Anse la Raye Fish Fry, St Lucia
Lobsters
at Anse La Raye Fish Fry – Anse La Raye
Every Friday night in the west- coast
fishing village of Anse la Raye, the waterside main drag, Front Street,
transforms into a full- on party from 7pm to 11pm. Hundreds of locals and
visitors turn out for seafood and booze, all consumed at makesshift tables on
the beach. Look out for the vendor nicknamed Cece, a lady renowned for her
straight- from- the- sea fish. Wash it down with local Piton lager or the
award- winning Chairman’s Reserve rum mixed with Coke or coconut water.
Spinnakers Restaurant & Bar, St Lucia
Spinnakers
Restaurant
By day, it is a casual Rodney Bay lunch
spot; by night, it isgeared up for a bustling dineer crowd of visiting yachties
and resort guests. They are primarily attracted by the creations of St Lucian
chef Magdalene Emmanuel, who, with more than 20 years of kitchen time under her
belt, is expert at both Caribbean and American cuisine. She distils a seemingly
endless array of catch- of- the- day options into three basic treatments: char-
grilled with lemon or garlic; pan- fried with ginger butter; and baked in foil
with tomato and cheese. Fancy a drink? Anyone capable of downing the three- ont
Yard of Ale in one go gets his or her name on the blackboard. House record: 12
seconds. 00 1 758 452 8491; mains from US$9
Rhymer’s Beach Bar, Tortola
Rhymer’s
Beach Bar
This flamingo- pink bar with rooms, a
mainstay of Cane Garden Bay, may be nearly 30 years old, but it has lost none
of its allure. The conch fritters- made with a closely guarded blend of spices-
are fabled, as are the shrimp sauteed in a garlic- butter sauce. Rhymer’s rum
punch is practically nutritious, containing a veritable farmers’ market of
fresh tropical fruit. 00 1 284 495 4639; mains from US$17
Heidi’s Honeymoon Grill, Water Island
Heidi’s
Honeymoon Grill
Follow the locals (and day- trippers from
St Thomas) to this golf cart turned lunch truck, which plies its trade on the
palm- fringed sandy cove of Honeymoon Beach. Owner Heidi Erwig serves casual
midday meals (12oz cheeseburgers, steak sandwiches, beef tacos), and Saturday
dinners for which she sets up candlelit tables on the beach. Swing by on a
Monday night, when Erwig shows a movie on the beach and serves popcorn for a
dollar. Oo 1 340 690 0325; Saturday dinner US$25
Joe’s Beach Bar, Water Island
Joe’s
Beach Bar, Water Island
While chirdren frolic in the sand at this
trailer bar on Honeymoon Beach, parents congregate at tables to sip Lime in the
Coconut (a drink that blends Virgin Islands- prodiced Cruzan rum with those two
ingredients) and wait for the glorious sunset. The bar is most popular on
Sundays, when it hosts an infromal ‘pot luck’ barbecue, to which 100 to 150
locals (the island’s population is only 200) and sailling enthusiasts from
around the world bring chiken, burgers and hot dogs to cook on Joe’s grill. Do
not be alarmed when it goes dark: local law dictates lights out at 11pm. 00 1
340 514 6722
Getting to the Caribbean
British Airways (www.ba.com) flies to
Antigua (for Barbuda), Aruba, Barbados, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman
Islands, Jamica and Puerto Rico.
Virgin Atlantic (www.virgin-atlantic.com)
flies to Antigua, Barbados, St Lucia and Jamaica. For accommodation, see the
Essential Hotel Collection (www.essentialhotelcollection.co.uk)
Hot spot: Stanley’s Welcome Bar, Island Tortolar
Island
Tortolar
For one of the more fabled Caribbean
experiences, meander past the busy kayak rental stalls on Cane Garden Bay,
Navigate your way through the cruise- ship crowds marvelling at the panoramic
wiews, and take a seat at Satnley’s. Contrary to popular belief, the singer
Jimmy Buffetr did not write ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise’ about Stanley’s, but he
did immortalise the bay in ‘Manana’. If attempting your own lyric- writing, try
the sgnature rum punch (cut with pineapple and organe juices). Post- lunch, you
have two options: take a short taxi ride to the rainforest in Mount Sage
National Park for a stroll amid the mahogany trees, or order another cocktail
and nab one of Stanley’s lounge chairs on the beach.
Contact 00 1
284 495 9424
Vibe casual
convivial clubhouse
Food bill mains
from US$8
Most ordered cheeseburger
Length of beach about a mile
Distance to nearest hotel 250 yards to Rhymer’s (see below)