Your favorite restaurants (categorized by price point)? Trying to stick to a budget..

My first time in Negril, one of the things I found challenging was sticking to a food budget. I believe it is possible to eat on any budget in Negril; however, knowing the average price of a meal prior to arriving at the restaurant was challenging (at best).

It can be time consuming to find a menu online (and no one wants to spend time researching restaurant prices on vacation). Websites that categorize by price are often not helpful at all (e.g., TripAdvisor categorizing a restaurant from $6-40).

So far I have found one website that is reasonably accurate based on my limited experience: http://www.negrilonestop.com/restaurants.shtml. But this list is not comprehensive - there are tons of restaurants not on the list, many of which I thoroughly enjoyed and/or are highly rated elsewhere.

Where do you go to find restaurants categorized by $'s? Do you just ask a local?

What are your favorite $, $$, $$$ and $$$$ restaurants?

• $ <= $10/pp
• $$ <= $20/pp
• $$$ <= 30/pp
• $$$$ = 40+/pp

I can't wait to hear your recommendations!

I look for restaurants with a strong local following. Lots of taxi drivers and local workers at a place usually means the food is good, and inexpensive Jamaican yard food.

We like Sweet Spot and Sips and Bites for great food and a very good price ($)
Sweet Spice (near the police station) for great meals ($$)
Charela for special dinners ($$$)

There are sooo many excellent places to try ! And we have tried and love most of the restaurants we experienced in Negril. Price is usually pretty fair at many places some are high but they are higher end restaurants. One of our fav is Keney's Chinese Rest. beside Traveler's Beach Resort. Yes it is Chinese food but done with a Jamaican flare mmmm !!! very good food a must try when in Negril. Some of our best picks are; Alfred's on the Beach, Caio, great pizza, beside Sam Sara Resort in the west end, Chicken Lavis, the list goes on & on. Good luck in finding your fav restaurant, enjoy the adventure !

Irie Andy

For quick serve Jamaican fare, try Juici Patti. They often have specials like two beef patties and a box drink for 250 or 300 J. About 3 U.S. for a hot lunch. Good people watching in there too.

That list from Negril One Stop is a pretty good place to start. It looks like it has been updated since I last looked at it. My only critique is that prices for lunch items are often less than dinner, as lunch is sometimes smaller and may not contain sides. One Stop may have a restaurant as $$, but you can easily get lunch for $6 if you go for a sandwich or a 1/4 chicken.

I would add the following restaurants to that list (Pricing estimates for dinner):

$$ - Jamaican-Style Restaurant & Bar. Located across from Mirage on the West End. Dinner Platters include a side of pasta and vegetable. Great food and fun bar.
$ - Mango Tree Restaurant. Inexpensive Jamaican cook shop, located across from Rick's. Good value!
$$ - Home Sweet Home Restaurant. Amazing cliff side setting. Decent selection on the dinner menu. Not the cheapest but a good value, compared to other cliff side restaurants.

EASY ideas to control your budget EVERYDAY:

1) Find a hotel deal within your budget .............. look for deals that may include the Jamaican Room Tax and hotel service fees (collected and distributed to hotel employees who normally do not receive tips such as gardeners, maids, laundry people, and other "backroom employees) ............ these hidden taxes and fees normally run up to 20% of room rate plus $4 per bedroom per night Room Tax. Savings of 20% minimum

2) Stay at a hotel near where you spend the majority of your time. For example we are "beach people" so we stay the majority of the time at a beach hotel. Less transportation costs. Savings vary on how much you travel and what kind of transport you use.

3) Find a hotel that provides the extras you need or want the most. For example, free ice, clean beach towels every day, free breakfast, free refrigerator, free AC, etc... Save money and enjoy more at the same time.

4) Use your in-room refrig to the best of your ability. Case of beer from local store is $20-$24 US. Twenty for beers at $2US at a bar is $48 - do the math.

5) Like some special drinks are hard to find or expensive. Like Gin/Vodak and tonic or seltzer ?............ bring a few bottles of tonic or seltzer. Like Bourbon? - pack a bottle or three of your favorite. Gimlets are your favorite - pack Rose's Lime Juice. Tequila on the rocks lights you fire - pack some tequila. Need a bloody mary to clear the fog in the morning - pack bloody mary mix and tomato juice. Like a nice olive or three in your sunset martini - pack a jar of olives ............. and vermouth.

6) Some hotel booking sites have discount cards included in their packages. For example negrilonestop.com has a card which gives you 10-15% discount at many places. That makes going out to a nicer place easier on the budget. We used it extensively in April. That is another 10% - 15 % savings.

7) Work the "happy hour" angle to your best advantage. Lots of places have discount food or drinks if you know where and when to look. For example White Sands has a "2 drinks for 1 price" special daily. Not exactly "buy one get one deal" but still a substantial savings over regular prices.

8) Find a way to cheaply convert your US dollars into Jamaican dollars and pay for most things in Jamaican dollars. ATM's charge a service charge which can vary but $5US or more per transaction is not unheard of. Your bank may charge a ATM fee AND a foreign transaction fee which can run from zero to 15%. The exchange rate you get at a restaurant or bar will always be less then a bank or cambio. For example, beers on the beach can cost $150 to $400 Jamaican. You only have US dollars? They may charge you $1.50 to $4.00US. Might not seem like much, but with an exchange rate of $115 JA to $1US you just paid $230JA for a $200JA beer. Total those savings and it is a easy 15% - 25% savings just in simple currency management.

Our favorites :::::
Ivan's
Ltu Pub
Shark's
Ciao Jamaica
Hungry Lion
Swordfish Grill
Kuyaba
Coconut International
Montanas

The place we have always gone back to on each trip is Chicken Lavish. ($)

Recently went to Cosmos, most dinners $1400 jmd, a couple 780-950. Rum punch 400 good-size glass and prices on their drink list reasonable. Had fish, curried goat and curried conch, so good we went back the next night for more of the curries.