ExploFood · South America
What to eat in Guyana
Five dishes to try in Guyana, the most typical first. Two are vegetarian.
Five dishes to try in Guyana
Pepperpot
Meat stewed in cassareep with cinnamon and hot pepper.
How to have it: The national dish, made for Christmas morning and eaten with plait bread.
Curry and roti
Flatbread served with chicken, goat or duck curry.
How to have it: Georgetown cookshops serve it at lunch; try dhal puri or paratha roti.
Pholourie
Fried split-pea dough balls served with mango or tamarind sour.
How to have it: A street and party snack from Indo-Guyanese cooking.
Garlic pork
Pork pickled in vinegar, garlic and thyme, then fried.
How to have it: A Portuguese-Guyanese Christmas breakfast dish, eaten with bread.
Black cake
Dark fruitcake made with rum-soaked dried fruit and burnt sugar.
How to have it: Baked for Christmas and weddings; families give slices to visitors.
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Questions
What food is Guyana famous for?
Pepperpot (meat stewed in cassareep with cinnamon and hot pepper) comes first on our list, followed by Curry and roti, Pholourie, Garlic pork and Black cake.
What is the national dish of Guyana?
Ask ten people and you get several answers. The dish we put first for Guyana is Pepperpot: meat stewed in cassareep with cinnamon and hot pepper. The national dish, made for Christmas morning and eaten with plait bread.
Which dishes in Guyana are vegetarian?
Two of the five on this page are vegetarian as usually made: Pholourie and Black cake. Recipes vary, so ask about stock, lard or fish sauce.
How reliable is this list?
The dishes are hand-picked from general knowledge in the Explo app, where you can also tick off the ones you have tried. Recipes vary by region and by family, so take it as a starting point.
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Tick off every dish you try in Guyana
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Get ExploDishes are hand-picked from general knowledge in the Explo app, with links to Wikipedia. Recipes and names vary by region.