Restaurants:
Dining on Eleuthera consists of a handful of casual fine dining restaurants, along with a variety of small locally owned restaurants, take-a-ways and roadside stands serving a Bahamian style food, BBQ or fresh conch salad. Many of the small restaurants on Eleuthera are called “take-a-ways”. This does not necessarily mean that they exclusively serve takeout food or that they are in any way fast food. Most have dine-in seating areas but some just also serve meals to go. Eating out on Eleuthera is not a quick venture, you are on “island time”, so do not go to a restaurant starving because in most cases it will be a while till you get your food. When you do go out take your time, have a drink and enjoy the beautiful surroundings while you wait. There are some wonderful restaurants on Eleuthera, in our opinion so take a look at our restaurant list and see what suits you. Most of the restaurants have ever changing limited hours. They are also not always open when you expect them to be, so if you really want to eat somewhere make sure you call ahead to see if they are open. Most places are closed on Sundays we highly recommend not planning on going out to eat on Sundays. The Front Porch and Tippy's are the two places that are usually open on Sundays, BUT they both require a reservation! Take a look at our maps page to see all of the establishment locations on a Google map or our restaurants page to see a list with most of the restaurants on Eleuthera.
Groceries:
There are no big box stores or supermarkets on Eleuthera. The most of the grocery stores are small local markets similar to what you would expect to find at a small neighborhood market in the U.S. Despite your initial shock by their size they do carry most of your basic needs you just won’t find a variety of flavor or brand options like you do in the states. Specialty items, exotic spices and food for specific dietary needs (gluten-free, lactose-free, etc) are typically unavailable so you may want to plan on bringing any special items with you. If you are visiting during the slow season you will find your options even more limited. If you spend enough time on Eleuthera you will learn to appreciate the simplicity of shopping in the Bahamas and will feel a bit overwhelmed when you return home. Many consider it a fun challenge to come up with creative meals with the limited ingredients they gather amongst the local markets, bakeries and farms. A good philosophy to have when grocery shopping is to create meals around what is available. You will have a hard time if you are going in search of something specific. You also will most likely need to visit more than one store, to find the best selection. Groceries are delivered once a week by boat so if your timing is off you may have to wait days before you can buy a loaf of bread or eggs. Prices are quite a bit higher than the U.S, but when you consider the effort it takes items there they are not unreasonable. The boat arrives on Wednesdays so the best shopping days are Thursdays and Fridays. There are NO 24 hour stores on Eleuthera, they have very limited hours by American standards so you need to plan ahead to get all your shopping done. We find it easiest to get all our shopping errands done early in the morning. That way we can play the rest of the day and not have to worry about what we are going to do about food at the end of a long day of fun. Remember almost all the stores are closed on Sundays (or only open early in the morning), so you may need to arrange with your caretaker to have some staples delivered if you arrive on Saturday night or Sunday.
In general you will notice that the meat is mostly frozen and definitely does not look as picture perfect as it does in the supermarkets on the mainland. In the U.S. they frequently take extra measures to make things look more appealing, this is not a common practice on in the Bahamas so do not be alarmed by items that may not look as “fresh” as what you are used to. Meat is generally frozen and can be found in chest freezers in the back of many of the grocery stores. The Marketplace in Rock Sound and The North Eleuthera Shopping Center have the best selection and carry fresh meats along with deli meats and cheeses. The Banks Road Deli also has a great selection of deli meats, cheeses and breads.
Fresh fish can be found at the docks in Tarpum Bay daily around 3 or 4pm, as long as the weather is good. Sometimes you can buy fresh fish in Governors Harbor around 2 or 3pm at the boat ramp in front of Pyfrom’s Liquor or at the docks in James Cistern around 2pm. Times are approximate and vary depending on the weather and how good the fishing was that day. Prices also depend on how good the catch was that day and how much you are purchasing. Prices area generally similar to what you would pay in the U.S. The difference is it is incredibly fresh and absolutely delicious, plus you are supporting the local economy. You will not be able to find fresh fish in the grocery stores. Occasionally you can find frozen lobster at some of the stores when it is out of season.
Your choices are rather limited when it comes to coffee, tea and exotic spices. Most places only carry ground coffee (Millstone or Folgers), but whole bean is quite hard to come by. Last time we were there we found whole bean and ground coffee at Island farms in 3-4lb bags and small bags of Bahamian roasted beans at Pam’s Island Made in Gregory Town. We also found the small 12 oz bags of ground Starbucks brand coffee at the Marketplace in Rock Sound. Da Perk also serves Starbucks drip coffee if you just cant take the Millstone anymore. As far as spices go you can find your basic spice needs, salt, pepper, garlic, cinnamon, curry, etc at most markets. If you want any exotic spices or specialty blends we suggest you bring your own. Many of the rental villas are rather well stocked with spices, left by the homeowners or previous guests so you may want to see what is on hand at your rental before purchasing things like spices, sugar, flour, etc.
The availability of fresh fruits and vegetables can be hit an miss in the Bahamas. It takes a long time to get things shipped to the out islands so sometimes the produce may not be as fresh as you are used to. Look for local Bahamian fruits and vegetables and buy them when you can find them. One thing to note that even very fresh produce in the Bahamas can look “blemished” but it is perfectly fine and absolutely delicious. The local produce looks more like what you would grow at home, rather than treated, polished and sorted produce you find in a supermarket. Particularly the tomatoes, you will notice that most of the time they are still partially yellow and look slightly unripe, but they are perfectly ripe and believe me they are some of the best tomatoes you will ever have. Don’t miss out on the fresh local pineapples and melons too. The local sour oranges work great for ceviche or as a replacement for limes in your gin or vodka tonic. If you want the freshest vegetables your best bet is to go to one of the half dozen or so farms or fruit stands scattered around the island.
In general you will notice that the meat is mostly frozen and definitely does not look as picture perfect as it does in the supermarkets on the mainland. In the U.S. they frequently take extra measures to make things look more appealing, this is not a common practice on in the Bahamas so do not be alarmed by items that may not look as “fresh” as what you are used to. Meat is generally frozen and can be found in chest freezers in the back of many of the grocery stores. The Marketplace in Rock Sound and The North Eleuthera Shopping Center have the best selection and carry fresh meats along with deli meats and cheeses. The Banks Road Deli also has a great selection of deli meats, cheeses and breads.
Fresh fish can be found at the docks in Tarpum Bay daily around 3 or 4pm, as long as the weather is good. Sometimes you can buy fresh fish in Governors Harbor around 2 or 3pm at the boat ramp in front of Pyfrom’s Liquor or at the docks in James Cistern around 2pm. Times are approximate and vary depending on the weather and how good the fishing was that day. Prices also depend on how good the catch was that day and how much you are purchasing. Prices area generally similar to what you would pay in the U.S. The difference is it is incredibly fresh and absolutely delicious, plus you are supporting the local economy. You will not be able to find fresh fish in the grocery stores. Occasionally you can find frozen lobster at some of the stores when it is out of season.
Your choices are rather limited when it comes to coffee, tea and exotic spices. Most places only carry ground coffee (Millstone or Folgers), but whole bean is quite hard to come by. Last time we were there we found whole bean and ground coffee at Island farms in 3-4lb bags and small bags of Bahamian roasted beans at Pam’s Island Made in Gregory Town. We also found the small 12 oz bags of ground Starbucks brand coffee at the Marketplace in Rock Sound. Da Perk also serves Starbucks drip coffee if you just cant take the Millstone anymore. As far as spices go you can find your basic spice needs, salt, pepper, garlic, cinnamon, curry, etc at most markets. If you want any exotic spices or specialty blends we suggest you bring your own. Many of the rental villas are rather well stocked with spices, left by the homeowners or previous guests so you may want to see what is on hand at your rental before purchasing things like spices, sugar, flour, etc.
The availability of fresh fruits and vegetables can be hit an miss in the Bahamas. It takes a long time to get things shipped to the out islands so sometimes the produce may not be as fresh as you are used to. Look for local Bahamian fruits and vegetables and buy them when you can find them. One thing to note that even very fresh produce in the Bahamas can look “blemished” but it is perfectly fine and absolutely delicious. The local produce looks more like what you would grow at home, rather than treated, polished and sorted produce you find in a supermarket. Particularly the tomatoes, you will notice that most of the time they are still partially yellow and look slightly unripe, but they are perfectly ripe and believe me they are some of the best tomatoes you will ever have. Don’t miss out on the fresh local pineapples and melons too. The local sour oranges work great for ceviche or as a replacement for limes in your gin or vodka tonic. If you want the freshest vegetables your best bet is to go to one of the half dozen or so farms or fruit stands scattered around the island.
Beer, Wine and Liquor:
Liquor is inexpensive in the Bahamas and generally sold by the liter. Rum starts as low as $8 a bottle. The duty on beer and wine is much higher so therefore it is generally more expensive. Expect to pay around $50 for a case of beer and wine starts at around $10 a bottle. Depending on your country of origin you are allowed to bring one or two bottles liquor home, one of which needs to be produced in the Caribbean. Most of the liquor stores are open till around 5 or 6pm Monday through Saturday. They are all closed on Sundays. If you find your beverage supply has run dry on a Sunday, stop by one of the local bars and see if they will sell you enough beer to hold you over till Monday.
