Cacao-to-plate dining at Hotel Chocolat's working cocoa estate above Soufrière — dishes built around St. Lucia's chocolate production in a beautiful rainforest setting. More casual and more interesting than a typical resort restaurant.
Why It Belongs on the List
Rabot Restaurant sits in Hotel Chocolat's 140-acre working cocoa plantation above Soufrière — the original producer of the fine-flavor Trinitario cacao that goes into Hotel Chocolat's bars. The concept is 'cacao-to-plate': chocolate features in every course — cacao nib-crusted chicken, cocoa butter-basted fish, dark chocolate fondant with cocoa sorbet. The plantation tours (harvest, fermentation, drying) are excellent; the 'Rabot Experience' combines a tour with lunch in the hillside restaurant overlooking the valley. an original dining concepts in the Caribbean, and delicious regardless of gimmick. The Boucan Bar makes excellent rum-based cocktails with chocolate bitters.
What Stands Out
- Cacao-to-plate dining on a working cocoa plantation
- Hotel Chocolat’s 140-acre Trinitario estate
- Chocolate incorporated into every course
- Plantation tours covering harvest and fermentation
- “Rabot Experience” — combined tour and lunch
- Boucan Bar — rum cocktails with chocolate bitters
- Hillside views over Soufrière
- One of the most original dining concepts in the Caribbean