Bar Kabawa

Bar Kabawa laminates its fried patties in a swirl and fills them with pepperpot duck and foie, or short rib with conch and bone marrow, and Sonal Shah ate all eight before she ranked them.1

Why go

Momofuku put this room in the old bar area of Ko and let it run loud: servers in tie-dye aprons working a small centre table, bartenders shaking under lights shaped like halved coconuts, and Paul Carmichael sometimes ringing an old bell in front of a Bajan flag for no reason except that he is enjoying himself.1 The pastry is the technical work, and the fillings carry cumin, cassareep and pepper.1 Ligaya Mishan reports that on any given night you are as likely to find him slinging goat patties here as cooking the tasting menu next door.6

Order this / avoid

Order: the Solomon Gundy first, a fish dip whipped to a mousse and bruleed on top, broken into with big rectangular cassava chips.1
Order: the patties, starting with pepperpot duck and foie, then short rib with conch and bone marrow, which is Shah's order.1
Order: the pickled okra, which snap and crunch as though fried and still taste fresh, under a dribble of salt cod XO.1
Order: the Gwuayav, guava behind a dark Saint Lucian rum, or the bay leaf daiquiri.1
Avoid: planning dinner at the long bar. That end is the walk-in half; the high-tops are where you sit down to eat a few patties with pickles and seafood.1

What locals & experts say

Sonal Shah, The Infatuation (13 February 2025): the room, she writes, has the lively but precise 4/4 energy of a soca band.1
Matthew Schneier, Grub Street (30 April 2025), in a footnote to his review of the room next door: Bar Kabawa next door, despite the name, is an entirely different restaurant with an entirely different menu of small snacks and a rum-focused drinks list.4
The MICHELIN Guide, writing up Kabawa next door, credits Paul Carmichael with a deeply personal love letter to the Caribbean.2

Good to know

Which door: Bar Kabawa is 12 Extra Place. Kabawa, the prix-fixe room, is number 8, and its menu is $145 for a starter, a main and dessert.1 5
Timing: evenings, Tuesday through Saturday.
Booking: reservations open fourteen days out and the house keeps room for walk-ins.

Verdict

should-visit — Start on the Solomon Gundy, a fish dip whipped to a mousse and bruleed, with cassava chips to break into it. Book a high-top if you want dinner, because the long bar is the walk-in half.

Bar Kabawa.