De Roti Man

You’ve got to be picky about your roti. Fact. If you haven’t annoyed everyone in the queue behind you then you’re definitely doing it wrong. Next we need to be a little controversial. Do it the Trini way. Controversy over.

Step 1: Ask for a dhal puri skin. Way better than a classic skin and it’s better for you too.

Step 2: Find out what they have. Everyone ends up falling for chicken, beef of channa. Don’t be that person. De Roti Man has pumpkin, ocra, potatoes, spinach, beans etc so demand the full menu!

Step 3: When you’re stuck between a top 3, tell him that you want a mix of the three. At the same time.

Step 3.1: Ask for the skin separately. Especially if you’re getting a dhal puri.

Step 4: Tear skin, scoop up your mix of fillings and the day is done.

De Roti Man lives and works out of Oistins but also has a store in Bridgetown which makes it the perfect lunch spot when you’re stuck in town. Pick one up and go sit on the benches between Cave Shepherd and the Norman Centre. It’s got a good breeze and it’s in the shade. Perfect.

If you visit De Roti Man in Oistins you can park in the drive or go to the lot opposite when the drive is full (quite often) and then head up the stairs to start the picking. He starts cooking very early every morning and is so dedicated to his rotis that he has converted his entrance and kitchen into a store front. It’s immense when you think about how his life revolves around his art.

Go early enough and you can see the preparations as everyone runs around chopping potatoes and stirring pots. If we had a recommendation it would be channa with pumpkin. Couldn’t ask for more. Oh yes we could… And a little hot sauce.