Favorite restaurants?

He is the wine buyer, but all three have been there every time I've eaten there.
 
Isn't Mahé mostly running the show these days?
. . . not when Eddy &/or Brigette is/are there (especially the latter!). In addition, the long time chef pretty much "runs" the kitchen (great deference given to the chef by all of them, with Eddy clearly having influence . . . which he rarely chooses to exercise).
 
This is the last time (I promise) and I know at this point I am beating a dead horse--but it is was really shockingly bad (and i didn't even have a bad table, which can really pis* me off). But, hey, it was sold out!

mkunst,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience at Eddy's, one of my long time favorites.
 
Admittedly we're a bit out of touch with the current scene! That said, Le Repaire was always solid for lunch, and La Plage, though somewhat uneven, was a truly fun place for a 4-top or more of friends and acquaintances! Especially when a fashion show blossomed... ;)
 
hey hey,
thanks for the thread! Very interesting reading about everyone's experiences at all the variety of restaurants on the island. I've been visiting SBH since only 2009 (10,13,15,16 - the island is addictive ;) ) and seen a fair amout of turnover but also a good amount of spots that are holding on strong thru the years. Restaurants are a touch and go proposition in NYC/Toronto cannot imagine running one on an island with no resources.
Back to the thread - In my personal experiences, I have found that the cost of a menu has absolutely no impact on the service or food quality. I've had some terrible food at expensive places and good food at "cheap" spots. Some of my biggest standouts:
- Grain de Sel: visit everytime for lunch, due to location to my favourite beach. Food is always prepared well and solid value, however sadly the service really ranges (really good to really, really bad - never terrible), and a lunch can be a 2 hour affair, but I always go.
- Maya's (polarizing place I know) its pretty solid, the food is not fancy, simple really and way overpriced but I personally have had good service here and the crowd is nice.
- Nikki Beach (a chain, but a chic one) I find the food and service much better than you would expect at such a place. A lunch here is lots of fun, not the case in many other spots.
- Le Tamarin (another polarizing spot) - again in my experiences here very solid. The menu certainly is not the most exciting one on the island however the service level is very high here.
- Isoleta, I like the pizza here, the casual yet chic feel and again I've had very good service here.
- The Hideaway (well liked on this board), tried this spot 3 different visits (with friends) and sorry but I find the food sucks and the staff here is about the rudest on the island that I've experienced.
- L'Entracte - another solid "value" pick and good service. Sad that the pizzas are not being done there anymore though.
- Le Select - love love this place but for the vibe, people and strong drinks only, I find the burgers here vile.

This trip I am set to try out (for the 1st time): Bonito and Orega. I have high expectations and will report back!
cheers, T
 
Black Ginger.

hello there!
just curious - have you eaten in the restaurant? I have taken out food from their adjacent food counter and found the food quite poor quality (especially for the price) maybe the sit down is better? merci!
 
Interesting feedback, thomasj . . . thanks for your thoughts. A couple of questions / comments: (a) Re: Hideaway, are you speaking of experience before Andy left the restaurant (about two years ago) . . . or since operations were taken over by Hafida? (b) Please let me know what you think of L'Isoleta after you try it on your upcoming trip . . . prices have gone up, in my opinion, rather significantly. Food's still great, but no longer a relative bargain. (c) Have you tried La Gloriette? and (d) if you haven't tried it, go to Le Repaire . . . not high profile or glamorous, but very nice staff & generally very good food, relative to price. (I particularly like going there for breakfast.)
 
hello there!
just curious - have you eaten in the restaurant? I have taken out food from their adjacent food counter and found the food quite poor quality (especially for the price) maybe the sit down is better? merci!
Hey, Thomas! I have ONLY eaten in the restaurant (5 times) and the one negative I can say is: Last summer I dined with two friends and we each ordered something different so we could pass our dishes around the table giving us each the opportunity to taste three separate items. One friend ordered that what I would normally order so I chose to order something unique. I did and while it wasn't awful, it was too spicy and cream-heavy for my taste. The service is always exceptional and I find the value to quality ratio exceptional. Now, with that being said, I mean, how expensive can Pad Thai be? :D And, a couple of glasses of wine added to the bill still allows me to call the experience budget-friendly.

I'm sorry your experience wasn't up to par and do hope you'll give Black Ginger another chance. The interior of the restaurant ALONE is worth a sit down. All this in my opinion, of course.
 
Re: Hideaway - Lately we've been spending our first two nights in St. Jean, and the Hideaway has been our traditional first-night meal. The food we had in December was good, but I think it was a step or two down from what it was when Andy was there. We liked the pizza best out of everything we ordered. The service on the other hand was great. Our server was an impossibly bubbly and high energy young woman who just arrived from France a couple weeks prior (probably mid to late November). She was an absolute blast, and the complete opposite of rude. Hafida (who we don't know other than eating there once a year) came over to our table and greeted us with hugs and kisses like we were Phil and Amy!
 
"Hafida (who we don't know other than eating there once a year) came over to our table and greeted us with hugs and kisses like we were Phil and Amy!"

The pizza and greeting from Hafida the first night on the island is worth the visit for us. Last trip we returned a second night just for that very reason.
 
Just an update-- our best meals included dinner at Santa Fe (gnocchi with truffles), dinner at Esprit (the most attentive wine service ever!), lunch at Cabana de Isle (truffle pasta, grilled lobster), and dinner at Orega (everything was outstanding). On the Rocks had memorable moments but the entire dinner felt rushed-- and expensive! Black Ginger was very good-- but also a very quick meal-- I think they needed our table for a later reservation. I was also disappointed in Tamarin-- it had always been one of my favorites, but lunch was a very small menu and the meal was just ok. The re-design was beautiful, though! On the flip side, La Plage for lunch took almost 3 hours. The lobster was good, but not as good as Santa Fe. Pics coming soon.

Wonderful trip, crazy weather (a boat washed up on St Jean and caused Nikki Beach to close for 2 days!), but so so good to be back!!!
 
this boat?

15966164_10155021036329301_115979330514666449_n.jpg
HB's FB
 
It wasn't just the boat. The high surf, lack of beach, and restaurant full of sand had an impact too.
 
Agree with mgk5u, that the gnocchi with truffles at Santa Fe is delicious. I think that was my favorite dish of our vacation. I would absolutely order this again. I even asked for more bread so I didn't leave any sauce behind.

What happened to the beach at Nikki's? Is there missing beach by La Plage?

C
 
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