The Lone Star, Barbados

We’ve just come back from a really lovely holiday in Barbados. It is a huge treat to go away somewhere hot at this time of year, and we have come back refreshed and ready for Christmas.

I don’t think I have ever eaten so much fish and shellfish, but it seemed a shame not to when it was clearly so fresh. Most meat at the hotels and restaurants is imported, so hopefully it lowered the food miles a bit too!

There are two stand-out eating moments though. The first was after the ‘boys’ (R, my father and my brothers) went on a fishing trip. R caught the biggest fish, but only on the evidence of the tail, as a shark pinched the rest (not kidding!). It was therefore C’s kingfish that made it back to the hotel. There the chef was kind enough to cook it for us for lunch. About three hours from sea to plate, this couldn’t have been any fresher. It was blackened for us, and served with salad, and really could not have been any better.

The second was lunch at the Lone Star. The meal got off to a pretty good start as we arrived at the restaurant in a speed boat! It felt pretty swish stepping off the boat, rinsing our feet and then settling into the restaurant. Pity there weren’t more people there to witness it! It is in the most fabulous location on the beach, and definitely worth a trip for lunch rather than dinner so that you can enjoy the view.

Tuna tartare with mango salsa

I shared a starter, the tuna tartare with mango salsa. I couldn’t eat the salsa, which was getting rave reviews around the table, but the tuna itself was basically perfect. It was cut into slightly larger pieces than you customarily get with tartare, which gave it a bit more texture, and the sweet fish was perfectly offset by a hint of sesame oil. Other hits in the starters included R’s polenta coated calamari. I was particularly pleased he ordered this as I have missed out on calamari since I went gluten-free. The polenta worked really well as a coating as it gave it some extra crunch. My mother’s kingfish, which had been briefly seared, was also lovely, with the fish really being allowed to shine.

My main course was king prawns and scallops with thai red sauce and coriander mash. Again this was beautifully executed. The seafood was perfectly cooked, the sauce a lovely balance of spice and creamy coconut, and even the mash, which I was skeptical about, brought the whole thing together. My brother’s mussels were beautifully cooked, with an incredibly rich creamy sauce which was perfect for dipping chips in. The spicy pasta with mussels and prawns also elicited moans of pleasure around the table!

I justified a pudding to myself as I had been playing two hours of tennis every day, and so I went for the chocolate and pistachio mousse. This was very pretty, with its green and brown layers, but was a bit disappointing after what had gone before. It was served a bit too cold, which muted the flavours, and the texture was a bit too light for my taste.

Paradise

I have been dreaming about this meal ever since we came back, and have already started saving my pennies so that I can return!