Have you worked up an appetite after hiking to Boiling Lake or SCUBA diving in Dominica. Fear not, there are many excellent places to eat in Dominica. The water is drinkable, the food is fresh, and there is quite a variety from local cuisine to fancy French. Just beware that most places are closed on Sunday and Monday, so plan accordingly.
Below is a list of places to eat in Roseau that we enjoyed while visiting, some popular among the locals and some catering to the tourists.
Hi Rise Beach Bar
Hi Rise Beach Bar is located on Dame Mary Eugenia Charles Blvd across from the cruise ship dock. Our driver recommended this upstairs restaurant complete with beach sand on the floor for its fish. Neither of us got the fish, but instead the chicken and the burger. It didn’t knock our socks off, but others who got the fish really enjoyed it!
The good news is that its service is relatively speedy. Additionally, the Hi Rise Beach Bar is one of the few places to eat in Dominica that is open on Sunday night, so save your visit for then and get the fish. It is also a place where you might find a local guide for one of your hikes.
Pearl’s Cuisine
Pearl’s Cuisine is located four to five blocks into the busy town. Some Arizona expats that we met while diving with Dive Dominica recommended it to us for lunch.
Pearl’s Cuisine has a limited chalk board menu. It offers about five types of stew. They were sold out of the chicken. As a result of some of my dietary restrictions, we started to leave until a customer who was ordering at the counter claimed, “Pearl’s has the best food on the island.”
On that note, Julie ordered the fish stew and a beer. The fish stew came with loads of fish filet pieces and some root vegetables in a citrus broth. It was a very popular choice.
I chose pig tails and beans. My pig tails were the real pork and beans. I imagined some curly Q’s atop some beans, but the chunks of pork were like the size of a Vienna sausage with bone in the middle. With the French influence in Dominica, it took on the flavor of red beans and rice, only potatoes replaced the rice.
While I’m glad I tried this dish which is considered a delicacy among the locals, I would have liked little more meat on the bone. I felt the same way when I ordered ox tail in Zambia. All in all, we’d go back!
Kallaloo House
Another nice local lunch spot is Kallaloo House. The first time we stopped in, we were too late for his broth. He was sold out by 2pm. So, one day when we finished diving early, we hurried to the gentleman’s upstairs restaurant. I think he was the cook, waiter, and cashier.
Anyway, I’m not sure Kallaloo House even had a menu. The owner provided us one or two options. We ended up with fish served with starch, starch, and more starch. It included a variety of root vegetables, rice, pasta, lentils, and a green salad. The portion was enormous and tasty! And we got service with a smile. I love trying the local places!
Le Petit Paris
Le Petit Paris is located just down the street from the Hi Rise Beach Bar and is open for breakfast and lunch. It has a wide-ranging menu featuring baked goods, soups, sandwiches, pizzas, stews, and more. The quiche in the counter top display went fast. After diving, we didn’t always make it in time for much in the display case.
The excellent food makes up for the slightly slow service and the warm, inside temperatures despite the fans going full tilt with the windows and door open. We ate lunch at Le Petit Paris three times! Partly due to the convenience, but mostly because it was delicious.
The pumpkin soup tasted like ginger and the spicy chicken panini was liked eating buffalo hot wings on cheese bread. The chicken salad was fresh and healthy, and my friend Julie loved the quiche and tomato soup. I don’t think you can go wrong with this place to eat in Dominica.
Afterward, you can walk off your meal while checking out the tourist booths on the waterfront!
Lacou Melrose House
As with Le Petit Paris, we ate dinner at Lacou Melrose House three times. Located in a historic house, it’s lovely, quaint atmosphere makes you feel like you could be on a street in Paris despite the entrance being located in a dark alley behind the Fresh Market.
The chalkboard menu varies slightly with the availability of fresh ingredients, but everything we ordered, which was most the menu, was outstanding. A few favorites included the mahi mahi ceviche with passion fruit dressing, the goat steak, and the Banoffee Pie. If you guessed a banana and coffee pie with chocolate and caramel, you were right. Divine! Their Dominica punch is also tasty!
We liked everything about this restaurant; the friendly owner and staff, the plating of the mouthwatering food, and the atmosphere. On cooler nights, the courtyard is also lovely. I’d say this is the best restaurant in Dominica, or at least in Roseau where we spent our time.
Ka-Tai
Ka-Tai, located in Greenhouse Bar & Grill, surprised me. Based on the name, I thought we’d be getting Asian food, but this restaurant serves bar food like quesadillas and burgers. We ended up here during our search for an open restaurant on one of the quiet nights in Roseau.
We asked the waitress what was good, and she said the burgers. So we ordered a burger and a chicken quesadilla to split. In the end, we both wished we ordered a burger. It was spectacular…juicy and flavorful! The burger was so good that we returned for another on a Thursday night.
Thursday night was karaoke night beginning at 6pm. It would have been fun to watch if the music was at a normal octave, but when I say LOUD, we could not hear each other at the table, so we left. I’d say go there on Thursday if you want to sing and to try Dominica’s famous rum punch. Every establishment serves their own version of punch!
Fort Young Restaurant
During our dive trip in Dominica, we stayed at the Fort Young Hotel. We likely took this restaurant for granted since breakfast was included in our package. The breakfast featured a large buffet with green salad, fruit salad, pastries, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, yogurt, granola and more. The breakfast also included tea, coffee and juices.
All of breakfast was good, but because we ate upstairs every morning, we tended to explore for lunch and dinner. That said we stayed in one night and enjoyed the Asian chicken and the alfredo pasta. The Fort Young Restaurant is one of the only restaurants open Sunday evening, so save it for then, or try their fancy and expensive brunch on Sunday morning.
The Great Old House
The Great Old House, also known as Old Stone Bar and Grill, is located up the hill from Fort Young, across the street from the playground and roundabout. It is on the corner. We were very confused when looking for this restaurant because the two restaurants, owned by the same family, merged.
Regardless, upstairs you will find a large dining area complete with white tablecloths as well as a balcony. We sat on the balcony and ordered chicken and garlic shrimp which come with a choice of sides. They were out of mixed vegetables one night, so I ended up with double rice! We ate here twice as it was convenient and good. It is also open on a Monday, which is another quiet night in Roseau, at least during low season.
Whether you like to eat with the locals or stick with tourist cuisine, this list of places to eat in Dominica provides plenty of options. ETB
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I want to eat it all!
I could probably eat that pie every day!
Very interesting appetising dishes! 👍
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