Dining Out & Night Life
Dining Out and the Night Life is part of the whole holiday experience and Antigua is no exception. For sailors, the main destinations are the marina areas of English Harbour, Falmouth and Jolly Harbour and there is plenty of activity in all those areas for both those seeking late night entertainment or a quite dinner on the waterfront. Price, style, distinctiveness and ambiance will vary greatly from local fare to nouvelle cuisine and everything in between including local vegetarian food. It is easy to eat and drink well in Antigua particularly with the local brew, rum, being, measure for measure, the same price as coke.
Visitors should not restrict themselves to the marina areas as there are plenty of interesting bars and restaurants in all parts of the island particularly in the island’s capital, St. John’s. On the west side of the island there are some very good restaurants including Sheer Rocks, recently changed hands, the newly opened Keyonna Beach and the two restaurants at Sugar Ridge. |  |
Just outside the Dockyard is Abracadabra’s where the entertainment is as good as the food and often considered to be English Harbour’s top night spot with queues still forming at 2 am. Just beyond is The Anchorage with its restaurant and Wake & Bake Coffee Bar which does breakfasts and lunches. New to the area is the brightly coloured Trinity Steakhouse and Night Club. A little further from the Dockyard are Grace Before Meals, famous for its rotis, the Cap Horn which is two restaurants, a pizza parlour and a fine dining restaurant with an a la carte menu and beyond that is one of Antigua’s most popular restaurants, Trappas. The Lime & Coconut serves lightly curried dishes. On the corner of Falmouth are LIFE on the Corner and the very popular Mad Mongoose. Opposite is a good breakfast bar, Jackees Quik Stop. Barbies,Temo Sports,is great lunch time and evening restaurant. The high quality Antigua Yacht Club Marina has a first floor view over the mega-yachts to complement its fine cuisine and, for those with more modest tastes, below are Skullduggery and Sea Breeze. Nearby, Cloggys at the Yacht Club has a waterside setting and serves great lunches and dinners. If relaxing beside the beach is your style then Bumpkins, located right on the beach at Pigeon Point, is the place to chill out. For a mixture of local, French and Italian cuisine try Rite Ya in Falmouth, a restaurant which can be accessed by both land and sea. Just opened this year is the miniscule Rum Ba Ba. You need to book as it only seats about a dozen and is very popular. A little further and upstairs is the Waterfront Bar with a view over Falmouth Harbour. On the waters edge is the Reef Gardens bar and restaurant.
Further out from Falmouth Harbour, Famous Mauro claims to produce the best pizzas, fresh bread and croissants on the island. Burgers and a wide selection of ice creams are available at Sweet T’s. The Catamaran Marina is host to Cambusa, an Italian restaurant and bar which includes yacht catering. Nearby is the Captain’s Table serving pan-European food in a quiet waterfront setting.
By road or by sea around the west side of the island brings you to the Carlisle Bay resort which has two restaurants, East serves a selection of Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese dishes and Indigo serves pan-European food. Travelling on towards Jolly Harbour, Turners Beach Restaurant serves the best rum punch on the island and nearby OJs, open 7 days a week, is popular with the yachties. New to this area is Keyonna Beach, a boutique hotel and restaurant with a chef from a popular English Harbour restaurant. Since the take over of Sheer in November 2010 by it's young and enthusiastic owners, Alex and Kate, the restaurant has been transformed. Previously known as Sheer and renamed Sheer-Rocks, the restaurant brings a fresh, new concept to dining out successfully turning it into a stylish, chic hangout and delightfully fun eatery with an inspiring view to match.
Jolly Harbour is a modern, well planned development which combines holiday resorts, a marina, shopping centre and restaurants, all clustered around the waters edge. Inside the complex itself are Peter’s Steakhouse and Melini’s along with the Dogwatch Tavern bar. With a dock immediately outside, Al Portos allows you to sail your yacht to the restaurant door. Ideal for that beach picnic or the day trip on a yacht is Subway. Yet another beach front restaurant is Castaways. Directly outside and overlooking Jolly Harbour is the newly constructed Sugar Ridge with the more casual restaurant, Sugar Club, which offers indoor dining and outdoor under covered verandas and the more formal Carmichaels where the infinity pool blends into the magnificent ridge top views.
 | St John’s is a mine of small and large bars and restaurants from the famous such as Hemmingway’s to Shamaroonies Irish Pub. Night life in St. John’s is mainly for the young particularly somewhere like Coast where you need to like your music loud but a wander around the capital during the day can produce some good lunch time venues. If you are coming by boat you can tie up free of charge for a few hours (see our Marinas Section). In the old dock area the Commissioners Grill is a popular daytime and evening restaurant and bar. One advantage of St. John’s is that there is so much going on in a relatively small place. Live local bands play at Coast on Heritage Quay. Big Banana is a popular venue and, for the ‘chilled’ atmosphere, try C & C Wine Bar. A wander around Redcliffe Quay will produce quite a variety of places to eat and drink from Mama Lolly’s Vegetarian Cafe and Takaway to Australian Homemade Ice Cream. If variety is the spice of life you will find it in Redcliffe Quay. Next door Heritage Quay, favourite of the cruise ship tourists, has several bars and restaurants central of which is the B-Hive. On the fringes of the city is a new ‘in place’, the Larder. High above the entrance to St John’s Harbour with first class views lies Russel’s bar and seafood restaurant. |
Dickenson Bay is the ‘playground’ of the all-inclusive holiday resorts and many have set up in the area. For that romantic la carte dinner in the perfect waterside setting book a table at the unique Warri Pier, alternatively, Warri Pier offers relaxed dining at the beach grill with simple and satisfying menus under the exotic palms, which grace this golden shore. Bay House restaurant claims to be one of Antigua's ‘top-tables’, offering fine dining at an affordable price. Pepperz ‘N’ Lime is the latest addition to Dickensons Bay’s retaurants offering a mix of Latin and Caribbean cuisine and, according to The Times of London, beach front Coconut Grove is ‘A Real Caribbean Restaurant’. If you crave English fish and chips then look for Chippy Antigua who parks near Dickenson Bay on Wednesday and Friday evenings.
Outside of town, Le Bistro at Hodges Bay is worth a visit and claims to be Antigua’s most authentic French restaurant. Also In Hodges Bay is the 200 seat Waterfront Restaurant which has mooring facilities for yachts and an extensive wine list. In Runaway Bay are La Bussola, the Lobster Pot, Sandhaven and the Rush Night Club. Millers by the Sea can be found just down the road. Travelling east you will encounter Cecilia’s and Tides restaurants at Dutchman’s Bay. If you crave English fish and chips Chippy Antigua parks near Dickenson Bay on Wednesday and Friday evenings. Whilst in Dutchman’s Bay and if you care to take a ferry ride, just over the water is the Jumby Bay resort. Mainly a private residential estate and up market holiday resort, the restaurant is open to visitor with a reservation. Yachts can anchor off-shore. Perhaps one of the most unusual restaurants in Antigua is Treetops. Treetops is a plant nursery, exotic furniture retailer and a restaurant with a fine menu. Certainly a different combination from the usual. Recently re-opened at the airport is the Sticky Wicket and a new addition in the airport complex for departing passengers is the VIP Lounge.
