8 Best Restaurants in Saint Lucia

A 140-year-old, pretty-in-pink French Colonial plantation house is the setting for authentic French Creole cuisine—the inspiration of local artist Michelle Elliott, whose ceramics and paintings are displayed for sale in a cozy room set up as a gift shop. Diners enjoy grilled fish, steak, rack of lamb, jumbo shrimp, or chicken breast matched with interesting homemade sauces and accompanied by steamed rice, fried plantains, sautéed vegetables, breadfruit/sweet potato balls, local peas, and christophene (chayote) gratin. Alternatively, you can have a main-course salad or vegetarian dish. You'll really feel that you've been carried back to the 19th century. The three-story house, a labyrinth of rooms filled with antiques, is wrapped in a forest of tropical plants and trees. The service is friendly, the food is good and the atmosphere is, well, historic.

Prearrange your taxi pickup, as taxis are really hard to find in this area.

India has had an important influence on the Caribbean islands, from the heritage of their people to the colorful madras plaids and the curry flavors that are a staple of Caribbean cuisine. At night, Anse Chastanet's Trou au Diable restaurant transforms into APSARA, an extraordinarily romantic, candlelit, beachfront dining experience with modern Indian cuisine. The innovative menu, mixing East Indian and Caribbean cooking, produces food that's full of flavor but not too spicy, although you can opt for some hotter dishes. Roasted cashew nut and raisin samosas with chunky mango-ginger sauce might be followed by tandoori-roasted salmon, lamb, or chicken. Definitely order the naan, either plain, stuffed with cheese, onion, and chili, or flavored with almond, coconut, and raisins. For dessert, choose the mango, saffron, or sea moss kulfi (Indian-style ice cream) or go all the way with Apsara's Temptation (tandoori-baked pineapple with honey, saffron, and passion-fruit syrup, kulfi, and sun-blushed chili).

This pair of small rustic restaurants are two of the most popular spots to enjoy a Creole lunch when touring the natural sights in and around Soufrière. Bamboo offers à la carte options at both lunch and dinner, while the Creole Pot serves breakfast daily. Nearly all ingredients are locally sourced. Wash it all down with a local fruit juice or evening rum punch, and finish with something sweet such as coconut or banana cake. Private dinners by candlelight are offered at The Creole Pot. The à la carte menu often features a choice of seafood, chicken, beef, and pasta dishes with a local twist—pepper pot, for example. Most people who come for lunch also take the Heritage Tour of the estate and learn about how the cacao growing on the plantation is turned into delicious chocolate, which you can purchase at the gift shop. 

Opposite the Mystique St. Lucia and Reduit Beach, this dining spot is part of Rodney Bay's "restaurant central." After cool drinks and warm appetizers at the bar, diners make their way to the dining room or garden for some serious seafood or a good steak, spicy Moroccan-style lamb shanks, or simple chicken and chips. The seared yellowfin tuna, potato-crusted fish of the day, and fresh lobster (in season August–February) are big hits, too. 

Cacoa Sainte Lucie's second-story restaurant sits perched above their chocolate shop and processing facility with rainforest views of the surrounding hillsides. The menu is, of course, chocolate inspired, with cocoa inventively worked into sauces and seasonings. Burgers, wraps, salads, and entrees like cocoa-crusted grilled mahi are available, as are milkshakes, smoothies, and desserts. Downstairs, a tantalizing display of chocolate bonbons and bars flavored with local spices, nuts, and fruit tempt you in. Cacoa Sainte Lucie also does chocolate-making and tasting workshops. 

Walk down a garden path to Chateau Mygo (a colloquial corruption of "Marigot") or sail up on your boat, pick out a table on the deck of this popular dockside restaurant, and soak up the waterfront atmosphere of what may be the Caribbean's prettiest bay. The tableau is mesmerizing—and that's at lunch, when you can order a sandwich, burger, roti, fish- or chicken-and-chips, and salads. At dinner, owner/chef Shaid Rambally draws on three generations of East Indian and Creole family recipes. Beautifully grilled fresh fish and local lobster in season are embellished with flavors such as ginger, mango, papaya, or passion fruit, and then dished up with regional vegetables—perhaps callaloo, okra, dasheen, breadfruit, christophene, or yams. This is a very casual restaurant with reasonably priced meals. And, oh, that view! 

Named for the protagonist in the original (1967) Dr. Doolittle movie, part of which was filmed in Marigot Bay, this indoor-outdoor restaurant at Marigot Beach Club and Dive Resort is on the north side of the bay. You'll have a beautiful waterside view—watch yachts quietly slip by—as you enjoy a light menu of sandwiches, burgers, grilled chicken, pizza, and salads; dinner items feature seafood, steak, chicken, and Caribbean specials such as curries and stews. Take the little ferry (complimentary for diners) across the bay to get here. During the day, bring your bathing suit; the beach is just outside.

In the evening, it's a great spot for drinks and entertainment.

Poolside at the Coco Palm hotel, this alfresco bistro and bar attracts mostly hotel guests for breakfast but a wider clientele for lunch and dinner—and happy hour—especially when there's live entertainment. The dinner menu focuses on Caribbean favorites, and the BBQ is always fired up for rich smokey flavors. Lunch is a good bet if you're poking around Rodney Bay, need a break from Reduit Beach, or are just looking for a good meal in an attractive spot. For dessert, try the key lime pie or chocolate cake.