Cabarete restaurants – Where to eat after the dawn session
Breakfast with sand on your feet, lunch under a palm, dinner with the table in the sea — the north coast eats well and cheaply if you know which door.
Eating out in Cabarete, a surf town
Three meals shape the day here. Breakfast is early and big, after the surf and before the wind. Lunch is often a plate of the day — rice, beans, chicken or fish, a salad — from a comedor on the main road for a few dollars. Dinner is the event: the beach restaurants put their tables on the sand and the whole town turns up.
Below are the places we go back to, grouped by the meal they do best. Names and prices are checked each season.
Map of Cabarete restaurants
Breakfast, lunch and dinner within a short walk of each other, and of Swell in the middle of town. Tap a number for directions.
Schematic map, not to scale. Tap a number for directions.Swipe the map ↔
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1
Swell Surf Camp Surf camp for every level: early van to Encuentro, a quiet street, the beach bars on foot.
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2
Mojito Bar Juices, salads and sandwiches; one of the few affordable beachfront spots.
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3
Gordito’s Fresh Mex Burritos and bowls, quick and cheap.
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4
Pomodoro Crisp-crust pizza and gelato on the beach.
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5
La Casita de Papi Garlic shrimp, paella and grilled fish with your feet in the sand.
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6
La Parrilla de Luis Barbecue chicken and yuca on plastic chairs.
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7
Otra Cosa French-Caribbean at the east end of the bay; sea breeze at dusk.
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8
Fresh Fresh Café Grain bowls and smoothies with organic produce.
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9
Cabarete Coffee Company All-day breakfast, paninis and smoothies.
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10
Belgium Bakery Bread, croissants, omelettes and coffee.
Breakfast after the dawn session
Lunch: the plate of the day
Dinner at tables on the sand
Four Cabarete dining tips worth knowing
Dinner after seven
The beach restaurants fill from seven; the breeze drops and the lights come on. Earlier is quieter and cooler.
Cash for the small places
Comedores and beach stalls are cash only; the beach restaurants take cards. A 10% service charge is usually already on the bill.
Ask what came in
The catch changes daily: dorado, wahoo, snapper. “Pescado del día” is the safe order.
Bottled, always
Ice in the good restaurants is made from purified water; at the stalls, skip it.
Eating in Cabarete: questions we get asked
What should I eat in Cabarete?
At lunch, the plate of the day from a comedor on the main road: rice, beans, chicken or fish and a salad. At dinner, ask what came in: the catch changes daily, from dorado and wahoo to snapper, and “pescado del día” is the safe order.
Is eating out in Cabarete expensive?
It does not have to be. A plate of the day at a comedor costs a few dollars; the beach restaurants with tables on the sand are the evening splurge.
Do restaurants in Cabarete take cards?
The beach restaurants do. Comedores and beach stalls are cash only. A 10% service charge is usually already on the bill.
When do people eat dinner in Cabarete?
The beach restaurants fill from seven, when the breeze drops and the lights come on. Earlier is quieter and cooler.
Is the ice safe in Cabarete?
Ice in the good restaurants is made from purified water. At the stalls, skip it, and drink bottled water everywhere.
Where can I get breakfast after surfing?
Back in town. Breakfast here is early and big, after the surf and before the wind: Cabarete Coffee Company and Belgium Bakery are on the main road, a short walk from the beach.