World > The Caribbean > Bahamas

The Landing

<p>Occupying the ground floor of an elegant, seven-room, India Hicks-designed guesthouse, this dining room with its red-painted walls, softly glowing candlelight, and charmingly uneven wood floors (they date, like the rest of the inn, to 1800), is <em>the</em> place to have dinner on Harbour Island. Post-beach cocktail-sippers and families with kids start showing up around 7; as the evening wears on, the crowds get thicker, better looking, and more expensively dressed. Australian chef Ken Gomes's menus change often, but emphasize fresh local ingredients: go for the appetizer of stone-crab meat, layered napoleon-style with aioli and slightly chewy wonton wrappers, and follow it up with the green curry of panfried grouper, served with roasted sweet potatoes and baby bok choy. Under no circumstances should you skip ordering a bottle or two of wine—co-owner Toby Tyler's 800-bottle cellar is the finest in the islands.</p> <p><strong>Tip:</strong> If you're wondering about the dozens of sixties-era wall photos featuring the same beautiful, dark-skinned, bikini-clad woman, it's Brenda Barry—a former Miss Bahamas who's also Tyler's mother-in-law.</p>