- Fresh ingredients; food cooked with care and obvious pride
- Prompt, attentive service
- Relaxed atmosphere; elegant, but not stuffy
- Iced Berries with a Hot White Chocolate Sauce: simple, but delicious
- Extensive list of specialty martinis, perfect for a balmy day
- Expensive
- Smoking is allowed in certain areas, which may bother some
- Address: Payne's Bay, St. James, Barbados, West Indies
- Phone: 246-432-2731
- Hours: Lunch 12:30-3 p.m. Dinner 6:30-10 p.m. Happy hour 5-7 p.m. Closed Mondays June-November.
- Price: Starters $17-$22; Entrees $22-$70; Sides $9-$10
Long one of the top-rated restaurants on the island, Daphne's has earned its reputation: The atmosphere is relaxed, the service impeccable, and the food is nonpareil -- an elegantly spiced, delicately cooked, and beautifully presented blend of Italian and Caribbean fare. Entrees range from a smoked salmon ravioli and mushroom risotto to typical island favorites like mahi mahi and striped bass. I had the Grilled Guinea Lobster, a gigantic, delicately seared tail that was the freshest and most succulent lobster I've ever eaten. And I'm from New England.
Daphne's also features an extensive martini list, including a potent, sugar-rimmed mango martini that's so delicious it's dangerous.
All this luxury and refinement will cost you, however. With main courses averaging $45 a plate (pasta is less, in the $25-$35 range), Daphne's is not for the faint of wallet. But the restaurant is one of the gems of Barbados -- an epicurean's delight -- and a worthy splurge.
