Exploring Local Food in Grand Cayman: Tips and Prices

As part of our Caribbean trip I think it is important to give you an insight into how we eat whilst on an adventure.
We are not normally here to eat in high end restaurants and spend the sort of budget you would if you were on your annual two week holiday but we did allow ourselves a couple of treats so get ready for some delicious food photos!

Our normal practice is to book self catering accommodation and eat breakfast there each day. We will also ensure we have some staples like milk, water, bread and/or snacks for example and hope the owner supplies cleaning materials including washing up liquid (if there is no dishwasher) and we bring our own toiletries. Everyone has their own viewpoint on this but smelling something familiar in the shower each day and ensuring my hair looks and feels human is important to me!

1/ Supermarkets:
Buying food and commodities in supermarkets in the Caribbean is never cheap as a lot of goods are imported and not grown on the island. Also be warned supermarkets do not open in Cayman on Sunday.

I thought I would share some prices with you to give an idea of how much you can expect to spend.
We visited two different supermarket chains in Cayman -Hurleys and Fosters. Like anywhere, different people will have their own views as to which is the best value.

As I’ve previously mentioned in my posts, we tend to try and eat healthily so fresh fruit features quite highly on our assessment of any supermarket abroad. Additionally having not drunk full fat milk for more years than I care to remember, buying low fat, fresh milk is also near the top of my agenda.
Water is safe to drink on the island, they use high-quality desalination plants to produce safe, purified water that is pumped throughout the island. That being said my tummy has a habit of reacting to water even in different parts of the UK so I personally tend to buy bottled water.

Hubby likes granola and yoghurt for his breakfast, whilst I favour fibre cereals such as Weetabix and we both use honey at home as a sweetener rather than traditional sugar.

Comparisons with Tesco supermarket in the UK:

• 907g carton of natural, coconut yoghurt cost £4.29.
  Tesco price £4.10 per kg
• 2% fat milk cost £4.69 for 4 pints
  Tesco skimmed milk cost £1.65
• Granola 500g cost £4.89.
  Tesco price £2.45 for 500g
• Shredded Wheat cost £5.59.
  Tesco price £3.00
• Honey 340g Squeezy Bottle £7.29
  Tesco price £1.19
• Apples cost £1.67 each (£5.01 for 3)
  Tesco price 36p each (£1.08 for 3)
• Bananas cost 35p each (£2.45 for 7)
  Tesco price 16p each (£1.12 for 7)
• Mangoes cost £1.54 each (£3.08 for 2)
  Tesco price 88p each (£1.76 for 2)
• Pears cost £1.87 each (£5.61 for 3)
  Tesco price 52p each (£1.56 for 3)
• Large packet of Ruffles Crinkle Cut Crisps, 180g cost £5.89.
  Tesco price for 150g is £1.25
• Diet Coke, 2 litre bottle £3.79
  Tesco price £2.15
• Water 5 litres £2.29
  Tesco price £1.80
• Total in Cayman: £54.87
  Tesco Total: £23.11
  37% more in Cayman
  

In total across our 7 days we spent £81.35 at the supermarkets.
Prices, as you can see, are much cheaper in the UK and, therefore, often eating your main meal of the day at a local eaterie in Grand Cayman is cheaper than actually buying all the raw ingredients yourself and cooking it in the kitchen provided.

2/ Local Cuisine:
When you are travelling on a budget do not be afraid to venture out to places where the locals go to eat and sample real Caymanian food.

The national dish of the Cayman Islands is Stew Turtle, a traditional meal reflecting the islands’ maritime heritage, made from farm-raised turtle meat and often served with rice, beans, and a spicy sauce. 

While turtle stew is the official dish, another popular ingredient is conch (in stews, salads, fritters), which is a staple of local Caribbean cuisine and culture. It is a large, protected marine snail. and a prized seafood with a clam-like flavour, heavily regulated through a strictly enforced season and catch limits to prevent overfishing.
Other local favourites include jerk chicken and pork (similar to Jamaican cuisine), fish such as tuna, snapper and mahi-mahi and tropical fruits/vegetables.
Food can often be spicy, using local chilli sauces, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Never be afraid to ask how spicy it is!

The national drink is Swanky which is a bitter/sour mix of Seville oranges, brown sugar, and spices.

3/ Eating Economically:
Supermarkets:
Nearly all the large supermarkets on Grand Cayman have hot food counters where an array of freshly cooked food is available for purchase, served to you in plastic box containers.
Some of them open for breakfast between 6.30 and 7 a.m. whilst lunch tends to start around 11.00 a.m.
We bought a hot dinner for two at Fosters for £12.77, cheaper than a takeaway in the UK!

You can often also find a help yourself salad counter and cooked chickens are available in a hot cabinet. We chose this option at Hurleys at a total cost of £22.08. It gave us a lovely evening meal plus enough for a lunch the next day.

Local Eateries:
As we were staying in the East End of the island this is where we focused our attention when having meals out.
These local places do not add a service charge so a tip is discretionary.

Big Tree BBQ:
(Currently rated 4.8 on Tripadvisor)

I have to start with this is a firm favourite of ours which we have been frequenting since our first visit together back in 2016.

The story goes that “Henry (the owner) was working at the local hospital when one Christmas he gathered his family around the table for their main dinner. The family sat at tables under the big tree in the front garden and whilst enjoying their festivities a car pulled up and out stepped an American couple and thinking it was a local restaurant they asked how much it was for dinner. In a typical Caribbean hospitable fashion Henry explained they were having a family Christmas meal but invited them to join in.
Another car pulled up and again a couple came and joined them.
Before the two couples departed they wouldn’t leave without offering Henry some money towards the food.
Sunday is often the only day that Caribbean people get off, working 6 days a week isn’t unusual. Henry decided he would put a sign outside his property and invite the public to join him for Sunday BBQ lunch for a reasonable price underneath the big tree in the garden”

The rest is history, as they say, with the Big Tree BBQ still going strong, open 11-6, 5 days a week. Its now being run by his youngest son Arvid, who was a teenager when we first met him, but now has a family of his own!

We opted for the pork ribs and beef short ribs which were served as usual with fried plantain, potato salad and rice n peas. There’s always a home made piece of cassava cake on the side and I love their swanky!

Total Cost: £42

Caboose:
(Currently rated a 4.8 on Tripadvisor)
In venturing to the north of the island to visit The Botanical Gardens, we decided to try this cafe/restaurant in Old Man Bay.
As we pulled up in the car park it was clear that this was a popular option at lunchtime/early afternoon.
Whilst the owner welcomes the tourist trade it was obvious that her mainstay was local hospitality and construction workers who dropped by to pick up their pre-ordered takeaway or, if they had more time, stopped by during their lunch break to eat.

There is a printed menu but there are enough “specials” on the board to the right of the counter to meet most peoples’ tastes.
We opted for some conch fritters to start and then followed this up with Coconut Curried Grouper and Cayman Style Grouper both served with rice n peas and potato salad.

Total Cost: £45

4/ Other Places To Eat in the East End:
As this is our last time visiting Grand Cayman we decided to splurge a little and try a couple of other restaurants in the East End rather than cooking in our apartment.
Everywhere you eat, except in the local restaurants, there will be an 18% service charge added.

Monday Night Welcome Party & Tropical Buffet at Morritt’s Resort:
https://morritts.com/dine/david-deep-blue
As we were staying at Morritts we decided to try the Monday Night Welcome Night and Entertainment buffet. This event is also open to outside visitors but tickets have to be purchased in advance from ‘Davids Restaurant”.
This is not normally our sort of event but we were given it ex gratis as I had some business to conclude here, hence the visit to the island.
Tickets are normally £35 each with a discount for children and there was a vast array of food to choose from including starters, salads, various meats and fish and a complete dessert island.
Entertainment comes in the form of party style games for all ages and normally a “Fire Show” but this had to be postponed when we were there because of the winds blowing in off the sea.

The Rum Point Club:
(Currently rated a 4.2 on Tripadvisor) https://rumpointclub.com
We ventured up to the north end of the island for a day at the beach and were pleasantly surprised to find that Rum Point had completely changed since our last visit back in 2018.

As part of the new set up you can lie on your sunbed with your umbrella on the beach (which are free!) and have food and drinks brought to you, which probably explains why no outside food or beverages are allowed!
Alternatively you can take a seat at one of the many tables, inside or outside, in their well designed restaurant
We chose from their lunch menu and selected a Peach and Burrata Salad (Gf/Veg) and a Quinoa Tuna Poke (Gf) accompanied by a non alcoholic Pina Colada and a soda.

Total cost incl service charge: £60. For lunch this is expensive for us!

La Casita Authentic Mexican, Mezcal and Tequila Bar:
(Currently rated a 4.8 on Tripadvisor) https://lacasita.ky
With a head chef currently hailing from Guadalajara you can be certain of some real authentic Mexican food. We decided to try “Taco Tuesday” where they feature four different tacos at a slightly reduced price to normal.
Thankfully we contacted them in advance to book a table for 6 pm. because when we arrived the place was nigh on full and we saw several groups turned away during the evening because they hadn’t made a booking and there was simply no more room!

With such a wonderful menu to pick from we decided to go a bit overboard and opted to share the chicken nachos to start, have all four of the special tacos to share as a mains and churros and tres leche for dessert accompanied by soda and unsweetened ice tea.

Total cost incl service charge: £64

Tukka:
(Currently rated a 4.6 on Tripadvisor) https://east.tukka.ky
I first visited this restaurant back in 2015 with my children and had a lovely but very expensive meal.
I then revisited in 2016 with my hubby and whilst the price remained pretty static we weren’t really that impressed.
However, Tukka has had an impressive resurgence with not one but three parking lots now available, due to its popularity and an extension of their business into Tukka in the West End as well.
In light of the popularity we felt we had to go and see what had changed. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner we chose to get dressed up and go in the evening.

Firstly there is an impressive array of food to select from on the menu and prices have definitely come down!
We skipped a starter and went straight to mains with Hubby choosing the Aussie Burger and me the tacos.
As I wanted to try a couple of different ones I ordered two Peanut Chicken and one Jerk Chicken. (Had I known that I could have chosen three different ones I would have probably done that!)
I was really impressed! I’ve had quite a few tacos in my time, in many places around the world and these were up there with the best 😋
We drank bottled water and soda and finished off by sharing a Luv in a Jar (Lana’s Mums Creation) which was truly amazing!
Definitely one of the best meals we have had for a while!

Total cost incl service charge: £68

I hope you have enjoyed my foray into the East End of Grand Cayman’s culinary scene.
It should be noted that we are probably the exception to the rule here as most visitors, particularly those staying on Seven Mile Beach, will be looking for far more sophisticated fayre and thus will happily pay much higher prices!
But the fact remains that you don’t have to and, therefore, you can visit this beautiful island without spending a fortune!

Have you been to Grand Cayman? What did you think about the food there?
Did you try any of the local eateries? I’m interested in hearing from you…………………

We are waving goodbye to Grand Cayman now and embarking on the next leg of our Caribbean adventure so look out for my next post as we arrive in Antigua!