7 Dinners & 6 Lunches

BJR

New Member
My husband and I will be first time visitors to St Barts, arriving Sunday, January 15th. This forum has been most helpful in planning our trip. As many of you have said, "too many restaurants, too little time". Dining is an important element in our travels and we enjoy a leisurely experience. Based on KevinS' overview as well as posts by others, here is our choice of restaurants for our 7 night stay. We will be staying at Cheval Blanc, so will certainly dine there.

Lunches(6): Cabane de L'Isle, Sandbar, Gloriette, Shelloma, Nikki, La Plage (We also considered Toiny, Le Sereno, Taiwana)
Dinners(7): La Casa de L'Isle, Bagatelle, On the Rocks, Bonito, Aux Amis, Santa Fe, Francois Plantation (We also considered Toiny & Le Sereno)

We will be traveling & dining with our small (2kg) dog, so it's important that she will be welcome wherever we dine. She has
traveled with us extensively in Europe and US and is very mannerly in restaurants.

Any comments or advice on our restaurant selections would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.:cool:
 
Here are my edits:

Lunch -
Cabane de L'Isle - only do this one if you plan to use their beach lounges after lunch. With the chairs, the lunch is probably worth it, but without, it's well overpriced for what you get. (disclaimer - it's been a couple years since I've eaten here, but we took it off our last based on our last very expensive and unremarkable meal)

Sandbar - great view, but you don't get to use their beach chairs unless you pony up an extra 70(?) euro each. The food is sort of ordinary and certainly not worth the price, but you're paying for the view.

Gloriette - a keeper for sure. Mellow, local vibe. Good food, great prices.

Shelloma - brand new. You may be the first to eat there. I'd skip it in favor of something else. (I'm not really a huge fan of Shell Beach - - very small and not as pretty as three places above, or the ones below)

Nikki - beautiful view and very good food (better than you'd expect). It's a very similar view to what you get at the Sandbar. If I had to do one or the other, I'd do Nikki...........better food.

La Plage - Never eaten there. I've always been a little turned off by the look of the dining room. Maybe the view is great looking out from the tables, but when I look in from the beach, it doesn't look inviting. Lots of people love this place so take my semi-uninformed opinion with a grain of salt.

Consider adding:

Santa Fe - Great food, fantastic view, just up the road from the beach. (we went twice for lunch in Dec)

Tamarin - beautiful garden (of Eden) setting. Truly a tropical oasis. A favorite of many on the forum.


Dinner (a lot of my commentary may sound harsh, so apply grains of salt as needed).

La Casa de L'Isle - Skip it. Too expensive for unremarkable food and no view at night

Bagatelle - I've never been and have little desire to go. It turns into a dance/party place at night which is not my scene at all. I'm not looking to see and be seen.

On the Rocks - Skip it. Way too expensive for way too unremarkable food and no view at night. My wife and I have been wanting and trying to go here for years, but every time we look at the menu, we get bored at the options and outraged at the prices. Half the time, we can't even find anything we really want to order! They have a cocktail hour starting at 5 pm. That might be worth doing as it will still be light out at 5.

Bonito - never been, so no comment

Aux Amis - Skip it. Too expensive for unremarkable food and no view at night. That's a little unfair on my part as I've never been at night (!), but we had a lunch there that was fine although unremarkable and certainly not rave-worthy. It's a beautiful place and the staff is great, but the food is the weak link. It's a better lunchtime option as you can use their chairs and pool after you eat.

Santa Fe - Definitely, although if you only have one meal to devote to Santa Fe, I'd do lunch

Francois Plantation - you may be the first to dine here. Very expensive. I'm turned off to the place based on their prices.

Consider adding:

Cote Port - my new favorite place
Eddys - unique setting and loved by many
Orega - a new place that is loved by nearly everyone (except me.........but it was a fluke of bad service not a systemic problem)
L'Esprit - very gourmet, but very worth it. They charge prices similar to some of the places you list (on the rocks) but, here, the food lives up to the price.
Gloriette - a different menu at night. Great pizzas
 
Good suggestions Bart and I agree about Francois Plantation- I would wait for some reviews. Eddy's and Le Repaire are favorites here.
 
Here are my edits:

Lunch -
Cabane de L'Isle - only do this one if you plan to use their beach lounges after lunch. With the chairs, the lunch is probably worth it, but without, it's well overpriced for what you get. (disclaimer - it's been a couple years since I've eaten here, but we took it off our last based on our last very expensive and unremarkable meal)

The OP is staying there, so lounges will not be an issue . . .
 
I would add Maya's for the unique, no-fills, old time Saint-Barth vibe. Probably the best views of any restaurant.
 
Add Maya's for dinner. Bananiers is quite good and close to your hotel. Add L'Isola for a
fabulous Italian dinner. These are some of my favorites that were not mentioned.
 
others that many here enjoy which are not on your list (in no particular order) : maya's, l'esprit de j-cd, l'isola, le grain de sel.
 
BJR- welcome to the forum. We have stayed at Isle de France (now called Cheval Blanc) many times and also at the adjacent Hotel Taiwana. If you are staying a week and have these lunch/dinners in mind, you will be spending your entire vacation eating. The breakfasts at Isle de France were quite large and we found that we usually didn't need another large lunch. Consider take out at Maya's to Go, le Jardin, or the nearby bakery and have lunch at the beach - usually Goveneurs or Saline. Grain de Sol next to Saline is a favorite for a sit down lunch (plus they have bathroom whereas the beaches don't). When you want to stay at Checal Blanc for the day have lunch there.
For dinners, we enjoy Eddys, Tamarin, Esprit de Saline, Ortega and did like Aux Amis. If you have a hotel package that includes dinner at Cheval Blanc then take advantage of it. The dinner is fine there and easy if you don't feel like driving that night. Enjoy your first trip to paradise.
 
My husband and I will be first time visitors to St Barts, arriving Sunday, January 15th. This forum has been most helpful in planning our trip. As many of you have said, "too many restaurants, too little time". Dining is an important element in our travels and we enjoy a leisurely experience. Based on KevinS' overview as well as posts by others, here is our choice of restaurants for our 7 night stay. We will be staying at Cheval Blanc, so will certainly dine there.

Lunches(6): Cabane de L'Isle, Sandbar, Gloriette, Shelloma, Nikki, La Plage (We also considered Toiny, Le Sereno, Taiwana)
Dinners(7): La Casa de L'Isle, Bagatelle, On the Rocks, Bonito, Aux Amis, Santa Fe, Francois Plantation (We also considered Toiny & Le Sereno)

We will be traveling & dining with our small (2kg) dog, so it's important that she will be welcome wherever we dine. She has
traveled with us extensively in Europe and US and is very mannerly in restaurants.

Any comments or advice on our restaurant selections would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.:cool:

Really, you can't go to dinner without your dog? There are many of us who love dogs, but do not allow them any where near the table. In fact, I will not again eat at Toiny because of a dog getting it's own chair at a nearby table.

That being said, how is your dog around cats? There are a lot of outdoor restaurants in St. Barth with cats nearby, so if your dog has a problem with cats, please be aware.

We love Tamarin (but they have a cat), and L'Esprit (outdoor). Ortega is another great choice (indoor). For less expensive dinners, we like L'Isoleta (pizza), Les Bananniers (sp?) (pizza and seafood), and Carpe Diem (Italian and fish). We have not been to the new Santa Fe, but we loved the old owner, and the new owners seem to have a good reputation on this website.

Your lunch choices look okay, although I was nonplussed about the Sandbar for lunch when we went there a couple of years ago. Go to Nikki on a Sunday (it's wild), and we like LaPlage so much, we go a couple of times per trip (although our service was a bit lacking last year). I'm not sure the restaurant at Tiawana is open (you might want to check with Kevin about that). La Gloriette is always good.

Have a great trip!
 
Here are my edits:

Lunch -
Cabane de L'Isle - only do this one if you plan to use their beach lounges after lunch. With the chairs, the lunch is probably worth it, but without, it's well overpriced for what you get. (disclaimer - it's been a couple years since I've eaten here, but we took it off our last based on our last very expensive and unremarkable meal)

Sandbar - great view, but you don't get to use their beach chairs unless you pony up an extra 70(?) euro each. The food is sort of ordinary and certainly not worth the price, but you're paying for the view.

Gloriette - a keeper for sure. Mellow, local vibe. Good food, great prices.

Shelloma - brand new. You may be the first to eat there. I'd skip it in favor of something else. (I'm not really a huge fan of Shell Beach - - very small and not as pretty as three places above, or the ones below)

Nikki - beautiful view and very good food (better than you'd expect). It's a very similar view to what you get at the Sandbar. If I had to do one or the other, I'd do Nikki...........better food.

La Plage - Never eaten there. I've always been a little turned off by the look of the dining room. Maybe the view is great looking out from the tables, but when I look in from the beach, it doesn't look inviting. Lots of people love this place so take my semi-uninformed opinion with a grain of salt.

Consider adding:

Santa Fe - Great food, fantastic view, just up the road from the beach. (we went twice for lunch in Dec)

Tamarin - beautiful garden (of Eden) setting. Truly a tropical oasis. A favorite of many on the forum.


Dinner (a lot of my commentary may sound harsh, so apply grains of salt as needed).

La Casa de L'Isle - Skip it. Too expensive for unremarkable food and no view at night

Bagatelle - I've never been and have little desire to go. It turns into a dance/party place at night which is not my scene at all. I'm not looking to see and be seen.

On the Rocks - Skip it. Way too expensive for way too unremarkable food and no view at night. My wife and I have been wanting and trying to go here for years, but every time we look at the menu, we get bored at the options and outraged at the prices. Half the time, we can't even find anything we really want to order! They have a cocktail hour starting at 5 pm. That might be worth doing as it will still be light out at 5.

Bonito - never been, so no comment

Aux Amis - Skip it. Too expensive for unremarkable food and no view at night. That's a little unfair on my part as I've never been at night (!), but we had a lunch there that was fine although unremarkable and certainly not rave-worthy. It's a beautiful place and the staff is great, but the food is the weak link. It's a better lunchtime option as you can use their chairs and pool after you eat.

Santa Fe - Definitely, although if you only have one meal to devote to Santa Fe, I'd do lunch

Francois Plantation - you may be the first to dine here. Very expensive. I'm turned off to the place based on their prices.

Consider adding:

Cote Port - my new favorite place
Eddys - unique setting and loved by many
Orega - a new place that is loved by nearly everyone (except me.........but it was a fluke of bad service not a systemic problem)
L'Esprit - very gourmet, but very worth it. They charge prices similar to some of the places you list (on the rocks) but, here, the food lives up to the price.

Gloriette - a different menu at night. Great pizzas[/QUOTE

We've never been to Shelloma, because it is new this year. It has nice sunset views, but I can't comment on the new food.

I love Grain de Sel (only been there for lunch) I think they have the best frites on the island. The salads are really good too. And a decent wine list at decent prices.

Since you are staying at Cheval Blanc, you may not need the advantage of the beach chairs at lunch, but I like eating lunch with my feet in the sand, so I like lunch there. I agree that there is no view at night, so I don't know about dinner there (I think you can get drinks and appetizers during the weekly fashion show).

I am plus/minus about Bonito. When we tried to go for sunset drinks a year ago, they weren't open. Another time, we had awesome sushi from a guest chef.

Never been to Bagatelle because of its reputation as a party place (which we go next door to Baz Bar for, eating some place else beforehand, because they mostly have sushi for food. I know, I just commented about the guest chef sushi at Bonito, but generally speaking, sushi is not my go to food).

We have never been to Cote Port, but might consider it next visit because of Pascal.

Hope you have safe travels!
 
Santa Fe' for lunch instead of dinner; no view at night, spectacular view at lunch. Always see dogs at Les Bananiers and Carpe Diem. Consider adding Eddy's and Le Repaire to dinner instead of Bagatelle (rudest service we ever received on the island). Price does not equate quality in St Barts. Bananiers is at the top of the hill from you, so easy to get to. La Langouste is also on Flamands Beach and has very good food. Have a great trip.
 
While I am a dog lover and have had many in my lifetime, I do not wish to dine next to one or fly with one (as an animal asthma person). Having said that, your restaurant ideas and all suggestions are spot on. Have a great trip!
 
In that case, don't bother eating there at all.............<wink>

My rule is don't eat in the hotel. If nothing more than it forces us to explore.

I would second La Langouste. We've stayed on Flamands twice and love the stroll down the beach. Will do it again this year. Eddy's dinner is a staple as is Santa Fe Lunch (looking forward to the new owner). La Gloriette is great for either lunch or dinner (pizza) - Make sure to pick up some rhums. Grain de Sel was hit and miss both times, so the Saline trip now means Tamarin lunch (Dinner was a wonderful experience, but not the trek back to the villa at night). Loved Orega (they were out of Sea Bass, but the Yuzu tarte made up for it). Finally, we always end the trip with dinner at Maya's.
 
Lots of great great restaurant suggestions in addition to your original choices, but the best advice may be coming from abc:

If you are staying a week and have these lunch/dinners in mind, you will be spending your entire vacation eating.

We also enjoy leisurely dining but two major meals a day, even without a big breakfast, it's way too much food for us. We typically pair our "long, boozy lunches" with a light dinner, maybe even take out, and on alternate days have a beach picnic or Creperie salad when planning a high end dinner. As always, YMMV, but worth thinking about whether you'll really enjoy a full dinner after a 2 hour lunch night after night. Especially when you're wearing a bathing suit every day...:cool:
 
the new le sereno resto has garnered more attention lately paired with positive reviews. and without question a chic ambiance.

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the best dinner in saint-barth is lunch at . . . ©
Agree! And not just Sandbar...we love those "long boozy lunches" at many spots. But I think if we were staying in a hotel, I'd feel differently. One thing that makes the LBL work is being able to enjoy a light dinner poolside at the villa or a casual meal at one of the low key spots.
 
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