13 Best Restaurants To Dine At While Visiting Jamaica

Jamaican cuisine is the product of hundreds of years of colonization and settlement by different groups of people. Its history stretches back to the indigenous Arawak and Taino, who pioneered the technique of smoking meat over an open fire that led to modern-day jerk chicken, perhaps Jamaica's most famous dish. The island was conquered and colonized by the Spanish and then the English, who both brought their own ingredients and recipes to Jamaica. Indian and Chinese migrants, as well as enslaved Africans, were instrumental in creating Jamaican cuisine, too. This rich medley of cultures combined with the country's natural bounty of ingredients has produced a food scene unlike any other in the world.

It's impossible to capture Jamaica's culinary essence in a short article, but that isn't going to stop us from trying. In our list of the best places to eat when visiting Jamaica, we've tried to represent the wide variety of options on the island, from humble street food stalls to luxurious resort fine dining restaurants. We've included plenty of places in and around Kingston, the largest city, but we made sure to throw in some recommendations from across the country, as well. Many subtypes of Jamaican food are represented, as well as some other global cuisines. It is hard to find bad food in Jamaica, and with this list, you'll be prepared to enjoy a gastronomical trip you won't soon forget.

While Jamaica excels at informal street food like Northside Chicken, it also has a killer fine dining scene. Stush in the Bush, located in rural St. Ann, about 90 minutes from Kingston, is a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that offers a unique multi-course plant-based tasting menu. The farm-to-table restaurant incorporates some ingredients grown on the property. The proprietors are a married couple, Lisa and Christopher Binns (nicknamed "Stush" and "Bush," respectively). She's Barbadian (also known as Bajan, if you're a local) and he's Jamaican, and the menu pulls from those influences as well as a variety of global cuisines. You'll find New York-style pizza coexisting with Mediterranean mezze platters and vegan Caribbean classics, all washed down with refreshing juices or carefully-selected wines. Combined with the lush forested atmosphere, it's a dining experience worth going out of your way for.

It's important to know that Stush in the Bush does not accept walk-ins. You must make a reservation ahead of time and put down a deposit in order to visit. The reservation includes dinner and a guided tour of the farm with Christopher.

While much of this list will focus on restaurants serving Jamaican cuisine, that's only part of what the country has to offer hungry travelers. Jamaica also has plenty of great restaurants serving world cuisines, including Chinese. If you want the island's best Chinese food, head to Di Dragon.

The restaurant is a little bit tricky to find, as it's in an unassuming building tucked away in Portmore, around half an hour from Kingston. Despite its humble ambiance, Di Dragon has been getting some major love on social media lately, so wait times can be long. If you're able to plan ahead, make a reservation and pre-order your food to expedite the experience.

Di Dragon serves Chinese comfort classics that you've probably had many times before, like lo mein, chicken in black bean sauce, and sweet & sour chicken. If you want something extra-special, go for the seafood specialties like king crab, lobster, and blue crab — you won't find anything like that in a typical Chinese takeout spot in the States. Remember to bring cash, as Di Dragon doesn't take cards.

Moving back to local Jamaican specialties, you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't eat at least one patty while visiting the island. Every culture seems to have its own type of savory pie, and, in Jamaica, the handheld, pastry-encrusted snack of choice is the beef patty. It typically consists of a seasoned minced beef filling enrobed in a golden, turmeric-scented crust. You can find patties from innumerable businesses in Jamaica, but the scene is dominated by three chains: Mother's, Tastee, and Juici. A Jamaicans.com poll determined that Tastee Patties is the favorite local chain.

Tastee has a long history in Jamaica. It was founded by Vincent Chang, an immigrant from Hong Kong, in 1966. Before starting the business, Chang studied at the American Institute of Baking in Chicago. With his expertise, he built an empire of patty bakeries with dozens of locations scattered across Jamaica.

In addition to the classic beef patty, you can get cheese, chicken, and a Super Patty that's been split open and garnished with fresh vegetables. The patties are just a small part of the chain's modern-day menu, and you can load up on many other classic Jamaican dishes like ackee & saltfish, callaloo (stewed greens), and curried mutton. This is a great place to start your day with a traditional Jamaican breakfast platter.

We've already recommended a great seaside restaurant, but what if you want to take things a step further and eat your dinner while actually floating on the ocean? That's where The HouseBoat Grill comes in. The restaurant is in a literal houseboat in the Montego Bay Marine Park Fish Sanctuary in the northwestern part of Jamaica. You have to take a very short ferry ride to visit the restaurant. The HouseBoat Grill has been around for over 20 years, but the boat itself has an even longer history than that. Before it was a restaurant, it served as Steve Mcqueen's lodgings and as a green room for famous musicians like the Beach Boys and Aretha Franklin.

The current incarnation of the HouseBoat Grill is overseen by chef (and avid fisherman) Rich Nurse. The menu pulls influences from all over the world, with European specialties like lemon caper linguine and grilled calamari mixing with Chinese flavors like five-spice powder and Jamaican ingredients like Scotch bonnet peppers. The melange of flavors comes together perfectly and the nautical dining room makes the HouseBoat Grill a dining adventure unlike any other.

Cafe Blue is a great spot for people who want a taste of the lush greenery of the Blue Mountains, but if you want to stay awhile, Strawberry Hill Resort is the place to be. The restaurant at the resort is worth a visit even if you don't stay the night. Strawberry Hill has attracted celebrities like Bob Marley and Mick Jagger, so you know the food has to be good.

The restaurant uses locally-grown ingredients so it has some of the farm-to-table charm of Stush in the Bush but is served in an even more upscale and refined setting. The menu is prix-fixe and seasonal, so you never know exactly what you're going to get, but expect elevated takes on Jamaican specialties like curried goat. Posh Kingstonians make the trip up to Strawberry Hill for its Sunday brunch, and its desserts are excellent as well.

Special tribute must be paid to Strawberry Hill's drinks program, which owes a debt to retired mixologist Desmond. You can't miss the rum punch, which is the perfect thing to sip while enjoying the refined ambiance of the hotel's bar.

If you're looking for an Ital feast a little closer to the heart of Kingston than the Shanty Man, seek out Ibo Spice Portal. The proprietor grows much of the food he serves and sources the rest from local vendors, so you know it's all incredibly fresh.

Don't let this restaurant's humble brick exterior deceive you — inside awaits a magical experience. There's a garden to eat in and a miniature art market offering crafts from local artists. If you care to, you can partake in some cannabis. And the food is top-notch. The menu varies depending on what ingredients are available, but you can count on hearty, complex vegetarian fare served in calabash bowls. Look out for the polenta burger, which uses bricks of fried polenta as the buns and is stuffed with a bean patty, tamarind, vegan cheese, strawberry pepper jelly, and guacamole. The fresh fruit and juices are a highlight as well. And just because you're eating Ital doesn't mean you can't have dessert: Save room for the gluten-free squake, a type of vegan cake.