The luxurious and romantic Sandals adults-only all-inclusive resorts are famous for having stunning settings, tons of free activities, and breathtaking rooms. They are also known for having a wide variety of restaurants at each resort. If you’re wondering, how is the food at Sandals Resorts? This article will tell you all you want to know. In this post, we’ll answer all your questions about the food at Sandals.
Is all food at Sandals included?
This is one of the main questions people have about the food at Sandals resorts, and the answer is yes! All food at Sandals resorts is included in your stay, and we’re not talking about just buffet-style meals and snacks, either. Every Sandals resort has multiple gourmet restaurants (from 9 to 16 depending on the location) and every one of them is included.
Not only is all food at Sandals resorts included, but it’s also unlimited. This means you can get snacks at any time, and you can order multiple dishes at every meal. And if you’re staying in a club or butler-level room, you will get free room service so you don’t even have to go to a restaurant to get something to eat.
Plus, you also get unlimited drinks at Sandals Resorts, including nonalcoholic as well as premium alcoholic beverages. You can enjoy fine wine with your meals at no extra cost, as Robert Mondavi Twin Oaks wines are unlimited and included at every restaurant, then finish up with delicious Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.
Breakfast at Sandals Resorts
At Sandals Resorts you start your day with a few different options. Most resorts have a buffet option, an a la carte restaurant, and room service for club and butler service rooms.
If you have butler service, you can make your order with your butler the night before and decide where it will be served. With room service, you can call in the morning and expect 20 to 40 minutes for it to arrive.
If you decide to go to the a la carte restaurant you will be serviced your choice of Blue Mountain Coffee, fruit juices, mimosas or champagne. After that, you will have a mix of light breakfast islands like oatmeal or fruit salad or more substantial entrees like french toast, eggs benedict, or an omelet.
Since food at Sandals Resorts is unlimited you can always order more.
The buffet restaurants have a variety of typical breakfast foods as well as some omelet stations, smoothie bars, and other options.
We have really enjoyed breakfast at all the Sandals Resorts we have been to and found them very high quality.
Lunch at Sandals Resorts
Lunches tend to be very casual. The Jerk Shack is my favorite option, but you will find pizza, quesadillas, hamburgers, and similar options at multiple destinations around the resorts.
Do not expect anything fancy here but there are some local options as well.
Dinner at Sandals Resorts
There is an amazing variety of dinner resorts at Sandals. Most restaurants provide 3-course meals.
All Sandals Resorts have restaurants where you will find plenty of seafood and steak. Then there are a variety of other restaurant concepts to choose from. (More on that below)
In all the time we have spent at Sandals Resorts, we have never had a bad meal, but some were better than others. My favorites were Soy, the sushi restaurant, Neptunes for seafood, Bombay for Indian food, and Royal Thai at Royal Caribbean.
Dessert at Sandals Resorts
The course we skipped the most was dessert. The only things I loved were the fried banana dessert at Soy. Some resorts have crepe cafes that are great and you can almost always find a soft-serve ice cream cone.
Do Sandals resorts have buffets?
Some do. Most of the buffets at Sandals Resorts are for breakfast.
Can you order more than one entrée at Sandals?
Yes! At Sandals Resorts, you can order whatever you want at each meal. If that means two or even three appetizers, entrees, or desserts, that’s OK!
Which Sandals has the best food?
While every Sandals is known for offering an incredible variety of delicious gourmet cuisine, there are some Sandals resorts that are considered as having the biggest selection and/or most delicious options. These top Sandals resorts for foodies include Sandals Grenada, Sandals Royal Curacao, Sandals Montego Bay, Sandals Barbados, and Sandals Royal Barbados (which are right next to each other so you get to choose from 20 restaurants), Sandals Royal Caribbean in Jamaica, Sandals Grande St. Lucian in St. Lucia, and Sandals Ochi in Jamaica (which has 16 restaurants, the most of any Sandals resort).
What is the food like at Sandals?
Every Sandals resort offers a variety of dining experiences and flavors. There are casual restaurants as well as fine dining restaurants; while all are included, some of the nicer restaurants require reservations so be sure to make those in advance if you can.
At each resort, you can find a multitude of cuisines from Italian, French, and Asian to Caribbean and international. Sandals resorts have restaurants that feature local cuisine, like the Jerk Shacks in Jamaica, as well as menus that cater to special dietary needs like vegetarianism, kosher, halal, and food allergies.
Here are some of the restaurant types you’ll find at Sandals resorts. There is haute French cuisine in a romantic atmosphere at Le Jardinier and La Parisienne; elegant grills like Butch’s, which serves classic steaks, other grilled meats, and fresh seafood in addition to grilled vegetables; fresh seafood and other dishes in beautiful overwater restaurants like Kelly’s Dockside and Gordon’s on the Pier; and authentic Italian food at Mario’s, Il Cielo, Cucina Romana, Tesoro, and Pietra.
You can also find Japanese and sushi specialties at Soy; East Asian dishes like teppanyaki at Kimonos; Thai food at Royal Thai; Asian fusion dishes; and Indian dishes, including many vegetarian options, at Bombay. Sandals is also known for gorgeous beachfront restaurants; these include fresh seafood and other options at Schooners Seafood Grill, Barefoot by the Sea, and the Mariner, as well as Mediterranean and seafood specialties at Neptune’s and Aolos.
Most Sandals resorts also feature Caribbean cuisines, like Eleanor’s (fine dining with West Indies dishes), Bahamas Bay at Sandals Emerald Bay, and the casual Jerk Shacks. You can also get authentic English pub fare at British pubs; American food at the American Tavern; pizza in casual pizzerias; hot dogs and casual fare at poolside snack bars; and French pastries and coffee at Parisian-style cafés.
Sandals Resorts are introducing new restaurant concepts all the time. For example, Sandals Royal Barbados has a gourmet doughnut stand plus a deli that serves healthy sandwiches, soups, salads, and smoothies. Sandals Royal Curacao has food trucks offering local cuisines, Spanish tapas, and Asian fusion as well as Kanaal Café and Wine Bar, which serves Dutch dishes, wine, and cheese, and Zuka, which serves Central and South American food.
Sandals Dunn’s River in Jamaica has Edessa, a Greek restaurant; Banyu, which serves Asian fusion; and Zuka. Sandals Royal Bahamian has two new food truck concepts serving Bahamian food and sweet treats.
Why is the food at Sandals so good?
The top priority at Sandals is to ensure that guests have as wonderful an experience as possible. The Sandals team knows that excellent food is part of any great vacation, so they created the 5-Star Global Gourmet Program. This uses 6 criteria to ensure that every Sandals resort is offering the best possible meals.
The 6 criteria in the Sandals 5-Star Global Gourmet Program are variety, authenticity, quality, value, consistency and standardization, and modernization. These are applied across the board at every Sandals resort to making sure that no matter which Sandals Caribbean all-inclusive you visit, you will have an amazing culinary experience. This makes Sandals Resorts some of the best Caribbean resorts for foodies.
Should you tip at Sandals restaurants?
Part of the Luxury Included experience at Sandals Resorts is that all tips and taxes are included, and Sandals has a strict no-tipping policy for resort staff, including restaurant staff. (The only people at Sandals you can (and should) tip are spa employees and your butler if you are staying in a butler-level suite. You should also tip the airport transportation drivers, as they are not Sandals employees.)
Dan Bagby
He is an expert travel advisor and enthusiast. He has traveled extensively in the USA, Central America, South America, and Europe. He has visited every Sandals Resort and is one of a select few Diamond Elite members of the Sandals Chairman’s Royal Club.
Dan graduated from Johnson & Wales University with an associate degree in Culinary Arts. Later he graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a focus on people and culture.
