When in Bahamas: Eat Like a Local with Tru Bahamian Food Tours’ Bites of Nassau

One thing I love about traveling is being able to experience different cultures.  If you ask me, the best way to discover the culture of a new destination is through its local cuisine.  So, when we got the opportunity to visit Bahamas and found that there is a Bahamian food tour, we thought that it is only fitting that we join the Tru Bahamian Food Tours’ Bites of Nassau.  Great Bahamian food, drinks, and an amazing local tour guide made this food tasting and cultural walking tour one that we truly enjoyed!

Why join?

It will introduce you to Bahamian food, culture and history which you wouldn’t probably discover by yourself.  Eat like a local for a day and explore the city by foot! 🙂

Getting There From Atlantis

From Atlantis, you can ride the ferry to Downtown Nassau.  Ferry ticket is $4 one-way.  You can walk to the meeting point once you reach Downtown.

Tip:  Go earlier and drop by the Straw Market before heading to the meeting point.  The Straw Market is close to the Ferry Terminal.

With 6 tasting locations, we had a full-course food tour with Tru Bahamian Food Tours’ Bites of Nassau.

1 – Bahamian Cookin’ Bar & Restaurant

Previously and famously known to the locals as the Bahamian Kitchen, Bahamian Cookin’ served us appetizers, meals and drinks.  The first stop had the heaviest serving in our food tour which was actually good.  We needed the energy to walk for more than 2 hours.

Appetizer: Conch Fritters

Our tour guide, Captain Ron, explained to us everything we need to know about conch, the famous seafood favorite in Bahamas.  Conch has a firm texture like the calamari.  It has a mild scallop-/octopus-like taste.

The conch fritters were savory, deep-fried balls made from conch-mixed batter with onion, pepper, and tomato.  It was served with the Calypso sauce which was similar to a spicy thousand-island dressing.

Main Course: Steamed Chicken

The typical Bahamian meal has meat or fish paired with peas and rice and sides of plantain, mac and cheese, and coleslaw.  It’s a delicious comfort food!

The steamed chicken was light and delectable.  It blended well with the heavy, spiced rice.  The fried plantain was a good addition to the flavorful meal, although I prefer if it could have been softer.  For the majority of the group, the Bahamian mac and cheese was the highlight of the meal.  It is different from the regular mac and cheese.  I prefer the Bahamian version better.  The Bahamian mac and cheese is topped with a crispy cheese crust.  Unlike the non-bake mac and cheese, it is denser and have less sauce.

Drink: Switcha

After the scrumptious meal, they served us ice, cold Switcha.  It’s the Bahamas version of a lemonade.  Instead of lemons, they use key lime.  It’s refreshing and tangy!  This tropical drink makes a great thirst-quencher for any hot day in Bahamas.

City Stops: Gregory’s Arch, Balcony House, Christ Church Cathedral

2 – Talking Stick

Our second stop was at Talking Stick Restaurant & Bar located at the Towne Hotel.

Here, they served us a local cocktail – Bahamas rum punch.  It’s a mixture of coconut rum, orange juice and pineapple juice.

Tip: You can save the cherry for Max the parrot!  He likes it.

Before we left, we were given a quick tour of the hotel.

City Stops: Government House and Statue of Christopher Columbus

3 – Graycliff Chocolatier

Graycliff has an interesting history.  A pirate, Captain Graysmith, built the mansion when he was left by a Bahamian governor with 2 choices – retire from piracy and settle down in Nassau or continue to be a pirate but if caught, he will be hanged!  It was later renovated by a Canadian couple.  Here, we learned a great deal of Bahamian history, past tradings, and businesses.

Graycliff is the first five-star restaurant in the Carribean.  Adorned with woodwork and plants, the large establishment has a rustic design.  If you want a quiet, date night in Bahamas, consider this place.

The grounds are very spacious.  Graycliff has several dining areas and a beautiful, mosaic pool.

Graycliff Hotel and Restaurant has many stores including the Beer Garden, Chocolate Factory, Giotto Pizzeria, Brazilian steakhouse, and a cigar factory.  It also houses one of the largest wine collection in the world.

The Chocolate Factory is the island’s only chocolate factory!

We were given two beautifully, hand-painted artisan bon bons.

They were absolutely creamy!  The dark chocolate salted caramel is sweeter and heavier to taste.  The white chocolate keylime is lighter and has a hint of refreshing flavor.  Mr. C and I loved the white chocolate keylime more but our group was split in half on which flavor we liked better.

We ended up buying two more chocolates – white chocolate pistachio and dark chocolate nutella.  🙂

4 – The Drawbridge

By this time, we were all feeling exhausted from the hot weather.  Our stop at The Drawbridge was right on time.  We each had a scoop of mango gelato.

City Stop: Governor General’s House

5 – Athena Café & Bar

Despite its signs outside, our fifth stop is hard to find because the first floor is a jewelry store.  You would have to climb the stairs to reach the Greek restaurant and bar.  Athena Cafe & Bar is the islands’s oldest Greek-Bahamian fusion restaurant.

They served each one of us a bowl of conch chowder and a Greek salad.  The conch chowder has a thick consistency.  Even though it was already hot outside, we still liked the taste of the conch chowder.  The Greek salad was light, refreshing and slightly sweet.  It came as a surprise that we were served with Greek salad but it was explained during our tour that the Greeks made a great influence to the Bahamian culture.

As much as we loved these additional flavors to our palate, it would have been a better experience if the appetizers were placed at the earlier part of the tour.  We already had several desserts (chocolates and gelato) so going back to soup and salad was a little confusing.

6 – Tortuga Rum Cake Company

We made our final stop at the Tortuga Rum Cake factory.  Rum cake is a famous dessert in Bahamas.  Tortuga makes this pound cake in 6 different flavors: original with walnut, coconut, keylime, chocolate, banana, and pineapple.  It is very rich, decadent and moist.  If you would like to try all of the flavors, you could buy a 6-pack of assorted rum cakes!  It’s cheaper than buying it separately.  The rum cakes have a shelf-life of 9 months.

They also sell rum tea which tasted really good!  I didn’t think that rum and tea would blend well together but they actually do.  It’s refreshing because of the tea but you’ll also taste a hint of rum.

This food tour was a success!  The tour was very organized.  There was always a designated area for our group so the seating was never a problem.  Food was well-prepared and served to us individually.  Our group had a great time and we ended the afternoon with happy and full stomachs!

I love writing about our tour guides whenever we receive excellent service from them.  Captain Ron is no exception.  He was very lively and entertaining all throughout the tour!  He had many stories about Bahamas, its rich culture and history.

Ticket Price of Tru Bahamian Food Tours’ Bites of Nassau: $69 (plus tax and online service fee)

Total Tour Length: 3-3.5 hrs

Reminders:

1.  Wear comfortable shoes, clothes, hat/cap, and sunscreen
Remember, you’ll be walking for 3 hours under the sun!  Expect to sweat a lot too.

2.  Tours are held rain or shine

3.  Tour stops, tastings & numbers of tastings may change due to seasonal produce, vendor opening hours and availability

4.  If you want to buy from one of the tasting locations, don’t forget to use the coupons from the Tru Bahamian Food Tours’ brochure
At the start of the tour, you will receive their brochure.  You will find the exclusive coupons at the back!

5.  Tell your tour guide if you have any food allergies or if you don’t drink alcohol

Thanks to Tru Bahamian Food Tours for accommodating us on our visit to Bahamas!  As always, all opinions are my own.

For more info on this food tasting and cultural walking tour with Tru Bahamian Food Tours’ Bites of Nassau, click here.

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