The best restaurants Dominica

What costs extra

It's quite common to leave a tip (around 10%) of the bill when you go to a restaurant.

The local way

Like her cousins in Guadeloupe and Martinique, the Dominican cook uses a lot of rice, lentils and country vegetables, yams and manioc, served with grilled fish or chicken. Stuffed crab, calalou soup (a type of spinach) and tropical fruits (guava, pineapple, mango, banana, coconut, papaya, soursop, carambola, etc.) are omnipresent in Dominican cuisine. English influences are still present, as in buljow (flying fish served with breadfruit fritters). Contrary to its name, mountain chicken is a dish based on fried or sautéed frogs' legs, which used to be the island's signature dish. Its consumption has been banned for several years now, due to a disease that led to the virtual disappearance of this now-protected species. Gone are the days when the same dishes could be found on every menu. Calalou is now considered the island's national dish, replacing mountain chicken. Some typical restaurants also offer agouti (a large rodent).

Club sandwiches, grilled fish, coconut chicken, chicken kebabs, shrimps (known as "kebbab"), fritters, hamburgers, soups and wraps are all well represented on the menu, but there are also many restaurants in various categories offering a wide range of dishes. While the cuisine of some restaurants is still very much Anglo-Saxon (with lots of fish & chips, doughnuts, etc.), its quality has evolved considerably in recent years. More and more restaurants are focusing on healthy, local, even vegan cuisine, like the Ital diet practiced by the Rasta community.

You'll be able to drink plain or bottled coconut water (which can have a laxative effect on some people), local Kubuli beer, and rums (Macouchery, Soca and D-Special).

In keeping with its image as a "nature island", Dominica has banned the use of single-use plastic and polystyrene containers (cups, straws, cutlery, etc.) since 2019. The elimination of these plastics is intended, among other things, to protect the marine mammals that seek refuge in Dominican waters.