Main Steet Shops at Tortola's Road Town

Page Contents
Shops by Category
The Plaza Area
The Corner
Upper Main Street
Top of Main Street
To Road Town

Main Street, a charming shopping area set in an authentic Caribbean town, has interesting products and people, both BVIslanders and those attracted here from many island nations, each with its distinct culture, and from all over the world.

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Casual but not swimsuit or shirtless wear is appropriate in town.

Tour of
Main Street Shops

Main Street itself is a treat and deserves a special tour. Crammed into the base of a hillside, on the a narrow strip of flat land before part of the harbour was filled, its historic character is evident from the many older wooden buildings, such as the Jewelry Box above, often with traditional red tin roofs and Victorian 'gingerbread' trim.
The narrow confines of the street, together with the jumble of cars, many pedestrians and West Indian style buildings, lends Main Street its charm (photo: NikonDoug).

An eclectic group, the Main Street shops offer, in great variety, art by local and Caribbean artists, island and resortwear, beach bags, Sunny Caribbee spices, fine wines, U.S. newspapers, toys, nautical antiques, hand-crafted and international jewelry, freshly baked goods, and much more.

Shops by Category.
Art Allamanda Gallery, Caribbean Fine Arts, The Gallery, BVI Inside Art Gallery, Sunny Caribbee Art Gallery
Clothing Latitude 18, Pusser's Company Store, Serendipity
Dining Capriccio Cafe, The Dove, Le Grande Cafe (was Le Cabanon), Midtown Restaurant, Mr. Fritz's Oriental Restaurant, Pusser's Pub, The Roti Palace, Three Sheets Sports Bar, Virgin Queen
Gifts, Crafts, Misc. Bamboushay Pottery, Kaunda's Kysy Tropix, Huckster's, Oh La La
Herbs & Spices Sunny Caribbee Herb & Spice
Jewelry Jewelry Box, Samarkand Jewelers
Sights J.R.O'Neal Botanic Garden, Her Majesty's Prison, Old Administration Building, Old Customs House, Virgin Islands Folk Museum
Specialty Food & Drink Dorothy's Superette, Road Town Bakery, Tico Imports

Getting There
The traditional way to tour the Main Street shops is to start from down around the ferry. From the ferry itself, walk across Waterfront Drive, across The Plaza and turn right.

Or driving, turn inland at Customs Rd., then turn right again--Main Street is a one-way street.

West Indian Style Buildings

Known for their bright pastel colors, these buildings are emblematic of the Caribbean. Often they are wooden houses such as The Gallery seen here, with 'gingerbread' and other Victorian trim, contrasting shutter panel colors and tin roofs that characterize this West Indian style. And here the artwork is displayed on the front in that informal Caribbean style The Gallery artists try to capture in their art.

The Plaza Area

Blackbeard Stamp

Sir Olva Georges Plaza, directly across from the Ferry, has Esme's Shop with US newspapers, J.R.O'Neal's Drug Store and a Museum and the Post Office with a great collection of stamps (see Island Sun articles on stamps).

Pusser's Outpost

Old Administration Building

Occupying the Old Administration Building (Crown Governor's residence) is its Museum with a Quaker Room and gift shop as well as the Post Office and its Stamp Room with a 1787-2001 catalogue of BVI stamps, known worldwide among philatelists for their exquisite design and fascinating subjects (photo: L5Design).

The Gallery

Featuring a great collection of original artwork and limited-edition prints, The Gallery (102 Main Street past The Plaza), and its web site, is owned by local artist Lisa Muddiman Gray (photo: Wikipedia).

Snacks for the ferry ride or otherwise are available at Road Town Bakery and Dorothy's Superette, just up Main Street, with cold drinks, beers, bottled water and local Callwood rum as well as basic groceries. Try a "ting," a Jamacian citrus soda.

Alley photo: Travel Club

Photo: Pussers handpainted silk
by Anita Gulliver from The Gallery just up Main Street

Facing Waterfront Drive above The Plaza, the Outpost includes Pusser's Company Store (284/494-2467) with clothing, marine paintings, Pusser's famous rum and nautical gifts as well as the very popular Pusser's Pub (284/494-3897) with English pub food and excellent pizza.

Pusser's Outpost extends through to Main Street via a lovely narrow walk-through alley.

Across Main Street from Pusser's Outpost, look for old wooden houses with large corner posts, bolted to the house and buried in the ground, that kept these houses, originally just steps from the shore, from floating away in storms.

Capriccio di Mare

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Around to the right on Waterfront Street, this cafe makes a good cappuccino shopping break.

An authentic Italian outdoor cafe (284/ 494-5369), Capriccio di Mare features salads with plum tomatoes, provolone cheese with country Tuscan focaccia, delicious deserts, real Italian pizza and pasta, biscotti, and, of course, prosciutto --you would think you are in Italy, except its house drink is the Mango Bellini. It's run by the owners of the fine-dining Brandywine Bay restaurant.

Just up Main Street is Radical Designs, Mon Cheri, Caribbean Handprints, the Virgin Islands Folk Museum, Samarkand Jewelers, Beacon Bible Book Store, Oh La La, Stitch N' Time and Bamboushay Pottery

Also on the right, Kaunda's Kysy Tropix (284/495-5636) has CDs and cassettes of Caribbean and local music.

Samarkand Jewelers

Specializing in Caribbean gemstones from Santa Domingo (such as black coral), Tortola (such as jasper not normally in green), Dominica and other islands Samarkand Jewelers (94 Main Street past The Plaza below the Roti Palace, 284/495-6415), a family business established in 1971, makes all its own jewelry. Real local shells are made into molds, the shell burnt out and the piece filled with gold and silver. Pendants of private boats are made by special order.

Ooh La La!

Pictured in blue tucked into the hillsides, Ooh La La (on Main Street past The Plaza, 494-2433) is cramped but popular and always has the unexpected from games to potholders. Yes, that is a road going up that cliff in the background (photo credit: Jere Lull).

Roti Palace
94 Main Street past The Plaza and above Samarkand Jewelers, the Roti Palace (494-4196) features beef, chicken, conch, whelk, and goat rotis on an intimate hillside porch. And the mango chutney condiment --yum! A consensus favorite, the Roti Palace--try a roti before you leave (photo: UltimateBVI).

Beef Carpaccio

Le Grande Cafe
On Waterfront Drive across from The Ferry, Le Grande Cafe, formerly Le Cabanon with a new menu, offers classical French bistro fare.
		Escargot
Dishes include croque monsieur, beef carpaccio (left photo: B.V.I.Blog) and lobster (Anegada) bisque. The breezy patio setting is a great spot for desert, such as their "heavenly" chocolate mousse. And, the bar is excellent for late night fun!

Below The Plaza is The Dove, Tortola's very popular restaurant for upscale dining, with its 'Barfly' lounge

Islands Treasures (below The Plaza opposite the hospital 284/495-4787) has a great collection of Caribbean books and maps, model ships and local Caribbean art from watercolors to sculpture.

Tracey at the Jewelry Box

Jewelry Box (101 Main Street past The Plaza, 284/494-7278) carries gold and silver jewelry. Owner/artist Tracey Christopher Smith crafts items out of local materials such as the sandbox plant.

Three Sheets Sports Bar (was Castaways) opposite the ferry dock, has a central BIG SCREEN, widescreen TVs throughout, WiFi, good sports bar food and a nice roof garden.

The Dove

Cocktails Under a Mango Tree

Featuring Asian and French fusion haute cuisine in a 1912 "gingerbread" cottage, The Dove (67 Main Street below The Plaza, 284/494-0313, facebook, twitter) offers Thai curry prawns, delicious Dove Steak and great Chilean sea bass.

To begin, enjoy the complementary amuse bouche (a single, bite-sized hors d'�uvre) such as fennel topped with shredded rabbit confit served on a Chinese soup spoon.

'Bar Fly'

Have cocktails under a Mango tree with duck spring rolls and pulled pork tostadas at the 'Bar Fly' tapas bar and cocktail lounge upstairs.

Other appetizers or tapas include soft-shell crab and asparagus and shitake crispy pot stickers.

Don't miss the home-made ice cream and chocolate souffl�! And champagne happy hours, all with mellow jazz.

Virgin Islands Folk Museum

At 98 Main Street just past The Plaza, this small museum has some Arawak and Carib pottery and stone tools, including a decorated spindle, wreck of The Rhone and H.M.S. Nymph artifacts, plantation items and reef conservation info. They also sells some t-shirts, paintings, maps and gifts (photo: A BVI Vacation).

Bamboushay Pottery

(gallery at 109 Main Street past the Plaza, 284/494-0393) makes beautiful sconces and hanging lights, glazed and hand-painted vases, bowls, candle lanterns, platters, dishes and mugs.

Island Roots, at their gallery, offers specialty coffees and homemade patties, served in their own crafted mugs.

Turtle Sconce

Note their own
hanging lights

The Corner

A 90� corner (reverse "L") is marked by the distinctive blue Latitude 18 shop, as Main Street curves around a ridge reaching down into the harbour.

Latitude 18 (116 Main Street 284/494-4807) has a large selection of clothing and accessories, including dresses, sarongs and shorts as well as gifts, bags and luggage, brand names and beach items.

If you're walking from the cruise ship dock or Wickham's Cay, simply proceed across Waterfront Drive through the Sunny Caribbee parking lot.

At or just past The Corner are more stores including Huckster's, Sunny Caribbee Herb & Spice Co. and Sunny Caribbee Art Gallery.

Old Customs House

Hucksters, in the Old Customs House, 111 Main Street just past The Corner, has Caribbean art, artifacts, linens and furnishings (used to remodel Frenchman's Cay resort) as well as maps, prints and gifts (photo: NikonDoug). See a 1950s picture back when The Corner was Fonseca's Corner--named for the family who lived there.

Sunny Caribbee Herb and Spice Company

In a colorful West Indian style house (119 Main Street just past The Corner, email, 284/494-2178), Sunny Caribbee, famous for its spices which are used by the finest BVI restaurants, sells herb vinegars, natural soaps, skin lotions, including bug repellants and exotic love potion (photo: Tortola Charters). Visit Sunny Caribbee Spice Company at their online store.

Allamanda Gallery

At 124 Main Street past The Corner (284/494-6680), the Allamanda Gallery has an extensive collection of photographs by owner Amanda Baker, who specializes in wedding photography (photo: Allamanda Gallery blog).

Sunny Caribbee Art Gallery

Karl Merlklein Painting

With one of the largest collections in the Caribbean of paintings, prints and watercolors by artists from all the islands in the Caribbean, Sunny Caribbee Art Gallery (on Main Street just past The Corner, email, 284/494-2178) has featured the Caribbean paintings of Karl Merlklein--this painting on the was photographed hanging on its wall.

Further up is the
Road Town Bakery.

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Scenic Route

After turning the corner, take this most narrow side street side back up the ridge to a scenic route back to the hospital.

At the next cross street on up Main Street is the Midtown Restaurant.

On up Main Street on the right is Mac's Restaurant and Bakery, a local caterer with food items displayed and ready to grab on the go.

Road Town Bakery
(123 Main Street past The Corner, 284/494-0222) has great scones, freshly baked breads, pastries, cookies, and cakes, made by students of the local culinary school (photo: tripadvisor).
	Cheesecake topped with pineapple and cherries
Try a quiche or garden salad for lunch. A couple of tables are outside--or take something on the ferry. Home of the finest wedding cakes!

Midtown Restaurant

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner (on Main Street right at the head of Chalwell Street) and run by Gloria, the Midtown Restaurant has "local local" food, including "souse" pig feet stew, sandwiches, fish soup, burgers, Johnny cake, fresh fish, conch fritters, salt fish, coconut ice cream, oxtail and items cooked to order. Local drinks include peanut punch and mauby. Try the pea soup (beans with pigtail) (photo: Gogobot).

Upper Main Street

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Humidor Room

Exclusively for Cuban cigars, this room-size humidor holds a great selection of the finest Cuban cigars at Little Denmark, perhaps the BVI's largest distributor.

The next cross street (Parker) has Little Denmark on the near corner.

In the Little Denmark building is Mr. Fritz's Oriental Restaurant has classic Chinese dishes in an informal patio setting. For many years the only Chinese restaurant on the island, Mr. Fritz's carryout food was found far and wide.

On the far corner is Serendipity, now a bookstore, offering a wide selection, including children's books as well as an internet cafe upstairs with specialty coffees.

On Upper Main Street, just prior to Parker Street, is BVI Inside Art Gallery.

Little Denmark ( 147 Main Street near its Top, 284/494-2455) has fishing and snorkeling equipment, including spearfishing guns sold only to licensed locals, a wide variety of gift items such as darts, baskets, souvenir key chains, BVI flags, earrings, hats, mugs and jewelry. But it is the Cuban cigars that have made Little Denmark famous as a distributor and retailer, with its own room-sized humidor (see picture) and a large selection including Cohiba, Montocristo, Hoyo de Monterrey, Partagas, H. Upmann, and Romeo Y Julieta. Stop by and have a chat with its owner, Diana Bruce, a native BVIslander whose father came to the BVI in 1936 and started a cigarette factory on Peter Island. Mention the B-V-I Guide for special consideration.

Serendipity (on Main Street near its Top), pictured here with the traditional red tin roof as a bit of history, had wonderful island sundresses. There was a "husband's chair" (as told by Jere Lull) for comfort while admiring the wares being modeled by their spouses.

BVI Inside Art Gallery

At 145 Main Street, BVI Inside Art Gallery has works of Caribbean artists (photo: Stephanie Clayton blog).

Top of Main Street

Still further up on the left is the vacant Her Majesty's Prison.

Photo: Wikipedia

The last major cross street, leading to the "round-a-bout" on the right, is Fleming Street, the location of a full service Riteway Market, Tico Imports wine & spirits retail store, and the Virgin Queen restaurant as well as a spectacular flamboyant tree.

Further still is Joe's Hill Road on the left, the route up to Ridge Road and Cane Garden Bay, marked by a white wall where people wait for the bus or to be given a ride. See more specific directions here.

Yet Further past the high school playing fields on the left is J.R.O'Neal Botanic Garden.

Head back toward the water, bearing right on Waterfront Drive to continue this tour of the harbour's Road Reef area.

Virgin Queen
Upstairs over TICO on Fleming Street near the roundabout near the Top of Main Street, Virgin Queen (284/494-2310) has the excellent Queen's Pizza, West Indian and English fare.
Considered by many as having the best local food with a large carry out business, the Virgin Queen has five daily specials, including spare ribs, stewed mutton,	Queen's Pizza Excellent!
"doved" pork, salt fish, shepard's pie, and stewed (fried and cooked in a gravy) chicken (photo: BVI Welcome Online).

Caribbean Fine Arts (at the Top of Main Street 284/494-4240), run by Silvia Forbes, has a tropical gallery and does framing and restoration work.

Tico Imports retail store (on Fleming Street near the roundabout near the Top of Main Street) has a large variety of fine wines and spirits. Their wholesale store is at Wickham's Cay II.


	J.R.O'Neal Botanic Garden

	Rich in horticulture and history with gardens of palms, orchids and a mini tropical rain forest.


	See tropical birds and the indigenous and rare red-legged tortoise (at Main St. extension).