This is Part 3 of Christmas in Paradise by Oliver (Winchester, UK). If you have not read Part 1 or Part 2 of Oliver’s Christmas in Grenada you should do so first before continuing.

Culinarily speaking, our greatest triumph was the cooking of seven (yes, seven) lobsters, which we collected direct from the boat in Lower Woburn.

My New Friend

As we feasted on the delicious meat, I reflected that the cheapest lobster I’d seen on any menu was 75 EC dollars, while we’d paid just 100 EC for all those lobsters. Bargain!

Lobster Feast

We planned to eat out as much as possible but in the end (no way were we going to risk drinking and driving), we ended up walking over the hill to Le Phare Bleu on several occasions, as it was just a five minute walk from the house.

Vastra Banken Swedish Lightship

We didn’t risk the beautiful but pricey Västra Banken lightship itself but found the Poolbar restaurant a great place to chill with nice food, very cheap Happy Hour Carib Buckets and live music of varying quality.

We disgraced ourselves by allowing our guard dog to follow us into the complex, whereupon she promptly stared a dogfight in the middle of the restaurant, scattering the diners in terror.

Our Dog Coco

This is by no means the “real” Grenada, by the way, more the sanctuary of well-heeled European yachtie types, but still a beautiful place to relax.

Talking of Carib Beer, I’m afraid I’m addicted. We adventurously ventured to the brewery itself and bought two crates, which I’m embarrassed to say I single-handedly emptied in a week. It’s nectar.

Carib Girls - Le Phare Bleu Happy Hour

We just had to try BB’s Crabback in St George’s, as Giles Coren had pronounced it the “best restaurant in the world”. I don’t think even BB himself would claim that, but the food was indeed delicious and he fitted us in without a booking, even though an entire touring UK cricket party was also there. We left before it got noisy.

We sadly didn’t make the highly recommended Fish Friday in Gouyave, but other random places we tried included an incongruous but rather sweet German restaurant on the harbour, the aforementioned Mangrove Hideaway (while the lights still worked) and the more upmarket Dodgy Dock, great for plane spotting.

But none of them could match the simple majesty of the rotis at the Hard Wood Snacket in Carriacou, where we’d taken a day trip with the Osprey (shockingly referred to by the locals as the “Vomit Comet”). But that’s another story.

One thing’s for sure – no future Christmas will ever measure up to this.

Birgit and Oliver

If you are in Grenada, you MUST eat at BB’s Crabback Restaurant! It is by far the best food on the Island. The chef/owner, Brian Benjamin (aka “BB”) was born in Grenada and professionally trained in Europe, and the food represents a perfect inter-mingling of the two… Grenadian and European… the best of both worlds.

Everything is fresh, local, and unimaginably delicious. My personal favorites are the Crabback appetizer, and the Prawns in lobster sauce. I can’t rave enough about pure deliciousness of this food!

As if the fabulous food isn’t enough, the restaurant is in a great location, downtown in the heart of the capital, St. Georges, on the Carenage, literally sitting over the ocean. It is casual open-air dining with a million dollar view, watching the boats drift by on the crystal turquoise waters of the Caribbean.

You will be enthusiastically welcomed and waited upon by BB’s British wife, Anna, who will chat you up about everything you need to know in Grenada. And she will probably know your uncle’s wife’s sister’s hairdresser!

The whole experience will leave you ready to sell all your belongings and move to Grenada…that’s what I did!

- Clare Salthouse