Trinidad and Tobago
Dining And Drinking

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The twin Caribbean isles of Trinidad and Tobago offer a king's feast in terms of drinking and dining. Most of the fine dining restaurants are housed in hotels with single theme-based restaurants such as Indian, Chinese or seafood cuisine found in nearby regions.

Most restaurants are licensed to serve alcohol, which of course includes everything from beer to alcohol with strongest proof around. For the twin isles, dining and drinking is a very important and big part of the social scene. The ritual of drinking is viewed almost as a national pastime of sorts, and people tend to dress for the occasion. The restaurants provide ambience, décor and variety. With locations in the open-air, overlooking the sea or with breathtaking views of golden sunsets, to establishments of fine dining with exquisite interiors that transport you to a different place in time. Most are affordably priced and within reach of the major hotels. The menus are varied offering everything from local cuisine of roti and curried meat to the international flavors of the Hilton Trinidad & Conference Centre, located just minutes away from downtown Port of Spain and opposite the Queen's Park Savannah.

For the adventurous traveler, there is the taste unique to Trinidad and Tobago in the way of Indian, Creole and a special blend of Chinese food. These dishes consist of fresh local ingredients. Creole food is a purely local cuisine influenced by the African flavour. Such dishes on offer are callaloo soup, a pride and joy of Trinidad and Tobago, which consists of dasheen leaves (a local spinach type leafy vegetable), ochroes, crab, hot pepper and local seasonings. Pelau is another Creole dish, which is primarily a rice dish with peas, cooked meat, coconut and pepper. A restaurants that caters specifically to the Creole menu is the Shirvan Watermill situated in Mt Pleasant in Tobago.

Indian food is a popular cuisine in the twin isles. Its origin comes directly from India via the indentured laborers. The influence this culture has had on our taste buds is evident in the endless roti shops. These feature roti, which is Indian flat bread, served up with accompaniments such as curry meat or vegetables. The local touch consists of curried mango, hot pepper and local fresh seasoning, such as the chadon beni leaf, which gives the food a unique taste, very different to the authentic East Indian curry dishes. Most of the Indian food restaurants tend to be fast food establishments. One that offers authentic Indian food, such as tandoori and biriyani, is Apsara, which can be found in a scenic spot facing the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain.

Chinese food is equally popular with fine dining establishments, stylish restaurants and fast food outlets. The taste is distinctively a local style with a twist of Cantonese or Thai. The actual establishments vary from authentic looking pagodas painted in traditional green and red with gold embellishments to contemporary styles using subtle interior designs. The menus cover everything from seafood to vegetable dishes. Some examples of Chinese restaurants to be found are the Tamnak Thai, located around the Queen's Park Savannah in Port of Spain and Jenny's on the Boulevard, located on Cipriani Boulevard in Newtown, just outside Port of Spain. Other restaurants feature Syrian, Italian European, and of course international menus.

As for fast food, although the international giants are a major force, the twin isles also have their own local fast food alternatives in the form of Royal Castle, which serves up a local taste of chicken and fries, together with the best pepper sauce. There's also Mario's Pizzeria and Pizza/Burger Boys, which serves chicken and fries, burgers and of course, pizza. One thing that should be noted is that many locals tend to smother ketchup over pizza, with a hint of mustard and of course pepper sauce. This is what's called the "Trini way" of doing things. All these restaurants have locations across Trinidad and Tobago.

Another unique flavour of fast food that truly encompasses the local taste is what is known as "doubles". This is derived from the East Indian heritage and comprises to hand-sized roti type skins called bharra, sandwiched together with curried channa in the middle. This can be purchased from roadside vendors who usually have coconut vendors close by for the accompanying cold coconut water drink. Popular doubles locations can be found throughout Trinidad, such as at the Barataria Roundabout, outside the grounds of the University of the West Indies (UWI) in St Augustine, and at the El Socorro Junction in San Juan.

The Trinidad and Tobago dining experience also extends beyond the bounds of the restaurant environment to the sun-kissed beaches, and particularly, Maracas Beach on Trinidad's North Coast. Here, the recommendation of the day can only be one thing and that is fried bake and shark. This is thick, golden brown fried bread with a nicely seasoned fried shark fillet sandwiched in between. This is purchased from food huts on the beach itself and some places also offer fresh green salad, chutney and other condiments to spoon into your bake and shark.

Tobago also has its own specialty and that would be crab and dumpling soup. A unique blend of Caribbean flavors culminates into this most delicious soup.