Grand Turk Restaurants
Grand Turk offers a limited yet interesting selection of restaurants. The vast majority of visitors to the island are cruise ship guests who spend a few hours at the Grand Turk Cruise Center, so many island establishments focus on lunch (and may not be open for dinner without a reservation).
Compared to the extensive dining options on the island of Providenciales, the Grand Turk restaurants offer a narrower range of cuisines. However, the island does feature some great casual and island-style dining spots, including a few beach bars that provide a great view of Grand Turk's spectacular blue waters.
Most restaurants are located in Cockburn Town near the oceanfront regions of Front Street, Duke Street, and Queen Street. This area features some of the finest British Bermudian Colonial architecture in the Turks and Caicos, and offers a great Old Caribbean atmosphere.
Restaurants near the Cruise Center
There are two dining options close to the Grand Turk Cruise Center: Margaritaville, found inside the complex, and Jack's Shack, located a short walk up the Cruise Center Beach. Both of these restaurants are located near the coast, and offer international favorites such as burgers, jerk chicken, grilled chicken, sandwiches, bar fare, and local drinks including the popular Turk's Head beer and local Bambarra rum. As may be expected, they tend to be quite crowded when operating.
When a cruise ship isn’t in port, the atmosphere on the small island of Grand Turk changes dramatically, and establishments that cater mainly to cruise visitors often close. On such days, overnight vacation guests and those visiting the island on a day trip from Providenciales may find the open restaurant options to be limited to only a few places in Cockburn Town. Due to the cruise ship schedules, it’s recommended that reservations be made for dinner.
Pizza and Take Away
Two Grand Turk restaurants serve pizza: the outdoor garden at the Turks Head Inne and the Cool Beans restaurant at Over Back.
Delicious burgers, sandwiches, and bar fare can be found at most restaurants on Grand Turk. Most establishments have a children’s menu as well, with fried chicken, fish fingers, or sandwiches.
Turks and Caicos Cuisine
Grand Turk hosts a diversity of local flavors, and as to be expected for a Caribbean destination, many dishes incorporate seafood. Conch is the primary catch, and is commonly prepared either as fried conch fritters or as a salad. Restaurants do serve “freshly caught” fish, but it may be imported, so confirm before ordering.
The difficult lives of early Turks and Caicos Islanders is reflected in some of the popular dishes, with ‘peas & hominy' being a common plate on the dinner table. Originally consisting of ground island maize and locally grown beans or pigeon peas, this dish gradually was replaced by ‘peas and rice', utilizing imported rice as international commerce and imports increased.
Conch fritters and conch salad (which is made with raw conch) were not, as is popularly believed, traditional cuisine and are recent culinary additions.
Fresh local lobster is another option when it’s in season from August to March, and is excellent grilled or baked.
Restaurants
