A & D Food and Snacks
Neighbourhood snack stop on Paramaribo's Kwattaweg food strip
Why Go
Tucked into the long, lively ribbon of Kwattaweg ΓÇö the road that pulses with roti shops, Javanese warungs and the twice-weekly Kwatta Market ΓÇö A & D Food and Snacks is one of those unassuming corner spots locals swing by for a fast, cheap fix of Surinamese comfort food.
The Experience
There is no fine-dining choreography here, just a counter, a hot kitchen and the smell of frying plantain and spiced meat drifting onto the street. Kwattaweg 457 sits in a working-class stretch of Paramaribo where the Hindustani, Javanese and Creole kitchens rub shoulders daily, and A & D mirrors that mash-up in its short menu of takeaway snacks and plate meals. Expect quick service, styrofoam containers, motorbikes idling out front, and a rotating cast of neighbours grabbing lunch on the way home.
What to Try
Ask what came out of the fryer or the pot most recently ΓÇö snack shops on Kwattaweg live and die by freshness. Reliable picks in this style of spot include bara (fried lentil doughnuts with hot pepper sauce), bakabana (battered fried plantain with peanut sauce), telo (fried cassava with bakkeljauw salt fish), a small roti with kip (chicken) or aardappel (potato), or a bowl of saoto broth if the ladle is out. If they've got nasi or bami with a piece of chicken and sambal, that is a filling, safe bet.
Insider Tip
Time your visit to a Wednesday or Sunday morning and combine it with the Kwatta Market a short way up the same road ΓÇö it's the oldest and biggest market in Paramaribo, and pairing a stroll through the stalls with a snack run at A & D is exactly how locals do a lazy weekend morning. Bring small SRD notes; card machines on this stretch are hit-or-miss.
The Practical Stuff
Address: Kwattaweg 457, Paramaribo. This is a takeaway-style snack shop rather than a sit-down restaurant, so plan to eat on the go or bring it back to your accommodation. Published hours are sparse ΓÇö the reliable window is late morning to early evening, and a quick phone or Facebook check the day of is smart before a special trip. Cash in Surinamese dollars is king and most snacks land in the low single-digit USD range. Easiest access is by car, taxi, or a shared wagi from the historic centre (roughly 10ΓÇô15 minutes out).
Pair It With
- Kwatta Market — The Wednesday and Sunday morning market further down Kwattaweg is the oldest in Paramaribo and the perfect warm-up (or cool-down) to a snack stop at A & D.
- Krish Rotishop — If you want to keep grazing the Kwattaweg roti trail, this well-loved counter nearby is the neighbourhood benchmark for a proper Hindustani roti kip.
- Paramaribo historic centre — After eating like a local on Kwattaweg, drive 10ΓÇô15 minutes into the UNESCO-listed old town to walk it off along the Waterkant and the wooden colonial facades.