Ocho Rios is in St. Ann parish, on Jamaica's north coast, and jerk is the thread that runs through the town. Ocho Rios Jerk Center at 14 Dacosta Drive has been open since 1995, and serves jerk chicken, jerk pork, jerk sausage and jerk-style lobster. Plantation Smokehouse in Richmond, Ocho Rios, goes wider, with Jamaican, American and Asian dishes that include whole fried snapper, curry goat and pigtail soup. Across the rest of St. Ann, the food clusters by town: seafood on the beach at Runaway Bay and Salem, roadside jerk and fresh juice at Faith's Pen, and sweet potato pudding in Priory.
Ocho Rios
The restaurant area sits around the cruise port and the town, close to Dunn's River Falls. Start with the jerk. Ocho Rios Jerk Center is open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight, and Friday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Its menu includes jerk platters alongside the chicken, pork, sausage and lobster.
Jerk is the thread that runs through Ocho Rios.
Plantation Smokehouse is open every day from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. It suits a group that wants more than jerk, since the menu runs from whole fried snapper and curry goat to pigtail soup.
Jangalee Seafood Joint is a seafood restaurant in town, open every day from 10 a.m. It closes at 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday, at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 9 p.m. on Sunday. For Jamaican food, Irie Eatz Restaurant is open from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays. Dong Dong Chinese Ocho Rios, at 134 Main Street, serves Chinese and Asian food from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Saturday, with Sunday closed.
More Ocho Rios places are on the Ocho Rios listings page. For a fuller look at the town's restaurants beyond the cruise port, read our Ocho Rios guide to local restaurants.
St. Ann's Bay and Drax Hall
Drax Hall, in the St. Ann's Bay area, is home to several places in this part of the parish. You can browse them on the St. Ann's Bay restaurant page and the Drax Hall page.
Scotchies Drax Hall is a Jamaican restaurant open every day from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Kamila's Kitchen (Drax Hall) is a health food restaurant at Lot C6, Drax Hall, open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed on Sundays. It is in the vegan, vegetarian and Ital category, so talk with the kitchen about any dish if that matters to you. Grandma's delicious delight's/maydean's delight's sells ice cream, desserts and juice, open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday until 9 p.m., and closed on Sundays.
Runaway Bay and Salem
Runaway Bay and Salem are associated with beachfront seafood. Sharkies Seafood, on A1 Main Street in Salem, serves fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, conch and seafood platters, prepared grilled, fried, curried or with garlic. In October 2026 its menu lists fish from J$4,000 (about US$25), shrimp at J$3,800 (about US$24), lobster at J$5,500 (about US$35) and a seafood platter at J$6,600 (about US$42). That is one menu, not an island average. The restaurant is open daily from 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and lobster is off the menu from April 1 to June 30.
Seafood is the draw along the Runaway Bay and Salem coast.
Farenough Jerk & Seafood, on Main Street in Runaway Bay, opened in February 2025, as the Jamaica Observer reported in June 2025. It serves jerk seafood, wild-caught seafood, jerk wild boar and curry reindeer on alternating Fridays, so plan your visit around those days.
Highseas Seafood Restaurant in Runaway Bay is open Monday to Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Cove At Runaway Bay, at 132 Main Street, serves Jamaican food from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday, and it is closed on Mondays and Sundays. In Salem, Di Best Seafood & Jerk Center serves jerk, barbecue and seafood, and it is open 24 hours every day.
For more places, see the Runaway Bay listings and the Salem listings.
Discovery Bay
Discovery Bay has places that range from a bar and grill to a pizzeria. BeachLifestyleChill bar and grill is open every day from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Cre8tive Cafe Pizzeria, in Shop #8 at Penny's Plaza, serves pizza. It is open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More places are on the Discovery Bay listings page.
Browns Town and Moneague
Sushane's Seafood and Grill in Browns Town is open Tuesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and closed on Sundays and Mondays. Grand Gourmet Palace, at 14 Mainstreet, serves Chinese and Asian food. It is open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 9 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
A food and produce market sits in Browns Town.
The Browns Town Market is a food and produce market rather than a sit-down restaurant. In April 2026, the Jamaica Observer reported that food vendors and customers use it, and that sanitation and maintenance problems need municipal attention.
Moneague's listings include Sizzlers Restaurant, a Jamaican restaurant open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Pitzza Hitzza Restaurant, a family restaurant open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 7:50 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Faith's Pen Rest Stop sits on the A1 and Faith's Pen Main Road, between Moneague and Mount Diablo. The food there includes jerk chicken and pork, roast corn, curried goat, roast yam, saltfish, traditional cooked meals and fresh juice. Treat it as a likely stop rather than a sure full meal, and check what is being served before you order.
Priory
Priory is associated with sweet potato pudding. Pudding Man, also called The Pudding Shop Jamaica or Just Coool, is on Main Street, and it is a stop for sweet potato pudding.
Sweet potato pudding is the dessert Priory is known for.
Starliner Seafood Wine-Bar and Grill in Plantation Village serves fresh fish, lobster, shrimp, oxtail, curry goat and jerk. It is open Monday and Wednesday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., on Sunday from noon to 10 p.m., and closed on Tuesday. Mama T's Cafe is a cafe for breakfast, and it is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and closed on Sundays. The Alterry Beach serves Jamaican food on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from 12:01 p.m. to 8 p.m.
More places are on the Priory listings page.
What St. Ann is known for on the plate
Four threads run through the parish, and each one has a clear place to start.
Jerk comes first. In the Jamaican tradition, jerk means meat or seafood seasoned and cooked in that style. Visit Jamaica describes authentic jerk as cooked over pimento wood and associated with scotch bonnet pepper, thyme and pimento. Heat levels vary, and scotch bonnet is common in jerk seasoning and pepper sauces, so ask for the sauce or pepper on the side if you are sensitive to heat. For more on jerk across the island, read our parish-by-parish guide to jerk chicken in Jamaica.
Seafood follows. Runaway Bay and Salem are associated with beachfront seafood, and the coast serves fried fish, escovitch fish, lobster, shrimp, crab and conch. Lobster has a closed season at Sharkies, so check the menu before you plan a lobster dinner between April and June.
Roadside cooking is the third thread. Faith's Pen is the clearest example, with jerk, roast corn, roast yam, saltfish, curried goat and traditional cooked meals. Expect fruit and juice stalls around Faith's Pen and Moneague, though individual vendors change.
Ital is the fourth. The word generally refers to Rastafarian-influenced natural food that may be vegetarian or vegan and may be prepared without salt. If that matters to you, find out whether stock, butter or meat is used in a dish. Kamila's Kitchen in Drax Hall is in that category, and our ital food guide explains the style in more detail.
Pudding is a dessert category rather than one recipe. In St. Ann, the name to know is Pudding Man in Priory.
Jamaican staples to look for across the parish include ackee and saltfish, rice and peas, curry goat, oxtail, brown stew chicken, escovitch fish, fried fish, festival, bammy, roast yam, roast breadfruit and callaloo.
Food events and markets in St. Ann
The Sharkies Seafood Festival took place at Sharkies Seafood Restaurant in Salem on October 20, 2025. In August 2026, the Jamaica Gleaner reported that the annual Walkerswood Jerk Festival drew more than 1,000 people and raised money for the Walkerswood Basic School, Community Centre and Post Office. St. Ann Agro Fest was scheduled for May 9, 2025 at Buckfield Playground and focused on food security and technology in farming. All three events are in the past, so check with the organisers for the next dates before you plan a trip around one.
Practical tips for eating in St. Ann
Route-taxi fares between towns are in Jamaican dollars. The Ministry of Transport announced a 2026 fare adjustment, with the route-taxi fare from St. Ann's Bay to Ocho Rios rising from J$220 (about US$1.40) to J$240 (about US$1.50) in a second phase set for July 2026. Confirm the current fare before boarding. The North-South Highway cut travel time through the interior, so plan your food stops on purpose if you drive that way.
Opening hours vary a lot. Ocho Rios Jerk Center opens at 11 a.m. and runs late, while Irie Eatz closes at 5:30 p.m. Late-night food is easier to find in the larger towns and at fast-food branches than at small roadside stops. Cookshops can sell out before their posted closing time, and some stops serve food when it is ready instead of on fixed hours.
Sharkies, Plantation Smokehouse and Starliner are open on Sundays. For a local cookshop or roadside stop, check Sunday service with the vendor before you go.
If you want a chain meal, the KFC in Browns Town is open daily from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the KFC in St. Ann's Bay is open daily until midnight. KFC opened a Salem restaurant in 2026, its sixth in St. Ann.
Jamaica uses the Jamaican dollar, so carry JMD for route taxis, markets, roadside stalls and small food vendors. Most Jamaican ATMs accept international cards with Visa, Mastercard, Cirrus and Plus logos, but a small food stop may have no card machine at all. Ask restaurants whether they take cards before you order. Carry water too when you travel between towns.
At a cookshop counter, look at the pots or trays first, since some dishes sell in limited quantities. Portions can be large, because a plate often combines meat, rice and peas, vegetables, plantain or dumplings. Ask what comes with the meal and whether the price is for a full or half portion.
Prices change with the kind of stop. A beachfront seafood dinner at Sharkies and a roadside cookshop plate sit at different price levels, so compare one item at a time, at the same kind of place. For a wider look at what a meal costs across Jamaica, read our food prices guide.
More places by town and food type are on the St. Ann restaurant directory. Use it to find a place in the town where you are staying, or to plan a food stop on the way to the next one.
Common questions
Where can I eat in St. Ann, Jamaica?
Ocho Rios offers jerk at Ocho Rios Jerk Center, Jamaican, American and Asian dishes at Plantation Smokehouse, and seafood at Jangalee Seafood Joint. Runaway Bay and Salem have seafood at Sharkies Seafood and Highseas Seafood Restaurant, and Priory has fresh seafood and Jamaican dishes at Starliner. Browns Town and Moneague add Jamaican, Chinese and roadside options.
What food is St. Ann famous for?
St. Ann is known more for a mix of foods than for one signature dish. Jerk, fresh seafood along the Runaway Bay and Salem coast, roadside cooking at Faith's Pen and sweet potato pudding in Priory are the strongest threads. Staples such as ackee and saltfish, rice and peas and curry goat are part of the Jamaican food you will find across the parish.
Where can I get jerk, seafood or a cheap local meal in St. Ann?
For jerk, start with Ocho Rios Jerk Center in Ocho Rios, or Farenough Jerk & Seafood in Runaway Bay, which serves jerk seafood on alternating Fridays. For seafood, Sharkies Seafood in Salem serves fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, conch and platters. For traditional food from roadside vendors, Faith's Pen is the clearest option, and the Browns Town Market sells food and produce from vendors, so check the price at the counter.
What is there to eat near the main sights of St. Ann?
In Ocho Rios, the restaurant area near Dunn's River Falls and the cruise port offers jerk, Jamaican meals, fast food, seafood and international food, including Ocho Rios Jerk Center and Plantation Smokehouse. Tours run from Ocho Rios and Runaway Bay to Nine Mile, Bob Marley's birthplace, with optional stops for jerk chicken on the return trip. If you are coming off a cruise ship, check whether your chosen restaurant sits outside the port compound before you set out.