L'ESPRIT JEAN CLAUDE DUFOUR - Simply Terrific!

This is my last restaurant write up from our trip in January. If I may paraphrase KevinS - "The best dinner on St. Barts is at dinner." I know I lamented the loss of Jean Claude in my Sand Bar write up but I am delighted that he is still bringing the magic at L'Esprit. The pigeon dish we had there was the best dish of the trip.

Full report: http://www.pearlsandoysters.com/2016/02/15/saint-barthelemy-lesprit-jean-claude-dufour/

My favorite dish too!

And the last time we dined there, Jean Claude's teacher was working at #2 in the L'Esprit kitchen. Magic time! A dining treat I will long remember.

We had the "Black Pork" and it was delicious- special of the night!

I hadn't know about his formation chez Troisgros. That explains a lot. Lovely review of a wonderful Saint-Barth asset.

Never thought of combining sweetbreads and langoustines. Must be delicious.

You have a lovely blog/website, Kara.

I enjoyed that dish...twice last month. It is truly an incredible tasty combination with Textures of both crispy and smooth. Wonderful.

Actually, the credit for the paraphrased quote belongs to JEK. "Some say that the best dinner on St Barth is lunch at Sand Bar". That was likely written while Chef Jean Claude was still the executive chef there. I used to borrow JEK's quote from time to time, but the origin is with him.

I contend that at L'Esprit, JCD may be working harder than he has in years, but he is also having more fun. I've always enjoyed lunch there more than dinner, but this season dinner is the only available option. I'll take it.

KaraBrooks said:

This is my last restaurant write up from our trip in January. If I may paraphrase KevinS - "The best dinner on St. Barts is at dinner." I know I lamented the loss of Jean Claude in my Sand Bar write up but I am delighted that he is still bringing the magic at L'Esprit. The pigeon dish we had there was the best dish of the trip.

Full report: http://www.pearlsandoysters.com/2016/02/15/saint-barthelemy-lesprit-jean-claude-dufour/

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And magic it is!
We shared the spring rolls and I had the tuna pie, both outstanding.
My husband had the pigeon and he would agree with you:
"...the best dish of the trip."

Jean Claude is a true artist.

It's nice to read such a glowing review of such a talented chef in such a lovely spot. My last three visits were completely uninspired, with the menu being extremely limited and not changing from visit to visit. In fact, the experiences were so lackluster, including the indifferent service that I had vowed to not return. The ravioli were so salty, they were inedible, yet the kitchen didn't care. Mains took over an hour to arrive and were cold. Wine glasses were filled far to high and we were pushed to order more. We sat and sat and sat....and sat. Perhaps Chef is feeling more creative or energized. Maybe it's a high season phenomenon. Possibly the staff have turned over. Who knows, but I'm glad to hear L'Esprit has upped it's game.

Having been here for 3 weeks now, I'd say it was the best meal on the island that we have had so far.

Sorry JEK for the lack of proper credit for your Sandbar quote!!

Don't forget the ©

Re: L'ESPRIT JEAN CLAUDE DUFOUR - Ridiculously expensive!

Excellent food without a doubt... I can't say that for the check. Hard to swallow. Probably one of the most (ridiculously) expensive places on the island...

Sorry, we won't go back for that reason. There are many more affordable restaurants on the island offering equal (or better) quality & service for the buck.

Re: L'ESPRIT JEAN CLAUDE DUFOUR - Ridiculously expensive!

islander said:

Excellent food without a doubt... I can't say that for the check. Hard to swallow. Probably one of the most (ridiculously) expensive places on the island...

Sorry, we won't go back for that reason. There are many more affordable restaurants on the island offering equal (or better) quality & service for the buck.

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Islander, you seem to be on a contrarian mission these days. The restaurant is one of the most highly rated by the forum based on salutary posts. Is it inexpensive? No, but most consider it to be of high value.

Re: L'ESPRIT JEAN CLAUDE DUFOUR - Ridiculously expensive

JEK, if only you were moderating correctly, I would feel free to post my own opinions on this forum. But it is less and less the case, as recently demonstrated in other threads.
The "contrarian" mission comes from moderators who are not doing their jobs correctly (see here). I receive a lot of PM's and emails (from people who know me) confirming this trend.

You might not like me or at least you seem to have something personal against me (as evidenced by the fact that you did not respond to the issue raised via a PM sent to you, or again on this thread with your last post).

Now, if this was a board where every member is really entitled to his/her opinion, I perfectly would have the right to say what I think of this restaurant (or any other for that matter).

Right??????

A I said, the food is great, the price is crazy and completely out of line with what to be expected on the island. This is not a 3 star Michelin, but the prices are close.

It is outrageous. Fellow forum members should know and be warned before they get there and receive an extremely expensive bill on the table. That's exactly what happened to me 3 weeks ago.

Whatever other think of this place, is their own right and opinion.

Please refer to my post about Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in the French Forum and you "might" understand a little more about how important the freedom of speech is important to French people.

Now, feel free to moderate me once again, and delete this post. No problem!

Islander, I don't always agree with you, but in this case you bring up a good point... what exactly are the moderator's duties? I would think to first and foremost control and curtail the kind of rude behavior that sometimes occurs. But maybe not to contradict a poster's honest opinion. And it is good for people to know what the prices are like at all restaurants before they go, otherwise it can be a rather unpleasant and embarrassing situation. I saw a couple be seated at Esprit, look at the menu, and leave. They must have had sticker shock. I like Jean-Claude and his food, and enjoy going in the off-season when he offers a 55 euro three-course meal. I don't think Esprit is any more expensive than Orega, which has also had good reviews here....

I have always liked Peter O'Keefe's line: when you come to Saint Barth bring a large bag of money. When it's empty: Go Home!

To which I add: How people chose to spend that money is their own business!

was ijean wearing his moderator's hat in the referenced post? i didn't think so, but let's ask him. i thought he was just expressing his opinion, one with which i am in agreement as it happens. and, btw, americans also have this little thing regarding freedom of expression . . .

Oh pleeeeeese, let's not get into the testy-ness , again! There may be newbies reading this thread that actually want to hear opinions about this particular restaurant. I think it would be helpful to them , to produce a menu with prices ( sorry, not good at cut &paste) ....... Both Kara and Gayle have voiced different opinions , as did others.....and yes, every country has a freedom of expression act. Happy?
Anyway, Islander, you said; there are many more affordable restaurants on the island offering equal ( or better) quality and service for the buck; can you give me , and maybe some newbies a list of these restaurants of which you speak, thanks.

LindaP said:

Oh pleeeeeese, let's not get into the testy-ness , again! There may be newbies reading this thread that actually want to hear opinions about this particular restaurant. I think it would be helpful to them , to produce a menu with prices ( sorry, not good at cut &paste) ....... Both Kara and Gayle have voiced different opinions , as did others.....and yes, every country has a freedom of expression act. Happy?
Anyway, Islander, you said; there are many more affordable restaurants on the island offering equal ( or better) quality and service for the buck; can you give me , and maybe some newbies a list of these restaurants of which you speak, thanks.

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Well said Linda! I do think a great addition to resto postings would be taking a picture of the menu which would show pricing and of course, the menu. One use to be able to find many menus and some pricing in the Guest Book St. Barth and even to some extent presently via A la Carte. I think many of the menus and prices change between the time of the advertisement submissions and real time. If I were a person who was actually able to post a picture I would happily do so. This could be a new addition to the resto section. Kevin did a helpful hamburger comparison a while back that was informative. The new "Menu" that is available on-line and at most of the places Le News is available, is a great source of discovering the daily specials at about 20 restos that are participating in advertising via this outlet. kr