Only a handful of restaurants on Paradise Island are unconnected to hotels or resorts, making dining a rather expensive endeavor. Still, Paradise Island has many of the best restaurants in the Bahamas, serving some of the most innovative dishes around. Atlantis seems to feature places to eat around every corner: the elegant Villa d'Este has freshly made pasta, Atlas Bar and Grill hamburgers and ribs, the Bahamian Club steaks and grilled seafood, and the Clock Tower pizza and salad.

At the Paradise Harbour Club , the Columbus Tavern has a nice harbor view and especially good lobster, steak and crème brûlée.

Apart from hotels, the choices narrow considerably. At the Paradise Island Shopping Center, Anthony's Caribbean Grill has surprisingly good pizza, lobster and chicken, but the only really authentic eatery around is the Island Restaurant , just off Paradise Beach Drive, which has inexpensive breakfasts of boiled fish, Johnny cake and grits, and lunches of grilled fish sandwiches.