Bermuda Food and Bermudian Cuisine: The Complete Visitor's Guide
Bermudian cuisine has its own quiet Atlantic blend. The food in Bermuda draws on salt cod from the old Newfoundland trade, cassava brought up from the West Indies in the 1600s, Portuguese kale and chorizo carried in by Azorean immigrants in the 1800s, British puddings and tea from the colonial side, and whatever the reef and the boats brought in that morning.
The mix is the identity. What follows is a working short list of the dishes and drinks I would send a first-time visitor after, and the places I would actually send them to find each one.
If you want to taste several of these in one go without trying to map them yourself, a guided
food tour in Bermuda is a sensible way to start.
A Short Video on Bermuda's Food and Drinks
Sunday Codfish Breakfast
Salt cod was once everyday Bermudian food. The island sat on the old triangular trade, sloops carrying salt cod south to the Caribbean, returning north with sugar, rum and molasses. Most families ate codfish for breakfast through the week. Today it is a Sunday dish, and it is the breakfast a visitor should try at least once.
The plate is boiled salt cod with a tomato and onion sauce, boiled potatoes, a hard-boiled egg, and a sliced banana. Avocado often appears alongside. The combination sounds unlikely on paper and works on the plate. The sauce is the soul of the dish, slow-cooked tomato, onion and a touch of butter, sometimes with a hint of garlic or thyme. Some families add a pat of butter over the cod just before serving.
Paraquet in Paget runs a reliable Sunday version and has the longest track record. GameOn Sports Bar on Bermudiana Road in Hamilton does a generous plate.
Anchor Restaurant at Royal Naval Dockyard works well if you are over on the West End for the day.
Speciality Inn at Collector's Hill in Smith's Parish is the safe bet on the South Shore route. Full background and a working recipe sit on the
Codfish Breakfast page.
Bermuda Codfish Breakfast
Pro tip: Most places serve this only on Sundays, and the better ones run out by mid-morning. Get there before 10am. Phone ahead to confirm, the codfish breakfast often comes off the menu in summer when staffing is tight.
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Bermuda Codfish Cakes
The leftover-friendly cousin of the breakfast. Salt cod and potato mashed together with peas, thyme, onion, sometimes a little bacon or rice, then formed into patties and pan-fried until golden. You eat them at breakfast, as a snack, or stuffed into a soft roll for a fish cake sandwich, which is its own minor Bermudian institution around Good Friday and Easter, when many Bermudians refuse to eat anything else.
Art Mel's near Hamilton does them well, and so does
Paraquet. At Easter the codfish cake sandwich appears on hot cross buns across the island, a tradition that confuses tourists and delights Bermudians. See the
Codfish Cakes page for a recipe.
Codfish Cakes
Bermuda Fish Chowder
Bermuda fish chowder is the island's most famous soup, and the one most worth ordering. It is a dark, thick, smoky chowder built on fish stock and tomato, slow-simmered with onion, celery, carrot, thyme and ground fish heads.
Tradition calls for rockfish, which in Bermuda is a local grouper and not the Pacific rockfish. Snapper or wahoo stand in when rockfish is not around. The chowder is dark from the long simmer and from the addition of a little black rum during cooking.
At the table, you finish it yourself with two add-ins: a few drops of Outerbridge's Sherry Pepper Sauce and a small pour of Gosling's Black Seal Rum. The combination is the dish, not an optional flourish. The sherry pepper sauce lifts the heat and acidity, the rum rounds the body.
Barracuda Grill on Burnaby Hill in Hamilton is widely considered to serve one of the best on the island. They build the soup on a shellfish stock and serve it with fresh rolls and a hummus side.
Hog Penny on Burnaby Street is the cozy English-pub version, dependable and well priced.
Lobster Pot on Bermudiana Road does a classic preparation. On the East End,
Wahoo's Bistro in St. George's is the choice.
Conch Chowder shows up on a few menus too.
Lobster Pot does a good one with celery, onion, tomato, potato and a hint of cream.
Portuguese Red Bean Soup, brought in by the Azoreans in the 1800s, is the other local broth worth trying, thick with kidney beans, kale, chorizo and ham, often eaten as a meal in its own right.
Swizzle Inn in Bailey's Bay runs a good version.
Bermuda fish chowder
Photo: kansasphoto, flickr, cc by 2.0
Pro tip: If the server does not bring the sherry pepper sauce and rum to the table, ask. The chowder is not complete without them. A small bottle of Outerbridge's makes a far better souvenir than a fridge magnet, and it travels.
Bermuda Fish Sandwiches
This is the dish locals will fight over more than any other. Battered or pan-fried fish fillet (snapper, wahoo or rockfish depending on the catch) on raisin bread, with tartar sauce, lettuce, and your choice of coleslaw, tomato, cheese and grilled onion.
The raisin bread is what makes it Bermudian. White or wheat works but raisin is the standard, and the slight sweetness of the bread against the salty fried fish is the whole point.
Art Mel's Spicy Dicy on St. Monica's Road in Pembroke is the consensus pick and has held that title for close to thirty years. Marcus Samuelsson has gone on record calling it the best fried fish sandwich he has ever had. The sandwich is enormous, more brick than sandwich.
Rosa's in Hamilton once won an island-wide fish sandwich competition with a one-off entry, which tells you something about the standard at a Mexican restaurant. The full list of contenders is on the
Bermuda Fish Sandwiches page.
Bermuda Fish Sandwich
Photo: Art Mel's Spicy Dicy, Bermuda
Pro tip: One sandwich easily feeds two. Order one and a side, not two sandwiches. Art Mel's takes cards, and the queue at lunch on a cruise day can run twenty minutes. Phone the order in if you are in a hurry.
Bermuda Spiny Lobsters
The local lobster is the Caribbean spiny lobster. No claws, a long meaty tail, harder shell than a Maine lobster, milder sweetness. The flavor is good, especially fresh off the boat, and the meat is firmer than Maine.
The season is regulated by law, 1 September to 31 March. Outside those dates no Bermuda lobster is landed, and a restaurant offering "fresh local lobster" in July is selling you something frozen or imported from elsewhere. The opening of the season in early September is treated almost as a public event, with menus changing overnight.
Lobster Pot in Hamilton built its name on this.
Blu Bar and Grill at Belmont Hills in Warwick and
10 South at the Surf Side in Smith's Parish both do excellent versions in season.
Lost in The Triangle in Warwick is the under-the-radar pick, the owner is a working fisherman and the lobster comes off his own boat.
Barbecued Spiny Lobster Tails
Pro tip: A baked or grilled preparation tells you more about the lobster than a cream sauce or thermidor. Order plainly the first time. Lobster prices in Bermuda are notoriously high, expect to pay $70 to $100 for a tail on a restaurant menu. For the freshly caught ones to take home, the fishermen's stands on North Shore Road in Hamilton Parish, just before the Shelly Bay Market Place, sell whole spiny lobsters direct. They are priced by size, not weight.
Cassava Pie, Bermuda's National Dish
Bermuda's national dish is Cassava Pie, a Christmas tradition made from grated cassava, eggs, sugar and a little brandy or rum, layered with a savoury filling of chicken and pork and baked slowly until the top sets.
Cassava (manioc) was brought up from the West Indies in the 1600s and adopted as a local crop. The finished pie is dense, slightly sweet, slightly meaty, and unlike anything else in the Caribbean food family.
Every Bermudian family has its own recipe. Arguments about whose mother makes it best are taken seriously and rarely resolved. The preparation is slow, the grated cassava has to be squeezed of its liquid and the filling has to cook down, which is why it remains a once-a-year dish even at home.
Cassava Pie
Photo: Ralffralff, cc-by-sa 4.0
You will not find it on most restaurant menus outside the Christmas season. The Bermuda Pie Company at 55 Court Street in Hamilton makes it when in season and sells frozen portions through super markets like MarketPlace and Lindos. Otherwise, your best bet is to befriend a Bermudian in December.
Mussel Pie
A working person's dish. Mussel meat boiled in stock with potato, carrot, celery, onion and thyme, thickened with a flour roux, then baked into individual pies with a flaky pastry top.
The curried version, made with a little curry paste, ginger and green peas, has its own following and is now possibly more common on menus than the original. Most Bermudians make it at home.
The Pie Factory in Hamilton was the standard restaurant version for years and closed in February 2024. The Bermuda Pie Company has stepped into the gap. Their mussel pie is on the regular menu at 55 Court Street, alongside chicken, beef, lamb, fish, vegan and Gombey pies. Their pies are also stocked frozen in MarketPlace, Lindos and Harrington Hundreds, which is the practical way to take one back to your hotel kitchen if you have one.
Mussel Pie
Source: Fairmont
Bermuda Shark Hash
Shark meat, cooked down with onion, peppers, parsley, thyme and mustard greens, served on toast. The shark is usually a small reef shark or the tail end of a larger one, and the cooking method is closer to a slow stew than a hash in the American sense.
Dennis's Hideaway in St. David's was the keeper of the recipe for decades, and when the owner Dennis passed away in 2003 the dish almost disappeared from restaurant menus.
Lost in the Triangle on South Shore Road in Warwick is the most reliable place to find it now, when the kitchen has it on, and they will tell you straight if the day's catch did not produce any.
Mama Angie's in St. George's runs it as a day's special from time to time. Both list market-rate pricing for it, and both will only commit to it on the day.
Shark Hash in Day Specials menu
at Mama Angie's
Peas n' Rice
The side dish that turns a Bermudian plate into a Bermudian meal. Black-eyed peas and rice cooked together with finely chopped Bermuda onion, sliced Portuguese sausage or bacon, and fresh thyme, simmered until the rice picks up the colour and savour of the peas.
Some call it Hoppin' John, which is the related dish from the American South, the Bermudian version is not quite the same but the family resemblance is clear.
Jamaican Grill at Bailey's Bay does a particularly good version with turkey chorizo.
Anchor Restaurant at Dockyard plates a generous portion as a side. Almost every kitchen serving Bermudian food will have a version, the quality lies in the time it has been simmered.
Pawpaw Casserole and Onions in Cream
Two old-school Bermudian dishes still worth ordering when you see them. Pawpaw casserole, sometimes called pawpaw au gratin, uses green papaya baked with ground beef, onion, pepper and cheese. The papaya softens almost to a marrow texture and absorbs the spice of the meat, the cheese forms a crust.
Onions in cream, a baked side made with the famously sweet Bermuda onion, was once a staple at every Sunday lunch. Both turn up at Speciality Inn occasionally and at older family-style kitchens. They are not exotic. They are the everyday Bermudian table, and they are quietly disappearing from menus. Order them when you see them.
Sherry Pepper Sauce
A bottle of Outerbridge's Sherry Pepper Sauce belongs on every Bermudian table. The Outerbridge family bottled the first commercial version in the 1980s, building on a much older island recipe that steeped hot peppers in sherry to make a sauce for fish, stew and chowder. It is hot but not aggressive, with a wine sweetness behind the heat that takes the edge off pure capsaicin.
You can buy it in any supermarket or at the airport duty-free shop. It is the single best edible souvenir from Bermuda, light, sealed, around $10 a bottle, and it lasts. Two or three drops finish a fish chowder. A teaspoon lifts a stew. A dash transforms a Bloody Mary at home.
Traditional Afternoon Tea
Afternoon tea is a British inheritance the island never let go of. Between 3pm and 5pm there are still Bermudians who will stop whatever they are doing for a pot of tea and something on a plate beside it.
In hotel and restaurant settings, the tea expands into finger sandwiches, scones with clotted cream and preserves, small cakes and savories. It will replace lunch, and in some cases dinner, so plan accordingly.
The Conservatory at Rosewood Bermuda runs the most polished version, formal service, a wide tea list including loose-leaf options, and the option to pair with a glass of champagne.
The Crown and Anchor at Hamilton Princess in Hamilton city is the other strong choice, with a lighter and more casual feel. In St. George's, ask locally what is currently open for tea since the smaller tea rooms come and go. For the full list, see the
Bermuda Afternoon Tea page.
For something different,
Devil's Isle Coffee on Burnaby Street in Hamilton roasts its own beans on the premises and serves coffee that holds up to anywhere on the East Coast of North America.
Pro tip: Hotel afternoon teas usually require a reservation a day or two ahead. Walking in can work in shoulder season but not in summer.
Tucker's Farm Goat Cheese
A small Paget dairy run by the Tucker family. The herd is currently eighteen milkers and two billies on Hungry Bay. Fresh goat cheese in three styles: Plain, Marley (with fresh herbs) and Full Hot (mixed with hot pepper and Gosling's Black Seal Rum, a combination that sounds odd and works very well on a cracker with a beer). There is also a ripened cheese called Hay Jude, surface-ripened with a delicate rind.
Stocked at Supermart on Front Street, Lindos in Warwick and Devonshire, Miles Market in Pembroke, and Harrington Hundreds in Smith's Parish.
Barracuda Grill in Hamilton uses the goat cheese in its salads.
Bailey's Ice Cream
Across the road from the Swizzle Inn in Hamilton Parish. Homemade ice cream, more than thirty flavours rotated through the season, several of them genuinely local: Rum Raisin (made with Gosling's), Dark 'n Stormy (with chunks of crystallised ginger inside), Bermuda Banana, Nutty Cumin Ginger, Coconut, Rose Petal. They make small batches in a 40-quart machine on site.
Cash only. Open seasonally, summer hours roughly 11am to 8pm, closed through the deep winter. The location pairs naturally with a stop at the Crystal Caves close by, or a meal at the Swizzle Inn opposite. Full details on the
Bailey's Bay Ice Cream page.
Bermuda Rum Cake
A dense, butter-and-rum cake soaked in Gosling's Black Seal Rum, then sealed in the tin where it cures for a few days before sale. Two main producers on the island.
Horton's Bermuda Black Rum Cake is the older brand, founded by Linda Horton, sold at supermarkets island-wide and at the Bermuda Craft Market in Dockyard, where Mrs. Horton herself usually offers free samples on Friday mornings between 11.30am and 2.30pm.
The Bermuda Rum Cake Company closed its Dockyard bakery a few years ago but still sells its cakes through outlets in Dockyard, including the Art Centre, Oleander Cycles, the Littlest Drawbridge and TABS, plus through their website. Flavors go from traditional vanilla and lemon to Rum Swizzle, chocolate rum, banana rum, coconut Pina Colada, and a ginger version called Perfect Storm. Full details on the
Rum Cakes page.
Bermuda Rum Cake
Source: Horton's Bermuda
Pro tip: Rum cake travels well. Sealed, it keeps three months at room temperature, six months in the fridge, a year in the freezer. It is the gift to bring home.
Dark 'n Stormy and Rum Swizzle: The Two Island Cocktails
The Dark 'n Stormy is Bermuda's national drink. Gosling's Black Seal Rum over ice, topped with Gosling's (or Barritts) Stormy Ginger Beer, finished with a lime wedge. Gosling's has trademarked the name, and the official version uses their rum specifically, anything else is technically a Dark and Stormy without the apostrophes.
The Rum Swizzle is the other contender. It was first mixed at the
Swizzle Inn in Bailey's Bay, the oldest pub on the island, and the recipe has gone through several variations. The current standard combines Gosling's Black Seal and Gold rums with orange juice, pineapple juice, a splash of grenadine and a few drops of Angostura bitters, shaken hard and served over crushed ice. The Swizzle Inn serves it by the jug, the locals' way to order it.
Dark 'n Stormy, Bermuda
Photo: kansasphoto, flickr, cc by 2.0
Gosling's Rum
Gosling Brothers has been in Bermuda since 1806, which makes it one of the oldest family-run spirits businesses in the Western Hemisphere. They blend rather than distill: the base distillates come in from Caribbean distilleries and are aged and blended in Bermuda.
Black Seal is the flagship, a pot-and-column-still dark rum bottled at 40 percent ABV (80 proof), used in cocktails, in fish chowder, and in every rum cake on the island. There is also an overproof version, Black Seal 151, at 75.5 percent ABV, sold separately, far stronger, and intended for cooking and cocktails rather than sipping.
The Gosling's range also includes Gold Bermuda Rum and a Family Reserve Old Rum aged longer in oak. Pick up a bottle at any liquor store, or at the airport duty-free on the way out. The full Bermuda drinks landscape is on the
Wine and Liquor page.
Dockyard Brewing Company
The island's craft brewer, based at the
Frog and Onion Pub in Royal Naval Dockyard. The Somers Amber Ale is the best-known beer, named after Sir George Somers who shipwrecked on Bermuda in 1609 and effectively founded the colony.
The brewery also produces an IPA called Hammerhead, a lager called Trunk Island, and a stout in winter. Frog and Onion runs a guided brewery tour that includes the brewing process walk-through, ale sampling and a full meal at the pub, useful if you are spending a day at Dockyard. Full description in
Dockyard Brewing Company.
Barritts Ginger Beer
A non-alcoholic ginger beer bottled in Bermuda since 1874, now in its fifth generation of family ownership. Sharp, gingery, not too sweet, and the standard mixer in the local Dark 'n Stormy when Gosling's own Stormy ginger beer is not on hand.
The diet version is the only diet drink most Bermudians will admit to liking. Available in every supermarket and convenience store, and on the menu at every bar.
Barritts Ginger Beer
Source: Barrits Ginger Beer
Loquats, Bermuda Honey and Sweet Things
Loquats are the seasonal fruit Bermudians actually wait for. February through April, the trees fruit small orange plums with the texture of a peach and the tartness of an apricot. The fruit becomes loquat jam, loquat chutney, and a homemade loquat liqueur that is hard to find commercially but worth asking after at farmers markets in the spring.
Bermuda honey is its own thing. The bees forage on island plants you will not find anywhere else: oleander, allspice, palmetto, loquat blossom in season. The honey carries a distinctive floral flavor, paler and lighter than mainland honey. All major supermarkets stock it.
For British-style desserts that have stayed on Bermudian menus, look for Bermudian Syllabub (whipped cream folded with guava jelly and sherry or port), and the various sherry-soaked jelly-roll and trifle puddings that show up at Sunday lunches across the island.
For the Bermuda Foodie
If you are travelling specifically to eat, four things are worth building your itinerary around.
A guided food tour in your first day or two gives you the lay of the land and several dishes at once, and a working tour guide will fold in the history that makes the food make sense.
Bermuda Restaurant Weeks runs annually from mid-January through February, when most of the higher-end restaurants offer three-course prix-fixe menus and put their Bermudian heritage dishes back on at fair prices.
The Saturday morning farmers market at Bull's Head Car Park in Hamilton (in season) is a single-stop way to pick up Tucker's Farm cheese, Bermuda honey, loquat jam in spring, and whatever vegetables are coming off the island that week.
And the guided brewery tour at Dockyard Brewing inside the Frog and Onion is a relaxed half-day if your trip has a beer-and-pub afternoon in it.
A Practical Closing Note
Bermuda is small. From Royal Naval Dockyard to St. George's is about an hour by road, less by ferry across the harbor. You can taste most of this list across a long weekend if you plan a little.
Buy the sherry pepper sauce, a rum cake and a bottle of Gosling's on the way out at the L.F. Wade airport duty-free. They are the three things that travel home cleanly and bring the island back to your kitchen.
About the Author
By Raj Bhattacharya
Raj has been writing about Bermuda since 2008, when he launched bermuda-attractions.com, one of the longest-standing independent guides to the island. A Certified Bermuda Specialist (Bermuda Tourism Authority), his work draws on personal visits, local contacts in Bermuda, and questions and trip reports from thousands of readers over the years.
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Bermuda Restaurant Weeks - Many restaurants participate during this period and offer Bermuda inspired food using ingredients that are mostly sourced from the local farmers.
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Visitors' Reviews and Comments
David Little (December 2022)
Good evening Sir, I plan on coming to Bermuda for a visit sometime next year. I would like to know, where is there a good place to eat, especially for some Rock Fish and some Peas and Rice. Thank you.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) December 2022
Hello, There are several places in Bermuda that serve great Rockfish. However, just to let you know (in fact, you might already be knowing) that rockfish in Bermuda are not the same as the ones that one gets in the US. These are actually groupers but are locally known as rockfish because they are mostly found near the rocks.
A couple of places come to my mind when it comes to great rockfish in Bermuda. One is The Lobster Pot (Bermudiana Road, Hamilton). Look for 'Fish of the day' on the menu and ask for rockfish... it is usually available... they can confirm if you call them up on the day and check out the availability. Try out the Pan-Fried (Topped with Bananas and Almonds) or the Mediterranean (Pan-Fried and Topped with shrimp and Mushrooms, in a Lemon-Butter Sauce) preparations. They also serve excellent peas and rice (Black-eye Peas and Rice with Turkey Chorizo).
Another place is the Barracuda Grill (Burnaby Street, Hamilton). Rockfish is served with coffee-roasted carrots, crisp goat cheese, polenta, asparagus, smoked romesco, and vanilla bean celeriac.
Sarah Warner (May 2017)
Do you have any recommendations for Bermudian non-alcoholic drinks. I am looking forward to first cruise to Bermuda early June. Will it be possible to have Lobster even though it is a non "R" month. Look forward to your responses.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) May 2017
Hello, While Bermuda has championed in several alcoholic island drinks, when it comes to non-alcoholic beverages, there is not too many options. Barritts Ginger Beer is a popular soft drink in the island and is a family run business in the island since 1874. If you are a coffee lover, then try out the Devil's Isle Coffee. They use 100% Arabica beans which are dry processed and hand roasted to bring out their own unique blends and flavors. Devil's Isle is located at 19 Burnaby Street, Hamilton. If you like soups, then try out Bermuda Fish Chowder. Fresh Spiny Lobsters are available during September through March when they are caught in Bermuda's ocean. In other seasons you may get frozen ones, but most restaurants won't have them.
William Ernst (September 2016)
Good day, Raj. Gonna be in Bermuda for our 50th next week. I was wondering if you could tell me the locations of the Spiny lobster road side stands, and when they are open. Thanks
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) September 2016
They are in Hamilton Parish near Burchalls Cove and before you reach the supermarket 'Shelly bay Market Place' on North Shore road. Go in the morning.
Jessie Oger (December 2013)
Hi there, I am looking for cooking classes for adults. Do you know if any restaurant, hotel or school offer cooking classes? Many thanks for your help.
Raj (bermuda-attractions.com) December 2013
Hi, the store International Imports (also known as the The Chef shop) located in Hamilton City offers cooking classes. Top chefs of the island take the classes. So it can be quite pricey. The store itself sells cookware items and often visited by the rich. Contact info: International Imports, 44 Par-La-Ville Road, Hamilton.
Jane Leuchtner (August 2012)
Hello, I bought some Bermuda Onion Marmalade at the Bermuda Shop in the Dockyards Clocktower Mall. Bringing it home they took if from me at the airport. I had put it into my carryon, and they considered it a gel. So sad! But I would like to order some by mail if it is possible.
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