The NATIONAL DISH of BARBADOS!! Trying Fish & Cou Cou in Oistins!

With a sunny Saturday afternoon in Barbados ahead of me, I headed back to the town of Oistins, this time to try another iconic Bajan dish, fish and coucou! On Saturdays, the local like to eat their national dishes, and fish and coucou is one of many national dishes in Barbados.

My boy Craig, his girlfriend Nerissa, and I stopped by Fred’s Bar & Restaurant for some saltfish and coucou. It’s usually flying fish, but saltfish and herring are interchangeable with it.

They served me some coucou, which is made with cornmeal, and some saltfish gravy. I also wanted a separate one with herring, so they made that for me, too. The herring looked so delicious!

Then, they added some pickled cucumber and sweet potatoes. Everything came to 54 BBD, or exactly $27 USD. But then it started raining out of nowhere. While we waited for the rain to die down, we checked out some funny sayings posted on the wall.

Finally, it was time to eat! The coucou had a texture similar to mashed potatoes. I loved the salty saltfish sauce and the okra in it. The pickled cucumber added a nice bit of acidity. I also loved the herring! The bones were so tiny, I could easily eat through them without having to worry.

I really liked the coucou a lot. It was so tasty. The fish was throughout the entire dish, and it was very moist. The gravy was nice and rich! The sweet potato was also very nice!

Then, we drove five minutes to Dread Hop Brewing, the only craft brewery on the island, to try some beers. They started bottling their beers in 2014 and then they launched their current space in 2020 during the pandemic. They have a taproom and a beer garden outside.

They have ten different beers, and I wanted to try them all! A lot of their beers are named after locations in Barbados. If you order two flights (which we did), you get two extra beers. The Calypso Pilsner is the only one they don’t bottle, so it’s exclusive to their taproom!

I started with the summer ale, which was smooth and crisp. I loved the smoky, chocolaty smoked porter. The pale ale was very light, and the Pelican Island IPA was citrusy and hoppy. I could smell the oranges in it!

The red ale had a caramel and barley flavor that I liked a lot. I hadn’t had a red ale in a while! The Long Beach White Ale was light and crafty. The Barracuda Double IPA wasn’t very hoppy and the hazy IPA was nice, too.

The Mahogany Bay Stout was really nice and creamy, and the Calypso Pilsner was the best pilsner I’ve ever had in my life! It was super refreshing! Then, I met the cat at the brewery and that was it for our afternoon in Oistins!

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About Me:

My name is David Hoffmann. Since starting David’s Been Here in 2008, I have traveled to over 1,300 destinations in 93 countries to experience and document unique cultures on my YouTube channel, travel blog, and social media.
 
I highlight culture and historical sites, but my passion is food! I love to experience and showcase the different flavors each destination has to offer, from casual street food to gourmet restaurant dining.

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[sunshinecole]

I have loved all of your videos. But as a proud Bajan the videos on Barbados warm my little bajan heart! ♥ 🇧🇧

[josephsailsman]

Just goes to show how much Barbados has to offer. I’ve been there 10 times and didn’t know they had this brewery there. I need to book another trip. 🇧🇧

[shayneguzman]

David always has such good vibes and energy..this guy can fit in anywhere in the world..much love bro

[afrocentricnation]

Your videos highlighting the National dish of Barbados 🇧🇧 Cou Cou is mind blowing the corn meal and okras with fish is similar to Ghana 🇬🇭 now we know and see the connection with Ghana 🇬🇭 is food deep

[makia]

Bajan here. Broo ive just been binge watching this whole bajan series and im obsessed already😩❤👏🏾

[ingridbee]

Food looks amazing. Lots of things I've learn about Barbados. Thank you David 💕

[JudyT]

Good morning David. Just finished watching with the 'live' chat. Coocoo looks delicious And with all that gravy - icing on the cake. I make my coocoo like that with a lot of thyme, onions, spring onions, pimento and garlic salt. Can't go wrong in making coocoo. You can eat a lot of it though. You can even slice it and pan-fry it or put it on the BBQ. I will pass on the beer since I don't drink. I wonder why they don't sip and spit like they do in wine-tasting!🤔 It's amazing how many craft beer entrepreneurs there are now. David, is the craft beer better than the regular? The yellowish one looks like lemonade LoL. You and Craig ended up REALLY happy after having all that beer. Nice one again. I love how simple and straightforward these Barbados videos are. Good job. Take care David 🙏🕊️🇹🇹🇨🇦 And oh the hair net on the bald head made my day 🤣🤣🤣

[joannebaker]

David, I love your energy. You're so engaging and easy going and your love for food shines through..You're definitely a foodie. I have throughly enjoyed your Barbados 🇧🇧 series but I'm bias. Barbados 🇧🇧 is, my birth Country but I reside in the US currently in Maryland. It's nice to see 👀 old stomping ground and the wonderful cuisine. Here's my order on your way back to the US, Breadfruit CouCou & Flying Fish, Pudding and Souse, and Bull jowl and a glass of cold Maulby, a roti or two and some fish cakes.. Just Kidding 😅😅😅🤣🤣.

[SigmaHailey]

Coo Coo saltfish/smokeherring/ pickled cucumbers....outdoors eating tropical skies breezy atmosphere.... just so relaxing for any visitor. Also the various beers and their unique names, , great for a hot sunny day...refreshing and last but not least the hosts are very friendly, , , entertaining..just awesome. This was another informative video on the food and of Barbados. Thanks David, , safe travels.

[venom]

Flying fish and cou cou is definitely one of the best dishes you can eat out there.

[shawilson]

Its crazy how all the islands are connected. in Jamaica we call Cou Cou Tun Cornmeal and we make it basically the same.

[cerise-wintersongsinternat]

David every summer when I was growing up I went to Saint James and Christ Church Barbados, to me you can think of Cou Cou as a Polenta. I had it so much with Saltfish and if you do try the Flying Fish have it seasoned and fried OMG it’s so good and in Christ Church they have the BEST fried Chicken!!!

[AussieAngeS]

Those meals looked delicious 😍that cou cou would taste great I love cornmeal.

[carolannc]

Your videos are awesome! I'm so proud to be a bajan! Thanks Craig & Nerissa, you are great! My mouth is drooling, I can't wait to visit Bim!

[anthonyfarrell]

LORD! This have got me thinking of a Holiday in Bim . Dat food looks delicious 😋. WOW
LOVE THIS SPACE

[boirocr-Tamiko]

I love it, cou cou and salt fish yummy 😋🤤 BIG UP 💃🏾💃🏾💃🏾🌹💕

[drayphoenix]

13 years since I had coucou, ,
Barbados was nice in July, compared to florida humidity and heat on a dry day is ridiculous in summer not to mention lack of breeze, Barbados day temps are florida night temps by 11pm to 1am most areas coolest at 6 am
As for Barbados perfect food and weather and beaches , easy n breezy

[michelleblaylock]

I love Barbados 🇧🇧 I will come in January for the cool Jazz Festival 😎

[alestout]

All your videos have been full of information and great to see you appreciate nice beer and not just the big brand names will try to get to Dread Hop and have a stout and a porter

[goddessneffie]

Oistins fish fry on Friday nights are so dope.