Photo Credit: Jason McCord

Most British Virgin Islands restaurants are found on Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, and Virgin Gorda. However, the even smaller island of Anegada boasts the best lobster not only in the BVI, but the entire Caribbean. Most local delicacies aside from seafood are breads stuffed with meat or vegetables. Fungi is similar to Italian polenta, paté dishes are made with pita bread, and East Indian roti appears on nearly every British Virgin Islands food menu. Rum punch is the most popular drink at regional bars, many of which also feature live fungi or steel bands. The No-See-Um, the Bushwhacker, and the Painkiller are famous island cocktails, but be warned, as the names suggest, they’re stronger than they appear.

Bars and Pubbing in British Virgin Islands

Tortola’s Road Town boasts more bars per capita than anywhere else on the British Virgin Islands. No watering hole is older or more legendary than Bomba Surfside Shack (Cappoon’s Bay, Tortola), whose monthly full moon parties are the BVI’s wildest celebrations. The Wickham’s Cay II (Road Town, Tortola) bar attracts a more upscale yachting crowd at Road Town’s Moorings/Mariner Inn.

One of Virgin Gorda’s livelier nightclubs, the Bitter End Yacht Club (North Sound, Virgin Gorda), can only be reached by boat, but its large British beer selection is well worth the journey. The main furnishings at Andy’s Chateau de Pirate (Spanish Town, Virgin Gorda) are one of the British Virgin Island’s longest bars and gigantic beachfront windows which rarely close.

Soggy Dollar Bar (White Bay, Jost Van Dyke), one of Jost Van Dyke’s most popular bars is home to the original Painkiller rum concoction, received its name because the bar is only accessible by swimming and getting wet. Jost Van Dyke’s other major watering hole, Foxy’s (Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke), is famous for its killer shots and international clientele.

Dining and Cuisine in British Virgin Islands

Formal dress and advance reservations are essential when dining on the garden terrace at Brandywine Bay Restaurant (Brandywine Estate, Sir Francis Drake Highway, Tortola), one of Tortola’s finest Italian restaurants. Those craving French or Asian cuisine may prefer the food at the Dove (67 Main St, Road Town, Tortola) whose wine cart is Tortola’s largest and whose mango tree provides welcome shade on sunny days.

Advance reservations are also required at Virgin Gorda’s Biras Creek Resort (Biras Creek, North Sound, Virgin Gorda), where a panoramic North Sound view accompanies the grilled lobster served each Wednesday and Thursday night. Top of the Baths (The Baths, Virgin Gorda), as its name suggests, overlooks Virgin Gorda’s most famous landmark and offers a swimming pool for diners to relax in, as well as Sunday live steel band performances.

Jost Van Dyke’s Ali Baba’s (Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke) restaurant was named after its owner, who serves fresh seafood, beer, and rum punch next to the Customs House. Hearty breakfasts, savory pizzas, and Tex-Mex dishes are the most popular items on the menu at Corsairs Beach Bar and Restaurant (Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke), where absinthe and barbecues take place on Tuesday and Sunday nights.

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