Spanish Town and Portmore are the two towns to start with when you want to eat in St. Catherine. In Spanish Town, Delicious Taste Restaurant is the seafood pick, Terri's Delectables cooks Jamaican food and bakes patties, and Redtop Cafe is the place for breakfast. In Portmore, City Flames Buffet and Grill at Bayside carries on an annual jerk festival, and Kingdom Chill Spot is a family restaurant inside Destiny Mall. Old Harbour and the fish beach at Hellshire come next, then the inland towns of Bog Walk, Linstead and Ewarton.
Spanish Town
Spanish Town's food offer includes neighbourhood cookshops, roadside jerk and quick-service restaurants. The easiest place to start is the traditional market, which sits between Cumberland Road and Adelaide Street. The historic centre, with its Georgian square and Old King's House, is in the same town, so a sightseeing stop and a meal can fit into one afternoon.
The traditional market in Spanish Town sells produce such as peppers and ginger.
A Jamaica Observer report from July 2026 priced sweet peppers at J$500 a pound (about US$3), ginger at J$600 a pound (about US$4) and Scotch bonnet peppers at J$400 a pound (about US$3) at the market. Those are produce prices, not meal prices, but they give you a sense of what the market sells and what it costs to cook with.
For a sit-down meal, Delicious Taste Restaurant is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and it is closed on Sundays. Terri's Delectables is a Jamaican restaurant that also covers bakeries and patties, open Tuesday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Star Flex Bar & Fast Food Restaurant, at 214 Brunswick Avenue, is a bar and grill that stays open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Redtop Cafe is a cafe for breakfast food, and its hours run until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
For a quick-service chain, Popeyes, Burger King and Little Caesars Pizza opened at Angels and Burke Road in February 2025. For more places in the town, see the Spanish Town listings.
Portmore
Portmore has a broad mix of restaurants and fast food, and the Restaurants in Portmore, Jamaica: Open Late, Delivery and Birthday Dinners guide covers the town in depth. These picks cover a few different kinds of food.
Jerk is the food behind Portmore's annual festival.
The Jamaica Observer reported in July 2024 that City Flames Buffet and Grill at Bayside was continuing the annual jerk festival that had run under the Jungle Fiah Buffet name, with authentic Jamaican jerk and entertainment. The 2024 festival ran on Saturday, August 3, from noon until 2 a.m. For the date of the next one, ask the organiser.
Kingdom Chill Spot is open Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and it is closed on Sundays. Lee Dragon Express restaurant serves Chinese and Asian food, and it is open Monday to Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., and closed on Sundays.
Raddicks Entertainment HQ on Braeton Road in Greater Portmore is a bar and grill. It is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., and closed on Wednesdays.
The Ultimate Vegan Food at 638 Milton Road is a health food restaurant in the vegan, vegetarian and Ital category. Its hours are Monday to Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., with Saturday closing at 6:30 p.m., and it is closed on Sundays. Ask the kitchen what goes into each dish, since the category tells you the style of the menu and nothing about each ingredient.
Old Harbour
The Deli Spot sits on South Street, the main exit from Old Harbour toward Highway 2000. The Jamaica Observer profiled it in December 2022, describing sandwiches, wraps, shakes, pizzas, tacos, wings, chicken and waffles, and chicken with fries.
Good Old Days Restaurant is a Jamaican restaurant. Its hours are Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it is closed on Saturdays.
TrueGarden Cuisine is a vegan restaurant in the vegan, vegetarian and Ital category, and it opens for lunch from noon to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. H&M Bar & Grill is a bar and grill open every day, closing at 10 p.m.
Hellshire
At Hellshire Beach, the main food experience is fried or steamed fish served with bammy and festival. For what to order and how to get there, see Hellshire Beach fried fish, prices and getting there.
Fried or steamed fish with bammy and festival is the classic Hellshire Beach meal. The Jamaica Gleaner wrote in 2009 that the beach was popular for fried fish and festival.
Red's Seafood Restaurant is the seafood pick here. It is open Monday to Friday and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 24 hours on Saturday. Melbourne's Blend is a juice shop at Green Bay Pen on Hellshire Main Road that also sells ice cream and desserts. It is open Monday to Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed on Sunday.
Coastal erosion has changed parts of the beach. In 2021, a family restaurant in Hellshire Village had lost much of its beach frontage. Ask which stalls are working on the day you go, since some beach businesses have changed.
Bog Walk, Linstead and Ewarton
In Bog Walk, Castel's Jerk Joint is a food court for jerk and barbecue, open on Friday and Saturday from noon to 2 a.m. Seafood SatDehz and Chill is a seafood restaurant open Monday to Saturday, mostly from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and until 9 p.m. on Friday. It is closed on Sunday. Biters Garden Restaurant and Sports Bar is a Jamaican restaurant open every day from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Bog Walk has citrus farms and a citrus processing plant.
In Linstead, Korner Kafe at 22 Kings Street is an ice cream, dessert and juice shop, open every day from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Creative Vegetarian Restaurant at 8 Royal Avenue is in the vegan, vegetarian and Ital category, open Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and closed on Sunday. Legacy's Kitchen Pizzas is a takeout pizza spot open from noon on most days, closing at 8 or 9 p.m.
In Ewarton, Kaia's Ice Cream and Pastry at 29 Main Street is open every day from 9 a.m., closing at 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, 7 p.m. on Saturday and 8:30 p.m. on Sunday. Crystal Bakery Ltd at 62 Main Street is a bakery and patty shop. It is open on weekdays until 6 p.m., on Saturday evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and closed on Sunday.
Local food and markets
The St. Catherine Municipal Corporation lists traditional markets in Spanish Town, Old Harbour, Old Harbour Bay, Linstead, Bog Walk and Ewarton. Market days and vendor hours change, so plan your market visit around what is on the day. Bog Walk also has citrus farms and a citrus processing plant, which gives the town a local-produce side next to its restaurants.
The Eat Jamaican campaign happens each November, and St. Catherine's activities change from year to year. In 2024, the Jamaica Information Service reported an Eat Jamaican church service at Old Harbour Bay Baptist Church on November 3.
Getting around and paying
JUTC runs buses in Spanish Town and Portmore. Its official Portmore route map connects Portmore, Spanish Town and Hellshire through named terminals and routes, and its Route 6 timetable lists service from Greater Portmore to Spanish Town on weekdays. Timetables change, so check the current JUTC schedule before you travel.
Route taxis cover other trips. The Transport Authority lists route-taxi associations for Spanish Town, Old Harbour, Bog Walk and Linstead. The road through the gorge is the main link between Spanish Town and the north coast, and the National Works Agency identifies the Bog Walk road as ending at Ewarton.
Carry Jamaican dollars, especially for markets, beach vendors, roadside stops and route taxis. Market, beach and roadside food is often a cash purchase, so keep smaller notes ready.
Jamaican cooked meals can come with a lot on the plate, often rice and peas, vegetables, fried plantain or ground provisions. Portion size varies by business, so find out what comes with the meal before you order.
At a cookshop counter, it helps to know what is ready, what the protein is, which sides are available, and whether the price is for a small, standard or large serving. Fish is often priced by the piece, by size or by weight, so find out which applies before you choose.
Heat levels vary widely, so tell the server how much pepper you want before you add any sauce or Scotch bonnet. Market and beach areas are working spaces, so get permission before you photograph vendors or their stalls.
Find more places in St. Catherine
Find more listings in the St. Catherine restaurant directory, where each town has its own page, or browse every parish in the restaurant directory. If you are planning a longer trip across the island, Weh Fi Nyam in Jamaica: Where to Eat in All 14 Parishes gives the wider picture. Confirm hours before you go, because they can change.
Common questions
Four questions cover the planning details for eating across St. Catherine.
Where can I eat in St. Catherine, Jamaica?
Start in the town you are in. Spanish Town has seafood at Delicious Taste Restaurant and Jamaican food at Terri's Delectables, and Portmore's picks run from City Flames Buffet and Grill to Lee Dragon Express restaurant. Many places are closed on Sundays, so plan Sunday meals around each place's hours.
What food is St. Catherine famous for?
Hellshire Beach is the parish's strongest food association, with fried or steamed fish served with bammy and festival, as the Jamaica Gleaner described it in 2009. Spanish Town adds its traditional market, neighbourhood cookshops and roadside jerk, and Bog Walk's citrus farms give the area a local-produce side.
Where can I get jerk, seafood or a cheap local meal in St. Catherine?
For jerk, Castel's Jerk Joint in Bog Walk is a jerk and barbecue food court open on Friday and Saturday, and for seafood, Red's Seafood Restaurant in Hellshire is open every day. For a local meal, Terri's Delectables in Spanish Town and Good Old Days Restaurant in Old Harbour are both Jamaican restaurants. Portions vary, so find out what the price covers before you order.
What is there to eat near the main sights of St. Catherine?
Spanish Town's historic centre, with its Georgian square and Old King's House, is in the same town as the market and the cookshops, so a sightseeing stop and a meal can share one afternoon. Hellshire Beach offers fried fish with bammy and festival, although some beach businesses have changed because of coastal erosion. In Bog Walk, on the gorge road between Spanish Town and Ewarton, Castel's Jerk Joint and Seafood SatDehz and Chill give you a jerk stop and a seafood stop. Check the walking route before you set out, since distances between sights and food stops vary.