The beach view at Tippy's

If you travel to the narrow,110 mile-long island of Eleuthera, you’ll be charmed by its quiet beauty and famous pink sands. There’s a lot to do on Eleuthera’s beaches, from bone fishing to fish fry parties.  My favorite activity combined the loveliness of  Eleuthera’s beaches with the distinctive Bahamian cuisine. No place reveals the perfection of this pairing the way that Tippy’s Beach Bistro does.

Typically, when you think beach-side dining, fast food options like hamburgers, fish patties and crab cakes come to mind, in a grubby shack-type setting.  Well there’s nothing grubby and fast food about Tippy’s.  Located on the Atlantic beach between Governor’s Harbour and North  Palmetto, Tippy’s exudes a sophisticated, open-air elegance with  interlocking, open gazebos furnished with wooden tables and benches crafted from  shutters and a bar made  from the weathered wood of an old dock.  Inside, there’s more formal table and chairs but inside or out, the food is amazing. The chalkboard menu changes daily and often offer lobster pizza, cracked conch and the Bahamian staple of conch fritters. I tried the arugula, cucumber and papaya salad along with a margarita pizza topped with goat cheese.  Both were fresh and expertly prepared.  Tippy’s is known for upscale Italian cuisine and the prices reflect that, ranging from $12 for appetizers to $22 for entrees.  The best part of the meal is taking a few steps to the powdery, white sand beach, where you can take a dip or just lounge on the sand.  There’s even a shower to rinse off the saltwater and sand afterwards.

Photo by Rosalind Cummings-Yeates