Eating in Trinidad

Now I have done SIX recipes maybe I should tell you all where to eat!

Lobster

Don't miss the opportunity to taste some freshly caught and reasonably priced lobster while on the island. An ideal spot is The Watermill, which reopened in May this year under the management of Santos Dillon, who previously ran Dillon's Seafood Restaurant. The food is elegantly presented, with a diverse menu that reflects co-owner and chef Kevin Pariag's training in the UK. Be sure to try the grilled lobster tail, but save room for guava cheesecake or creme brulée for dessert.
• Where: The Watermill restaurant, Shirvan Road, (+1868 639 0000)

Doubles

A perfect snack or savoury breakfast, doubles are "chana" (curried chickpeas) sandwiched between two "bara" (lightly fried bread). They may include a spoonful of cucumber, mango or tamarind sauce – and ask for slight pepper.
• Where: look out in the morning for vendors who set up outside Penny Savers in Carnbee on the Auchenskeoch-Buccoo Bay Road; Crown Point airport; Lowlands Mall and Scarborough

Creole lunch

Store Bay is an ideal spot to taste traditional Creole dishes. Here you'll find stewed pigeon peas, macaroni pie, pelau (a one-pot rice dish), callaloo (dasheen bush, which is similar to spinach, with okra and coconut), oxtail, cowheel soup, stewed chicken, pork or beef, and a variety of "provision" – starchy crops such as plantain or cassav 

Chow 

This is fresh fruit with a twist: chopped pineapple, mango or pomme cythere is marinated in lime juice, pepper, garlic and chadon beni (also known as Mexican coriander). Buy and eat it on the beach. Chow can be addictive and it may be hard to resist the temptation to spice up seemingly boring fruit when you return home.
• Where: roadside stalls and beach vendors, in particular Peggy's at Store Bay 

Coconut water 

Forget images of William Hague sipping out of a coconut with a straw at Notting Hill Carnival or the latest trend at your yoga centre, the best way to enjoy coconut water is unflavoured and ice cold. At one of the many coconut stalls, get a plastic bottle (it's cheapest if you bring your own) filled from fresh coconuts while you wait and put it in the fridge for a refreshing drink. Even better, order it in a bar as a mixer for rum or whisky, with plenty of ice. 

• Where: look out for coconuts piled high on stalls by the side of the road and a vendor with a cutlass 

Barbecued pigtail 

Like chicken-foot curry and souse (marinated trotters), pigtail is part of the tradition of not wasting any part of the animal and turning cheap cuts into delicious meals. Put the image of a curly tail out of your mind and enjoy it grilled, served with barbecue sauce and rice.
• Where: there may not be much else for tourists in Hope, but this village has the best barbecue pigtail on the island, particularly D'Coals Spot restaurant, Windward Road (+1868 736 6918) 

Curried crab and dumplings 

This is Tobago's signature dish – when Trinidadians mention their sister isle, they'll talk about the quiet life, the relaxed beaches, and argue about where to get the best crab 'n' dumplin'. Try any of the kiosks at Store Bay beach. Locals have their favourite, but, at busy lunchtimes, it may be a case of picking the stall with the biggest queue – or the one with food left – from Miss Esmies, Sylvia's, Alma's, Miss Joycie's, Miss Trim's or Miss Jean's. If you're there in the morning, try bake and shark, or bake and buljol (shredded saltfish and vegetable salad) for breakfast, and watch the beach spring into life. 

• Where: Store Bay beach 

Burgers 

For the best burgers on the island, head east to Kings Bay Cafe, on Kings Bay, a roadside eatery that offers a spectacular view. Try the freshly grilled tuna-steak burger or homemade beef burger with chips and coleslaw. If you have room, wash it down with a cup of coffee and a chocolate brownie.
• Where: Kings Bay Cafe, Delaford/King's Bay (+1868 771 2716, closed Wednesday and Thursday) 

Gyros 

The first Syrian-Lebanese immigrants to Trinidad and Tobago arrived at the turn of the 20th century, but businessman Mouner Nassar proudly told me he was the first person to bring gyros – meat roasted on a vertical spit – to Tobago, in 2006. Spit-roasted meat served in a wrap is now a staple on the islands, as recent years have seen more Middle Eastern restaurants and takeaways springing up around Tobago. Try a lamb gyros, or a shrimp kebab with salad and (very) garlicky potatoes from Andre's Gyros, Pigeon Point – and wash that down with a Carib beer from Illusions bar next door.
• Where: Andre's Gyros Arabian Restaurant & Bar, Milford Road, Pigeon Point 

Roti 

Roti, an east Indian dish meaning "bread", is a national staple. While you might find sada (normally served for breakfast) or paratha (also known as "buss up shut"), you're most likely to be served dhalpuri if you ask for a roti in Tobago. This roti has a thin layer of ground split peas and is normally served in a wrap to mop up curried goat, chicken or vegetables. Head to the fishing village of Charlotteville in northern Tobago, where Jabba's bar on the waterfront serves the roti with curried pumpkin. Watch the man-o'-war birds that gave the bay here its name circling and swooping for fish while you eat. Customers will also be supporting the owner's one-man legal battle to save the soul of the village. The rest of the vendors, save Irwin "Jabba" Hercules – many of whom had been there since the 60s – have been evicted to make way for a controversial project to build a huge glass-and-steel mall on the beachfront.
• Where: Jabba's bar, Charlotteville beachfront