An Anguilla Food And Restaurant Guide
An Anguilla Food And Restaurant Guide
Published May 3, 2022
Anyone who loves the beach needs to put Anguilla at the top of their travel wish list. Its sandy shores are some of the best I’ve ever seen throughout my travels. But Anguilla’s other main draw is its stunning culinary scene! During our week-long visit to the British West Indies, my friend Ismael and I had so much fun beach hopping and trying as many restaurants and bars on the island as possible!
This post is meant to be a guide for travelers headed to Anguilla. The first half features some of the island’s must-try delicacies, all of which pretty are widely available. The second half features some of the restaurants we found. Foodies won’t want to miss all of the amazing flavors Anguilla has to offer!
To skip down to any dish or restaurant below, click or tap the relevant link!
Anguillan Delicacies to Try
Caribbean cuisine in general is packed full of spice and flavor, and that’s especially true in Anguilla! After you visit a few restaurants that serve local dishes, you’ll get a sense of what the most iconic meals are. Here are some things you should try while on the island!
Lobster
Of all the Caribbean destinations I’ve been to, Anguilla is the one where lobster is most prevalent. It’s especially delicious here, and when it’s cooked well, the soft white tail meat just slides right out of the shell. We tried lobster multiple times because each place prepares it in a unique way.
Fish
As you might expect, seafood is a major component of many Anguillan dishes. Mahi-mahi and red snapper are common here, as well as saltfish.
BBQ
Barbecue is a staple in Anguilla. It’s generally more budget-friendly than seafood dishes, especially when you get it from a roadside stand. The meat was so juicy and tender every time we ordered it! A few barbecue places we tried are featured below. These were some of my favorite casual meals during our trip.
Oxtail
Oxtail is a little tough to eat given that it’s a somewhat chewy and comes on bones with lots of ridges on them, but it is a really flavorful cut of meat that I recommend you try in Anguilla.
Goat Stew
Goat is a very common protein eaten in Anguilla, and it’s got a stronger flavor than beef or pork. Goat stew or curry is usually served with chunks of meat on the bone, and it’s sure to be one of the most fragrant and hearty dishes you have here!
Peas and Rice
Order any dish listed above and there’s a good chance it’ll be served with a scoop of peas and rice. If you think rice is a boring carb with no flavor, think again! This common side dish is brimming with aromatic spices. It’s one thing I really look forward to eating every time I’m in the region. No two recipes for peas and rice are the same, so I never even come close to getting tired of it!
Plantains
We ate some plantains during our visit to Anguilla, but I actually am including this here on my list because they weren’t as common as I’d thought they would be. Plantains are one of the most important ingredients in Caribbean food, but that seemed to be less true in Anguilla. Perhaps the relatively dry climate on the island made it harder for them to grow here historically.
Breakfast - Fry Cake Sandwiches
The most common fried bread treat on the island are Johnny cakes. These are small, round, medallion-shaped savory bread cakes with a little hole in the middle. You’ll probably have them at some point during your trip, but I’d also like to draw your attention to fry cake sandwiches.
We found them at Hall’s Unique Bakery in The Valley. Hall’s serves them for breakfast, but you have to get there early: they tend to sell out quickly! These pastries have a variety of protein and cheese fillings to choose from. Fry cake sandwiches are the perfect breakfast food that will hold you over until lunchtime.
Rum Drinks
No trip to a Caribbean island paradise is complete without a healthy dose of rum! You can get it in almost any fruity cocktail you can think of from a variety of restaurants and beachfront bars.
Anguillan Restaurants
Now that you know what types of meals are typical in Anguilla, the second half of this blog post will tell you where to go to get them!
Beachfront Restaurants
Many of Anguilla’s best restaurants are blessed with amazing beach views and direct access to the sand and sea. If that’s what you’re looking for, check out the following section for recommendations!
Palm Grove Bar and Grill - Nat's Place
Address: 7227+QW Mount Fortune, Anguilla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PalmGroveAnguilla/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/palmgroveanguilla/
This festive beach shack is the only dining option on Savannah Bay Beach, one of my favorite beaches on the island! If you’re headed out this way, I highly recommend you plan for a lunch at the Palm Grove Bar and Grill, which offers amazing tableside views of the bay!
Nat’s Place offers many of the Anguillan classics featured in the first half of this blog post, and I couldn’t resist ordering lobster here. It came out smelling delicious and smothered in a delicious butter sauce. While you wait for your meal, order one (or two, or three) rum punch to sip on. It’s a refreshing pink drink here with a sprinkling of cinnamon on top!
Ocean Echo
Address: 5VH5+WP Long Bay Village, Anguilla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OceanEcho264/
Ocean Echo overlooks Meads Bay, a wide open beach facing north. The vibe here is perfect, with a large open-air dining area and an extensive menu of comfort food and fruity drinks. We ordered burgers, wings, and a pizza, and everything was delicious!
SunShine Shack
Address: 5VGP+XH Long Bay Village, Anguilla
Website: https://sunshineshack.net/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GarveysSunshineShack
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sunshineshack_/
This beach bar is an absolute must-visit! Located on idyllic Rendezvous Bay, SunShine Shack will immediately catch your attention. Colorful flags flap in the wind, and their row of umbrellas is impossible to miss.
The SunShine Shack serves unique drink specials and one of the most indulgent meals we had on the island: shrimp skewers and fried calamari appetizers, plus glazed BBQ and chicken with peas and rice and crispy fries! If you’re looking for a feast with an ocean view, this is it!
Roy's Bayside Grill
Address: 5WX5+4J Sandy Ground, Anguilla
Website: http://www.roysbaysidegrill.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoysBaysideGrill
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roysbaysidegrill/
This casual restaurant is one of many that can be found at Sandy Ground. They serve pretty typical Anguillan food, and when we went, we ordered a few drinks and lobster curry, which was a unique twist on Anguilla’s most popular seafood.
BBQ Shacks
Many cities and states in the US are known for their own local take on BBQ, but so is the island of Anguilla! It’s a more substantive meal than even a large portion of lobster, it’s usually more affordable, and the locally made sauces and glazes are so succulent!
Jelly BBQ
Address: 6W3J+GQ9, The Valley Road, George Hill 2640, Anguilla
This roadside stand is centrally located not too far from the airport, so visitors to the island are likely to see it. We decided to try it for dinner one night towards the end of our trip, and I’m so glad we did. The ribs were so tender that we actually had to get a second order! Their oxtail was also really good, and so was the peas and rice on the side.
However, when we went for a slightly late dinner, Jelly BBQ was already out of some items on their menu! They must sell quickly, so consider trying them for lunch or for an earlier dinner for a larger selection.
Ken's BBQ
Address: 6W7W+QPM, The Valley 2640, Anguilla
This BBQ stand in The Valley (Anguilla’s capital) is an institution on the island; it appears on many restaurant recommendation lists. Located on a little strip of food stalls, Ken’s may look humble, but their BBQ is delicious! Don’t forget to drizzle your order of ribs in their homemade sauce! I also really liked the peas and rice from Ken’s.
Other Options
Sharky's
Address: 5VH8+XR Long Bay Village, Anguilla
We happened to drive by Sharky’s during dinnertime and noticed that it was packed. We decided to try it and were seated after a short wait. To be completely honest, Sharky’s seemed to cater a little more to tourists than locals. But everything was good, from the bottle of white wine we ordered to the risotto to the fish carpaccio.
Tasty's Restaurant
Address: 5WW8+M4H, South Hill, Anguilla, Sandy Ground, Anguilla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TastysRestaurantAnguilla
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tastysanguilla/
Tasty’s was pretty close to our Airbnb, so we tried it for dinner on our first night in Anguilla. The Caribbean curry goat stew and slow cooked oxtail were both really flavorful dishes served with veggies and plantains. The only thing is, I wished their portions could’ve been a tiny bit bigger!
International Cuisine
Don’t get me wrong: Anguillan food is amazing. But if you stay for a week like we did, you might start craving a change of pace in between lobster and BBQ feasts. There are some limited international options on Anguilla, including Mexican, Italian, and Chinese.
Dolce Vita (Italian)
Address: 6W25+2RP, Sandy Ground 2640, Anguilla
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DolceVitaAnguilla
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dolcevitaanguilla/
You might be wondering, “Why should I get pizza and pasta in Anguilla when I can get that almost anywhere?” Well, Dolce Vita offers high-class, delectable Italian cuisine with an amazing view of the sunset. In fact, it’s the only restaurant in Anguilla we went to twice.
Start off with a burrata or escargot appetizer and some wine or a negroni. For our main courses, we tried the lambchop, black squid ink risotto, and a few varieties of seafood pasta. I don’t think there’s any way to go wrong here, plus the service is friendly and quick! If you don’t have a reservation at Dolce Vita, I highly recommend you arrive a little early. The house gets packed as the evening goes on!
Picante (Mexican)
Address: 5VC2+QW The Valley, Anguilla
Website: https://www.picantebwi.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/picanteanguillabwi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/picantebwi/
From the main road, Picante looks like a tiny little restaurant that can barely seat a few parties. But what you’re seeing is actually the back of the kitchen! Drive in and you’ll see a large cantina and bar, which (at least when we went for dinner) was packed with people!
The food and jalapeño margaritas at Picante were refreshing and filling. I ordered their taco platter, which was served with both hard and soft shells and a layer of beans and cheese in between.
Restaurants on the Offshore Islands
Before you click off of this blog post and start feasting at one of the restaurants featured above, you should know that three of Anguilla’s most prominent restaurants are located on small offshore islands! Since visiting them by boat is an experience in and of itself, I wrote a separate blog post all about these cays and the culinary experiences they offer.
Bon Appétit!
I’m going to be honest: food (especially at restaurants) in Anguilla is expensive, and it’s one of the main reasons the island is less affordable than some other neighboring destinations. However, almost every meal we had here was its own self-contained culinary adventure! If you consider yourself a foodie, Anguilla is worth exploring in as much depth as you can.
Have you ever been to Anguilla? If you have, what was your favorite dish or restaurant on the island? Leave a comment below! Thanks for reading and have a good one!
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This post was published on May 3, 2022
The Caffeinated Man Behind The Blog
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Everything looks so delish! Hope to try it all some day!
Being vegan is not as attractive as meat-eater to visit these islands for food. But then, the stunning beaches are definitely worth a visit. The flight connections between this part of the world and the Caribbean are not easy. Hopefully, I can visit, someday! Thanks for sharing this post and pictures.
Your posts have definitely convinced me that we want to plan a visit to Anguilla. The beaches would be a big draw. But great food and fresh seafood would keep us happy on our visit. Although we would have to try the local goat stew. Love that there are some International options for a night out.
We have something called Johnny Cakes here in Rhode Island, USA that are also a breakfast food. But ours are sort of like pancakes made of cornmeal and eaten with butter and syrup.