6 Best Restaurants in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Basil's is the place to be—only partly because it's just about the only place to be in Mustique. Basil Charles's landmark property, reimagined by designer Philippe Starck in 2018, is still mainly a wooden deck perched on bamboo stilts over the waves; there's a thatched roof, a congenial bar, and a dance floor that's open to the stars—in every sense. You never know what celebrity may show up at the next table. The food is simple and good—mostly seafood (line-caught and sustainably fished), house-made ice cream, burgers, flatbread pizzas, and salads, along with the usual cocktails and bar snacks. Wednesday is Jump Up & Barbecue Night, with live music; Sunday, enjoy cocktails and jazz as the sun goes down.

By day, this is the perfect spot for a harborside breakfast or lunch; just before sunset, boaters come ashore to what is arguably the most popular gathering place in Bequia—the Frangipani Hotel's open-air waterfront bar. After a drink and a chat, the mood turns romantic with candlelight and Caribbean cuisine in the open-air dining room. The à la carte menu emphasizes seafood and West Indian cuisine—and be sure to have a slice of Frangi's lime pie for dessert. At the Thursday Jump-Up, the Frangi barbecue buffet is accompanied by steelband music.

Perhaps the best spot to enjoy an alfresco breakfast, lunch, or snack is sitting at a table under an enormous almond tree at the edge of Admiralty Bay. French toast and pancakes—and warm cinnamon buns—are always available at breakfast, while lunch-goers might have a roti (turnover filled with chicken or conch), a tuna wrap, or a burger and fries. Best of all, freshly made baked goods (cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more), coffee (cappuccino, espresso) and tea, and fresh local juices are always available. You can have a glass of wine or a cold beer, too.

Lambi's, which overlooks the waterfront in Clifton, offers a daily buffet of local specialties for all meals from November through May. The dinner buffet includes some 50 dishes, including the specialty: delicious conch creole. From June through October, dining is à la carte—with the same menu for both lunch and dinner. Choose from fish, chicken, conch, pork, lobster, shrimp, and beef dishes. Lambi is Creole patois for "conch," and the restaurant's walls are constructed from conch shells. Yachts and dinghies can tie up at the wharf, and there's steel-band music and limbo dancing every night in season.

You're likely to be welcomed by the proprietor herself, Cheryl Johnson, when you stop in for a tasty Caribbean meal at this terrace restaurant overlooking Admiralty Bay. For breakfast, try local food or good ol' bacon and eggs; at lunch, soup (try the callaloo soup or lobster bisque) and salad or have a sandwich, burger, fish-and-chips, or roti (turnover filled with lobster, goat, meat, or veggies); and at dinner, your main dish (BBQ, seafood, and more) is served with four sides, including salad. The Fish Friday dinner menu is a seafood lover's delight. There's live music on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. On Sunday morning, the Harmonies Steel Band accompanies breakfast—using a double row of gallon-size cans in addition to the usual steel drums.

Come here for "authentic Vincy cuisine." Specials are chalked onto the blackboard: mutton or fish stew, chicken or vegetable rotis, curried goat, souse, and buljol (sautéed codfish, breadfruit, and vegetables). Not-so-Vincy sandwiches, fish-and-chips, and burgers can be authentically washed down with mauby, a bittersweet drink made from tree bark; linseed, peanut, passion-fruit, or sorrel punch; local Hairoun beer; or your choice of tropical cocktails. Lunch is buffet-style. Eat in, take out, or have your meal delivered.