Turks and Caicos Cheap Eats and Takeout Restaurants

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.

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.

Pizza Pizza, located on Leeward Highway, is a Providenciales institution and is the most popular spot on the island for pizza. In addition to their handmade pies, they also have a selection of fast food, including fried chicken, fish, French fries, patties, and biscuits.

There are typically 1–3 pizzas ready for those that want just a single slice, yet many customers opt to have a whole pizza made fresh, with a wide choice of possible toppings. Fried chicken with fries is around $8, and a whole 16" cheese pizza is about $22.

There’s ample seating onsite, both indoors and outside on their terrace.

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.

This café is located at Le Vele Plaza on the western side of the main Grace Bay ‘strip’. The spot is open for breakfast, brunch, and lunch, and carries a mix of grab-and-go foods like croissants and muffins, as well as fresh smoothies and crêpes, sandwiches, and wraps made in-house.

The breakfast portions are usually generous and prices are fairly reasonable. Seating is offered both inside (air-conditioned) and outdoors on the terrace, yet the interior fills up fast during lunch hours. The restaurant closes around 2:00 PM.

Le Comptoir Français (also known as Julien's Deli), according to many, serves some of the best sandwiches on Providenciales, and at a fairly cheap cost. This traditional French deli is located in the Regent Village in central Grace Bay and is within walking distance of many resorts.

There's a great range of meat and veggie options to choose from for their subs and sandwiches. The sandwiches start at $12 without a side, and are a tasty and high-quality choice for a budget lunch. The deli also serves salads, pizzas, and croissants and other pastries. Onsite is both indoor and outdoor seating, but the spot can be quite busy around lunch.

Top O’ the Cove Deli is one of the oldest restaurants still operating on Provo and is a favorite brunch and lunch spot with locals. The deli offers a wide range of sandwiches, salads, pastries, breakfast spreads, and off-menu dishes that are budget-friendly. There are also almost always a few specials, which can be a great value.

Top O’ the Cove has both air-conditioned indoor seating and a limited shaded outdoor area where you can grab a bite to eat. A sandwich, chips, and a drink start at around $15 per person.

Like Shay Café, this café offers fresh breakfast, smoothies, sandwiches, and wraps at a reasonable price. It's a little more convenient for guests staying in the Turtle Cove and the western Bight areas and is a particularly popular option for brunch. The breezy dining space is surrounded by lush vegetation, which creates a nicer ambiance than what’s found at many of the other budget dining places.

Turks Wave Café is located next to the Turtle Cove Marina, the launching point for many boat tours and fishing charters, and is also quite near the Smith’s Reef snorkeling site.