Antigua & Barbuda for Food Lovers: Top Culinary Experiences in Paradise
In Part 2 of our special on-location episode from the Caribbean paradise of Antigua and Barbuda, David and Tim dive into the island’s vibrant culinary and cultural scene. From beachside fine dining to downtown street food and a deep dive into local rum history, this episode is a flavor-packed guide to the best bites, sips, and experiences across the islands.
Find out more about visiting Antigua and Barbuda here.
In This Episode:
- A deep dive into the Eat ‘N’ Lime Food Tour in the capital of St. John’s, including stops for fungi, goat water, roti, and a Rastafarian vegan café
- Tasting traditional and globally inspired dishes at Loose Cannon Beach Club, managed by a UK-trained chef and set right on Galleon Beach with a DJ, saxophonist, and unbeatable vibes
- Dining cliffside at the stunning Sheer Rocks restaurant, known for its tapas journey, poolside cocktails, and sunset views at Cocobay Resort
- A visit to the Academy of Rum, where you can learn the history of Antiguan rum and even blend your own bottle to take home
- Experiencing the legendary Sunday party at Shirley Heights, with unbeatable views, smoky barbecue, and steel pan sounds
Our Favourite Places to Stay:
- Tamarind Hills Resort: Hillside villas, ocean views, private plunge pools, and luxury living on Frye’s Beach
- Curtain Bluff: Classic luxury meets beachfront relaxation, perfect for families or couples
- Boone’s Point Estate: Private villas curated by a top luxury hotelier, ideal for groups seeking total seclusion
- Cocobay Resort: A romantic, adults-only hideaway with pastel cottages, plunge pools, and sunset views
This episode is supported by the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority.
Enjoyed the episode? Subscribe, leave a review, and follow us for more travel inspiration.
Follow Us & Stay Connected:
Instagram: @voyascapemedia
Listen on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music
Transcript
For our second episode here in Antigua and Barbuda, we are here back at Tamarind Hills Resort.
Speaker A:And today we're going to be digging in a little bit more to the dining experiences, what to eat here on the islands again, a few unique cultural experiences that you can have for you.
Speaker A:I know, Tim, you've been on the islands five times now and keep coming back and happily so.
Speaker A:This is my first time ever here.
Speaker A:Although I've traveled a bit around the Caribbean.
Speaker A:I mean, spent some time in the Bahamas, a bit of time in Cuba.
Speaker A:This is quite different than any of those destinations.
Speaker A:I mean, this is definitely, I think, a little bit more under the radar.
Speaker A:You know, if people are looking for a place that maybe not all of their friends have been to before, looking for a new, little bit more undiscovered destination, I think this definitely fits the bill there.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:Part of that is it's skews a little bit, you know, a little bit higher from a, from a price point perspective, you know, a little bit more luxurious, I think, than, than some of the other islands.
Speaker A:This is definitely a place where if you want to find high end luxury resorts, there is no, no shortage of accommodations that meets that standard here.
Speaker A:And yeah, it's been, it's been a great five days here.
Speaker B:Fantastic, fantastic.
Speaker B:And it's been very interesting for me, having been here five times to kind of see the place through new eyes.
Speaker B:Traveling with you.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:It being your first time here, so.
Speaker B:And I think one of the things that keeps drawing me back is the fact that even though it's, it's a, it's a Antigua.
Speaker B:I mean, all of our time has been on, on the island of Antigua, which is sort of the main island in terms of population and small island, but a lot to do, you know, and so I think it is definitely the kind of place where you can get out and roam, you can get out and experience culture.
Speaker B:You can go to St.
Speaker B:John's to the, the capital city and spend time there.
Speaker B:Lots of interesting things.
Speaker B:We're going to talk about one of those things in a moment.
Speaker B:It's not a resort destination where you feel confined to the resort.
Speaker B:It's a place that invites you out to experience everything that the, that the destination has to offer.
Speaker B:And let's talk a little bit about that.
Speaker B:So one of the definite highlights, I think for both of us was the Eat and Lime food tour that we did in St.
Speaker B:John's in the capital.
Speaker B:Yeah, we did, I believe, six or.
Speaker A:Seven different food stops along the way.
Speaker B:The guide was fantastic.
Speaker B:I believe she's the owner of the company.
Speaker B:And it was a beautiful, beautiful combination of food, culture, history.
Speaker B:So as we're tasting beautiful things, we're hearing the background of that food in this place and also getting, if you will, a taste of history and a taste of culture along the way.
Speaker C:So on today's tour, we're gonna have a bit of here and there tastings.
Speaker C:We're gonna kick start with a tasting of fungi, which is a part of our national dish.
Speaker C:But you're gonna be getting it as like a gourmet version of our national dish.
Speaker C:You're also going to be having a chance to eat from one of our top bakeries, Brownies Bakery.
Speaker C:And I'm gonna give you the background as to what you're eating for each stop.
Speaker C:Today, also on tour, we're gonna have a stop at a soup spot.
Speaker A:Spot.
Speaker C:Now, here in Antigua, the day could be blazing hot.
Speaker C:We're still going to be eating our soup.
Speaker C:All right, Caribbean people.
Speaker C:Yeah, Mar.
Speaker C:Oh, okay.
Speaker C:Well, you understand the thing, man.
Speaker C:We're eating soup all the time, right.
Speaker C:It's been the summer, so you're gonna have your choice of a soup and we're gonna end off at a Rastafarian spot.
Speaker C:All right?
Speaker C:Now, in between, we're going to be having some history.
Speaker C:We have two Antiguans on tour.
Speaker C:Yes, yes.
Speaker C:So I will be quizzing our fellow Antiguans on the history to see how much we really do know.
Speaker C:So, yes, it will be history and food.
Speaker C:And of course we're going to be eating alignment.
Speaker B:What were some of your favorite stops on that food tour?
Speaker A:I liked it all.
Speaker A:I mean, I thought our very first stop, and I'm trying to remember the name of the restaurant was.
Speaker B:Yeah, I don't remember, but I wrote that.
Speaker B:I wrote down the food.
Speaker B:I wrote only foods.
Speaker B:I didn't write it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I don't know if that's where my.
Speaker A:Well, I certainly remember the dish.
Speaker A:The dish we tried, which was fungi, which was.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I expected from the name that it would be like a local mushroom kind of dish, but it wasn't.
Speaker A:It was more of sort of cornmeal mixed with okra.
Speaker A:They had a really delicious.
Speaker B:Like a polenta.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:It was very similar to a polenta.
Speaker A:A very popular local dish.
Speaker A:Quite a few unique local dishes here.
Speaker A:We tried the goat.
Speaker A:Goat water became water.
Speaker B:Exactly.
Speaker B:And we did a soup stand that had a lot of history.
Speaker B:And I loved the roti.
Speaker B:A bit of an import, I believe, from Trinidad.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:But now very popular here in the curry chicken roti.
Speaker B:That was super, super delicious.
Speaker B:And the last stop was very interesting.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:There is Rastafarian culture here, Rastafarian food, Rastafarian people.
Speaker B:And they have opened food and natural juice establishment just, just a little off the main streets of St.
Speaker B:John's and I had, I had the tamarind juice.
Speaker B:Super delicious.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:I had the peanuts peanut shake, sort of.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:They made there.
Speaker A:It was all, you know, I didn't realize.
Speaker A:Well, raspberry and culture seems to be a big influence here and I didn't realize how much that was connected to really a focus in.
Speaker A:On natural organic products from the land.
Speaker A:And so everything was, you know, vegan and natural.
Speaker A:And my understanding we didn't go on it on this trip, but there's even some local sort of farms and more remote areas that you can go to do Rastafarian tours here as well.
Speaker A:So another part of the culture that people.
Speaker B:And that.
Speaker B:One of my very first trips here to Antigua, I actually did a Rastafarian culinary lesson, clay pot cooking.
Speaker B:And again that was a nice mix of, of culture, history and food.
Speaker B:You know, hearing about the Rastafarian culture at the same time that I'm stirring up.
Speaker B:I don't remember what we made at the time, but no, it wasn't goat water, I could guarantee because it wasn't vegan or was vegan and that's not.
Speaker B:But, but I know goat water has been a favorite go to for you.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:And we've had some other great culinary experiences here.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So one of the first days might have been our first full day.
Speaker B:We went to Galleon beach and a really cool beach club called Loose Cannon.
Speaker B:Yeah, they had old, you know, British cannons maybe from the 19th century, something like that, which gives it the name, but really a beautiful place to chill.
Speaker B:And while you went snorkeling, I chilled.
Speaker B:So that was a great experience.
Speaker B:And a really nice mix of seafood, fresh seafood and then also just the kind of food, comfort food, you know.
Speaker B:So they had pizzas.
Speaker B:I, you know, I, prior to this trip I was in Asia for three weeks.
Speaker B:Not a lot of good pizza necessarily on that trip.
Speaker B:So I got a p.
Speaker B:A barbecue chicken pizza was just absolutely delicious.
Speaker A:Really popular kind of hopping spot too.
Speaker A:I mean it's run by a celebrity chef out of the uk, Used to work for Gordon Ramsay, Michelin starred chef who's opened this beachside location.
Speaker A:Now you've got DJ there.
Speaker A:We had live music and a DJ there.
Speaker A:When we were there in the afternoon it was pretty packed.
Speaker A:Like we were There when I think it was like a Monday afternoon.
Speaker A:And, yeah, and it was full.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And, yeah, a hot.
Speaker A:Definite bit of a hot.
Speaker B:Everybody just chilling and enjoying the sun.
Speaker B:And I did have a chat with the manager, O'Neal.
Speaker B:Super cool guy.
Speaker B:And just love the vibe, how relaxed it was, how people.
Speaker B:It was the kind of place where people would just spend the day.
Speaker B:You know, people would just set up and get their spot in the sun and just relax for the day.
Speaker B:So I'm here with O'Neill Barton.
Speaker B:He's the manager of Loose Cannon, which is a restaurant, beach club here on Galleon beach in Antigua.
Speaker B:Just had a beautiful lunch.
Speaker B:It's a Friday afternoon.
Speaker B:The sun is shining.
Speaker B:People are enjoying drinks.
Speaker B:People are hanging out on the beach.
Speaker B:There's a dj.
Speaker B:A minute ago, there was a guy playing the saxophone, which was super cool.
Speaker D:And I'm sure you will be on very soon again.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Fantastic.
Speaker B:Fantastic.
Speaker B:So, Neil, thanks so much for.
Speaker D:For hanging out, and thank you guys for coming.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:So tell me a little bit about Loose Cannon, how long you guys have been here, what kind of food you serve.
Speaker D:Yeah, okay.
Speaker D: etty much we opened in August: Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker D:So this is our third full season, and we are rocking island with it.
Speaker D:Honestly, I love it.
Speaker D:So our food here is a bit of a mixture of different cuisines.
Speaker D:So we have Mediterranean cuisines on the menu.
Speaker D:We have Caribbean cuisines.
Speaker D:There's a little bit Arabic and also Asian in that.
Speaker D:With that being said, we offer different types of burgers, fish and chips.
Speaker D:We do different toppers.
Speaker D:We do sushi as well.
Speaker D:And of course, we have our pizza section.
Speaker D:And also we offer desserts on selection.
Speaker D:So, yeah, pretty much that's it.
Speaker B:Fantastic.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I gotta say, you know, I was just in Japan for three weeks.
Speaker B:Yeah, not a lot of pizza in Japan.
Speaker B:So I was all over that pizza menu.
Speaker D:Oh, man, I can imagine.
Speaker B:And it was fantastic.
Speaker D:Yeah, the pizzas here, it's unique because we try to bring a different standard of pizzas.
Speaker D:We have a head chef that's been in Dubai for quite some time.
Speaker D:He's been running a chain restaurant in Dubai for 10 years, and he's worked with a lot of Italian, which are specialized in pasta and pizzas.
Speaker D:So he brought a little bit of that touch here to Loose Canyon with, of course, a little bit of spice from Antigua.
Speaker D:And boom.
Speaker D:That's how we got that amazing pizza that you had.
Speaker B:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker B:And seafood.
Speaker B:Seems like there's quite a bit of seafood on the menu.
Speaker D:Yeah, everything is fresh.
Speaker D:Our tunas are fresh.
Speaker D:We get locally caught lobster fresh.
Speaker D:Again, it's probably the best place for you to come.
Speaker D:And you can have the seafood selection, the mussels, the cockles, all of those stuff that we use inside of the seafood pizza that we use in the baked clams and the poke bowl and.
Speaker D:And everything else that's on the menu.
Speaker D:It's all fresh, freshly caught from the sea, basically, from the boat to.
Speaker D:Luka, can you talk a little bit.
Speaker B:About the vibe here?
Speaker B:Because, you know, I mean, right now, Friday afternoon, everybody's chilling and that's just another day here at Moose, Canada.
Speaker D:Yeah, so pretty much what we.
Speaker D:What we, what we did was we realized that Antigua doesn't have what we bring here or what we're doing here now.
Speaker D:It's like there are lots of restaurants in English harbor, but it's more like fine dining in the evenings.
Speaker D:There's nothing in the day.
Speaker D:And that was a big thing that we were lacking here.
Speaker D:So my bosses, they were like, oh, why not start a beach club?
Speaker D:And then obviously the rest is history.
Speaker D:But we went out and we got the finest DJs from the UK.
Speaker D:We got the finest entertainment from the UK.
Speaker D:And with a little bit of advertisement, social media and word of mouth, of course, the word got out and now we're the best thing that the island has ever seen.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And it probably didn't take too much convincing to get people to come here to this island paradise.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker D:Look at it.
Speaker D:It's so beautiful.
Speaker B:It's so beautiful.
Speaker B:It really is.
Speaker B:It really is.
Speaker B:And let's talk just a little bit about that.
Speaker B:What makes Antigua as an island a special destination?
Speaker D:Oh, man, it has to be the people and the culture.
Speaker D:I think generally us in Antigua, we are very, very friendly people.
Speaker D:We're very down to earth.
Speaker D:It's never no malice.
Speaker D:It's never nothing more than just showing love and appreciation and letting people enjoy what it means to be in Antigua and also what we do here and how our culture is.
Speaker D:I think it's just a part of our gene.
Speaker D:Our Gene makeup or Jean profile to be so friendly and helpful and, you know, just making sure whoever comes here from wherever or whatever part of the world, they have the Antiguan experience that everybody here has and also the best time ever that they can go back home and say that, yeah, Antigua is a special place.
Speaker B:Sheer rocks.
Speaker A:Sheer rocks.
Speaker A:Just not the beach from where we are right now.
Speaker A:Beautiful location.
Speaker A:A really nice hotel there as well.
Speaker A:Coco Bay, which had these great sort of little bungalows around, around the resort, Infinity Pools, but then sheer rocks.
Speaker A:The restaurant that they're really well known for, again, probably one of the real hot spots on the island.
Speaker A:Popular.
Speaker A:It had a bar with a little plunge pool that you could hang out in while you're having your rum punch and hanging out for the afternoon.
Speaker A:It had some great.
Speaker A:It very much looked kind of like Bali or Fiji to me.
Speaker A:The way the tables were set up overlooking the ocean and fantastic food.
Speaker B:I thought, yeah, very, very good.
Speaker B:And we did a tapas journey, I believe it was called.
Speaker B:And so a lot.
Speaker B:I love doing a tapas meal like that because you get to taste a lot.
Speaker B:You're not confined to your.
Speaker B:The one meal.
Speaker B:And I often have order envy, you know, like, you know, you.
Speaker B:You go with one thing.
Speaker B:I had a bit of order envy last night.
Speaker B:Somebody got the curry at dinner last night, and I absolutely was envying that.
Speaker B:But they bring out tapas.
Speaker B:They bring out a lot of.
Speaker B:So we had.
Speaker B:We had shrimp, we had a little bit of a Mac and cheese, truffle.
Speaker A:Mac and cheese, some potato croquettes that were delicious.
Speaker A:Yeah, I had some great caramelized banana ice cream there at the end.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:And then a coconut ice cream, so.
Speaker A:And some nice cocktails and mocktails as well.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:That was a.
Speaker B:And beautiful view set on the top of basically a bluff, a small bluff with unimpeded views out to the.
Speaker B:To the sea.
Speaker B:So that was absolutely beautiful, for sure.
Speaker B:Another.
Speaker B:Another highlight, I think a highlight for any visitor who comes to Antigua, Shirley Heights on Sunday night.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So prior to the visit, when I was talking to David, I said the.
Speaker B:The number one thing that I always remember is my third time to Shirley Heights is just the smell.
Speaker B:The smell of barbecue chicken and ribs and.
Speaker B:And, you know, catch of the day, fish just wafting across the place.
Speaker B:But.
Speaker B:But the view is also beautiful and the sounds are all.
Speaker A:Music was awesome.
Speaker B:Music was amazing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:First visit for you?
Speaker B:What.
Speaker B:What were your first impressions?
Speaker B:What did you enjoy the most?
Speaker A:I loved it, I thought.
Speaker A:I mean, the barbecue up there was fantastic.
Speaker A:I love good barbecue.
Speaker A:And, you know, you can get jerk chicken, you can get ribs.
Speaker A:Lots, lots of great stuff there.
Speaker A:Great place obviously to go, go watch the sunset.
Speaker A:They do the big party up there every Thursday night, Every.
Speaker A:Every Sunday night this time of year.
Speaker A:But I think all year round you can always go there on Sunday night, at least Sunday.
Speaker A:Always running and kind of the longest running party in the Caribbean is how they bill it.
Speaker A:And it fits the bill, right.
Speaker A:Every up dancing, a lot of good bars up there.
Speaker A:Fantastic view.
Speaker A:Good, good spot.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I mean, can't say enough about the sunset.
Speaker B:I mean that it's really one of the world's great sunsets, you know, I mean, the sun sinking into the sea with those bits of land, you know, the flanks of the mountains going into the sea.
Speaker B:So you get the green and the blue, you get all the white of the sailboats and then this flaming sun just going into the sea.
Speaker B:It's just absolutely an unbelievable view.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, so we enjoyed that.
Speaker B:Anything else that I forgotten?
Speaker A:I think our other, our other highlight the trip from a culinary and food perspective and drink perspective was getting to the Academy of Rum, which was a really cool experience as well.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that was a part of the Loose Cannon.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:Right across from Loose Cannon restaurant there on that beautiful same beach where I did some snorkeling there as well.
Speaker A:So a lot going on on that beach that you can go spend some time doing.
Speaker A:But the Academy of Rum had a, had a sort of.
Speaker A:It was probably about a two hour course we did where really took you through every stage of rum making.
Speaker A:Antigua very well known for their rum.
Speaker A:And you certainly find, you know, you'll be handed a rum punch pretty much any establishment you walk in.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And I know neither of us are.
Speaker B:Think drinkers are drinking at the moment, but, you know, so it's kind of substituting a fruit punch for that.
Speaker B:But, but, but I thought, I thought the Academy of Rome was very interesting because just like the food tour, they integrated elements of the culture, elements of the history.
Speaker B:You know, sugarcane and rum are a big part of the history of, of, of this island and these islands.
Speaker B:And so learning that as well as the science of, of distilling alongside everything else, I thought was very interesting.
Speaker B:And I thought it was, they, they pulled it off very nicely.
Speaker A:And I thought the flavored rums were really good.
Speaker A:I mean, we, we.
Speaker A:You had a chance to, they, they gave you about 10 or 15 different flavorings that you could add elements of to the, I mean, you get to make essentially your own 26 ounce bottle.
Speaker B:Of rum, which we gave away, you know, to a local friend.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:So a good, good souvenir to bring home.
Speaker A:And then you can, you know, really make it for your own taste with all the various flavorings.
Speaker A:And they had everything ranging from, you know, mango to coconut, which you would expect to peanut butter and, you know, some more, more unusual rum flavors as well.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:In a beautiful setting again just right across from Galleon Beach.
Speaker B:So everything in one place.
Speaker B:The kind of spot that you could just spend the entire day.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:So, yeah, really enjoyed that.
Speaker A:And I'd say probably one of the best parts of our trip is our flight today has got delayed.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:We get to spend an extra.
Speaker A:We had a boas three hours we weren't expecting, which in a place like this, it's not so bad.
Speaker B:You get the call that your flight's been delayed 100%.
Speaker B:I mean, I think we were with a staff member from the hotel when we got the notification that our flight was delayed.
Speaker B:And I think he might have been a tiny bit puzzled that we were.
Speaker B:We were actually.
Speaker A:We were high fiving.
Speaker B:We were high fiving that we were excited, you know, and.
Speaker B:But, you know, he gives us the opportunity to explore and enjoy Tamarind Hills here a little bit more and spend the afternoon on the beach rather than at the airport and then fly back this evening.
Speaker B:So a wonderful visit and a few bonus hours.
Speaker B:So we're.
Speaker B:We're both very excited about that for sure.
Speaker A:Well, great to talking with you as always.
Speaker A:Great to have been able to have a chance to travel with you this week.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:I've enjoyed it very much.
Speaker B:David.
Speaker B:This has been.
Speaker B:We'll have to do it again soon.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Have a great week.
Speaker A:You too.
