Bananakeet Café – A Taste Bud Mini-Vacation

By Keiyia J. George

If you have not experienced the best of the best of the best of Tortola, WELL, you have not experienced Bananakeet Café. Can we say voilà! C’est bon!

No, it’s not a French restaurant, but it zips you away as if you are sitting next to The Lourve sipping on a warm cappuccino and eating the best meal ever as you watch the Seine lazily stream by…or somewhere else. Pick a place and just go! Remember though, there is no better place with a sunset view, like the one you get from Windy Hill, Tortola.

That’s what Bananakeet Café does to you. It sure takes your breath away.

This family-owned business was opened in 1979 under one name – Heritage Villas, and some years later the Café was given its own name – Bananakeet Café. They’ve maintained the same high level of service that has only gotten better with time like fine wine.

Magnifique! The experience of this restaurant and hotel is like an explosion to your senses. As food is prepared by their expert Chef Spice (from the Spice Island – Grenada) and brought out to you by their well-trained and friendly servers, you can only imagine what it will be like to dip your taste buds into each and every bite. As they get closer to your table, you relish in the experience you had during the last visit to Banankeet Café.

The tantalizing smells are now wisping in and out of your nostrils so strongly, you have a hard time maintaining yourself. You want to pounce the server and devour the plate… but won’t. You remember where you are – in five-star like surroundings. You remain cool, calm, and collected. Secretly, you wish they’d hurry across the room to you.

It has arrived! The presentation makes you want to snap a picture right away to post to social media. This is an experience that cannot be contained. It must be shared. Everyone must come and enjoy this wonder of the world! You slowly pick up your knife and fork. You gracefully cut into your entrée. You pause to savour the juices that flow from it. Ever so gently, you lift the fork to your mouth, watching every move the morsels on the end make. It reaches your mouth as you close your eyes to melt into it. And BOOM!!!! There it is. The explosion you recall every time you visit Bananakeet Café. It’s even better than it was last time! How can this be!  This place only gets better and better. Chef Spice never lets you down and with this new season, he promised to introduce a new menu as he has done every season that will surely send you into a blissful coma. Can you handle it?

Finally, you sit back well satisfied. Tempted to lick your chops, you wipe your mouth and sip the remainder of your wine. This was quite a meal! What more can one ask for? Except maybe dessert.  On the dessert menu, you will find the best dessert to complement your meal. More wine,  please!

And this was only dinner. Let’s not forget Happy Hour where you can have $3 beer, Quesadilla, Cracked Conch, and Wings for days paired with Edamame, Nachos, or tender Mussels. What’s the best time of the day?? 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM, of course! These two hours are the time when you can take the day off and just relax as you watch the sun set in the glorious horizon. With the going down of the sun, the live entertainment of local singers, and food to lift any mood, the day only gets better as it ends…but only when you are at Bananakeet Café. It’s a perfect time to loosen the tie, kick off your heels, and enjoy good company.