Chef Robby's in St. Lucia

The locals say that you haven’t been to St. Lucia (small Caribbean island) if you haven’t eaten at Chef Robby’s. Well, if you must, you must. It’s hard to miss information about the place, as hand-painted “ads” show up everywhere on fences, trees or construction concrete slabs.

When we were in Castries (the capital), we found one of the two locations, near the spice market. It was only 10 am, far from lunch time, so we just decided to go upstairs and see what it looked like. Chef Robby himself was there already, and he invited us to come in. The restaurant is a quaint place, with dated furnishing that gives it charm, and works of local artists on the walls. Even though Robby is famous for his excellent food, to me it was all about the experience. They open for lunch but it’s only 10 am? No problem, come in. You want the special dish of green figs and salted cod? No prob, he’ll make it for you. Two cooks didn’t show up for work? The 10-year old son steps in to help; the kindest boy, personal and helpful.

It was not an easy day for me, physically, as a few days before I popped a rib and I was still in quite a lot of pain. At some point, I had to lie down on two chairs to ease the pain. It was Good Friday and all pharmacies were closed. Chef Robby noticed me down on the chairs and called the boy. “Hey little man, go across the street and get some pain killers for this lady.” I know what you are thinking: in some unknown place, in the Caribbean, pain killers from the street… I did check the ingredients on the little package, and it was just paracetamol. They didn’t want me to pay for it; the waitress said that they just wanted me to feel better. The “little man” came a few times during the meal to check if I was feeling better. I was touched (can you imagine this scene is a restaurant in Canada?). So I forgave him right away when the boy said to my husband and our friend that they should take good care of their mama. I must have looked really awful.

The meal as delicious (see next entry) but it was the people who made this restaurant even more memorable.