Roshnie's Catering & Obers
Home-style Surinamese cooking and full ober service, delivered to your door
Why Go
Tucked into Grietjebiestraat in central Paramaribo, Roshnie's isn't a walk-in dining room so much as a lifeline for anyone hosting a gathering in Suriname. The team cooks the kind of layered, spice-forward Surinamese food you'd expect at a family celebration, then sends trained obers (waiters) along to plate, pour and clear so you can actually enjoy your own event.
The Experience
Think of Roshnie's as a stand-in for a Surinamese grandmother's kitchen and a small hospitality crew rolled into one. You call ahead with a headcount and a rough vibe, they build a menu around it, and on the day itself the food arrives hot in insulated trays while the obers set up a service line, plated dinners or a buffet on your terrace. It's low-key and warm rather than white-glove formal, which suits the Paramaribo pace, and it's popular with expats, small weddings, birthday krioro parties and villa groups who don't want to spend their trip chained to a kitchen.
What to Try
Ask for the classics that show off Suriname's Creole-Javanese-Hindustani mash-up: a proper roti with duck or chicken and long beans, moksi alesi (mixed rice with salt meat and shrimp), bami or nasi goreng, pom (grated pomtajer with citrus-marinated chicken), saoto soup as a starter, and bara or telo with pindasaus for snacking. If you're feeding a crowd, a rijsttafel-style spread of five or six small dishes lets guests taste the whole country in one sitting. Don't skip the sweet bojo cake or fjaka-fjaka for dessert.
Insider Tip
Book at least 48 hours ahead for anything with roti or pom — the dough and the pomtajer both need real time, and last-minute orders usually get pushed toward the fried snacks and bami/nasi menu. If your accommodation has a tiny kitchen, ask specifically for the ober package with warming trays; otherwise the food arrives ready but cools fast in the Paramaribo humidity. Payment is smoothest in SRD cash, and tipping the obers 10% at the end is standard practice.
The Practical Stuff
Address: Grietjebiestraat (RRVX+XHW), central Paramaribo, Suriname. This is a catering and waiter-service operation rather than a sit-down restaurant, so orders are by phone or Facebook Messenger (search 'Roshnie's Catering & Ober services') well in advance. Delivery covers greater Paramaribo and, by arrangement, resorts along the Suriname River. Menus scale from intimate 6-person dinners up to weddings of 150+. Prices are quoted per head and land in the mid-range for Suriname — expect a comfortable spread rather than fine-dining pricing.
Pair It With
- 101 Suites Guide — A central Paramaribo stay with enough room to host a small dinner — have Roshnie's set up the ober service on the terrace and you've got an instant Surinamese supper club.
- 4x4xJankie Guide — Rent a 4x4 for a day trip into the interior, then come back to a hot Roshnie's roti or moksi alesi waiting at your accommodation instead of scrambling for a late dinner.
- Aanansi ATV Tours Guide — After a sweaty morning of ATV riding, a pre-ordered Roshnie's rijsttafel back at your hotel is the recovery meal you'll wish every tour ended with.