What local dishes should I try in Antigua and Barbuda, and where should I look for them?

The lagoon is the country's nursery. Ramsar Site no. 1488, designated on 2 June 2005, is described as mangroves, seagrass beds, algal mats, tidal and mud flats, beaches and coral reefs — exactly the habitat sequence that produces juvenile lobster and reef fish, and the reason Barbuda's name attaches to shellfish on menus across both islands. The site covers the entire western and northwestern section of Barbuda, beside Codrington, the island's only town.

For organized eating, the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority runs a Culinary Month built around several fixed components. Restaurant Week lasts 2 weeks and sets prix-fixe menus at participating restaurants island-wide at 3 price points — 25, 50 and 75 US dollars. The FAB Fest, the Food, Art and Beverage Festival that launches the month, is held at the Cedar Valley Golf Course and includes an "Eat Like A Local Village" and guest chef and mixologist demonstrations. A Caribbean Food Forum, run with Grace Foods and the Caribbean Tourism Organization, is a single-day event on food security and culinary innovation.

The historical frame is worth knowing, because the islands' cooking grew out of a plantation economy. UNESCO's 2016 inscription of the Antigua Naval Dockyard states that the British built the facility to protect the interests of sugar planters, using the labor of enslaved Africans from the end of the 18th century. Sugar, salt fish and imported grain are the inheritance that sits under the local dishes.

Barbuda's seafood reputation rests on a wetland with declared vulnerabilities. The Ramsar record names sea level rise and saltwater intrusion into aquifers as threats to the site, and its Information Sheet on file dates from 2006 — so the lobster nursery that supplies the kitchens is being managed against a 2-decade-old ecological baseline. Several of the lagoon's listed species, including hawksbill and leatherback turtles, are protected rather than edible, and the distinction is not always obvious to a visitor reading a menu.

• Barbuda — Shellfish and reef fish come from the 3,600-hectare lagoon that wraps the island's western side.
• Culinary Month — Restaurant Week runs 2 weeks, with set menus at 25, 50 and 75 US dollars.
• FAB Fest — The festival is staged at the Cedar Valley Golf Course, with an "Eat Like A Local Village" among its components.

The Tourism Authority publishes no dates for Culinary Month, Restaurant Week or FAB Fest on its cuisine page, so the schedule has to be confirmed before it anchors a trip. On the practical side, the State Department records no currency restrictions on entry or exit and no required vaccinations, but it does state that passport cards are not accepted and that proof of onward travel, accommodation and funds may be requested — and that the country regularly experiences hurricanes, which closes restaurants as readily as it closes beaches.

The Antigua and Barbuda places question covers the Codrington Lagoon designation in full, and the trip-planning question lays out the entry rules and consular arrangements.