Santo Domingo - Post Report Question and Answers
What typical restaurants, food delivery services, and/or takeout options are popular among expatriates?
Caribbean dishes, some international restaurants. Fish and vegetables are great, meat not so much. - Sep 2023
Local food, plenty of deliveries, etc. - Oct 2021
Everything is available in SD, but watch out for food poisoning. - Feb 2021
Many U.S. chains - McDonald’s, Subway, KFC, Wendy’s, Starbucks, TGI Friday’s, Papa John’s - operate here. There are also Dominican options/competitors. Popular salads to go: Green Bowl. Uber Eats and many other food delivery services operate. - Jan 2021
This is one of the main downsides to this post. There is almost no exotic cuisine - Thai, Chinese, sushi, etc. You can get Mexican, sort of, but mostly it's Dominican and American fast food. That's it. - Jul 2019
Several U.S. fast food outlets are here: McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Costs are about the same as in the U.S. There is a good selection of mid-range and upscale dining, too, though they all share the same menu (risotto with truffle, tuna tartar, pork belly, etc). Prices can be pretty high but are on par with what you'd pay in the US. Diplomats don't have to pay the 18% VAT, which is a huge plus. - Jan 2019
Strong U.S. influence, so all of the standard U.S. chain restaurants and fast food. Very good Spanish restaurants; more limited Asian food options. - Nov 2016
There's nothing but US fast food joints here. A bit pricier than in the US. - Apr 2016
Tons of U.S. fast food outlets are here - McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. Costs are about the same as in the U.S. There is a good selection of mid-range and upscale dining, too. Prices can be pretty high but mostly are on par with what you'd pay in the US. Diplomats don't have to pay the 18% VAT, which is really nice. There is a good website I use to look at the menus of various restaurants and see if they have delivery, etc. menu.com.do - Jan 2016
Almost every fast food restaurants you can think of. Many other American chains as well and a ton of local restaurants. - Jan 2016
All kinds of fast food restaurants here. You have McDonald's, Papa Johns, KFC..pretty much everything. - Aug 2015
All food is available except some true Asian options (Indian and Thai are really lacking). - Aug 2015
You get all the fast foods that are available in the States. There are many specialty and common restaurants that run the gamut from steaks, seafood, European, Asian, Middle Eastern, etc. Prices vary from US$50 - $200/couple. - Aug 2014
There are lots of fast food restaurants and they have play areas for kids, so we eat much more fast food than we used to. There is good Mexican, Italian, American, Chinese, French, and other European types. We really miss Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food. - Jul 2013
Pretty much everything is available in terms of fast food (except for Chipotle): decent Italian, Spanish, and Middle Eastern food. There are a couple of Japanese restaurants. Thai, Vietnamese, and Indian places are very difficult to find. - Apr 2013
Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonald's, KFC, Pizza Hut, Domino's.
There are also some chains like Chilis, Fridays, Tony Roma, Hooters, Outback Steakhouse, and Haagen Dazs.
Restaurants: there are many Italian restaurants and a few Spanish restaurants. Dominican food is fairly bland. Choices for international cuisine such as Indian, Thai, Mexican, etc. are very limited to non-existent. - Apr 2013
All US type available. Better to try local options. - Jan 2013
More U.S. fast food than in my hometown. - Jun 2012
Many American fast food places. If you like fried chicken this is the place for you as it's very popular. - Jun 2012
Most major U.S. fast food is available here. Costs are about 10% higher, and I wish I could say it wasn't as good... but alas it is. Many fast food restaurants have large, indoor playscapes, and provide a safe, air-conditioned place for kids to play. Hey, at least they're working off the calories, right?Dominican food overall is fair-to-middling. There are some restaurants in the city that try really hard, but just don't have the same flavor profile you'd expect. Outside of the city you can find fabulous French, German, and Italian food in the beach towns. - Mar 2012
Yes, they have lots of American chains here and many unique local restaurants. The have Chilis, Outback, McDonalds, KFC, BurgerKing, Tony Romas, etc. Prices are comparable to the US. - Feb 2012
no decent food and expensive, i have not been in a restaurant that is really good, but there are decent places, us prices though. - Feb 2012
Everything. US prices - Oct 2011
Almost EVERY fast food restaurant is here, though no Starbucks yet. Santo Domingo does have McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, Taco Bell, KFC, Quiznos, and many pizza places (including Dominoes, Papa John's and Pizza Hut). There are a ton of Chinese restaurants, some Mexican, Korean, and a great Chilean sandwich shop. You can get almost anything delivered. There isn't really any Indian or Thai food. One of the best things about the DR is the colmado. Colmados are a cross between a neighborhood bar and a convenience store. They deliver anything (beer, toilet paper, eggs, ice) and locals hang out there playing dominoes and drinking rum. - Jun 2011
One of the worst things about Santo Domingo (to me) is the fact that it is full of fast [junk] food places. I can walk to Baskin Robbins, a yogurt place, 2 local pizza places, McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Dominos, and Pizza Hut from my house. They also have Taco Bell, Wendys, a 24 hot dog place and so much more. I don't eat there so can't comment on price but it reminds me of the South Side of Chicago. There are lots of Italian restaurants, a handful of Lebanese places, and several seafood places too. All but the Lebanese places are unnecessarily expensive in my opinion - $40-$60 for two. - May 2011
almost all big american chains are available - Nov 2010
Most U.S. fast food chains are in the D.R., but are priced at a premium. For example, a quarter pounder combo at McDonalds will cost you about 8 dollars. As for decent restaurants, several are in Santo Domingo, but again are priced at a premium. For example, at a normal Italian restaurant, a family of 4 can expect to pay about $70, without drinks. - Aug 2010
McDonald's, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken......which we don't eat at. Our family is not too excited about Dominican food, so we prefer to make our meals at home. - Jun 2010
The usual suspects as far as fast food. More expensive than in the states. - May 2009
McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, Baskin' Robins, Hagen Daas, King Donut for the major chains; there are also a couple of good Mexican, Mediterranean and Italian restaurants, plus a few good Chinese and sushi joints. If you want Thai or Indian food, the Asian stores have the ingredients, plus bottled sauces. - Nov 2008
Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Burger King, Taco Bell, McDonald"s, Baskin Robbins, Haagen Daz, Cinnabon plus local ones. A number of decent restaurants available at a price (not outrageous, but definitely not cheap). - Oct 2008
Plenty of fast food, but otherwise dining is so-so. Good steakhouses, but not much else. - Aug 2008
Major fast-food chains are here and decent resturants are available but expensive - service is abysmal. - Jun 2008
All the typical American fast food joints. There are some good restaurants that are more expensive than Europe (no Indian restaurants but excellent Chinese). - Feb 2008
