Smith says she named the restaurant to reflect her state of mind — and the electric energy, the pulsating music, the swirl of colors and the overflowing guests that are a part of the restaurant are indeed a bit “bananas.” The restaurant sits at the top of a steep hill on property she purchased after moving to Nevis from Great Britain. “Starting a restaurant was the most challenging thing I’ve ever done, save for the time I ice-skated topless in Korea,” she smiled.  Smith turned her restaurant into a nightly carnival that entices people to drive the winding bumpy road up and around to get to it. When they arrive, they climb even higher on foot through a garden lit by flaming torches.

Wearing different bright colors every night, the waiters serve fun drinks like chili margaritas and passion rum punches and a menu prepared by local women like Kate Freeman (pictured here) that includes succulent pork ribs with bourbon BBQ sauce; a “Bananas Buddha bowl” of grains, pulses (edible seeds) and veggies; pan seared mahi mahi with roast red pepper coulis and risotto cake, and the locally beloved “goat water,” a goat stew.  Some say dining here is like eating in a tree house. True or not, it’s as if you’re at a party no matter what night you choose. At the end of our dinner, we told our waiter that Smith seemed like a force of nature. She paused, smiling. “A hurricane,” she said.

Read more in Tripatini contributor Julie S. Hatfield´s post 9 Top Restaurants & Chefs on the Caribbean Island of Nevis.