Though the tiny island only has 18 restaurants, seafood lovers can find deliciously fresh fish on every corner – and menu. Of course, this may come as no surprise given the Saba’s history as fishermen island. Recently, the Out N About set out to discover the abundant fresh seafood on Saba. And this time around, we were in luck – it was Wahoo Week, so there was plenty of fish to go around.
The first stop on our seafood quest took us to Hideaway, a centrally-located and quaint eatery with both indoor and outdoor seating. The menu at The Hideaway offers a variety of different food items, including Caribbean cocktails, burgers, and various mains. To open up the appetite after our early morning flight, we had some crispy and fresh calamari. For main, we opted for the Seared Tuna Salad, which included fresh and perfectly-seared tuna and a semi-sweet sauce.
After a day of exploring beautiful Saba, we headed Tropics Cafe at Juliana’s Hotel for their legendary TGIF event with happy hour drinks and snacks. We just followed the music and ended up at a breezy poolside party. People were drinking, talking, dancing, some brave souls jumped into the pool – both fully clothed and in swimsuits. Here we enjoyed cocktails and Wahoo snacks, including melt-in-your-mouth Wahoo Croquettes, deliciously velvety Wahoo Dumplings and fresh and flavourful Wahoo Ceviche before heading to our dinner reservation.
A short evening hike brought to our table in a beautifully-lit up jungle oasis. Rendezvous offers a truly unique and romantic dining experience complete with water and jungle sounds. The restaurant is only open of Friday and Saturday for dinner and on Sunday for brunch, but is well worth the wait. Here, we started with the Wahoo and Crab salad, which was creamy yet crunchy with lots of seafood, fresh vegetables and bread. A delicious Grouper dish followed: the fish was flaky with soft breading and the veggies were crispy and well-seasoned.
The next day, we returned to Tropics Cafe for lunch. During the day, the hillside restaurants offers a completely different vibe with gorgeous ocean views and a soothing ambiance. In honour of Wahoo week, we tried the Wahoo Cesaer Salad with crispy lettuce, a perfect balance of zesty and cheesy flavours and lots of fresh and tasty Wahoo. Our dining companions opted for the Fresh Catch Wahoo with a white buttery sauce and Sweet n Sour Wahoo, both of which were perfectly cooked and balanced.
For dinner, it was time to check out Saba’s newest restaurant. Ocean’s Club has a trendy and bohemian ambiance and you can see the fishermen come in with the fresh catch while you eat – and let us tell you, eating seafood overlooking the harbour just hits different. The menu includes several tapas, mains, and speciality cocktails. Of course, we opted for tapas so we could try a little bit of everything – and we were so happy we did! The Mahi Ceviche was soft and tasty but not too tangy. “The best I have ever had,” according to our travel buddy. The same thing was said about the Mussels, which were fresh and salty, and came in a perfectly garlicky white wine sauce. The Conch was equally good: chewy yet crunchy and even better dipped in the spicy and creamy sauce.
After a night of drinking like the Sabans, we could all use a hearty breakfast. Thankfully, Liam’s Cuisine at the Arawak Hotel had us covered. Here we enjoyed a Caribbean Breakfast with crispy-on-the-outside, fluffy-on-the-inside Johnny cakes, boiled eggs and rich salt fish while watching the fog roll in – exactly what the doctor ordered to beat the hangover.
Sadly, it was then time for our last meal. We headed over to Island Flavour, a charming restaurant in a garden oasis. Island Flavor is known for its fresh juices and delicious iced coffee, both of which we thoroughly enjoyed. For lunch, we went with the flaky Pesto Salmon, served with a garlic creole sauce, perfectly cooked veggies and creamy mashed potatoes – a lovely way to end our culinary seafood adventure.
