My top five favorite Caribbean beach bars and restaurants are personal. They’re based on my memories of food, wine, people, and views. My top five list might change over time, but these are the Caribbean beach bars and beach clubs that keep my travel memories alive and kicking.
My Top Five Caribbean Beach Bars
When assessing the best beach bars, suffice it to say that I have a few baseline requirements. A vibe that naturally pairs with the island’s culture is one. Combining tourists and locals adds authenticity and credibility, and festive air helps. The food (if served) is at a culinary level that matches the establishment’s look and atmosphere. And lastly, a USP (Unique Selling Point) that makes me yearn to go back months after the holiday has ended.
Except for Anegada, I’ve been fortunate enough to visit the following Caribbean beach clubs and bars more than once. That qualifies me as an expert in my own experiences, that is. Next time you find yourself in the Caribbean (and let’s all agree that we hope that time is soon), let me know if you concur. Or better yet, tell me about your favorite Caribbean bars and restaurants.
Click Here For My Free Caribbean Beach Bar Hot Sheet
Best Caribbean Beach bars: 5 / Basil’s Bar, Mustique
Island Vibe: Celebrity Secret Hideaway
Basil’s is a Caribbean beach bar and restaurant leisurely perched on the edge of Britannia Bay in Mustique. It attempts to camouflage the island’s undercover glamour. Lush and verdant, Mustique has only two hotels and two restaurants. Its beauty is hiding in plain sight among the breezy Windward Islands.
Why I like Basil’s: Chill, open-air, Basil’s woos villa owners, villa renters, reclusive celebrities, and yachties alike, with a combination of casual food (like perfectly seasoned grilled lobsters), a low-key atmosphere, and spectacular sea views.
I’ll admit, though, that I have little memory of the food because the setting is the star, day, and night. Mega-yachts and sublime sailboats were anchored in the distance, which created another layer to this Caribbean bar’s swoon-worthy backdrop.
USP: I like to settle into the indoor/outdoor living spaces and nooks or park myself on one of the wooden stools overlooking the tranquil Caribbean Sea.
Worth mentioning: Live Music/DJ Nights/Basil’s Boutique/Accessible by car or boat
Best Caribbean Beach bars: 4 / Catherine’s Café, Antigua
Island Vibe: Casual European Beach
To say Catherine’s is a Caribbean beach club that is comfortable in her own skin is an understatement. Open-air, louver-shuttered, sea-breezy Catherine’s Café on the island of Antigua lazes under warm, butter-yellow Veuve Cliquot umbrellas.
Why I like Catherine’s: Catherine’s barefoot casual Caribbean beach bar feels like Europe. I see naked toddlers running amok with their half-naked mums chasing them. It boasts a French-inspired menu and a well-thought-out wine list.
I can’t forget our effervescent bartender, Damien, who kept us in good spirits. Neem trees enshroud the hidden location. It practically begs one to spend an afternoon there—which is exactly what we did.
USP: The cozy and intimate beach area adjacent to the bar offers lovely bay views in a secluded setting.
Worth mentioning: Live Music/Cheese Course/G+T Menu/Bakery/Boutique/Accessible by car or boat
Best Caribbean Beach bars: 3 / The Rum Bar, Cooper Island
Island Vibe: Desert-Island Barefoot Beach Shack
Our sailboat grabbed one of the last available moorings in Manchioneel Bay, off the shores of Cooper Island. I felt like a survivor about to crawl onto a deserted beach. The people lazing on the wooden decks of the Rum Bar were scrappy and barefooted, semi-drunk, and happily marooned. It was as if we had found a hidden outpost, a tiny island jewel box, where a lucky few were escaping the outside world. Idyllic.
Why I like The Rum Bar: Cooper Island has an authenticity that is somewhat unique to the British Virgin Islands, which are often heavy with tourists and can sometimes feel manufactured.
A clear sign that the Rum Bar, part of the modest Cooper Island Beach Club, is all it’s cracked up to be was that we noticed yacht crews hanging at the bar—the real-life version of ‘Below Deck.’ If the Rum Bar was where they chose to spend their limited free time, we knew we were on to something good. It‘s definitely a Caribbean beach bar worth exploring.
USP: The remote and rickety beach shack-chic setting that, true to its name, houses 280 different rums.
Worth mentioning: Bakery/Barista/Accessible only by boat/Arrive early to get one of the 30 coveted moorings
Click Here For My Free Caribbean Beach Bar Hot Sheet
Best Caribbean Beach bars: 2 / Anegada, Cow Wreck Beach Bar
Island Vibe: Utterly Remote Castaway
Seventeen nautical miles from Virgin Gorda sits the pancake flat, remote island of Anegada. The name Anegada means ‘drowned island.’ At only 28 feet tall at its highest elevation, it could not feel farther away from civilization. That’s exactly what makes this Caribbean beach bar and restaurant so enchanting.
Why do they call it Cow Wreck Beach, I wondered? In 1929, a 380-foot-long steel freighter called The Rocus was heading from Trinidad to Baltimore. The Rocus’s cargo was filled with cow bones that would later be ground into fertilizer.
Unfortunately, The Rocus made an unexpected and devastatingly final stop when she collided with Anegada’s treacherous Horseshoe Reef. Since the wreck, the ocean floor has remained eerily scattered with cow bones. As for the freighter, it’s still lodged on its starboard side just beneath the water’s surface. It hasn’t budged an inch since 1929.
Why I like Cow Wreck: There are thousands of sea urchin shells in every size and all the varying degrees of white that the sun can bleach. The sea is a color that one would immediately assume is an Instagram filter. The open-air beach bar has peeling paint, plastic chairs, and dive-y, no-frills decor.
USP: A Caribbean beach bar that is this challenging to get to only adds to its allure.
Worth mentioning: Wreck Punch/Lobster/Bar games/Accessible only by boat or ferry
Best Caribbean Beach bars: 1 / St. Barths, Nikki Beach
Island Vibe: Over-the-top beach club party
There’s nowhere else in the Caribbean quite like St. Barths. Authentic French through and through, the words St. Barths conjure up Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous glamour. Nikki Beach is ideally situated to soak up the island’s eternally sun-filled vibes.
Imagine the days when Greta Garbo and other Hollywood stars walked these very shores. Now imagine Beyonce and Jay-Z at the table beside you. Nikki Beach gradually turns up the volume throughout their two Sunday seatings. You will never want the party to end.
Why I like Nikki Beach: Dance on the tables with wild abandon whether you are 8, 18, or 88. The upbeat party on the beach is for everyone. Order one of the famous sushi boats to go along with your 2016 Chassagne-Montrachet. Go wild and pair vintage Dom Perignon with an ounce or two of caviar. The sky is the limit here in every way. No one goes home hungry or thirsty without a beachy glow after a day at Nikki Beach.
USP: Glam, glam, and more glam. Part Caribbean beach club and part beach bar, it offers killer views of St. Jean’s Bay and incredible people-watching for hours on end.
Worth mentioning: Reservations are a must/Live DJ/Special occasion splurge
Dream job: If becoming a bartender abroad is your life goal, look no further than JOOBLE for inspiration.
Click Here For My Free Caribbean Beach Bar Hot Sheet
(Please note a few affiliate links above for which I may receive a small referral fee. But rest assured, I only highlight products I fully stand behind.)