Providenciales Part 3: Coco Bistro

When we were in Providenciales the first time, we fell in love with the restaurant, Coco Bistro. It was charming, had a great reputation, and the food was spot on delicious. So, for this trip, I might've gone a bit overboard because I booked two dinners. My sister wanted to be there for her birthday (Tuesday evening) and then I figured we should eat there again on Friday evening to close out our trip with a delicious bang.

The outdoor seating area is studded with palm trees, which totally encase the space. I think this is quite lovely in the day time, as the harsh sun is blocked out but in the evening, it does get a little hot and stuffy so I recommend dressing appropriately. I forgot a hair tie the first night and my heavy curtain of hair was a mood dampener, for sure.

The menu is pretty extensive, with a little something for everyone.

To start, our server brought out a basket of homemade breadsticks filled with pesto.

We grabbed the oil and balsamic vinegar bottles on the table and made ourselves a little dipping sauce.

For our starter, we got the conch two ways. By the way, conch is pronounced "conk" so don't embarrass yourselves in front of the locals. Anyway, the conch two ways was fantastic. One the left, the conch was dredged and fried and then tossed in a sweet and sour Asian-style sauce. On the right, the conch was sliced thinly and turned into a ceviche. It was so good. We asked for a little tub of Tabasco and a little tub of Sriracha because we love spice. You can guess which hot sauce accompanied which conch preparation, right?

For my main course, I opted for the grilled lobster. Caicos lobster is so delicious. It's really tender and flavorful and amazing. Maine lobster tends to be a bit stringy, I think. Don't get me wrong, I love lobster, but I really really love Caicos lobster. The lobster was served with clarified butter, a pile of jasmine rice, and buttery snap peas. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Baby sister opted for a penne pasta that was jammed full of seafood. There was shrimp and lobster and scallops and it was all tossed in a white wine sauce. It was so good.

Our papa got the seared fresh tuna steak with wasabi mashed potatoes and a hoisin sauce. It was really delicious. The fish was super fresh. I feel like there's something about smelling ocean air while eating fish that makes it taste so much fresher.

My sister had mentioned it was her birthday, just in passing when the waiter asked her how she was doing, so when we ordered coconut pie for dessert, they decorated the plate before bringing it out.

This lovely lady in orange sang happy birthday loud and proud. She had a great voice.

Mich blew out the candle and we were ready to eat.

To be honest, the pie wasn't quite what we remembered. We said that maybe we were spoiled by my recreation of the dish but it was still really delicious.

You'd think I'd be done with this post. Afterall, I just shared the dessert. But, I'm not finished quite yet. Remember I said that I made two reservations? Well, I'm sharing our second meal right here, right now.

We opted for the conch two ways again for our starter. It was just so good. Besides, conch isn't exactly readily available where we live so we felt like we had to stock up while we had the opportunity.

Even though baby sister doesn't particularly like lobster, after trying mine earlier in the week, she decided that Caicos lobster was delicious enough that she could make a whole meal out of it.

My dad got the special of the day, which was a grilled wahoo. The fish was super tender and mild and really delicious. I was surprised because the server had compared wahoo to swordfish, but wahoo is much, much lighter and delicious. I'm not a fan of swordfish but I am a fan of wahoo.

And, because I'm a freak, I opted to have lobster again for dinner. It was our final hurrah, the lobster is fantastic and I knew I'd like it, and we were in the thick of lobster season so there was no debate. I should make mention that the last time we were in TCI, lobster season hadn't started yet so this time around, I wanted to take advantage.

Coco also made several appearances at our table through the night.

She even plopped down to take a quick snooze.

While Coco napped, we started on dessert. We got the fried banana with ice cream. The bananas kind of liquefied inside of the breading but it was no matter because the breading itself was the star. It was crispy and light and perfectly sweetened. The ice cream was also a welcome sight because of how hot it felt being trapped inside of the palm tree tent.

So that was our experience at Coco Bistro. It is a bit pricey, but if you're ever in Providenciales, it's definitely a must. Oh, and plan your trip around lobster season! It starts in August and ends in March.

xoxo.