You won't be in Barbados very long before someone recommends that you go to the Oistins Fish Fry on a Friday night, and they would be right - it is a totally Bajan experience and a must during your stay on the island.
Oistins is a historical town; it is where the Roundheads fought the Royalists resulting in the Articles of Agreement being drawn up in 1639. From this came the establishment of the Barbadian Parliament - the third oldest in the Commonwealth.
Today Oistins is a bustling fishing town, with the Oistins Fish Market, open 7 days a week selling the fresh catch of the day, it is where the Oistins Fish Festival is held and home to Oistins Beach.
Friday night is the traditional night for a fish fry, but more often than not Oistins is busy most nights of the week, with local women selling fresh cooked Marlin, Mahi Mahi, Kingfish and Flying Fish.
On a Friday evening from around 6pm onwards locals and visitors alike congregate in Oistins to enjoy some freshly cooked fish, sample some local rum and enjoy some Caribbean music. Oistins is a no frills experience, food is cheap - around $15BDS per plate and seating is on picnic benches dotted around the car park. Shacks selling food and rum shops selling drinks in the traditional Bajan way - by the bottle, surround you!
So grab yourself a table, get a plate of food - fish, salad, macaroni pie, rice and peas, and hit a rum shack for a bottle of rum, some plastic cups, ice and mixer. At one end the music is geared towards the older generation, whilst the other end is playing more up to date music from disco through to hip hop.
You will also find many craft stalls selling local goods and jewellery.
If you are looking for something different to do on a Friday night, then why not go hunting for the "best fish fry ever" in the north of the island. You need to head past Speightstown, St. Peter. Keep heading north until you come to an area known as Half Moon Fort, St. Lucy.
With a medley of cooking apparatus arranged under a rather large galvanized shed, accompanied by a varied collection of tables and chairs, all of this set up right on the sparkling coastline. Even in the dark of night the sand shines, the water twinkles, and is ignited perfectly by the moon and stars. The galvanized shed is totally wall less with only a few wooden columns holding up the roof. The columns are decorated with light sconces, which are beautiful metal replicas of breadfruit leaves.
Once you arrange some tables and chairs, order some drinks, and decide on your choice of food - fish, chicken or pork) and a choice of sides - macaroni pie, chips, breadfruit , eddoes, rice and peas, you can then relax and enjoy the perfect blend of local character, and foreign visitors. Conversations can be overhead about cricket, local and international politics, sports, mixed in with what visitors did on the beach, what their plans were for the next bright and sunny day and talk of home, all this intertwined with the periodic slamming of dominoes somewhere in the general vicinity.
A typical meal here costs approximately $15 USD per head or $30 BDS.
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