Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Spice Mill

Fusion Caribbean Kitchen

St. Kitts, West Indies

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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Spice Mill is a top fine-dining spot with island soul.

 Offering a toes-in-the-sand setting, this beloved beachfront restaurant is located on island of St. Kitts, the sister island to Nevis. 

Celebrated for its eclectic Caribbean cuisine, you'll experience tantalizing flavors from Africa, France, England, Iberia, Asia, and Holland. 

And guess what?!

We know the owner!

Billy on the Bluewaves ferry

To get to St. Kitts, we took a Bluewaves ferry for the short ride across the narrows, landing at Reggae Beach. For 2 people, the roundtrip tickets cost $44.64USD.

We WhatsApp'd our friend, Roger days before to let him know we were coming. Planning to meet him at the Spice Mill for lunch, Roger wrote back saying he'd give us complimentary beach lounges with an umbrella if we wanted to swim. That sounded just perfect, so we took him up on his offer.

Compared to the rainy and cloudy weather we had the previous few days, the day of our visit was spectacular.

There was sun all day long, we had a beautiful ride and a lovely swim.

And... our lunch was terrific!

Approaching Reggae Beach

Here we are approaching the dock at Reggae Beach.

The southeast peninsula of St. Kitts was a once-dormant area, but now it buzzes with tourism.

The Spice Mill is considered to be a flagship restaurant and an anchor for this part of St. Kitts.

We disembarked from the ferry and lazily made our way left to Roger's Spice Mill.

Pink shack beach bar

If you have spent any time in these latitudes, little shacks like these are commonplace.

Everyone here boasts of "the best rum punch... ever" and the only way to know for sure, is to try one.

But... we passed on this opportunity since we were already headed to Roger's and we were expected.

Planked walkway to Spice Mill

This planked entrance is a very picturesque way to approach Spice Mill.

You see the banana palm in the center has a full load of bananas, but not yet ready for harvesting.

The Caribbean boasts 100 types of bananas in cultivation everything from tiny 2 inch long, sweet bananas to the kind that are more starchy, generally fried and used as a vegetable!

Open air dining area

We entered this "barefoot-chic" restaurant, letting the staff know we were friends of Rogers and that he was expecting us. One of the servers told us that Roger was currently in a meeting, but to please just grab a couple of beers and hang on the beach until he arrived.

That sounded easy enough to do...

Meanwhile another staff member who gladly served us the beers also gave us a tour of the restaurant, letting us know where the cabanas were so we could change into our bathing suits.

Passion Beach Bar

So we followed his instructions, grabbed the beers and a couple of sun loungers and went to enjoy the beach, the sea and the view.

One is able to dine al fresco on the beach, in any of the open-air spaces, or here at Passion Beach Bar for lighter bites.

We took in the view of where we've come from

This is the island of Nevis, with its famed volcano, just across the narrows.

Our villa is just over there, and we are not that far away!  

Billy makes the most of his wait time before Roger arrives

The restaurant here offers direct access to this pristine stretch of white sand and calm, crystal-clear waters. It's perfect for a full day of beach lounging, swimming, taking in the view and then followed by our lunch.

Two hibiscus rumtini cocktails at this ideal location with a view!

Roger came down to our beach loungers and said when we were ready, he'd join us for some lunch.

Soon enough, we found ourselves up in the open-air restaurant with menus and we ordered 2 rumtinis.

There is an on-site Hibiscus Spirits distillery, where guests can sample house rums and purchase bottles like hibiscus gin.

Roger also has his canned rumtinis available for sale all over both St. Kitts and Nevis.

Conch fritters and a salad

We ordered conch fritters, a favored local dish to share which came with a salad and a citrus dressing.

The fritters were perfect, actually.

Lunch menu with pricing

As you can see here, the menu at Spice Mill is inventive and plentiful.

It focuses on fresh seafood, local produce, and creative spice blends.

The word for that here is "locavore-driven" meaning the fish often arrives straight from the boats and herbs are from on-site gardens.

Cocktail and drink list

Earlier I mentioned the on-site Hibiscus Spirits distillery, and several of the above listed drinks are made from this hibiscus rum. Hibiscus gin is also on hand.

Standout desserts like coconut cake are available as well.

Jerk chicken

One of our favorite dishes when we are in "de islands" is jerk chicken.

Each island has their own version and all of them are tasty!

We had to try Spice Mill's jerk chicken, and we were not disappointed.

Our bill with discount and big tip

Roger sat down at our table for while and we discussed the news and happenings from over the 30 + years since we had last seen him.  

It was good to catch up and we made plans to meet again over on Nevis Island. He had business to take care of at Nevis Peaks Brewery and Pub on Pinney's beach near Sunshine's Restaurant so it was perfect.

He gets to discuss bottling/canning issues with the owners of the brewery, and we get to try out a new restaurant and some locally produced beer.

Roger also gave us a big discount on our meal, and so we left a big tip for the service workers.

 After lunch, we realized that the ferry (which was already at the dock) wasn't going to come again for another 2 hours, so Roger called the ferry people and asked if they would wait for us (!!)

So we hopped into Roger's car and he drove us to the dock, dropping us off.

We were most grateful, and felt very special.

Thanks, Rog!

Akaisha on Bluewaves ferry

So here I am in the Bluewaves ferry, feeling slightly embarrassed that people had to wait a few minutes for us. But Billy and I were thankful that we didn't have to stick around another couple of hours for the next boat ride over the narrows.

After all, one Rumtini was enough! ha, ha. Very good and recommended!

It was a quick and lovely ride back to the ferry dock at Nevis.

And what a surprise!!

Some other good friends of ours were there at the dock waiting for their friends to get off the same ferry we were on!

So what happens? John takes us to our Hamilton Villa on his way home. 

This is island life, Mon.

Mr. Roger Brisbane

This is our Friend Roger.

Roger is a key figure in the St. Kitt's culinary scene.

As a local native and a co-owner of Spice Mill Restaurant, he plays a pivotal role in the restaurant's operations. 

Spice Mill was established around 2010-2011 as part of the revitalization of the Southeast Peninsula of St. Kitts.

If you are in the area of St. Kitts-Nevis, you must make a visit to Spice Mill.

And tell Roger we said hello!

__________

Spice Mill

Website:  https://www.spicemillrestaurant.com/

Cockleshell Bay, St. Kitts West Indies

Phone: +1 869-762-2160 or +1 869-765-6706.

Email: roger@spicemillrestaurant.com 

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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