You can't miss this place, as it's just steps from the main road. Outside and inside, everything's painted in bright Caribbean pinks, blues, greens, and yellows. The food is just as lively: great barbecued jump-up ribs and chicken, grilled fresh fish or juicy steaks, "Rasta pasta" for vegetarians, and a variety of spicy curries. Eat inside on gaily colored furniture or outside under the stars - or take your food away with you. AE, DC, MC, V.

Atlantis Hotel
Tent Bay, Bathsheba, St. Joseph, Barbados
Phone: 246/433-9445
Under $20
East Coast
Caribbean

People have enjoyed lunch with a view at the Atlantis Hotel for more than 40 years. Under the direction of owner-chef Enid Maxwell, the staff serves up an enormous Bajan buffet daily, with pumpkin fritters, spinach cake, pickled breadfruit, fried flying fish, roast chicken, pepper-pot stew, and fried okra and eggplant. Homemade coconut pie tops the dessert list. You get all that for $12.50 per person, except on Sunday, when the price rises to $17.50. AE.

Bellini's Trattoria
Little Bay Hotel, St. Lawrence Gap, Christ Church, Barbados
Phone: 246/435-7246
Under $40
Derricks
Italian

Soft Italian music and waves gently lapping beneath the Mediterranean-style veranda set the stage for informal yet romantic dining. The cuisine is northern Italian with a contemporary flair. Toast the evening with a Bellini cocktail (sparkling wine with a splash of fruit nectar), and start your meal with antipasto, a small gourmet pizza, or a tasty homemade pasta dish. Move on to the signature shrimp, veal, steak, or seafood dishes, and top it all off with excellent tiramisu. AE, DC, MC, V. No lunch.

Bonito Beach Bar & Restaurant
Coast Rd., Bathsheba, St. Joseph, Barbados
Phone: 246/433-9034
Under $20
East Coast
Caribbean

When you tour the rugged east coast, plan to lunch on Mrs. Enid Worrell's wholesome West Indian home cooking. The view of the Atlantic from the second-floor dining room is striking, and the Bajan buffet lunch includes fried fish and baked chicken accompanied by salads and vegetables fresh from the family garden. If your timing is right, Mrs. Worrell might have homemade cheesecake for dessert. Be sure to try the fresh-fruit punch - with or without rum. No credit cards.

Brown Sugar
Aquatic Gap, Bay St., St. Michael, Barbados
Phone: 246/446-7069
Over $20
Derricks
Caribbean

Ferns, hanging plants, and cascading water decorate this breezy multilevel restaurant in a restored Barbadian home, five minutes south of Bridgetown. At midday local businesspeople come for the extensive Planters Buffet Luncheon - from cou-cou to pepper-pot stew. Dinner entrées include local black-belly lamb, creole orange chicken, and homemade desserts such as angel-food chocolate mousse cake, passion-fruit or nutmeg ice cream, and lime cheesecake. AE, DC, MC, V. No lunch Sat.

Carambola
Derricks, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/432-0832
Over $20
West Coast
Contemporary

Dramatic lighting, alfresco dining, and a cliffside setting overlooking the Caribbean make this restaurant one of the island's most romantic. The menu is a mix of classic French and Caribbean cuisines - with Asian touches for good measure. Start with a spicy crab tart, served on a bed of sweet red peppers with hollandaise sauce. For an entrée, try fillet of mahimahi broiled with Dijon mustard sauce, or sliced duck breast with a wild mushroom fumet served with stuffed tomatoes and gratin dauphinoise (potatoes au gratin). When you think you can't eat another bite, the citron gâteau (lime mousse on a pool of lemon coulis) is a wonderfully light finish. Reservations essential. AE, MC, V. Closed Sun. No lunch.

The Cliff
Derricks, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/432-1922
Over $40
West Coast
Contemporary

The mastery of Chef Paul Owens has created one of the finest dining establishments in Barbados. Every candlelit table has a sea view. In fact, steep steps hug the cliff to which the restaurant clings and reach down to the sea to accommodate guests arriving by yacht. Imaginative art accents the tiered dining terrace. The artistry extends to the innovative menu, which offers excellent cuts of prime meat and fresh fish, creatively presented with nouvelle accents and accompanied by fresh local vegetables. Don't skip dessert, which falls into the sinful category. AE, DC, MC, V. No lunch.

David's Place
St. Lawrence Main Rd., Worthing, Christ Church, Barbados
Phone: 246/435-9755
Over $20
Derricks
Caribbean

Come here for sophisticated Bajan cuisine in a first-rate location - a black-and-white Bajan cottage on St. Lawrence Bay. Waves slap against the pilings of the open-air deck - a rhythmic accompaniment to the soft classical background music. Specialties such as flying fish, pepper-pot stew, curried shrimp, and vegetarian dishes come with homemade cheddar-cheese bread. Dessert might be bread pudding, carrot cake with rum sauce, or coconut cream pie. David's has an extensive wine list. AE, MC, V. Closed Mon.

The Fathoms
Paynes Bay, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/432-2568
$20 to $40
West Coast
Seafood

This beach restaurant, owned by the same folks as Carambola, is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner. It's casual by day, candlelit by night, and its 22 well-dressed tables are scattered from the inside dining rooms to the patio's ocean edge. Seafood is the focus here - from grilled lobster or baked jumbo shrimp to lobster bonbons (lobster medallions wrapped in phyllo with shrimp cream) or cashew-crusted kingfish. The upstairs bar has a pool table. AE, MC, V.

La Maison
Holetown, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/432-1156
Over $40
West Coast
French

Save this elegant dining terrace for a special occasion. It appears to be shored up by enormous casuarina tree trunks actually growing through the roof, and it overlooks tranquil Paynes Bay. The French chef creates terrific seafood dishes, including the succulent grilled red snapper marinated with lime and herbs and the sautéed spiced shrimp in a mango-and-lime salsa. Another fine option: rack of black-belly lamb with a garlic-herb crust. Chocolate soufflé with white-chocolate ice cream is a special dessert, but you also can't go wrong with homemade coconut flan. Reservations essential. AE, DC, MC, V. Closed Mon. No lunch.

Lone Star Garage Restaurant
Mount Standfast, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/419-0599
Over $20
West Coast
Seafood

In the 1940s this was the only garage on the west coast; today it's a snazzy restaurant, where top chefs turn the finest ingredients into gastronomic delights and where celebrities may be seated at the next table (or staying in the adjacent Lone Star Garage Motel). Dinner might start with seafood ravioli with dill and lemon oil or Thai crab cakes with sweet-and-sour dressing. Or break the bank and opt for the Iranian Beluga caviar, served with blinis, new potatoes, and sour cream. Chilled shellfish with special dips, grilled soft-shell crabs with rosemary, or seared tuna served rare are offered at both lunch and dinner. AE, DC, MC, V.

Olives Bar & Bistro
2nd St., Holetown, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/432-2112
Over $20
West Coast
Eclectic

Owner-chef Larry Rogers and his wife, Michelle, have turned a colorful old Bajan house into an intimate restaurant. Mediterranean and Caribbean flavors enliven gourmet pizzas and salads; special dishes on the menu might include seared yellowfin tuna with ratatouille and tasty Swiss-style rösti potatoes (shredded and fried like a pancake) with smoked salmon and sour cream. Dine inside or on the courtyard; the popular upstairs bar is a great spot to mingle over coffee, refreshing drinks, or snacks (pizza, pastas, salads). AE, MC, V. No lunch.

The Orchid Room
Porters, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/422-2335
Over $40
West Coast
Contemporary

Hotel restaurants on Barbados generally offer excellent cuisine, but enjoying a special dinner at the Colony Club Hotel's sophisticated, elegant dining room is nothing short of extraordinary. The mahogany furniture, comfortable chairs, white linen tablecloths, and polished silver are reminiscent of the property's origin as a British gentlemen's club (there's no cigar smoke here anymore, of course). The chef's creations appeal to the eye as well as the palate. Steamed Caribbean lobster is served with a sweet pepper and vegetable mousse; oven-baked mahimahi has a coconut crust and comes with a vegetable couscous; and the grilled steak with pink peppercorn sauce rests on a leek-and-tomato compote. AE, DC, MC, V. Closed weekends. No lunch.

Pisces
St. Lawrence Gap, Christ Church, Barbados
Phone: 246/435-6564
Over $20
Derricks
Seafood

Seafood is prepared here in every way - from charbroiled to sautéed. Specialties include conch strips in tempura, rich fish chowder, panfried fillets of flying fish with a toasted almond crust and a light mango-citrus sauce, and seared prawns in a fragrant curry sauce. There are also some chicken and beef dishes. Whatever your selection, the herbs that flavor it and the accompanying vegetables will have come from the chef's garden. The homemade rum-raisin ice cream is delicious. The restaurant has contemporary decor and is filled with hanging tropical plants and twinkling white lights that reflect on the water. AE, DC, MC, V. No lunch.

Ragamuffins
1st St., Holetown, St. James, Barbados
Phone: 246/432-1295
$20 to $40
West Coast
Eclectic

This restaurant is funky, lively, and affordable. The menu offers seafood, perfectly broiled T-bone steaks, West Indian curries, and vegetarian dishes such as Bajan stir-fried vegetables with noodles. Dine inside or out. The kitchen is within sight of the bar - which is a popular meeting spot most evenings. AE, MC, V. No lunch.

Waterfront Cafe
Bridge House, The Careenage, Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados
Phone: 246/427-0093
Under $40
Bridgetown
Caribbean

Alongside the busy Careenage, this friendly bistro is the perfect place to enjoy a drink, snack, or meal - and people-watch. Locals and tourists gather at outdoor café tables for all-day dining on sandwiches, salads, fish, pasta, pepper-pot stew, and tasty Bajan snacks such as buljol, fish cakes, or plantation pork (plantains stuffed with spicy minced pork). The panfried flying-fish sandwich is especially popular. In the evening you can gaze from the brick and mirrored interior through the arched windows while savoring nouvelle creole cuisine, enjoying cool trade winds, and listening to live jazz. There's a special Carib Buffet and steel-pan music on Tuesday night from 7 to 9. AE, DC, MC, V. Closed Sun.