Gertrude’s Beach Bar
White Bay, Jost Van Dyke · British Virgin Islands
Gertrude’s Beach Bar is the lime-green bar right next door to the Soggy Dollar, and it is where we ate lunch on White Bay more often than anywhere else. Gertrude Callwood opened it in 1972 in a plywood cabana with no electricity and a cooler of ice, and more than fifty years later she is still here, the bar still pours its own drinks on the honor system, and the mahi fish and chips was Cory’s go-to for three seasons. If the Soggy Dollar is where you go for the famous Painkiller, Gertrude’s is where you go to actually sit down.
Walk through Gertrude’s with us
One minute at the green bar next door to the Soggy Dollar, filmed by our crew. Press play; nothing loads until you do.
Filmed by Get Crewed. Music: Tin Spirit, Freedom Trail Studio (YouTube Audio Library).
What to expect at Gertrude’s
A green and orange open-sided bar under a tin roof, a giant painted beach chair for photos, picnic tables in the sand and rows of loungers along the water. The thing everyone remembers is the bar itself: you walk up, tell them what you want, and they hand you the bottle. Painkillers and Bushwhackers are made to your own strength, which is why regulars will tell you Gertrude’s Painkiller is better than the one next door. It is also why we tell guests to pace themselves.
The kitchen is the best-kept secret on the beach. Chicken roti and fish roti are the local classics, the flying fish sandwich and the conch fritters get the reviews, and the mahi fish and chips is the one Cory ordered every time. Gertrude’s opens early for breakfast and stays open through the afternoon, seven days a week, and there is a small gift shop attached. There is less shade here than at Hendo’s, so grab a lounger under a palm early or bring a hat.
Our take, having brought guests here for three seasons
Do the Soggy Dollar for the first Painkiller, then walk fifty yards west and have lunch at Gertrude’s. It is quieter, the food is better, the loungers are free and plentiful, and Gertrude and her team treat you like you have been coming for years even when it is your first day. Olga, who has been here forever, runs a tight ship. Guests who found Gertrude’s on day one usually asked to come back later in the week.
If you are swimming in, bring cash in a dry bag. Wet dollars are the tradition on this beach, but soggy credit cards are less charming.
Getting there on your crewed charter
Gertrude’s sits in the middle of White Bay, directly west of the Soggy Dollar, so it shares the same arrival: your catamaran anchors inside the reef and you swim or dinghy in over the sand. Anchor early and the water in front of Gertrude’s is glassy, the loungers are empty and the bar is quiet. By early afternoon the day boats from St. Thomas have landed and the middle of the beach is the busiest part of the bay. White Bay is a day anchorage; before dark we move to Great Harbour or Little Jost Van Dyke for the night.
The Soggy Dollar is next door to the east, Coco Loco and Ivan’s are a short walk west, and we filmed walkthroughs of every bar on the beach so you can see them all before you choose.
Gertrude’s Beach Bar questions we get asked
Do you really pour your own drinks at Gertrude’s?
Yes. It is an honor-system bar: tell them what you want, they hand you the bottle and you pour. That is why the Painkillers here have a reputation.
What should we eat at Gertrude’s?
The rotis, the flying fish sandwich, the conch fritters, and the mahi fish and chips, which was our captain’s standing order. It is the best lunch on White Bay for the money.
Is Gertrude’s open for breakfast?
Yes, it opens early, seven days a week, and it is one of the few bars on the beach where you can get breakfast before the crowd arrives.
Is there shade?
Less than at the bigger bars. There are loungers along the water and a few palms; get there early for a shaded spot or sit under the roof at the bar.