12 Best Restaurants in The Southern Out Islands, Bahamas

Vegan menus are hard to come by in The Bahamas on the whole, so it is a rare treat to find vegetarian options and a focus on fresh ingredients in Inagua, the most southern island in the archipelago. Cepigel has that covered. This tiny restaurant with a family diner atmosphere takes an artistic approach to their food. That includes their preparation of Bahamian and international staples like grilled steak and fried conch to vegetarian fare and homemade desserts, chocolate chip cookies and coconut tarts included. It's best to arrange your meal ahead of time.

High-beamed ceilings, tiled floors, blue-and-lime-green walls, and blue ceramic-topped tables create a cheerful vibe to go with the Bahamian comfort-food menu. If you have your heart set on a menu item, be sure to call your order in by 3 pm. Start your day with fresh juices and a full breakfast. For lunch there are burgers, salads, and sandwiches, and for dinner you can enjoy Bahamian specialties such as cracked conch, grilled lobster tail, and the catch of the day fresh off the dock. You can eat on the terrace by the pool or inside with ocean views. The bar runs on the honor system, and the 60-inch TV can catch you up on news, sports, and everything else you're happy to miss while lounging in paradise.

Cat Islanders and visitors alike love this restaurant for its delicious food, refreshing daiquiris and smoothies, and seating on the beach. You will find seafood favorites, including conch, lobster, grouper, and shrimp, here, as well as jerk pork. Everything is made to order, and you are welcome to call ahead to place your order for dine-in or take-out. The family owns a farm that grows broccoli, beets, native peas, okra, and tomatoes, and their produce goes from the farm to the kitchen to the table. Try a soursop, papaya, mango, cocomelon, or even tamarind daiquiri on a hot day, and take it with you into the ocean while you wait for your food order.

Although Lighthouse Restaurant is casual and intimate like Inagua's overall character, it is considered the best high-end restaurant on the island. Known for its stunning sunsets, the octagon-shape restaurant overlooks the ocean and the historic lighthouse. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, serving primarily Bahamian food, the restaurant can seat large and small groups, including up to 60 people inside, 50 on the outside covered deck, and 20 on the uncovered deck.

This island treasure—and possibly the area's most-recommended dining spot—is praised up and down by locals and visitors alike. Quintessentially Bahamian, it's where you can sit all day on a stool at the colorful roadside hexagonal gazebo or at a table in the garden patio amid chickens and a goat, enjoying beers and nibbling on excellent conch salad prepared right in front of you. Become a veritable expert on Long Island and its people with gregarious Max and the sweet, chatty Liz. Such is the charm of this laid-back watering hole, visitors come back again and again. Their recipes are old-time Bahamian, hard to find elsewhere. Be sure to try the conch fritters, steamed snapper, and breadfruit chips, or any of the daily specials such as pot roast and crawfish-stuffed potatoes. Max also offers complimentary Wi-Fi for those needing to stay connected.

The views surrounding Stella Maris Resort Club's new poolside bar are as beautiful as the frozen fresh-fruit daiquiris they serve. Once a week Rake 'n' Scrape musicians pluck your heartstrings with Bahamian and calypso songs. On the bar's west side is the sunbaked pool with lounges; to the south, a kids' playground and beachy cove; and to the north, a long boardwalk to a carved-out ocean pool and spectacular views of the coastal bluffs with the waves breaking over the coral reefs. Go for a snorkel when it's calm or enjoy the bar decks when the breeze is up. The menu offers Bahamian and American fare. The Moonshine panini—salami, pickles, and Swiss on marble rye is a favorite.

Outer Edge Grill is what local Long Islanders call a "poop deck," meaning a restaurant on the water. Open daily for lunch and dinner, Outer Edge serves up Bahamian favorites like conch fritters and fish fingers, along with sweet potato fries, mozzarella sticks, and homemade desserts. This is one of only a few restaurants open on Sunday.

A typical Bahamian enclosed restaurant, Paradis has a daily changing menu written on a chalkboard. Home-cooked Bahamian and American food such as burgers, conch, ribs, and the fresh catch of the day are tastily prepared. The restaurant is popular with both locals and visitors and offers complimentary Wi-Fi.

Don't let the name scare you—it's named after the Knowles family's well-known construction company and the owners' two sons. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be served in the cool inside or out, and feature authentic Bahamian and American fare. The restaurant overlooks the roaring Atlantic, with a beach nearby, a big pool, a whirlpool, and a tiki bar on the large outside deck. The chef-owners Chloe (pronounced "Klo") and Bertram Knowles serve some of the best food on the island (including Bahamian stewed fish for breakfast with 24-hours notice)—and the prices are affordable (Delmonico steak for just $32 and lobster for $28). Clean, bright, popular with the locals, and with ocean views, it's a great place to enjoy a drink and hearty meal. If you can catch their Friday pig roast, you'll enter succulence heaven. This is one of the few restaurants open on Sunday.

Located at the end of Jerry Wells Road, this charming, authentic conch shack stuck out on a dock in the water is truly local, offering friendly service, fun music, and good food. Sling back in the hammock, catch some tunes and breeze as you (if you're lucky) watch the almost-tame osprey, "Iron," snack on fish morsels. House favorites include fresh conch salad (watch Kenny pull the conch straight from the water), grilled lobster, and grouper made any way you want it—all go best with a cold Kalik. Some visitors rate the fresh conch salad as the best, noticing the great care Kenny takes to make it. Seaside Village is open on Sunday.

This family-owned and -operated takeout restaurant is a favorite with locals for tasty island food and value. It offers barbecued ribs, cracked conch, conch burgers, fish fingers, chicken snacks and dinners, and the ever-popular Forest Burger, a hamburger with boneless ribs and sautéed onions. Call ahead for your order or sit and wait with a cold beer. There's a shady shack with picnic tables adjoining.