St. Mary is a north-coast parish, and its places to eat are spread across Port Maria, the parish capital, Oracabessa and a string of smaller towns. For a sit-down meal in Port Maria, start with Cabarita Restaurant and Grill, which serves seafood, jerk, barbecue and oxtail. In Oracabessa, 511 Conroy's Plate runs an al fresco restaurant with a five-course tasting menu, and Savoury Flavory serves jerk and barbecue every day.
Oracabessa and Port Maria have the most places to eat, and each of the smaller towns has a few worth a stop. Opening hours change, so plan around them, especially on a Sunday.
Oracabessa
Oracabessa is associated with James Bond Beach, GoldenEye and Ian Fleming's Jamaican home, and its food runs from a tasting menu to barbecue, seafood and Jamaican restaurant meals.
Oracabessa is known for its beach and its mix of restaurants.
Book ahead for 511 Conroy's Plate. The Jamaica Gleaner wrote about it in July 2026 as an al fresco restaurant with a five-course tasting menu built on what each guest prefers. The dishes in that coverage include seafood, beef short ribs, shrimp dumplings, salmon and ramgoat ravioli. Reservations are recommended, and the restaurant is about five minutes from GoldenEye.
Savoury Flavory is a barbecue restaurant that serves jerk and barbecue. It is open every day from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Ezzi Bite Restaurant & Bar is a Jamaican restaurant open from noon to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday. It is closed on Sundays.
Chill Corner is a seafood restaurant open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sundays.
Di View Lounge is a bar and grill open every day from 8 a.m. It closes at 11 p.m. on Mondays and at 11:30 p.m. the rest of the week.
Port Maria
Port Maria is a historic port town, and its food stops include seafood, jerk, homestyle meals, fast food and modern sit-down dining.
Port Maria is a historic port town on the north coast.
Cabarita Restaurant and Grill, at 5 Main Street, is the sit-down pick. The Jamaica Observer's June 2026 coverage lists seafood, shrimp Alfredo, burgers, barbecue pork ribs, jerk chicken, jerk pork, sausage, escovitch snapper, oxtail, bammy, curried goat and seafood boil. The restaurant offers dine-in and takeout, and it runs a happy hour from 5 p.m. on Fridays and a Seafood Friday.
D-Spot makes food to order. Its menu is made-to-order wraps, loaded fries, burgers, pasta Alfredo, shakes and ice cream, and the owner names loaded fries and wraps as the most popular items (Observer, July 2026).
Three more places in Port Maria are worth a stop. Geraldine & Charmaine's Homestyle Restaurant is a Jamaican restaurant open Monday to Saturday from 8:45 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. Saint Mary Seafood & Lounge is a seafood restaurant open every day from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. The Chicken Hut, at 12 Stennett Street, is a chicken restaurant for fast food and takeout. It opens from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Tower Isle and Rio Nuevo
Tower Isle has restaurants in the Pompano Commercial Complex, and Rio Nuevo Beach has a beach bar and grill. Almaz Cafe Ja, in Shop 20E of the Pompano Commercial Complex, is a Jamaican restaurant open Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and until 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is closed on Sundays.
Delly's Brick Oven Pizza Restaurant is a pizza restaurant open every day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The Rocks Restaurant is a family restaurant. It is closed on Mondays. From Tuesday to Thursday it opens at 4 p.m., and from Friday to Sunday it opens at noon. It closes at 10 p.m. except on Sundays, when it closes at 8:30 p.m.
On Rio Nuevo Beach, Moi's Hideaway Beach Bar & Grill has a menu that runs from jerk pork and seafood to chicken, curry goat, oxtail, brown-stew pork, burgers and fruit bowls. Ask which dishes are ready when you arrive.
Highgate and Annotto Bay
Highgate has a roadside jerk stop. Captain Morgan's Buccaneer Jerk Centre is near town on the main road to Ocho Rios, and the Jamaica Observer named it as a lunch stop in June 2026. Ask what is cooking that day and what a plate costs when you stop. Ocho Rios is the town further up that road, over the parish line in St. Ann, and the Weh Fi Nyam guide to Ocho Rios, Jamaica covers it.
Roadside jerk is part of eating near Highgate.
Muma Tresha's Island Kitchen is a lunch restaurant open Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight. It is closed Monday to Wednesday and on Sunday.
Porchlight & Pimento Café Lounge, at Lot 1 Nashville Drive, is a café for breakfast. It is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, closed on Tuesday, and open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. from Friday to Sunday.
Annotto Bay has three picks with their own hours. Lisa's Unique Restaurant is a seafood restaurant open Monday to Saturday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and it is closed on Sundays. Lenty's Sea Breeze Restaurant is a Jamaican restaurant open Monday to Thursday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from noon to 11:30 p.m. It is closed on Sundays. Ocean View Bar & Grill is a bar and grill open daily from 10 a.m., closing at 10 p.m. Monday to Thursday and at midnight from Friday to Sunday.
Gayle and RioNuoya
N&S Restaurant is a fast food and takeout restaurant in Gayle, open Monday to Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. It is closed on Sundays.
The Vault Sports Bar & Grill, in RioNuoya, is a bar and grill open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is closed on Sundays.
What St. Mary is known for to eat
St. Mary's food story starts with bananas. The Jamaica Information Service's parish profile describes a long banana-growing history that became especially important after the decline of sugar, and growers formed the Jamaica Producers Association to market their produce. In 2018, Jamaica Producers launched a St. Mary Heritage Project at its farm in Annotto Bay, promoting bananas for banana porridge, banana bread and banana muffins.
Bananas are the start of St. Mary's food story.
Seafood follows the coast. Cabarita serves seafood boil, shrimp Alfredo and escovitch snapper, and Saint Mary Seafood & Lounge and Chill Corner are both seafood restaurants. Seafood availability often depends on the day's catch, so ask what is fresh.
Jerk turns up in several places. Cabarita serves a jerk platter with chicken, pork and sausage. Savoury Flavory in Oracabessa serves jerk and barbecue, and Captain Morgan's near Highgate is a jerk centre. For more on jerk across the island, read Where to Get the Best Jerk Chicken in Jamaica, Parish by Parish.
Cabarita and Moi's Hideaway both list oxtail and curried goat on their menus. Jerk and many stews are hot, so tell the cook if you want less heat.
Markets and events
Port Maria Market officially opened in February 2024 as a formal market location for vendors and shoppers (Ministry of Local Government). Vendor availability changes from day to day.
The Jamaica Cultural Development Commission held a culinary arts competition and showcase in Port Maria on May 21, 2026. It included live cooking demonstrations, team challenges and displays of traditional Jamaican dishes, as the Jamaica Information Service reported.
Getting around and eating out
Route taxis are the practical way to move between the main towns. Routes include Port Maria to Annotto Bay, Highgate to Annotto Bay, Rio Nuevo to Gayle and Highgate to Guys Hill. Operators include the Oracabessa Taxi Association and the St. Mary Transport Association, and the Transport Authority's available routes page shows the routes.
Confirm before you go: fares and pick-up points change, so check the current fare and the exact departure point with the driver before you set off.
Carry Jamaican dollars. Expect to pay cash at small cookshops, roadside vendors and market stalls unless they say otherwise. At a restaurant, find out whether it takes cards before you order.
Sunday needs planning. Chill Corner, Ezzi Bite Restaurant & Bar, Geraldine & Charmaine's Homestyle Restaurant, Lisa's Unique Restaurant, Lenty's Sea Breeze Restaurant and The Vault Sports Bar & Grill are closed on Sundays. Savoury Flavory, Saint Mary Seafood & Lounge, Di View Lounge, Delly's Brick Oven Pizza Restaurant, The Chicken Hut, Porchlight & Pimento Café Lounge, Ocean View Bar & Grill and The Rocks Restaurant keep Sunday hours.
Smaller cookshops can run out of dishes before closing time, so if one particular dish matters to you, get there early.
To find more places by town and kind of food, browse St. Mary in the Weh Fi Nyam directory.
Common questions
Where can I eat in St. Mary, Jamaica?
Port Maria and Oracabessa have the most places to eat. For a sit-down meal, try Cabarita in Port Maria or 511 Conroy's Plate in Oracabessa, and for a simple takeout meal, The Chicken Hut in Port Maria and N&S Restaurant in Gayle both serve fast food and takeout. Highgate and Annotto Bay add a few more picks, and Tower Isle has its own picks.
What food is St. Mary famous for?
St. Mary's food story is built on bananas, seafood and jerk. The parish has a long banana-growing history, and Jamaica Producers has promoted bananas for banana porridge, banana bread and banana muffins. Seafood and jerk show up from Port Maria to Oracabessa and Highgate, so you will find both across these towns.
Where can I get jerk, seafood or a cheap local meal in St. Mary?
For jerk, go to Cabarita in Port Maria for its jerk platter, or to Savoury Flavory in Oracabessa. For seafood, Saint Mary Seafood & Lounge in Port Maria, Chill Corner in Oracabessa and Lisa's Unique Restaurant in Annotto Bay are all seafood restaurants. For a plain local meal without a sit-down setting, takeout spots such as The Chicken Hut and N&S Restaurant are the simplest choice, and prices vary by portion, so check the price of a plate before you order.
What is there to eat near the main sights of St. Mary?
Near James Bond Beach and GoldenEye, 511 Conroy's Plate is about five minutes away. Cabarita Restaurant and Grill sits at 5 Main Street in Port Maria, with views toward Cabarita Island and Pagee Beach, and Moi's Hideaway is on Rio Nuevo Beach. Before you plan a meal at Firefly, Noel Coward's former home near Port Maria, check with the site operator whether dining is open.