The market at nine, when it is at its fullest, and a roti lunch to end on.
Paramaribo food tour: market tastings, street food and roti off the tawa
Minimum 3 people per departure. Fewer of you? Ask whether you can join another group on the same date.
You taste your way through Paramaribo in four hours: spices and the fish hall at the Central Market at the hour it is fullest, bara and bakabana hot from the oil on the street, and a roti turned by hand on the tawa in a Hindustani roti shop. Along the way: an explanation of everything you see laid out, and six to eight tastings at tables where nobody hands you a menu.
We start at the Central Market on the Waterkant, while the fish hall is still wet and the spice sellers have only just laid out their trays. That is a morning on purpose: the market is fullest between seven and eleven, and by noon the best of it has gone. This is not a walk past souvenirs, you get told what is actually in front of you: pomtayer, long bean, antroewa, bitter gourd, taro leaf, and why one pile of peppers costs twice what the next one does. Attached to the hall is the Vreedzaammarkt, the Maroon herb market. We walk through it with explanation, and without cameras.
Then the street: bara, phulauri and bakabana, fried while you wait, and telo with salt cod. Then into a Hindustani roti shop where the roti is still turned by hand on the tawa. You eat chicken roti with potato, long bean and masala, and you taste the difference between dhal roti and plain roti because you get both side by side. That is lunch, and it is a big one.
We finish with something sweet, usually bojo or fiadu, and coffee. What this tour does not include is Blauwgrond: the Javanese warungs there only open around six in the evening, so they have their own evening tour, Blauwgrond by Night. The two tours deliberately overlap nowhere. Do both and you never eat the same thing twice.
There are six to eight tastings and every one is in the price. You pay nothing extra along the way, and you can skip breakfast. People who grab "just a quick sandwich" first do not make it to the roti shop.
What happens on the day
Centrale Markt Waterkant 6 stops
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09:00
Meet on Independence Square. Short briefing on who cooks what in Suriname and why, then a five-minute walk to the market.
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09:15
Central Market: vegetables, spices, the fish hall. Tastings one and two, and the Vreedzaammarkt next door.
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10:30
The street: bara, phulauri and bakabana hot from the oil, and telo with salt cod.
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11:45
Hindustani roti shop. Roti with chicken, long bean and masala; dhal roti and plain roti side by side. This is lunch.
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12:40
Something sweet and coffee: bojo or fiadu.
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13:00
Tour ends in the centre, within walking distance of the meeting point.
Times are indicative. Weather, traffic and how long you want to stay somewhere decide the rest.
Included
- 6–8 tastings, adding up to a full lunch, not snacks
- Water and one local soft drink or coffee
- A guide who lives in Paramaribo, in English or Dutch
Not included
- Alcoholic drinks
- Tips
- Transport to and from the meeting point
Bring
- Shoes you can walk a couple of kilometres of pavement in
- An appetite: skip breakfast or keep it to coffee
- Cash in SRD if you want to buy anything at the market
- A bag for whatever you buy at the market
- A sun hat, the last hour is hot
This is for you if…
People who want to understand why Surinamese food is the way it is, and who will sit on a plastic chair as readily as at a laid table.
Do not book this if…
Not for you if you only eat what you recognise, if there has to be a tablecloth, or if a morning on foot in the heat is a problem. And do not arrive full: people who have a big breakfast first never make it to the roti shop. If it is the saoto and the warungs of Blauwgrond you are after, take the evening tour.
What you meet along the way
Frequently asked questions
What does a food tour in Paramaribo cost?
Our food tour costs €55 per person for four hours, including six to eight tastings and drinks. On international booking platforms a comparable culinary activity in Paramaribo typically costs $85 to $111. You book directly with us, so no 20–30% commission goes to a platform.
Is the food tour suitable for vegetarians?
Yes, but say so when you enquire. Hindustani cooking has plenty of vegetarian dishes, bara, phulauri, dhal roti, fried taro, so you get the same number of tastings. Vegan is harder but possible with at least 48 hours notice.
How much food do you get on the tour?
Six to eight tastings, adding up to roughly a full lunch. Almost everyone is full afterwards, so skip breakfast or keep it to a cup of coffee.
How spicy is Surinamese food?
The base dishes are mild. The heat lives in the sambal and the Madame Jeanette pepper served on the side, so you set your own level. Tell us in advance if you want no pepper at all and we arrange it at every stop.
Why does the food tour run in the morning rather than the evening?
Because the Central Market is a morning market: fullest between 07:00 and 11:00, with the best of it gone by noon. The Javanese warungs of Blauwgrond, by contrast, only open around 18:00, so they have their own three-hour evening tour at €55. On Sundays the market is closed and this tour does not run; take Sunday Morning in Paramaribo (€55) instead.
What if there are fewer than 3 of us?
This tour departs from 3 people, because only then are the guide and the tour costs covered. With fewer, ask whether you can join another group on the same date; we confirm per enquiry whether that works.
What do children pay?
Children under 4 come free and taste from their parents' plates. From 4 to 11 they get their own tastings for €44 per person, 20% off.
Other tours
- Blauwgrond by Night: warung hopping
Saoto, satay, petjil and dawet. Four warungs, three hours, no menus.
€55 per person 3 hours
- Cooking class: market to table
You pick out the pomtayer yourself, and five hours later you eat it.
€75 per person 5 hours
- Historic Centre Walking Tour
From the cells of Fort Zeelandia to the synagogue that shares a plot with a mosque.
€40 per person 3 hours
- Sunday Morning in Paramaribo
Songbirds at seven, Javanese market at eight, breakfast at nine.
€55 per person 4 hours
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