This Island Was Just Named the Caribbean's Best Culinary Destination — What and Where to Eat

Anguilla has been crowned the 2024 leading culinary destination in the Caribbean by the World Travel Awards.

Anguilla has been crowned the 2024 leading culinary destination in the Caribbean by the World Travel Awards, in its 31st year of awards. It beat out other nominees like Bermuda, Jamaica, the Bahamas, and Saint Lucia. For anyone who’s been to the British Overseas Territory, the win comes as no surprise, and once you find out one of its nicknames is the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean, it all makes sense.

The cuisine in Anguilla is similar to many other Caribbean islands, but somehow, they manage to do it better. For one thing, there’s a plethora of Anguillan lobster and crayfish and it often shows up grilled to juicy, charred perfection. Unsurprisingly, seafood dominates, and dishes include fried fish (often snapper or jack), seafood salad, and conch soup. Grilling is big here, and there are also Caribbean staples like johnny cakes, goat and oxtail curries, and jerk-seasoned chicken. Anguilla Bush Tea, made from local herbs like bayberry shrub, lemongrass, soursop, basil, and mint, is a local delicacy.

You can find many of these authentic dishes at Tasty’s, an Anguilla institution beloved by locals. In the morning, the Caribbean Sampler Breakfast offers an authentic island taste with saltfish, filet fish, fruit, hard-boiled eggs, plantains, and Johnny cakes can be paired with bush tea. For lunch or dinner, there’s Caribbean Curry Goat Stew, sow-cooked oxtail, grilled snapper, mahi-mahi or crayfish, and island-favorite Tasty’s Seafood Salad with crayfish, snapper, lobster, shrimp and conch.

Anguilla also has some of the region’s most beautiful white sand beaches and there are plenty of toes-in-the-sand restaurants across the island. There’s Sunshine Shack on Rendezvous Beach, Blanchard’s Beach Shack on Meads, Hank’s in Shoal Bay, and the Cap Shack at Maundays, which has an excellent burger and conch taco, along with barbecued crayfish, lobster, beef short ribs, tuna, and the catch of the day.

If you take the 10-minute speedboat to Sandy Island, you can enjoy drinks like a guava daiquiri and rum punch while feasting on dishes like drunken coconut shrimp, barbecued crawfish, and ribs. All while you listen to live music and hang on the tiny island’s beautiful beach.

Straw Hat is a longtime island favorite on Meads Bay beach for a prime sunset dinner with excellent food. Specialties include goat gyoza dumplings and creole-blackened chicken, and there’s often live music. Other upscale dinner favorites include Blanchard’s, an institution for beachy fine dining, and Veya, which offers a tree house-style setting and serves dishes like shrimp cigars and jerk tuna with poached pineapple.

For something more lively, don’t miss the Mexican spot Picante — yes, there is an authentic Mexican restaurant in Anguilla. Order the spicy jalapeno margarita, with actual pepper chunks floating in it, guacamole, enchiladas, and tuna tacos. End the night with freshly fried churros with dark chocolate sauce.