This Beloved Roadside Eatery Has a Banjo on the Wall, Delicious Fish, and Best Rum Punch in Barbados

The sign says Restaurant and Rummery. The latter’s not a word you see very often. But it’s also a reliable guarantor of a door you should open.

But, more importantly, it says rather proudly: “#1 rum punch in Barbados.”

I saw that both as a calling and a challenge. One I accepted.

I walked up the stairs and was struck by the entrance: a banjo on the wall, a direct-view kitchen, and endless bottles of rum punch.

I knew I would like it here.

It’s called Cutters, and it’s a local institution, founded by San Francisco natives Roger and Kim Goddard, who have turned their enduring love of the island into one of the great mainstays of Barbados.

There’s a bit of everything here, from bottles of legendary Bajan rums like Foursquare’s Doorly’s to local coffee.

There’s also a diverse menu, with some seriously good fish cakes (more on that part of Barbados in an upcoming story), and comfort food like pizza and hummus.

The crowd pleaser is, true to the name, the flying fish cutter, which is about a good as you’d expect — and one you’ll be coming back to frequently, especially if you’re staying somewhere on this side of Barbados.

But the draw here is the rum punch — and it delivers. It’s the essence of southern-Caribbean rum punch — the perfect mix of sweet and tart, with just the right level of robust rum thump. (In a welcome option, there’s even a “rum-less” punch for the kids).

It’s one of the best rum punches I’ve had in the Caribbean — and a worthy standard-bearer for Barbados.

If you’re only used to rum punches in more northern corners of the Caribbean, where the emphasis is on a sweeter concoction, once you start in the Eastern Caribbean and head south, the punch tends to follow the rules of a popular rhyme: 1 of bitter, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong and 4 of weak — a centuries-old family recipe.

It’s all about the blend, the balance, and the Cutters edition does precisely that, rooted in the the Goddard’s boutique brand, Harrismith Rum.

In a play on a rum-aging designation, they call it VSRP — or “Very Special Rum Punch.” And it’s accurate.

It’s alone worth the trip down here, just a stone’s throw from places like the Wyndham Grand and The Crane.

The best part? You can take it with you — either back to your hotel or, if somehow you can resist temptation for the remainder of your vacation — back to your home. But I’d advise stocking up.

I asked about the banjo. Sometimes it comes off the wall — but it’s been out of tune for a while.

But everything else here is perfectly on key.