Eating My Way Through Cabarete

In honor of one of our readers who just recently moved to Dominican Republic, specifically to the awesome town of Cabarete, I thought I'd publish this piece today. Congratulations on the move... I think you'll love it there!

My favorite thing about vacation (and island living) besides umbrella drinks is eating. I love the possibility of new restaurants and that feeling I get when I open a new menu and find something delicious to rave about. Even better is when I get to go back and eat my favorite plates over and over... and over and over again.

While Cabarete is best known as one of the Top 10 Kiteboarding cities in the world, it should also be on the map for some of the yummiest eateries on the island. So if you're ever visiting Cab, check out these local spots:

Gordito’s Fresh Mex

3 words = Mambo Fish Taco. To be fair, I can’t suggest anything else. I know that they also serve up tacos, burritos, and bowls and that they have specials of the day like a Big Mac burrito but I’ve never tried anything else and if you had a Mambo Fish Taco you’d know why. You’d be addicted. You’d come back for more every day. Every. Single. Day. Sometimes more than once a day. You’d want to shoot their special sauce straight into your veins. I say this from experience. For 90 pesos (about $2.00) the grilled fish wrapped in a fried flour tortilla and topped with cabbage, Pico de Gallo, guacamole, tomatillo sauce, and their secret sauce will leave you broke and satisfied. Added bonus: the owners are so welcoming they make me miss home a little bit less.

Location: Calle Principal (Main Street), near Ocean Dream
Visit their Website
Hours: 11am – 8:30pm, closed Sundays
Menu Suggestion: Mambo Fish Tacos, duh.

Claro Café 

Tucked away in its own sort of hideaway, Claro is one of our favorite places to eat. Surrounded in tropical flowers and vegetation and nestled away from the main road, Sandy, the German expat owner, has what I’ve come to know as the typical Cabarete expat story, “I came for only a few months and I’ve been here 16 years.” She is delightful – as delightful as the food she serves up. The menu is fresh and varied, offering options like Banana Bread French Toast as well as some of the best vegetarian options in town. Me? I’m not a vegetarian, I ordered the Yolita (Little Boat) a skillet with potatoes, chicken, bacon, blue cheese, and egg. Added bonus: A kids’ play area and an admirable eco-friendly commitment including recycled sugarcane to-go containers and no water bottles.

Location: Calle Principal (Main Street), Hotel Casa Blanca, near Janet’s Supermarket
Contact: 809-889-1406
Hours: 8am – 2pm, Tuesday-Sunday
Menu Suggestion: YOLITA!

Cabarete Coffee Company

Right on the main road, you might drive by this place and not think it was anything special. You’d be way off. Waaaaay off. Their mission statement alone proves that: “To privide coffee and food that is good to taste, good for the earth, and good for the people who grow it…” Cab Coffee Co. not only purchases organic food from locals with eco-friendly practices but also works with “youth and women to establish farming projects, thus training a new generation of the importance of organic farming…” And it shows, rather, it tastes. Their menu is healthy, fresh and simply delicious. Their coffee alone is worth the trip and if I lived at Cab, it’d be my Starbucks fo’ sho.

Location: Calle Principal (Main Street), in front of Bahia de Arena Villas
Visit their Website
Hours: 7am – 3pm, Daily
Menu Suggestions: Mocha Tati with an honorable mention to the Hot Zoe and The New Yorker… or Kite Loop… or Surfer Supreme. Hell, try everything.

Now with the time you've saved looking for a good place to eat, go enjoy Cabarete. 

Bon appétit!