Saint Lucia, a small island nation in the eastern Caribbean with a population of less than 200,000 people, does not have a large diaspora population. But in the Dalston neighborhood of London, one finds a little but popular outpost of Saint Lucia in Rainbow Bakery. Established in 1987, Rainbow bills itself as the only Saint Lucian establishment in the United Kingdom; indeed, it’s likely one of the very few located outside of the island. And even better, it is well worth a visit for excellent baked goods and drinks.
Newcomers to the cuisines of the eastern Caribbean can sometimes miss the subtleties of the food distinctions between the islands; they can be forgiven, given the long history of exchange and connection between the islands. But Rainbow is unabashedly Saint Lucian. A large Saint Lucian flag hangs over the main ordering area, and all the drinks on offer in their fridge are imported directly from Saint Lucia.
At front, food for order is set up in a bakery case: savories on the left and sweets on the right. Upon getting to the front – there were six in front of me on this busy morning in a clearly popular spot – the man behind the counter said, “First time?” “Yes,” I said, “what should I pick?” Going past the appetizing but probably-too-filling option of an oxtail plate served with mac and cheese and greens, as well as a chicken roti – both staple dishes of Saint Lucian cuisine – I went with their Friday- and Saturday-only special: a “meat loaf,” a kind of medium-dense baked bread filled, in this case, with succulent curried lamb.
For sweets, there was a slew of options: sweet rolls with raisins; a cinnamon and nutmeg cake; baked sweet pastries; but I went with a spice bun: a dense, brown ball of baked rough flavored with seemingly every spice available in Saint Lucia (the helpful man behind the counter listed the spice ingredients, of which there were at least fifteen), plus raisins.
Both dishes were delectable. For a beverage, I grabbed a peanut-flavored seamoss drink (soursop and pure seamoss flavors were also on offer); imported directly from Saint Lucia and complete with the national flag and the island’s outline on the bottle. Excited when I brought it to the counter, the server explained to me how it was made from fermented seaweed steeped in water and then strained; he even had a pack of the leaves behind the counter to demonstrate. He described it as “Taste: 4 out of 10” but “Health: 10 out of 10.” I ended up disagreeing: it tasted to me like a slightly less sweet horchata with some added peanut; or maybe a kind of thinned-out bottled satay sauce. Could have drank another bottle easily if I weren’t so stuffed from the lunch.
Rainbow’s location exemplifies the history of its neighborhood. Rainbow is just a block from the C.L.R. James Library, named for the influential Trinidadian historian and activist who moved to London in 1933, and where he wrote a series of critical works on Caribbean history with a Marxist bent. Rainbow is also around the corner from the Overground line station. Installed in 2011 (ahead of the London Olympics), Dalston’s new public transport connection to downtown has contributed to rapid gentrification in recent years. After carrying my food out of Rainbow, I walked over to a small picnic area in front of the library where I could enjoy all my treats in peace: the freshly-warmed meat loaf; the roll; and the seamoss drink. Personally, we felt this was the best Caribbean bakery we had been to of those we had tried previously (all in New York). And there are more to try, including Grenadian options (which would be a new country for us!) in London, New York, and Toronto. We hope to hit at least one of those in future years. But we’ll be telling others to head to Rainbow in London for unique Saint Lucian offerings, hospitality, and great food.
Eating The World 