Whether you yearn for a slab of baby back ribs in a homemade spicy barbecue sauce or a pan-seared, sesame seed-encrusted tuna steak, cooked rare, your wish will be answered.

By Julian Putley

The British Virgin Islands are often described as the sailing capital of the world. The reason is that there are almost constant trade winds, a myriad of islands in close proximity providing sheltered waters, numerous anchorages and delightful palm-fringed sandy beaches. Today, to add to these attractions, a diverse and eclectic array of eateries and beach bars are conveniently situated to assuage the appetite of the hungry sailor or titillate the palate of the discerning visitor.

The BVI has come a long way since tourism really started some 50 years ago. One would not normally associate a small island archipelago with fine dining or even a great variety of culinary experiences. The BVI is an exception, and to see where we are today, it is necessary to take a look back through history. The islands of the Caribbean were first populated by Amerindians. These nomadic people gave us the method of cooking and indeed the word “barbecue” — meaning to cook over an open fire. Barbecued chicken, ribs, fish and steak are widely popular today. Their legacy also includes the types and uses of vegetables and fruits, which were unknown in Europe before Columbus “discovered” the region. Things like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, avocados, corn, sweet potatoes and cocoa (chocolate). Later, Africans introduced dishes such as salt fish, akee, stews with dumplings, Johnny cakes, pepperpot, goat water and callaloo. After emancipation, indentured servants from India brought curries with all the associated spices, as well as roti, kuchela, chutney and various and sundry pepper sauces. Europeans, as well as Chinese, Syrians, Lebanese, Jews and others escaping religious persecution, added their influences to bring us what we have today: an amazing diversity of people and a unique mix of cooking styles.

The rich soil of the volcanic islands of the Caribbean, coupled with a warm and relatively rainy climate, provide an ideal setting for the raising of fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices. Add to this a marine environment with a substantial reef ecosystem where fish and shellfish are plentiful — and you have the ingredients necessary for a culinary expert to create a masterpiece. Today the BVI boasts everything from top-drawer gourmet restaurants to local beach bars and eateries where traditional food and drink are available at reasonable prices. For many, sampling the local fare is half the fun of their Caribbean vacation. A typical offering from a hole-in-the-wall cafÈ or beach shack might be conch fritters served with a spicy cocktail sauce, grilled mahi-mahi or pan-fried snapper with Johnny cake and coleslaw, and coconut tart or carrot cake to complete a meal that will say goodbye to your hunger for hours. Service is likely to be warm and friendly rather than fast and furious — but hey, that’s island style. One dish I never miss if it’s on the menu is goat water. Now, don’t be put off by the name: It’s actually a rich and spicy goat stew, often with a thick sauce that includes dumplings and the unmistakable tang of cumin and cloves.

Today many visitors to the BVI expect haute cuisine with accompanying immaculate service. Visitors who patronize the Territory’s five-star resorts are being joined by those arriving on multimillion-dollar mega yachts — and they expect the best. In the BVI, they will not be disappointed. Virgin Gorda’s Little Dix Bay Hotel has long been acclaimed for having a graceful ambience with a superb a la carte menu. The main restaurant is housed in a lofty-roofed, tiki-styled building close to the water’s edge. At dinner, live music entertains guests while waiters, immaculately attired in pressed uniforms, bow ties and cummerbunds, see to your every need. Lunch is less formal: A sumptuous buffet is offered with a diverse selection of hot and cold dishes together with a huge array of salads from the salad bar.

The Peter Island Resort offers the same high standard of food and service. Situated on its own island of the same name, its beauty and tranquillity are unsurpassed. The beach bar and grill at palm-fringed, sandy Dead Man’s Bay offers a delightful menu, including a selection of homemade pizzas direct from an on-site brick oven. The dessert buffet with renditions like Key lime pie, crËme br°lÈe, mille feuilles, Bavarois and warm chocolate cookies will likely have you eating more than you intended. The resort’s Tradewind restaurant is a more formal affair, and is recognized for its fine dining. The carefully stocked, temperature-controlled wine room is where guests are invited to wine and food-pairing dinners at a long mahogany banqueting table complete with Italian crystal, German china and French silverware.

Biras Creek Resort, situated in Virgin Gorda’s north sound, has been accredited with the prestigious Relais & Chateaux award, making it one of the world’s finest inn/restaurant combinations. The restaurant sits on an isthmus and has two distinctly different views: one facing west over the calm waters of the sound, the other over the blue Caribbean Sea. Both offer panoramic splendour. The restaurant’s menu changes nightly with at least three main course choices, one being vegetarian. As its designation implies, the food is always of a very high standard. One of its signature dishes is in its finale: a full round of English Stilton with accompanying glass of port.

If a lighter choice of fare is called for, the Fat Virgin CafÈ will fit the bill; it’s only a short walk away. Grilled snapper and West Indian roti are just two of the favourites on its menu.

The BVI’s world-famous water sports resort, Bitter End Yacht Club, is just a stone’s throw from Biras Creek, where several eateries and bars can be enjoyed. The Bitter End welcomes everyone; yachtsmen and non-residents are all invited ashore, and there’s always a lively atmosphere. Just across the water on its own little island is Saba Rock. Here you can choose from a huge, all-you-can-eat buffet or a tempting and reasonably priced bar menu.

Still in the sound, The Restaurant at Leverick Bay is the upscale eatery and centrepiece of the resort of the same name. A colourfully tiled staircase with wrought-iron balustrade leads to a charming open-air restaurant overlooking the water. The menu includes such culinary delights as veal piccata, ahi tuna and lobster thermidor. Lunch is offered poolside, and the adjacent Jumbies bar hosts weekly Caribbean extravaganza evenings with a reggae band, limbo contest, mocko jumbies (dazzlingly attired stilt walkers) and a never-ending buffet with a whole roast suckling pig.

At Spanish Town, Chez Bamboo offers Cajun Creole cuisine with an emphasis on fresh fish — the Nassau grouper en papillote is particularly recommended. The dÈcor is suggestive of New Orleans, with a wraparound mural depicting a jazz band in full swing.

The Bath and Turtle Pub, adjacent to the marina, is an island tradition. The pub-style meals are served in a courtyard setting, and there’s always a lively atmosphere. Wednesday night is “jump up” night, when a live reggae band entertains an eager crowd.

The new restaurant at the Olde Yard Village named Barracuda (a short taxi ride from the marina) offers an eclectic style of cuisine with Brazilian and European influences.

In Tortola, there are a great variety of eateries and watering holes to choose from. One of the all-time favourite beachfront restaurants is Myett’s at Cane Garden Bay. Situated in a garden setting right over the sandy beach and facing into the sunset, it’s hard to find a more romantic spot. One of the specialties is tuna tropicana, a thick tuna steak with a tropical fruit sauce. p

If superlatives are used to describe a restaurant or its location, then the Heritage Inn and the Bananakeet Café must take the full five stars for the best sunset view in the BVI. Couple this with delightful hors d’oeuvres served poolside and complimentary sundowner sips, followed by dinner with a different theme nightly — and you have the makings of an unforgettable evening. The café’s menu highlights each evening’s theme in a unique way. For example, Festival Mondays feature a Fish Taco Festival that includes the Fisherman’s Catch, and Carnival Thursday serves a Carnival of Calamari with Hot-n-Crazy Curries. On weekends, a poolside brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Every visitor to the BVI deserves at least one visit to this charming inn — and make it at sunset. Don’t forget your camera.

If you’re shopping in Road Town and feel like a restful diversion, stop by the Road Town Bakery on picturesque Main Street and browse the selection of breads, cakes and pastries — or farther down the street at the interesting Serendipity Book Shop check out their new cafÈ and coffee shop. If it’s lunchtime, an Italian cafÈ is nearby on Waterfront Drive, Capriccio di Mare, where pizza, crostini and pasta dishes are available. And while we’re on the subject of pizza, don’t miss the Virgin Queen. It has consistently supplied locals and visitors with award-winning pizzas, among a variety of other dishes.

For a waterfront dining experience with a difference, Village Cay Marina has a unique yachting ambience. A boardwalk bisects the dining area, and beautiful yachts are tied up to docks on each side. Fish, steaks, chicken, ribs, burgers and more are served from the Seaside Grill amidst a busy, nautical atmosphere.

One of the best and most popular short-term hotels in Road Town is Maria’s by the Sea. It’s centrally located with good parking, and its restaurant offers an international menu. Another Road Town hotel is the beautiful, newly renovated Treasure Isle, where the new Verandah Restaurant features a large menu of international dishes. Its location overlooking the Moorings marina and Road Town harbour is spectacular.

Last but by no means least on our culinary journey is the famed and casually elegant Italian restaurant, Brandywine. Its unwavering reputation over the years says it all — it is Italian cuisine at its best.

Brandywine Bay Restaurant
Brandywine Estate, Tortola
Tel: 284-495-2301
Fax: 284-495-1203
E-mail: info@brandywinebay.com
Website: www.brandywinebay.com
Located three miles east of Road Town, Brandywine Bay Restaurant overlooks the Sir Francis Drake Channel. The cuisine of Chef Davide Pugliese blends the best of his Tuscan heritage with his passion for the flavours of the Caribbean. In addition, The Cicchetti Lounge on the terrace at Brandywine offers Venetian-style Tapas.

Capriccio di Mare
196 Waterfront Drive
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: 284-494-5369
Fax: 284-495-1203
E-mail: info@brandywinebay.com
Website: www.brandywinebay.com/capriccio.html
Located in the heart of Road Town’s waterfront, Capriccio di Mare is a real Italian café. It’s the place where locals and visitors meet any time of the day for espresso and cappuccino, pasta, pizza, Italian wines, cocktails and more. Open Monday–Saturday for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Fischer's Cove Beach Hotel
Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda
Tel: 284-495-5252
Fax: 284-495-5820
E-mail: fischers@candwbvi.net
Website: www.fischerscove.com
Fischer’s Cove Beach Hotel is an intimate beachside property with romantic cottages, comfortable hotel rooms and fine dining at the water’s edge. Located 10 minutes south of Virgin Gorda Yacht Harbour in close proximity to The Baths.

The Heritage Inn
Windy Hill
Carrot Bay, Tortola
Tel: 284-494-5842/1-877-831-7230
Fax: 284-495-4100
E-mail: info@heritageinnbvi.com
Website: www.heritageinnbvi.com
The higher you get... the better the view! Guests here will delight in an Inn-timate experience. Our nine suites boast the “Best BVI Sunsets,” in addition to A/C, TV and private balconies. Enjoy poolside dining at the sensational Bananakeet CafÈ. Windy Hill is located between Cane Garden and Carrot Bay. Peaceful, friendly, quiet and clean!

The Jolly Roger Inn
Heartbeat of the West End
Soper's Hole, Tortola
Tel: 284-495-4559
Fax: 284-495-4184
E-mail: louis@candwbvi.net
Website: www.jollyrogerbvi.com
This casual waterside Caribbean Restau-rant/Inn offers creative Caribbean, Pan-Asian and innovative Italian cuisine. Enjoy breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, along with live music and award-winning barbecue on the weekends. Home to the West End Yacht Club.

Myett's Garden Inn & Grille
Cane Garden Bay, Tortola
Tel: 284-495-9649
Fax: 284-495-9579
E-mail: myettent@surfbvi.com
Website: www.myettent.com
Dine among tropical gardens on the beach, with spectacular sunsets served daily along with Happy Hour, lunch and dinner. Live entertainment most evenings. Unique gift shop, ATM, Internet services and charming air-conditioned hotel rooms available.

New England Culinary Institute
At H. Lavity Stoutt Community College
Fort Burt Restaurant
Tel: 284-494-2587
Road Town Bakery
Tel: 284-494-0222
The Cafeteria at HLSCC
Tel: 284-494-4994
Website: www.hlscc.edu.vg
Awaken your senses and educate your palate with extraordinary culinary delights at three locations: Fort Burt Restaurant in Road Town, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner daily with a picturesque panorama; Road Town Bakery on Main Street, offering a variety of fresh breads, cakes and pastries; and the College Cafeteria found on campus, enticing diners with its cultural and international favourites.

The Restaurant at Biras Creek
North Sound, Virgin Gorda
Tel: 284-494-3555
Fax: 284-494-3557
E-mail: biras@biras.com
Website: www.biras.com
Situated at the highest point of the property, the world-class Restaurant at Biras Creek provides spectacular sunset views over the North Sound and Atlantic Ocean while serving exquisite international cuisine. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Reservations are required.

The Virgin Queen Restaurant & Pub
Flemming Street
Road Town, Tortola
Tel: 284-494-2310
Fax: 284-494-4618
E-mail: compassrose@surfbvi.com
A casual meeting place in the heart of Road Town, The Virgin Queen Restaurant & Pub is renowned for its West Indian and Continental cuisine. Moderately priced with generous portions, all items are prepared fresh daily. Enjoy award-winning specialty pizzas using only hand-rolled dough and baked to your personal preference.

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