Quick answer: try johnnycakes, pates and a plate of local food (stewed or grilled meat or fish with rice, peas and sides) at a roadside favorite like La Reine Chicken Shack, then branch out to kallaloo, fungi and goat water. Wash it down with maubi or, around Christmas, sorrel and coquito.
Dishes to know
- Johnnycakes. Fried dough, golden outside and soft inside. Somewhere between a biscuit and a roll, and served with almost everything.
- Pates. Fried pastry pockets filled with seasoned saltfish, beef, chicken or conch. The classic grab-and-go snack.
- Kallaloo. A thick, green stew of leafy greens, okra and meat or seafood, a traditional dish for Old Year’s Night (New Year’s Eve) and special occasions.
- Fungi. Cornmeal cooked with okra into a smooth side, usually paired with fish.
- Saltfish. Salted cod, rehydrated and sautéed with onions, peppers and tomato.
- Goat water. A rich, peppery goat stew.
- Stewed conch and local fish. Watch for daily specials of fish like mahi or snapper.
- Roti. Curried filling wrapped in flatbread, a much-loved Caribbean lunch.
- Drinks. Maubi is a sweet, slightly bitter drink brewed from tree bark and spices. Sorrel (hibiscus) and coquito (coconut and rum) come out at Christmas, and the island even holds a Coquito Festival.
Where to eat local food
- La Reine Chicken Shack. A family favorite for decades, famous for rotisserie chicken turning out back, plus ribs, stewed conch, local sides and some of the island’s best-loved johnnycakes. Bring cash just in case. 4.6★ from 2,012 Google reviews · $$
- Junie's Bar & Restaurant. Local plates mid-island. 4.4★ from 114 Google reviews
- Martha's Deli. A small local spot with strong reviews. 4.6★ from 144 Google reviews
- Love Croix Eatz. Caribbean cooking mid-island. 4.7★ from 194 Google reviews · $$
- Corine's Food Service. Caribbean plates in Christiansted. 4.7★ from 82 Google reviews
- Singh's. A go-to for a quick Caribbean lunch in Christiansted. 4.3★ from 317 Google reviews · $$
- Ital in Paradise and Uca's Kitchen. Plant-based ital cooking from the Rastafarian tradition. 4.8★ from 195 Google reviews · $$
- Island Vybz Grill. Caribbean grill favorites. 4.2★ from 119 Google reviews · $$
Bakeries for johnnycakes, pates and bread
- Thomas Bakery (mid-island and Frederiksted), Gary's Bakery (Christiansted), Daniel's Bakery and VI Bakery & Deli. Go early, when things come out of the oven and the fryer.
Eat like a local
- Go at lunch. Many local kitchens cook in the morning and sell out by mid-afternoon.
- Ask for the specials. The best dishes are often on a whiteboard, not the menu.
- Time it with a festival. Agrifest, the Crucian Christmas Festival and food fairs are the best way to taste everything at once. See St. Croix Today.
Ratings are from Google at the time of writing and update nightly on each restaurant’s page. Hours change, especially in the quieter late-summer months, so check before you go.
