Archive for Nevis

The best St. Kitts restaurants

Spending 9 days exploring the hidden gems of the paradise islands St. Kitts and Nevis, we were also making our way through them tasting both the local and the luxurious restaurants. I put up a list of the best ones when going all around St. Kitts.

 

The best St. Kitts restaurants:

 

El Fredo’s restaurant

Located on Bay Road in Basseterre is a locally owned restaurant with local specialties and local beer. If you are a fish lover, order the super tasty Creole Fish of the day. I had the famous Mahi Mahi for lunch with rice, beans, vegetables and a fresh fruit punch. We were served by the very friendly Jasmine, the tall owner of the restaurant and then had a chat with her husband Kenneth who just came by to check if everything was ok and we were enjoying the food. We randomly asked him about all the Welsh flags hanging on the walls of the restaurant, and found out a very interesting story behind it.

 

”I was born on St. Kitts but when I was 14, we moved to Wales. Later on, I met Jasmine there whose family was from St. Kitts but she was living in Wales. We married, moved to St. Kitts and opened this restaurant.” started with their family story Kenneth Francis.

Jasmine was able to visit her grandparents here on the island as they still lived there 30 years ago.

”We named the restaurant El Fredo’s after my auntie” continued Kenneth with a smile on his face which was not showing any wrinkles even though he was a father of 2 grown-up boys and 2 girls living all around the world now (in Wales, Vancouver, London and one on St. Kitts).

Kenneth, a cricket player years ago, was now very happy to serve delicious local dishes to both the locals and travelers. I took a quick snap of Kenneth and Jasmine for a memory.

Check out El Fredo’s Facebook page, they don’t have a website yet.

 

El Fredo's restaurant St. Kitts mahi mahi El Fredo's restaurant with Jasmine and Kenneth from El Fredo's restaurant St. Kitts

 

Spice Mill

I think this was my favorite dinner place on St. Kitts especially when it comes to its setting. Personally I would definitely make Spice Mill one of the top 2 St. Kitts restaurants. Situated at Cockleshell Beach with stunning views of Nevis island and Mount Nevis on the horizon during the day and then the lights far away make it very romantic too. You can also witness amazing sunsets from here just before your dinner!

When we came in, I was really in awe. Coconut wood-top, indigenous arts, natural material and all designed in a very original Amerindian way. The restaurant’s interior is actually a Kalinago dug out canoe, custom built by the Caribs of Dominica! Spice Mill is definitely the Kittitian restaurant with the nicest interior.

The food is very authentic too. You really feel like in the heart of the Caribbean. My friends also enjoyed some drinks and wine, I kept staring at the unique chandeliers when sipping on my juice.

There’s a lot to discover at Spice Mill, check out their website for more.

 

Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (1) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (2) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (3) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (4) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (5) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (6) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (7) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (8) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (9) Spice Mill Cockleshell Beach St. Kitts (10)

 

Carambola Beach Club restaurant

Opened since December 2011 in South Friar’s Bay where the general manager Chris Evelyn is making sure everything works fine. A local owns it, so it is locally managed too. 99% of all people having lunch here are the cruisers so they come here and mostly stay on the beach too after they have lunch.

I enjoyed the ambiance of Carambola Beach Club – we walked in, then spent some time at the very pretty beach, had some fun in the waves, enjoyed our fresh drinks and then head inside to cool down for lunch.

 

As soon as I saw sushi on the menu, I was sold. We could even watch the cooks preparing our sushi right there! There’s a European chef with Asian influence which makes up for an interesting menu.

Carambola Beach Club restaurant has an exotic feel to it, it’s a very open restaurant with a lot of fresh air coming in. You can eat both indoor or outdoor. Soon they are expanding to residences on the beach too where you will be able to stay for a night.

Check out Carambola Beach Club Facebook page for the menu and other news.

 

Carambola Beach Club restaurant St. Kitts (1) Carambola Beach Club restaurant St. Kitts (2) Carambola Beach Club restaurant St. Kitts (3) Carambola Beach Club restaurant St. Kitts (4) Carambola Beach Club restaurant St. Kitts (5) Carambola Beach Club restaurant St. Kitts (6)

 

 

Reggae Beach Bar

I really loved its location. It was the first place where we had lunch so I was thrilled to get to the beach after a few winter months back in Europe. Reggae beach Bar is located right on the beach at Cockleshell Bay on the South East Peninsula just 9 miles from Basseterre, the capital of St. Kitts.

The beach looks like heaven, there’s sun beds, you can swim and even watch cruises passing by on the horizon. Then just walk a few metres to get in the shade of the restaurant. Drinks and tasty fish were on our table very quickly.

I also enjoyed looking up to the ceiling reading the messages about love, life and happiness.

Check out Reggae Beach Bar website for more info.

 

Cockleshell Bay on the South East Peninsula (1) Cockleshell Bay on the South East Peninsula (2) Reggae Beach Bar St. Kitts (1) Reggae Beach Bar St. Kitts (2) Reggae Beach Bar St. Kitts (3) Reggae Beach Bar St. Kitts (4) Reggae Beach Bar St. Kitts (5) Reggae Beach Bar St. Kitts (6)

 

Ottley’s Plantation Inn

 

Restored 18th century sugar plantation run by a family. Very laid back place and fun at the same time. The plantation stands out for its amazing swimming pool set in between historic plantation building walls. We spent a few hours there, first with drinks and then tasting fresh local food and drinks at The Royal Palm surrounded by palm trees with the view of the ocean. Fresh salads, Mexican dishes and even many special Caribbean meals were on the menu, yay! What a pleasant place to chill out!

Check out Ottley’s Plantation Inn website to find out more.

 

Royal Palm Restaurant Ottle's Plantation Inn (1) Royal Palm Restaurant Ottle's Plantation Inn (2) Royal Palm Restaurant Ottle's Plantation Inn (3) Royal Palm Restaurant Ottle's Plantation Inn (4)

 

 

Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack

Situated in Frigate Bay just a few metres from Timothy beach resort where we were staying, it’s one of the most-known bars and restaurants on St. Kitts. I cannot say it was my favorite one though. It took ages to get a table, it was so busy! And then it took long again for our meals to arrive but with so many guests, it makes sense.

Thankfully, the sound of the sea waves and a show with local kids dancing and then a fireshow made it for an interesting time. I also liked sitting under the stars. And the name of the restaurant just always makes me smile.

Check out Mr. X’s Shiggidy Shack Facebook.

 

Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (8) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (7) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (5) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (6) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (4) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (3) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (2) Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack St. Kitts (1)

 

 

Marshall’s Restaurant

Thumbs up for the very fine dining at this restaurant. I really enjoyed our round table as we finally could see each other very well when trying to chat in between the meals and not sticking around to talking just to those sitting next to us 🙂

The pool and all the lights around it were very nice. And the chef said hi to us when we were leaving, so thoughtful!

 

Marshall's restaurant St. Kitts (3) Marshall's restaurant St. Kitts (2) Marshall's restaurant St. Kitts (1)

 

Ballahoo restaurant

The best thing about this restaurant is its location in the historic centre of Basseterre which makes up for really nice views of the area. At night time it’s very romantic with many different lights all around.

I enjoyed my mango smoothie and you can even order Mexican quesadillas! Or many local dishes such as fish of the day with veggies, chicken or sea food.

Check out more about Ballahoo restaurant.

 

Ballahoo restaurant Basseterre St. Kitts (4) Ballahoo restaurant Basseterre St. Kitts (3) Ballahoo restaurant Basseterre St. Kitts (2) Ballahoo restaurant Basseterre St. Kitts (1)

 

Looking for Indian food on St. Kitts? Then check out Bombay Blues Restaurant. I am not the biggest fan of it as I do not like spicy meals and almost everything is spicy for me.

How about an afternoon tea with a rum tour at Fairview Great House?

 

 

Many thanks to St. Kitts Tourist Board and all the mentioned restaurants for treating me like a star. All the opinions in this article are my own as usual. 

*** It took me more than 10 hours to write this post.

 

Interview with Reginald Douglas aka Reggie from Nevis

interview with Reginald Douglas at Nisbet Plantation

When we visited Nevis island and went all around Nisbet Plantation to check out the place where Fanny Nisbet, the wife of Horatio Nelson, used to live, we had a great chance to meet Reginald Douglas, the famous sportsman of Nevis.

Reginald Douglas aka Reggie didn’t look for his 36 years at all and I really thought he was joking when he said that. Born on Nevis but his family is from Antigua (his mother was adopted on Nevis). Drinking water, Reggie started telling us that he swam from Nevis to St. Kitts 5 times which takes around 1 hour.

Some people swim this for fun or do snorkeling as it is shallow and you can see the formation of 2 islands here.

interview with Reginald Douglas at Nisbet Plantation

interview with Reginald Douglas at Nisbet Plantation

 

He trains people not only when it comes to sports but also shows them fishing. Participating in cancer races to raise funds was just one of the many interesting things I learned about this always smiling sportsman. 

Reggie runs and cycles for triathlon and this is also what made him famous. Started in 2007, then in 2010 he participated in Australia too where he finished as the 46th in his age group out of 2,000 people. He did triathlon also in Switzerland. In Trinidad and Tobago he won, he races in St. Maarten, and he won the International Triathlon on Nevis in 2007. In 2003 Reggie also did his first Ironman as the only Caribbean guy who did half Ironman on vegan diet (as a vegan myself I have to give him thumbs up for this!)

After Reggie turned 30 he started eating fish again for extra protein. He does advertising for Nevis island on his sports clothes and works with sponsors from local business, tourism boards, EPIX gear from the US which makes it very similar to travel blogging as we get some sponsors too.

Nevis terrain is good for sports – it’s relaxing, the weather is great, many athletes come here to train.

He is trying to be as safe as possible but ran into a monkey during a race and got a blood clot and almost died.

Nothing is sweeter than when you get your eyes on something – a goal

always smiling Reggie

always smiling Reggie Douglas

Reggie told us his take on Lance Armstrong taking drugs – his French team left him when he got cancer, he came back with the US sponsor with a lot of pressure on his shoulders and couldn’t make it which lead to drugs.

Nowadays Reggie does less triathlon but concentrates more on cycling and mountain biking. He even started Nevis Adventure Tours with GreenEdge Bike on Nevis. And he also helps some youngsters with sports as it helps them with their education too.

I didn’t know what to expect from our interview but in the end it gave me a lot. Not only I knew some things about Ironman and triathlon from my American ex boyfriend who was training for them too, but Reggie also inspired me so much when he was talking about the kids or anyone who he is helping to train and move forward. Every inspiration is good.

crazy sexy fun traveler with Reggie Douglas

with Reggie