The main tourist areas of the Bahamas offer a variety of restaurants and foods that span the globe, including seafood, steak and international cuisine (mainly American, Continental, Italian, French and Asian, but also East Indian, traditional English and nouvelle cuisines). Nassau and Freeport each have world-class dining. Harbour Island also has some cosmopolitan options, but dining on the more remote Out Islands is restricted to fairly basic local cuisine. If you want to sample traditional Bahamian food, look beyond the upscale resorts.
The Bahamas is not known for its cuisine, which copies U.S. dining habits in many regards. More authentically, Bahamian dishes rely on the sea and on rice and beans accompanied by chicken or goat. The one food item associated with the islands is conch (pronounced conk), a giant seabed mollusk that Bahamians consider an aphrodisiac, and that they can't seem to get enough of. Most commonly deep-fried in batter, this slightly rubbery creature also makes a delicious chowder and finds its way into all manner of other dishes, including salads and seviche (raw conch marinated in vinegar with peppers and onions).
Among the local specialties are fish chowder (usually made with grouper, tomatoes, dark rum and lime juice), pea soup with dumplings, fried fish with johnnycake (sweeter than on the Caribbean islands) and grouper cutlets. The "lobster," a clawless variety of giant crawfish, is delicious. Marine turtle is also served illegally on many Out Island menus, despite these endangered reptiles being protected by law—we strongly advise against eating marine turtle. Try the guava duff or soursop ice cream for dessert. Among the excellent tropical fruits are sugar apples, kinip (also spelled guinop, it's much like a lychee), wild sea grapes and mangoes.
Kalik is the Bahamas' national beer, and there are lots of fruity, rum-based cocktails such as the Goombay Smash and the Bahama Mama, many of which are specific to individual bars. You'll also find a number of excellent British ales to sample. Various nonalcoholic malt drinks are also worth a try.
