The kitchen

What do you eat in Suriname?

Paramaribo may be the only city on earth where Javanese, Hindustani, Creole, Chinese, Maroon and Indigenous kitchens exist side by side inside one walkable area. That is not a marketing line: it is the direct consequence of how this country came to be populated.

Below, every dish is explained on its own page, what it is, where it comes from, what it costs on the street and where to eat it in Paramaribo. Prices are indicative in Surinamese dollars and move quickly; treat them as guidance.

• Roti

  Roti is a Surinamese-Hindustani dish of a thin griddled flatbread served alongside chicken, potato, long bean and masala. A plate in a Paramaribo roti shop typically costs SRD 80 to SRD 180 (roughly €2–€5).

  Hindustani · SRD 80–180

• Pom

  Pom is a Surinamese baked dish of grated pomtayer, a taro-like root, with chicken, onion, tomato and citrus juice. It is Jewish-Portuguese in origin and counts as the celebration dish of Suriname: no birthday happens without it.

  Jewish-Portuguese / Creole · SRD 100–200

• Saoto soup

  Saoto is a Javanese-Surinamese chicken soup: clear yellow broth with beansprouts, fried potato slices, fried onion, smoked chicken and half an egg, with sambal on the side. In Blauwgrond a bowl typically costs SRD 70 to SRD 150.

  Javanese · SRD 70–150

• Bara

  Bara is a flat fried Surinamese-Hindustani snack of ground urad beans and flour, soft inside, usually eaten with sour sauce or sambal. On the street in Paramaribo one costs roughly SRD 10 to SRD 30.

  Hindustani · SRD 10–30 · vegetarian

• Moksi alesi

  Moksi alesi is a Surinamese Creole one-pot dish of rice with chicken, salted meat, long bean and beans, its name meaning literally "mixed rice" in Sranan Tongo. A plate in a Paramaribo Creole eating house typically costs SRD 90 to SRD 180.

  Creole · SRD 90–180

• Bakabana

  Bakabana is fried plantain in a thin batter, nearly always served with peanut sauce. A portion on the street in Paramaribo costs roughly SRD 15 to SRD 40.

  Creole · SRD 15–40 · vegetarian

• Telo

  Telo is fried cassava, usually served with bakkeljauw, salt cod soaked and fried, and sambal. A portion on the street in Paramaribo costs roughly SRD 40 to SRD 100.

  Creole · SRD 40–100

• Heri heri

  Heri heri is a Surinamese dish of boiled plantain, cassava and sweet potato served with salt cod and egg. It is eaten above all on 1 July, Keti Koti, which commemorates the abolition of slavery in Suriname in 1863.

  Creole · SRD 100–200

• Bami

  Surinamese bami is a Javanese-Surinamese dish of fried noodles with chicken, cabbage and kecap manis, sweeter and darker than Indonesian bami goreng. A plate in a warung typically costs SRD 60 to SRD 140.

  Javanese · SRD 60–140

• Peanut soup

  Surinamese pindasoep is a thick, creamy soup of ground peanuts with chicken or salted meat, almost always served with tom tom: balls of pounded green plantain. A bowl in a Paramaribo Creole eating house typically costs SRD 90 to SRD 180.

  Creole · SRD 90–180

• Petjil

  Petjil is a Javanese-Surinamese dish of briefly steamed vegetables such as beansprouts, long bean and cabbage under peanut sauce. It is vegetarian by default and costs SRD 50 to SRD 120 in the warungs of Blauwgrond.

  Javanese · SRD 50–120 · vegetarian

• Dawet

  Dawet is a Javanese-Surinamese cold drink of coconut milk, palm sugar syrup and green strands of pandan jelly, served over ice. A glass in a Paramaribo warung typically costs SRD 25 to SRD 60.

  Javanese · SRD 25–60 · vegetarian

• Pastei

  Surinamese pastei is a savoury pie filled with chicken, peas, carrot, gherkin and sometimes egg: a Dutch inheritance that in Suriname belongs to Christmas and New Year.

  Creole · SRD 80–160

• Bojo

  Bojo is a Surinamese cake of grated cassava and coconut, dense and moist in texture, usually with raisins and a shot of rum. A slice at a Paramaribo market costs SRD 30 to SRD 80.

  Creole · SRD 30–80 · vegetarian

• Phulauri

  Phulauri are fried balls of ground yellow split peas with garlic and cumin, eaten with sour sauce or chutney. Vegetarian, and SRD 10 to SRD 30 a portion on the street in Paramaribo.

  Hindustani · SRD 10–30 · vegetarian

SRD prices are indicative, checked August 2026. The Surinamese dollar moves fast, so expect variation.