15 Caribbean Restaurants With Amazing Views (Slideshow)

The waves crash against the rocks, the water stretches out into the distance to meet the night sky, and all around you on the outdoor dining patio candles flicker on the tables and warm light shines down from lanterns above them. Maybe you walked, or arrived by car. Maybe you arrived by yacht (it's situated so that you can, and the restaurant even bears a resemblance to the bow of a ship). However you arrived, if you're at The Cliff in Barbados, you've found yourself at one of the most beautiful and dramatic restaurants in the Caribbean, and you're in for a treat. Liverpool-born chef Paul Owens' menu changes frequently, but you can count on char-grilled meats and seafood including mahimahi and swordfish, and spellbinding dishes like Caribbean shrimp in Thai green curry coconut sauce with coriander rice, foie gras and chicken liver parfait, savory snails in puff pastry with chive cream sauce, and even a spicy Caesar salad with chorizo.

Chef Mark Clayton is onto something at the shabby, open-air, and legendary Da Conch Shack. Just off Blue Hills Road and adjacent to a parking lot replete with an aging boat full of conch shells, Da Conch Shack is the type of beach bar that beach bums yearn for — fresh, tasty seafood and potent rum-laced drinks with a punch. While the menu includes options like shrimp, fish, and jerk chicken, it's the namesake conch that keeps folks coming back year after year. No matter how you want your conch — as cracked conch dusted with flour and fried, as a conch salad (conch ceviche with tomatoes, green peppers, onions, and lime juice), in a curried conch chowder, or as crispy conch fritters — be sure to pair it with Johnny Fries (Turks & Caicos salted french fries drizzled with black bean and pepper gravy) or island staple rice and peas and a pitcher of rum punch. Don't forget to save room for the rum cake garnished with rum raisins.

This St. Barts classic serves innovative French cuisine with local Caribbean flavors on its open-air terrace overlooking Hôtel Le Toiny's infinity pool. The restaurant sources 20 different vegetables from its own organic greenhouse. Chef Sylvain Révélant's menu  includes marinated cobia with oyster whipped cream, Sichuan pepper, and French caviar; breaded sea bass with chestnuts and cardamom; and venison with salsify and gingerbread, prickly pear, and juniper berry jus. On Tuesdays, the restaurant also offers a "Fish Market" dinner, when the catch of the day is grilled "à la plancha" in front of diners.

Renowned chef José Andrés' Mi Casa is located in Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve resort. The restaurant offers everything from breakfast to dinner to in-room dining, all in the signature playful style of chef Andrés. Start with tapas like jamón Ibérico served with fresh tomato bread or yuca "churros" with house-made peanut butter and honey. For an entrée, try the traditional Puerto Rican rice stew, with chayote, ham, and your choice of spiny or Maine lobster, served with plantain chips and meant to be shared between two people. Or simply go all-out with the 11-course José's Tapas Experience menu.

Diners at the small and spacious 50-seat eatery at the Hotel Corail Résidence can enjoy a French-inspired meal while enjoying views of the Caribbean. Chef Jean-Paul Debreuil uses local ingredients to create playful, inventive dishes such as fresh fish tartare with tomato-basil ice cream, lobster and sea urchin cream ravioli, foie gras served with rum hibiscus jelly, simply cooked fresh fish sourced from local fishermen, and a simple but delicious fresh fruit crumble.

Located at the luxury resort Eden Rock – St Barths serves a seasonal menu created by renowned executive chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The globally inspired menu changes based on the season and product availability, celebrating the best of the chef'sfavorite dishes. Expect creations such as foie gras brûlée with dried cranberries, candied pistachios, and white port gelée; lobster with citrus-glazed carrots, passion fruit, and black olive; and lamb chops with smoked chile glaze and crunchy polenta. The international wine list features organic vintages and specially selected wines from Alsace, Vongerichten's native region.

Located off Hospital Street in Christiansted, just beyond the Fort, Savant offers visitors two dining options: The front of the eatery is hip, artistic, and cool with a sophisticated New York-esque air, while the courtyard has a quieter, more romantic feel created by the owner Tom Miller's wife Kate who is a sculptor. Savant's ambience is enticing and specials range from Thai to Tex-Mex and Caribbean. It's charming, very small, and intimate. 

You don't make it to Georgetown, Guyana, without a little bit of the intrepid spirit of an adventure traveler. Sure, there are reasons to visit the country — Kaieteur Falls, turtle trekking at Shell Beach, the Iwokrama Research Centre — but if you've found yourself here, you're most likely to be either visiting someone you know or making the trip either to or from Suriname or Brazil. In any of these cases, at some point you're going to be looking for something beyond the Guyanese classic pepperpot and even its exceptional roti, and at that point you're going to want to visit Cara Lodge, a colonial-styled building in the heart of Georgetown built in the 1840s that has seen the likes of kings, princes, presidents, and rock stars. There you'll find the Bottle Restaurant, which those who know the country will likely argue is the best restaurant in Guyana. Past the mango tree in the center of the courtyard, the ground floor restaurant is decorated with hundreds of Dutch bottles and Portuguese tiles. It's a clean, calming white-tablecloth restaurant that serves many of the traditional dishes of Guyana, including ginger soup, grilled snapper, and baked lamb.