The right restaurant can make your dinner with kids in Barbados a breeze! Luckily there are so many family friendly restaurants in Barbados. Here I talk through the different restaurants on the West Coast of Barbados that we ate at. All of them were lovely but of course there were a couple of stand out options.
Where to eat; West coast Barbados
There are a lot of gorgeous family friendly hotels in Barbados and many of them are on the west coast so I thought it would be worth sharing our experience of eating out in this area of Barbados with kids. If you’re in Barbados with a baby I have indicated in each of my reviews how buggy friendly the venue is.
We stayed at Colony Club near Holetown and all of the following restaurants were easily accessible by a short taxi ride. We stayed at our hotel on a bed and breakfast basis which allowed us to get out and explore other restaurants every evening.
On our very first night we arrived in the hotel late after a long day of travel so we ate in the hotel, but we went out for dinner in Barbados for the rest of the holiday. As a side note: bed and breakfast is usually my favourite board type when going abroad but if you’re unsure of what to choose for your holiday take a look at my guide to choosing your meal plan here.
Booking family friendly restaurants in Barbados with children
The evenings can be tough for the littles when you travel West. Not only are they jet lagged (by 4 hours if you’re travelling UK to Barbados) they have to stay up later to eat with the grown ups – eating at 8pm instead of 6pm – so this meant the jet lag was more like a 6 hour time difference for my girls.
You have to pre-book restaurants in Barbados for dinner. In our experience restaurants can get booked up 6 weeks in advance. If you are travelling with a big group like we were, or have spacial requests (such as space for a buggy / high chair) because you’re visiting Barbados with a baby you’ll need to be organised.
The Fish Pot
Our first night in Barbados we ate at The Fish Pot. The manager Paul was so welcoming of my exhausted kiddies. The staff could see our girls were shattered and took their order before the adults. Thankfully their meal arrived in no time at all. The girls wolfed down their pasta and fell straight to sleep in the lounge area while the grown ups ate.
The food isn’t fancy – just really good wholesome grub. And no, it’s not all fish but they do fish really well. I definitely recommend visiting here early in your trip if you have jet lagged kids with you. The welcome from the staff alone puts The Fish Pot towards the top of our list of family friendly restaurants in Barbados.
The Lonestar – our all round favourite
The Lonestar is so well known on the West Coast, almost everyone we spoke to listed it as their favourite place to eat. They offer a gorgeous menu in a really cool venue. It’s an incredibly ‘grown up’ restaurant, in fact I was surprised that it turned out to be one of the best family friendly restaurants in Barbados. They welcomed the kids with their special ‘Little Stars’ kids menu.
The setting is stunning and the cocktails were absolutely delicious!
We went to Lonestar twice in our 8 days in Barbados and everyone voted it our fave all round restaurant experience.
Top tip: There’s a big, wide staircase leading into the restaurant which makes it very difficult to access with a buggy (or wheelchair) but there is a secret slope down the side of the restaurant if you need it. Ask the staff to show you.
Juma’s
Juma’s is another gorgeous, seafront venue. We went for dinner but I think it would have been lovely for lunch too. It has a much more rustic, laid-back vibe than the Lonestar. Once the girls had finished eating they could go and play on the beach, looking for shells under the fairy lights.
Top tip: Don’t take the buggy. Juma’s is spread over lots of floors and the stair wells are tight! It was a challenge getting the buggy in and out.
Nishi – my personal favourite
Nishi was by far my favourite restaurant. The food was on another level.
They have two kitchens – sushi and hot food. They cater for everyone but have a strong Japanese and Thai influence. One of the kids had a really good steak and mushroom pie while the other was brave and went for a sushi dish called Volcano. It was possibly the nicest thing I have ever tasted – cooked crab over California rolls. Heaven if you like seafood! And there was the perfect little spot for the girls to crash out after eating as well.
Top tip: When booking I recommend requesting the courtyard, the atmosphere is so much nicer outside than in.
The Mews
You enter The Mews through an unassuming door to what looks like someone’s house, then you’re transported into a very large, multi-room restaurant with a homely vibe. As a table of 10 we had our own space, but even smaller tables often had their own room or area within the building. The food was lovely fresh fish and meat and veg with a some children-friendly options too. The live pianist was really good, playing and singing a range of pop songs with a relaxed twist.
Expect stairs here – we had to carry the buggy, but there is room to set the buggy up for baby to sleep if you need to.
The Sea Shed
We had lunch at the Sea Shed on Mullins Beach. The food is incredible, I highly recommend the burgers. The beach is really pretty and the restaurant itself has a laid-back luxury vibe.
We were a table of 10 and they couldn’t accommodate us in the main restaurant area so we were on the sand. The beach has quite a slope to it though and some were a bit uncomfortable with their chairs sinking in the soft sand. I would request to be sat on the deck if we went again.
We could see all the fairy lights strung around the restaurant and I imagine it would be beautiful at night time for dinner.
The Tides Restaurant – another favourite!
Tides was by far the most glamorous restaurant we went to while in Barbados. It has a gorgeous mediterranean vibe to it, with exquisite interior design and large columns framing the entrance from the beach. In the entrance courtyard you’ll see art displayed from local, South American and European artists. There’s a separate bar/lounge area to enjoy a pre or post dinner cocktail.
Tides is a fine dining experience but there are child-friendly options if you have a fussy eater.
While not entirely step-free there are not many steps around Tides. It’s right on the waters edge and there’s a sea front promenade which would be perfect for walking a buggy up and down if you need to get baby down to sleep before enjoying your meal. I walked the sea front with Max in a baby carrier to settle him to sleep.
As a side note: I always felt perfectly safe walking Max in the dark outside the restaurants. My husband, who likes to chat with everyone he meets on his walks with Max did get offered some … shall we say… “local product”, which surprised me when he was clearly out with a baby! It’s worth mentioning here that it is only legal for Rastafarians to smoke, it is not legalised for everyone.
