocolate sauce with caramel drizzle.

Perfect for grabbing a quick lunch in the sunshine, this casual café in Rodney Bay marina is a dream for people-watching and serves some of the best coffee in St Lucia. Look out over the yachts bobbing on the water and tuck into fresh juices, fruit-packed smoothies, sandwiches and salads. The breakfast comes highly recommended, too – including pancakes piled high with bananas and omelets stuffed with goat’s cheese, mushroom and rocket.

This isn’t strictly a restaurant – but no seafood lover should miss the street party on the eastern coast of St Lucia, held every Saturday from 4pm. The sleepy fishing village is transformed with sound systems, rum bars and countless tables loaded with seafood straight from the boat. Local specialties include spiny lobster and conch served in a bowl with a tongue-tingling spicy sauce.

If you’re celebrating on the island, this fine-dining delight at the Cap Maison is the only place to go. Start with drinks on the wooden deck at the bottom of the cliff, then head inside to eat at the restaurant overlooking Pigeon Island and the neighboring island of Martinique. Dishes have a French West Indian focus and are presented exquisitely – you won’t be able to resist a sneaky snap for Instagram before you tuck in.

While Martha’s Tables might not look like much, you won’t regret stopping at this simple spot on the terrace of Martha’s very own home near Malgretoute Beach. Open for lunch only, the menu is whatever Martha fancies cooking that day. Expect Creole comfort food with a spicy kick – often served with plantain, hot sauce and bubbling macaroni cheese. One thing’s for sure: you won’t leave hungry as the portions are enormous.

Hunt out this tiny restaurant – on the second floor close to Soufriere market – for freshly prepared Caribbean classics in a colorful dining room packed with locals. Go hungry as plates come piled high with rice and beans, sizzling fried chicken and creamy potato salad. Favorites include local pumpkin soup and curried goat dished up with mashed potato and vegetables – with a pitcher of classic rum punch on the side.

Book in advance to secure a table at this top-rated restaurant from chef Orlando Satchell in downtown Soufriere. At the forefront of the farm-to-table movement on the island, Satchell serves up innovative gourmet dinners featuring five heavenly courses of the finest Caribbean food. It’s certainly not the cheapest place to eat on the island so if you want to see what all the fuss is about, head there for lunch instead – for reasonably priced fish dishes and dreamy desserts.

This welcoming café in Pigeon Island National Park – right on the water’s edge – is worth a visit just for the views of the bay. The menu is small but simple and delicious with curries, sandwiches and hearty fish dishes with rice and peas. Don’t miss the heavenly banana crumble – and if you can, visit on the weekend when there’s live jazz and a party atmosphere.

Restaurants don’t get much prettier than this pastel-colored wooden house, close to the center of Gros Islet. Expect fuss-free Caribbean cooking to fill you up including curried goat, pork chops and green fig pie, made from the island’s much-loved green bananas. Go at lunchtime to tuck into a bargain buffet – or get there very early on a Friday night when the town’s weekly street party guarantees a large crowd.