Bermuda Restaurants Guide: Where To Eat in the Bermuda Islands

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Bermuda

Restaurants

Dining is frightfully expensive but often worth it on this exclusive island. It's one of the few destinations where the top hotel dining rooms truly excel, serving creative Continental cuisine, as well as worthy ethnic fare from Italian to Indian – as befits the island's nautical crossroads. While some restaurants remain formal (jacket, tie and Bermuda shorts), many trendy spots in Hamilton are more casual. Don't pass up traditional local specialties such as fish chowder (spiked with Outerbridge hot pepper sauce), shark or cod cakes. Wash it down with Gosling's (base of the justly famous rum swizzle – a lethal knockout punch – and dark 'n' stormy), and finish your meal with Bermuda Gold liqueur, distilled from the wild loquats growing everywhere on island. Here's just a small taste of centrally located eateries; reservations are strongly recommended.

On the expensive end, we adore the three top restaurants at the Fairmont Southampton, especially the Newport Room (101 South Shore Rd., Southampton; 441/238-8000; www.fairmont.com/southampton), the first-ever 5-diamond AAA restaurant in Bermuda – and all of the Caribbean for that matter. The clever design replicates a luxury yacht right down to portholes, with lots of brass and mahogany, and, although you can order a la carte, we highly recommend splurging on the seven-course tasting menu (paired with wines from the extensive list) from chef de cuisine Michael Scott; even the amuses bouches are delectable, setting the stage for beautifully presented, architectural dishes. The Fairmont's romantic Waterlot Inn (same address and phone) occupies a historic beamed waterfront room with brass sconces, hardwood wainscoting and flickering candles, and glorious outdoor garden terrace – the place to enjoy sunset cocktails as the sun fireballs across Jew's Bay. Start with the fabulous Bermuda Onion and braised short rib soup, segue to oysters Rockefeller, buffalo carpaccio, or wild mushroom risotto, then tuck into perfectly prepared dry-aged steaks – this is not a place for the calorie- and cholesterol-conscious.

Pink Beach's Bermudiana Restaurant (South Rd., Smith's; 441/293-1666; www.pinkbeach.com) offers another admirable hotel dining experience. Start with cocktails in the clubby lounge, then savor rising young British chef Joanne Bainbridge's innovative, artfully presented fare: tea-smoked mahi mahi with spicy seaweed salad and mango-corn salsa; foie gras with apple-fig-cilantro compote; velvety cod with saffron beurre blanc and pesto. If you're lucky, one of the invariably excellent winetasting dinners might be on tap during your stay. Fourways Inn (Middle Rd., Paget; 441/236-6517;www.fourwaysinn.com), occupying a 1727 cottage of coral stone and Bermuda cedar, with tables set with the finest crystal, silver, china and linens, is the ideal spot to propose; you can also dine al fresco by a rock pond in the Rock Garden. Fare ranges from expertly prepared, Eisenhower-era Continental cuisine (caviar, escargots, filet mignon with three pestos, chateaubriand with bearnaise sauce, lobster thermidor) to more creative variations (pan-roasted duck breast and foie gras set on braised bok choy with aged balsamic drizzle and gingered citrus) to traditional Bermudian fare (superlative fish chowder and dark-and-stormy souffle). Waterloo House (Pitts Bay Rd., Hamilton; 441/295-4480; www.bermudasbest.com) is one of our favorite places to stay (see hotel review below), but even non-guests can savor the creative fare and bracing harbor views in the Wellington Dining Room. The decor may seem stuffy (white columns, brilliant pink walls, brass railings and chandeliers, gilt mirrors, and old portraits of stern-looking ancestor-types), but the food and service most assuredly aren't; in fine weather, grab a patio seat on the Poinciana Terrace and revel in the likes of grilled tuna with roasted shallot puree and orange reduction, halibut with saffron froth and sherry pepper, or sweet corn/fontina ravioli in almond butter.

On the moderate side, we adore Mediterraneo Bistro (39 Church St., Hamilton; 441/296-9047), the preferred lunch spot for the premier and other politicos (the House of Assembly is just across the street). The cool, contemporary space (ocher sponge-painted walls, blue banquettes and tablecloths, polished wood floors, et al.) is a wonderful setting for signature items like snapper with trilogy of tapenades (artichoke, sundried tomato basil, black olive) and osso buco with basil-orange risotto. Cafe Cairo (93 Front St., Hamilton; 441/295-5155) transforms the second floor of an old Front Street edifice into an exotic souk with antique Arabic shutters as wall hangings, hammered copper tables, Moroccan brass incense shakers converted into lamps, and earthenware pots dangling from the ceiling. Dine on the terrace overlooking the harbor, where tables and benches are fashioned from found household accoutrements like old sewing machines and even brass beds; afterwards, puff on a pear or apple hookah pipe while admiring the jiggles and gyrations of belly dancers. Hog Penny (5 Burnaby Hill, Hamilton; 441/292-2534; www.hogpennypub.com), Hamilton's oldest licensed watering hole, claims to be the inspiration for the Cheers bar. Expect a rollicking bar scene and classic pub grub (conch fritters, Cajun drumettes, proper fish 'n' chips, and shepherds' pie), as well as superb steaks and Asian-influenced specialties as Szechuan shrimp spring rolls and chicken bhuna masala.

For budget bets, you can't beat the harborfront setting of the White Horse Tavern (8 King's Square, St. George's; 441/297-1838; www.whitehorsebermuda.com), with its interior (beamed ceilings, brick floors and fireplace) that's as Bermudian as it gets; try the excellent traditional dishes such as fish 'n' chips or bangers 'n' mash. Frog & Onion (Royal Naval Dockyard, Sandy's; 441/234-2917; www.frogandonion.bm) is another classic pub with typical nautical decor, located in the original Dockyard cooperage. At The Pickled Onion (53 Front St., Hamilton, 441/295-2263; www.thepickledonion.com), Derek Myers elevates pub grub to an art form with lobster-scallion wontons, cider-braised dry ribs, spiced mango drumettes, chipotle-stuffed chicken breast, rockfish marinated in peach schnapps and Bacardi rum topped with glazed pears, Louisiana gumbo pizza (replete with crayfish tails and andouille sausage); Deletta Gillespie's live music is a bonus. The deliciously historic Swizzle Inn (3 Blue Hole Hill, Hamilton; 441/293-1854; www.swizzleinn.com) is a Bermuda "must" with proper steak-and-Guinness pie and beer-battered cod (if it's open, get your Bermuda welcome on the way from the airport in the form of the original rum swizzle); nightly entertainment, from music to trivia contests, lassos locals and visitors alike.