Cheap restaurants for those on a budget?

Hi,

We're looking into going to St Barts, but we are on a pretty tight budget these days, and most of the time, we'd rather spend our money on excursions than food. We're thinking once or twice in the week we'll be out there to go to something more expensive, but overall we'd like to be able to eat on the cheap most of the time.

Are the places to get food that are more on the cheaper side of things? Can we get a cheap lunch easily for 10 Euro or less, even if it's just a sandwich and nothing too special?

The place we're looking at staying at, we can get a kitchenette for 30 Euros extra per day. If we went with the kitchenette, would we save our money back, or are there places to grab quick to-go lunches that would be a cheaper way to go?

We were looking at cheap all-inclusive resorts on other islands (which are more in our price range), but then got looking at St Barts and fell in love with it - please tell me there are ways we can afford it!

Search this forum for "cheap restaurants" and/or "budget restaurants". There are a few threads covering this topic.


Here's a list I put recently put together from searching old threads:

Welcome to the forum. THere are many places to get a not too expensive lunch or dinner. So many that it's hard to name them all. Starting with your $10 sandwich- most of the bakeries have sandwiches for lunch- Choisy in Gustavia and Petit Colombe in Lorient and Colombier, JoJo Burger in Lorient and LeSelect for hamburgers in Gustavia. LaCreperie in Gustavia. The large supermarket- Marche U has whole grilled chickens and other take out items. Certainly a kitchen would help since the food markets have many items to cook in. Here is a list of restaurants some with ratings that you can ask about https://www.sbhonline.com/St-Barts-Restaurants.html
As a general rule stay away from the hotel restaurants- they are not cheap.

J,

Welcome to the forum.

Andy and Bart have made great suggestions and others will chime in, I'm sure.

St Barts can be krazy expensive or "relatively" inexpensive. The ability to cook at your hotel or villa helps.

Some of our more well-heeled travelers say St Barts is the cheapest vacation they take all year!

Good luck and report back!

Thanks for the suggestions! i'll do some more searching and digging around the forums as well.

I had read some "cheap restaurants in St Barts" lists, where "cheap" meant 30 Euros each, and that's more on the expensive side of what we're willing to do, at least this time around. I had also read of people wandering around trying to find anything affordable and not able to. So I was getting a bit worried, but you have put my mind at ease quite a bit.

Sounds like I just need to have a good list ahead of time of what's out there and where so we can plan out where we go to make things affordable.

It can be done, barely, with a little creativity. Perhaps for takeout only, or perhaps on a steady diet of baguette sandiches from La Petite Colombe. (I'm partial to the ham, swiss, and butter on a baguette, which I sometimes supplement with another slice of ham from the grocery and a schmear of mustard.) You can't even get a cheeseburger, fries and a beer from Le Select for under 20€ anymore, which is a sad thing.

Take a look at the daily Le News http://www.news-sbh.com/ and you'll see some restaurants that regularly post a lunch special, but the prices, which often don't include a beverage, are typically above 10€. Check on Facebook for daily or weekly specials from/posted by Wall House, Cote Port, FM-Radio St Barth, A La Carte St Barth, and Island Flavors by Jean Paul (takeout only).

To get an idea on menu prices take a look at the restaurant menus and pricing on the http://www.alacarte-stbarth.com website, in particular Les Bananiers, Au Regal, Chez Yvon, Le Vietnam, Le Select, Jojo Burger, La Creperie, Hideaway, and Kiki-e-Mo. You may find nothing in your price range, or you may find only a few things like a basic pizza for 10€ or less, but you'll generally find something. If you make a to-go order then eating lunch back at your place with inexpensive beverages from the grocery may help you stick to your budget.

And then there's the roasted chicken that can be found at some of the groceries and boulangeries.

Fresh West Indies is now placing pre-made sandwiches, plates and salads in the AMC in Gustavia, the Airport Superette, the Epicerie de Corossol, Minimart in Lorient, and Monoshop in Marigot. I have no idea how they are or how they're priced, but they may be worth a look.

Don't forget that water is an expensive commodity on the island, and is not served for free as in a US restaurant. Expect a 750ml/1L bottle of water to cost as much as a glass of wine in a US restaurant - could be 3€, could be 8€.

Also, once you get an idea of menu prices, consider that one reason that they are on the high side is because all food is imported to the island. If you decide to cook in then expect grocery prices to likewise be on the high side.

Thanks, good to know about the drinks, as in general we are happy drinking water, but it is unfortunate that even that is expensive.

Is the tap water on St Barts safe to drink? If we filled up a bottle or cup from a sink where we are staying, is that generally safe, or something to avoid?

Do not drink the tap water. You can get 2 liter bottles of water at the grocery stores.

jgcpalmer said:

Is the tap water on St Barts safe to drink? If we filled up a bottle or cup from a sink where we are staying, is that generally safe, or something to avoid?

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That exact topic was discussed recently in a thread on Cisterns. You can find it at https://www.sbhonline.com/forums/showthread.php/80995

Bottled water is available in all of the groceries, with different price points for different sizes and different brands. I buy cases of bottled water at Segeco, on the far side of the harbor. I may only save a few € on the case of water, but I'm buying it at the same time that I'm saving a lot more € on a case of champagne.

KevinS said:

If you decide to cook in then expect grocery prices to likewise be on the high side.

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Yes, that's why were thinking of saving the 30Euro a day on the kitchenette. We tried that sort of thing on a trip to Banff, Alberta and found that it was cheaper to get lunch at a Subway than it was to try buy groceries to make a meal (similar to St Barts, being in the middle of the mountains made all food more expensive.)

So, if we can only go to one of the fancier restaurants in a week there, which one do we go to? I read about Eden Rock a lot. What would be the restaurant to give that, "I'm eating at a high-end restaurant in St Barths" feeling, both with food and ambiance?

(I should possibly mention that neither of us particularly like seafood, so if that's the only thing they serve or it's the only real draw, it's probably not for us.)

If you're meat eaters, check out Meat and Potatoes, aka M&P. They have several different cuts and offer most either as singles or as a dish for two. The portions are enormous and includes a choice of two sides and four different sauces. Prices are quite reasonable, and quality is top drawer.

Phil

going inexpensive is a walk in the park on St Barts..and I prefer the word inexpensive to cheap because cheap to me means low quality and we don't do low quality at all when it comes to food....price gouging in restaurants run amuck on this island so do not make the mistake of equating high prices to high quality OR fair sized portions as that is not always the case at all....

places which offer good to great meals at a very fair price:

Au Regal
Andys Hideaway
Select
Creperie
JoJo Burger
Wall House for lunch
La Cantina
Kiki Y Mo
Les Jardin
Bouchon
Bananiers
petit Colombe
Chez Yvon


cooking in is a great way to stretch the budget..we cook in because we enjoy it very much and the privacy and guaranteed highest quality of the meal makes it even better....

dont even worry about your budget one bit.....it can be inexpensive and still uncompromisingly good if you want it to be

I think Andy's new prices for dinner would take it off that list.

andynap said:

I think Andy's new prices for dinner would take it off that list.

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really???..thats too bad

Well close anyway.

jgcpalmer said:

. What would be the restaurant to give that, "I'm eating at a high-end restaurant in St Barths" feeling, both with food and ambiance?

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My vote: L'Isola.

Is this thread making exclusivity seekers wince?

Mike R said:

really???..thats too bad

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New menu. http://restaurants.alacarte-stbarth.com/menu/1391457687.9755HIDEAWAY_MENU_030214.pdf

They have pizzas in the 10-14 euro range, so it's doable, and I saw pictures somewhere recently of their specials board with specials all bieng around 10 euros, unless that was an old picture.

jgcpalmer said:

Yes, that's why were thinking of saving the 30Euro a day on the kitchenette. We tried that sort of thing on a trip to Banff, Alberta and found that it was cheaper to get lunch at a Subway than it was to try buy groceries to make a meal (similar to St Barts, being in the middle of the mountains made all food more expensive.)

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as one small example...on St Barts I cook a pasta with fresh charcoal grilled veggies in olive oil and garlic...a baguette, and a tomato, mozzerella, basil salad with a dessert from the bakery....for three people...for about 15-18 euro..add 10 euro for a bottle of Rose wine....

all from the grocery store....

I do a grilled Mahi Mahi with Lobster Risotto, grilled eggplant and baguette and a salad for three people and a bakery dessert for about 35-40 euro....