The Rum Shop

There are something in the order of a thousand rum shops on Barbados, which on an island of four hundred and thirty square kilometres works out at one every few hundred metres, and they are not bars in the ordinary sense. A rum shop sells rum by the bottle or the flask, sells bread, tinned goods, phone credit and whatever else the village needs, and functions as the place where local opinion is formed and argued out. Dominoes are played at the tables outside, slammed hard. Many serve food at lunch, usually one dish, and several are known island-wide for their pudding and souse on a Saturday.

What you actually see

• The dominoes - played outside, slammed onto the table.
• The bottle service - rum bought by the flask with mixers and ice.
• Saturday souse - the dish many shops are known for.
• The shop as village hub - groceries, gossip and argument together.

When to go

Year-round. Friday and Saturday evenings are the fullest. Saturday lunchtime is when pudding and souse appears at the shops that make it. Rum shops open early and close late.

Honest expectations

They are local institutions rather than visitor venues, and walking into a village shop as an obvious outsider works best if you buy something, say good afternoon and let people carry on. Some are rough late at night. Food where served is one dish, take it or leave it. Prices are very low, which surprises people used to hotel bars.

Nearby

Every village on the island; the ones on the east coast roads are the least visited.