Local dishes from Mangrove Bay Restaurant. Many restaurants are happy to pack their food for takeout.
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Turks and CaicosCheap Eats and Takeout Restaurants
Local BBQ, slaw, and fries.
Dining in the Turks and Caicos Islands is expensive and it can be difficult to find an affordable meal. The country lacks the street food culture found in many other countries, and there’s also an absence of the franchise fast food restaurants found in North America.
Prices at food trucks and at the Thursday Fish Fry on Providenciales, the country’s main street food event, can be as expensive as those of a sit-down restaurant. Budget dining options are largely limited to a few grocery stores and dining spots that cater to the local crowd.
The following establishments offer some of the best prices (and value), where meals can typically be between $8 and $30.
Taxes and Fees
Taxes and fees can add an extra 12– 40% charge to your bill. Many restaurants are required by the government to charge a 12% tourism tax (remitted to the government), and sometimes a 10% service charge (paid to service staff). Some businesses will also charge elective fees like facility fee (5%, and kept by the establishment) or a surcharges for parties of 8 or more. A few places also create fees that sound like taxes, or increase fees over what is stipulated in the law. Choosing a restaurant that mainly caters to locals can help save a bit, as such places are usually exempted from charging tourism tax.
This supermarket in central Grace Bay has a prepared foods counter, salad bar, and pizza station that serves takeout meals at competitive prices, though the best deal is arguably their large made-to-order sandwiches.
Service at the sandwich counter can be painfully slow, yet the subs' quality, size, and price (about $8) make up for it. Expect something similar to what you’d get at a Firehouse Subs. The Crust baguette is the general favorite bread option.
This is a popular lunch spot for people working in Grace Bay—arrive before 12:15 on weekdays to avoid long lines. The wait time for hot food is typically 2—5 minutes, and 5–25 minutes for sandwiches. Prices are similar at the larger Graceway IGA on Leeward Highway, though the selection and ingredients are usually better at Gourmet.
There’s a wide selection of chilled drinks, and a coffee bar too.
Excellent coffee, nice ambiance, and quick service
★ 4.8 (2,405)
Lemon 2 Go is Grace Bay’s most popular coffee shop and is a quick breakfast and lunch option relatively close to the beach. Service tends to be quicker than several other cafés nearby, and $15 can buy you a breakfast of coffee and a pastry. Other breakfast options are homemade yogurt parfaits, egg sandwiches, and protein bites.
Lunch options are a little lacking (primarily packaged white-bread sandwiches and premade paninis), but range from $12 to $15. While the coffee shop is air-conditioned, most seating is outside on their covered patio. It isn’t usually difficult to find a place to sit, though the space can get stifling on very hot days.
Mangrove Bay is the best option if you want to try some of the best renditions of local seafood like conch, lobster, and snapper, at better prices than most other spots, and can handle waiting a long time for food.
Expect to pay around $12 for a burger or fish fingers and $30 for a generous local fish dinner with sides. If you aren’t squeamish about having a whole fish (with small bones) on your plate, their best dish is their steamed whole snapper (or grouper fillet when they have it) served with coleslaw and peas n’ rice.
Mangrove Bay is waterfront on Cheshire Hall Creek near the airport,and is a good spot for watching aircraft. It’s a lot more popular with locals than with tourists, and there’s often a domino game happening at a table nearby. For views of the planes and the odd birdlife, pick one of the waterside tables. The spot also offers $5 beers, which is becoming an anomaly on the island.
The spot can be hard to find, as signage is poor and it’s not obvious from the road that the location is a restaurant.
This shop serves Jamaican patties and ice cream directly across from the largest beach access to Grace Bay, and near the Ports of Call and One Season plazas. These savory pastries, which are filled with a spiced mixture of vegetables or meat like chicken or beef, start at $3.75. One isn’t exactly a full meal, but two are enough for a light lunch.
While The Patty Place serves the cheapest lunch in the area, it essentially only serves one thing. Picky eaters may want to look elsewhere.
The ice cream here is expensive ($9 for one scoop), but portions are much more generous than at the other ice cream shops. A few tables are located outside the store. Another less aesthetic Patty Place is found Downtown near the airport.
This chicken shop opened on Providenciales in the 1990s as a cheap go-to restaurant for (only) chicken wings and fries. Its prices have stayed remarkably low since, with the typical order ranging from $5–10.
Sweet T’s is open for lunch and into the late afternoon and exclusively serves takeout. Payments are cash only. Lines can be a dozen people (or more) long throughout the afternoon, but service is pretty quick. Some of the clientele do not respect the first come, first served custom, and will attempt to jump ahead of the queue if given any opportunity. Patrons can elect to have copious amounts of ketchup or hot sauce (or both!) squeezed over their food.
Kin Khao is a Thai restaurant that serves lunch and dinner, typically for between $12 and $18 an entrée. Food is usually served quickly; and the portions are tasty and generous, which makes them a decent value. There’s a shaded terrace for dining, and the menu is fairly wide. The spot is popular with locals for both dining-in and takeout.
It can be easy to miss the turnoff for Kin Khao when driving down Leeward Highway. Look for the large Air & Sea Agency building next door to avoid having to loop back.
Leeward Highway
Serves Lunch and Dinner
$16–19
About Reviews
This is an aggregate rating based on user reviews from other travel websites. The review count may be an approximation.
Money Saving Tips
Preparing breakfast and lunch at home is almost always cheaper than eating out. Lower your dining bill by picking an accommodation with a kitchen. You can also shop at budget grocery stores like Graceway Cash and Carry, Quality Foods, and GK Foods (avoid Graceway Gourmet for groceries).
Keep in mind that prices in Grace Bay are often higher than elsewhere on the island, and many budget restaurants are located outside of this area. It’s worth getting a rental car (rates start at $50/day) to access cheaper spots off the beaten path.
Food Delivery
Many restaurants offer takeout here but hardly any offer delivery. There is no Uber Eats or DoorDash, and while several companies have started local versions of these services over the years, attempts have been short-lived and unreliable.
The quickest way to get takeout is to call in an order and pick it up. Late-night dining is largely limited to Pork Shack and Danny Buoy’s, as most the kitchens at most restaurants close around 9 or 10 PM.
A beach bonfire.
Make it a Picnic
For a better ambiance than the typical budget or takeout spot affords, bring your lunch and drinks to the beach.
There is no enforcement against drinking in public, and packing a cooler with ice and local Turk’s Head Beer is a nice way to elevate your budget meal. The drinks will also likely be colder, with better service, too!
Like food, alcoholic drinks in Turks and Caicos are expensive. Expect to pay anywhere from $12 to $32 for a glass of wine or cocktail.
The cheapest alcoholic drinks are typically the local beers made at the Turk’s Head Brewery, the most popular of which are I-Soon-Reach and I-Ain-Ga Lie. These are served at most restaurants on the island individually, on tap, or by the bucket, starting at $5 per bottle.
Many restaurants have happy hour, but one of the most popular choices is Pelican Bay Restaurant, where all alcoholic drinks are 50% off from 5 to 7 PM. Mocktails at some restaurants tend to be as expensive as alcoholic cocktails—opt for juice or soda instead.
