Food & Drink in Dominica:
Creole Cooking, Bay Rum & Cocoa

Dominican food is Creole cooking in the proper sense. African, French, British and Indigenous Caribbean influences over what's available locally, which on a small volcanic island means root vegetables, breadfruit, plantain, tropical fruits, and seafood from the Caribbean and Atlantic coasts. The result is hearty, fresh, mostly home-cooked, and generally not what you'll find on a cruise-ship buffet. The country also has two distinctive products worth a look: locally-grown cocoa and bay rum.

What to eat

A short tour of dishes that turn up everywhere on the island.

Callaloo soup

Callaloo is a leafy green (taro leaves, mostly), cooked into a thick green soup with coconut milk, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper, and often okra and crab or salt meat. The Dominican version is on the spicy side. Found at almost every Creole restaurant and home kitchen.

Bakes and saltfish

The classic Dominican breakfast or quick lunch. Bakes are fried dumplings of flour and water, served alongside saltfish (salted cod, rehydrated and sautéed with onions, peppers and tomatoes). Cheap, filling, and ubiquitous in markets and at street stalls.

Fish broth

A clear, peppery broth with chunks of fresh-caught fish, root vegetables, plantain and herbs. Common at lunch in Roseau and Portsmouth markets. Strongly recommended.

Mountain chicken

A frog (Leptodactylus fallax), not a bird. Once a Dominican delicacy, now critically endangered and rarely served because of population collapse. If you see it on a menu, it's almost certainly farmed or imported, and most travellers should pass.

Crab back

Stuffed crab shells. Land crab meat seasoned with onions, garlic, peppers, herbs and breadcrumbs, then baked back inside the shell. Common at Independence festivities and in the Kalinago Territory.

Roti

A flatbread wrap stuffed with curried meat, potato, and chickpeas. A South Asian-Caribbean fusion via Trinidad's Indo-Caribbean tradition, common on small Dominican menus and in markets.

Fresh fish

Tuna, dorado (mahi-mahi), wahoo, marlin, kingfish, snapper. Pan-fried, grilled or poached, often with a Creole sauce. The fish broth above is the most common preparation.

Root vegetables and breadfruit

Dasheen, yam, tannia, sweet potato, eddoes and breadfruit show up at every meal as the starch component. Often boiled and served with butter and salt; sometimes mashed; sometimes turned into "provisions" (a mixed plate of boiled roots with fish or meat).

Christophine

A pale-green pear-shaped squash (chayote in Mexican English). Mild, slightly sweet, served boiled, gratinated or in stews. A staple side.

Plantain

Green or ripe, fried as chips, slices, or "tostones" (smashed and refried). A constant presence on Dominican plates.

Tropical fruit

The market scene is excellent. Look for:

• Mango (December to August, multiple varieties)
• Soursop (year-round)
• Papaya
• Sapodilla
• Golden apple
• Star apple
• Passion fruit
• Coconut

A walk through Dawbiney Market in Roseau on a Saturday morning is the best way to see what's in season.

What to drink

Bounty Rum

The local rum, distilled in Dominica. White Bounty is the standard mixer (commonly served with coconut water or in rum punch). Aged Bounty is smoother, sipped neat or on the rocks.

Rum punch

The default tropical drink. Local rum, lime juice, sugar (or grenadine), bitters and nutmeg. Recipes vary by bartender. Strong.

Coconut water

Sold at roadside stalls everywhere, hacked open with a machete in front of you, drunk with a straw. The freshest you'll have anywhere.

Fresh juices

Fresh-squeezed fruit juices are on most menus and at every market. Soursop, mango, golden apple, passion fruit. Worth ordering instead of bottled drinks.

Sea moss

A drink made from sea moss (Irish moss), a seaweed boiled and mixed with milk, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. Dominican folk-remedy reputation, sweet and surprisingly thick.

Local beers

Kubuli Beer is the dominant local brand, brewed in Loubière. Light lager, very drinkable, on tap and bottled across the island.

Cocoa tea

Hot drink made from local cocoa, water, milk, sugar and spices (often nutmeg and bay leaf). Common at breakfast in the Kalinago Territory and rural villages.

Distinctive products

Three things worth picking up as souvenirs or trying while you're there.

Bay rum

Not a drink. Bay rum is a distilled aromatic from the bay-leaf tree (Pimenta racemosa), used historically as a cologne, aftershave and topical remedy. Dominica's bay rum has been produced commercially since the 19th century and is one of the country's distinctive exports. Small artisanal bottles are widely sold in Roseau and the cruise-port stalls.

Cocoa

Dominica's cocoa is small-batch, high-quality, and grown across the island's interior valleys. Look for:

• 70%+ dark chocolate bars from local makers like Pointe Baptiste.
• Cocoa sticks (raw cocoa rolled with spices, used to make cocoa tea).
• Cocoa-based confectionery at markets and craft shops.

Hot pepper sauces

Locally-made pepper sauces (typically using scotch bonnet) are a good travel-friendly souvenir. Confirm the brand is Dominican rather than wider-Caribbean import. Look for Scotty's, De La Grenade, and small artisanal labels at the markets.

Where to eat

Three categories worth knowing.

Markets and stalls

Cheapest and most authentic. Old Market and Dawbiney Market in Roseau for hot food. Look for what Dominicans are eating.

Casual restaurants

Mid-range, locally-run, accessible food. Examples in Roseau:

• Pearl's Cuisine (King George V Street). Long-running Dominican spot. Lunch only.
• Cocorico Café (Bay Front). Easy breakfast and lunch.
• Crazy Banana. Casual, good for fresh fish.

Hotel restaurants

The more developed-feeling option. Hotels in the Roseau Valley, Castle Comfort and Calibishie areas usually have decent in-house restaurants. Pricier than market food, but reliable.

For more on Roseau food specifically, see the Roseau page.