Endless Roadtrip USVI: Ultimate Bar Food Round-Up
While you probably think of exotic tropical flavors when imagining Caribbean cuisine, Red Hook, St. Thomas’ East End hub, is no stranger to delicious bar food. From burgers to pizza to sandwiches to pupu platters, Red Hook really has anything you need for your drunk munchies and/or hungover desperation meals.
One of our very favorite restaurants of our whole vacation was the Tap & Still, a bourbon and burger joint with VERY good food, cheap Bulleit cocktails, and an ultra-friendly staff. The burgers here are big, greasy, and stuffed with as many toppings and accompaniments as you’d like, for no extra charge. Giant burger and a stiff drink for under $20? This is a vacation steal.
Here’s what I mean about the toppings. Rob really let ‘er rip.
Another place to visit for a quick bite between boozing is Island Time Pub, an open-air balcony bar known for their pizza. We had dinner here one night and the pizza was very legit. Their drinks are no joke either – ITP’s guava painkiller was one of my faves.
One night, after a BVI booze cruise expedition, once back to the STT marina we ventured to Melt Gastropub, which really isn’t a gastropub in your average American sense but more of a… regular sports bar. Still tasty though! Melt serves allllll kinds of creative, gooey grilled cheese sandwiches. I treated myself to their banh mi melt and a couple Carib beers and it was a very satisfying evening, especially after being out on the water all day.
Duffy’s Love Shack is known for its loud dance music, extravagant drinks, and funky location (in the middle of a parking lot in Red Hook). It’s definitely tourist-friendly and could be considered slightly tacky, but when I’m on vacation I love a tacky tiki bar so it was great. Treat yourself to big, flashy frozen cocktails and a pupu platter with all the usual aspects: coconut shrimp, fried plantains, conch fritters, chicken satay, and some sort of sweet meat stuffed with cheese and fried. Not sure about that last one, but we rolled with it.
The food is greasy and flavorful but the drinks is where Duffy’s really shines. My favorite was their famous “Lime in De Coconut” which tastes like tropical coconut heaven. But Rob got the best garnish: a giant windsurfer!
So now you know – don’t be afraid to drink all the rum in the Islands, because Red Hook has your back with SO many greasy, ultra-satisfying bar food meccas to help you stuff your face. And plenty of boozy cocktails to wash it down with and begin the cycle all over again, of course.
