Where you eat in Hanover depends on the town you are in. In Lucea, the historic port capital of the parish, Sparrow's is a Jamaican restaurant open every day from 9 am to 9 pm, and the fish market sits beside the main market. In Hopewell, Try A Ting is a seafood spot on Main Street open daily from 1:30 pm to 7:30 pm, and in Sandy Bay, Pachie is a Jamaican restaurant at A1 Sandy Bay.
Each town has a different mix. Green Island has a jerk and seafood hut and a Jamaican restaurant that opens at 7 am. Orange Bay leans toward cafes and seafood, and Hanover town has two restaurants open for dinner from 5:30 pm. Lucea is a town of Georgian architecture and a market, so start there if you want to shop and eat in the same morning.
Lucea: market stops and town restaurants
Lucea Fish Market is attached to Lucea Market and was designed for about 15 fish vendors. It is a market stop rather than a restaurant, and it opened officially in June 2013. Fire damaged Lucea's market on October 4, 2024, and in November 2024 the Jamaica Observer reported that a modern replacement was being planned. Confirm before you go where the market is operating now.
Lucea Fish Market is attached to Lucea Market.
For a sit-down meal in town, Marty's Seafood is the seafood choice. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and closed on Sundays. Frankie's Pizza & Bites sits in Seaview Arcade on Main Street, and it stays open later, from 10 am to 11:30 pm Monday to Saturday and from 11 am to 9 pm on Sunday.
Hopewell: seafood, a family restaurant and coffee
Hopewell's food ties run to the sea, and its listings also include a family restaurant and a coffee shop. Try A Ting is the seafood stop on Main Street. Spice Right Restaurant is a family restaurant open Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 8 pm and closed on Sundays. For a coffee or a light breakfast, Shebrews Coffee is in Shop #33 at Hopewell Mall. It opens at 8:30 am and closes at 6 pm Monday to Thursday and at 7 pm Friday and Saturday, and it is closed on Sundays.
Hopewell's food ties run to the sea.
In Knockalva, The Thatch Café & Restaurant was profiled by the Jamaica Observer in August 2022, with seafood, pasta and upgraded local dishes in a mountainous Hanover setting.
Sandy Bay: waterfront dining and a Tryall Club restaurant
Sandy Bay offers waterfront dining. Waterfront Restaurant & Bar is open every day from 10 am to 10 pm. Pachie is open Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 11:30 am to 10 pm, and it is closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday. Ooshan, at Tryall Club, opened in Sandy Bay in 2024. The Jamaica Observer described its food as contemporary Jamaican cuisine with international influences, plus wine and cocktails.
Green Island: jerk, seafood and early breakfast
Badmachine seafood & jerk hut serves jerk and barbecue as well as seafood. It is open Monday to Saturday from 6 am to 10:30 pm and on Sundays from noon to 2:30 am. SINGABELLYSWEET is a Jamaican restaurant open Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 6 pm, and it is closed on Sundays. D'Edge Seafood and Grill is a seafood restaurant open Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 11 pm and on Sundays from 3 pm to 11 pm.
Green Island has a jerk and seafood hut and an early breakfast spot.
Pirates Dock Bar & Grill, also in Green Island, serves breakfast every day from 7 am to 10 am, along with Jamaican meals, burgers and fresh seafood.
Orange Bay: cafes and seafood
Orange Bay is a fishery conservation area, and its food places include cafes, a Jamaican restaurant and seafood. Fraza's Cafe is in Shop #12 at Speedy Way Plaza. Its hours run from 9 am to 8 pm Monday to Thursday, from 9 am to 9 pm Friday and Saturday, and from 2 pm to 9 pm on Sunday.
Eat Pray Love Jamaica is a Jamaican restaurant open Monday to Thursday from 7 am to 9 pm and on Friday from 7 am to 6:30 pm. It is closed Saturday and Sunday. Lush blendz 'n more / NBA Seafoods is a seafood restaurant open Tuesday to Thursday from 10:30 am to 8:30 pm, on Friday from 9:30 am to 9 pm and on Saturday from 9 am to 9 pm. It is closed Monday and Sunday.
Hanover town and Negril
Sumptuori Restaurant is an Asian fusion restaurant serving Chinese and Asian food, open daily from 5:30 pm to 10 pm. Portofino Restaurant is an Italian restaurant with the same evening hours every day.
On the Hanover side of Negril, Office of Nature is a seafood restaurant open daily from 9 am to 8 pm. Jamwest Beach Park is a bar that serves food, open daily from 10 am to 9 pm and until 11 pm on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Negril has its own guide, Weh Fi Nyam in Negril and Savanna-la-Mar, Jamaica, for more choices there.
Hanover's food specialities
Hanover's food is tied to the coast, to jerk and to farm produce. Fresh fish, lobster, shrimp, conch and the day's catch are the common thread in Hopewell, Sandy Bay and Green Island.
Hanover's food is tied to the coast, to jerk and to farm produce.
Jerk has a place in the parish's food history too. The Hanover 4-H Clubs held a jerk festival at Rusea's High School on November 26, 2005, and its food programme included traditional and non-traditional jerk dishes, among them jerk chicken, pork and fish. The same programme also named callaloo, chicken foot, breadfruit, shrimp, conch, lobster, Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes. For jerk across the island, read jerk chicken across Jamaica, parish by parish.
Yam has a long history in Lucea. A 19th-century account of Jamaica described yam cultivation around the town.
The sixth Hanover Agricultural and Industrial Show was scheduled for May 24, 2024, at Lord's Playfield in Lucea, with a farmers market, plant and livestock displays and food vendors. The Social Development Commission set the Hanover Main Street Festival for November 1, 2024, at Bustamante Square. It ran from 9 am to 10 pm and included a celebrity cook-off, food contests and a local business marketplace. For the dates of the next events, contact the Jamaica Agricultural Society's Hanover association or the Social Development Commission.
Getting around and eating out in Hanover
The Transport Authority runs route taxis between Lucea, Hopewell, Sandy Bay, Green Island, Orange Bay and Negril. Its July 2026 fare table gives these fares from Lucea, with US figures at the Bank of Jamaica rate of about J$159 to US$1 on 13 October 2026.
The New Lucea Taxi Association is at Seaview Arcade in Lucea, and the Hanover Hopewell Taxi Association is in Hopewell.
Plan Sundays around the places that open that day. Frankie's Pizza & Bites in Lucea, Try A Ting in Hopewell and Waterfront Restaurant & Bar in Sandy Bay are all open on Sundays. Marty's Seafood, Spice Right Restaurant and Pachie are closed that day.
If you want food after dark on a Saturday, Janoosundayroast runs its Backyard Vibez event from 5 pm to 10 pm. It is an event rather than a daily restaurant.
Payment policies differ from one business to the next, so keep some cash and find out whether a place takes cards before you order.
Ask for ackee and saltfish, Jamaica's national dish, with dumplings, callaloo, green banana, yam, avocado or plantain when available. Other dishes to look for on a menu include jerk chicken or pork, jerk fish, curry goat, oxtail, rice and peas, escovitch fish, steamed fish, bammy, festival, red peas soup, fish tea and Jamaican patties.
Do not assume every seafood item is in stock all day, so ask what fish, shrimp, lobster or conch is available that day.
Jerk and pepper can be hot. Scotch bonnet peppers are very hot, so if you want milder food, request the pepper on the side.
Portions vary by business, and meals may come with traditional sides. Find out what comes with the plate before you order.
At a cookshop or counter, check what is ready, what is cooked to order and whether the price includes the side. Food availability can depend on the day's preparation.
Common questions
Where can I eat in Hanover, Jamaica?
Start with the town you will be in, because the choices change from Lucea to Hopewell to Green Island. Lucea has Sparrow's and Marty's Seafood, Hopewell has Try A Ting and Shebrews Coffee, and Sandy Bay has Pachie and Waterfront Restaurant & Bar. Badmachine seafood & jerk hut and SINGABELLYSWEET round out the picks in Green Island.
What food is Hanover famous for?
Hanover's food is built on seafood from its coast, Jamaican country cooking, jerk and farm produce. Lucea's market and its long yam history add to that picture. The 2005 Hanover 4-H jerk festival listed jerk chicken, pork and fish among its jerk dishes.
Where can I get jerk, seafood or a cheap local meal in Hanover?
For jerk, Badmachine seafood & jerk hut in Green Island serves jerk and barbecue as well as seafood, and it opens at 6 am Monday to Saturday. For seafood, D'Edge Seafood and Grill in Green Island and Marty's Seafood in Lucea are seafood restaurants. For an everyday Jamaican meal, SINGABELLYSWEET in Green Island is open Monday to Saturday, and prices vary from place to place, so check the menu at the counter before you order.
What is there to eat near the main sights of Hanover?
In Lucea, the fish market sits beside Lucea Market, and the town has Georgian architecture and a market tradition. In Sandy Bay, Ooshan at Tryall Club serves contemporary Jamaican food with international influences. In Orange Bay, Fraza's Cafe at Speedy Way Plaza is open from 9 am on most days.
To find more places by town and food type, browse the Weh Fi Nyam restaurant directory. For the rest of the island, start with Weh Fi Nyam in Jamaica: Where to Eat in All 14 Parishes.