La Langouste review

This afternoon a lunch at La Langouste. I’m sorry if I offend here someone with this statement, but this really was the worst meal of the trip and it’s hard to see why this place has been so popular.

As it is too easy to be very critical and tear down a restaurant in just a few sentences I will be more specific about the meal:
-crab tiramisu. This was actually the best dish of today. Well executed and full of delicate crab flavors, well balanced by tomatoes and guacamole.
-lobster bique. This was a creamy soup without any distinct flavor of lobster. Tasted blind, this could be anything.
- lobstersalad with avocado, orange and grapefruit. This was a very bland dish.
- creole platter was very nice and full of interesting flavors and textures.
- lambshank braised for 8 hours but unfortunately overcooked. Flavors where onedimensional and it was difficult to finish this dish.
- yellow curry with scallops and shrimps. The scallops and shrimps where cooked decently but there was barely a curry flavor in it, making the dish very bland.
- ile flottante was great. The meringue was delicate and very airy, the addition of caramel and sugared nuts made it a very tasty dish.
- coffee crème brulee was very good as well. Deep intense flavor of coffee was well balanced by the burnt sugar.

So 4 good dishes, and 4 bad ones, you could say that with a bit of luck I chose the right dishes and had a much better meal. However, the ambiance was dreadful and the two woman serving indifferent. The occupancy was just about 35%, and the place looks worn out in a non charming way. It looked like the two woman of the staff that they hated their job badly and wanted to leave SB as soon as possible. What a joyless place! 12/20 (based on the good dishes)

Oh boy. Downhill since Benjamin left.

Sven,
Here is my report from 2-weeks ago. We used to love La Langouste, mainly when Benjamin was in charge:
https://www.sbhonline.com/forums/showthread.php/98625-Part-8-November-Trip-Report?p=1020155#post1020155

dadto6 said:

Sven,
Here is my report from 2-weeks ago. We used to love La Langouste, mainly when Benjamin was in charge:

Hello Kent,
La Langouste is also very special however, not the same for us after Benjamin left for Miami, IMHO. We enjoyed having dinner at La Langouste on his departure night, how special it was. We miss Benjamin greatly, he was so gregarious and fun to spend time speaking with whenever we dined there which was many, many times. During his stewardship, I ranked La Langouste just behind L'Esprit, no longer.

Our recent visit last week was slightly disappointing, the three ladies running the floor were a little snippy and appeared disorganized and chaotic. Granted we were a group of 11 but there were only 4-other couples dining for a total of 8 other diners. When one of our guests brought to their attention, upon delivery of his meal, "this is not what I ordered". The waitress was aggressive and said "this is exactly what you ordered", even though, we all heard him place his order which was not what she delivered. Begrudgingly, she said "I will get you what you think you ordered". ​

Click to expand...

I have read it two weeks ago, but hoped that I was just an incident. But I wish that I listened to you, what a waste of money!

Hi Sven,
I have been to St. Barths 19-times in the past 5-years. The Island is my Happy Place, extremely special place for sure. I have traveled extensively in my life, so relieved I found St. Barths. I work extremely hard when back at home in D.C., I appreciate my time on St. Barts to relieve stress with Anita and my family. I can only take a week off at a time due to work constraints, so everyday is valuable. I attempt to be as candid as possible with my reporting, I desire to assist others that view this Forum, as I respect the truth. I know sometimes a restaurant can have an off night but I believe there is too many disappointments with La Langouste recently, so it was just not me.

I'm very sorry to read this. We enjoyed many great lunches and dinners at La Langouste. Benjamin was a wonderful host.

As with QG reading your reviews Bob and Miani, we just cancelled La Langouste for tomorrow at lunch.

Bill,
I remember reading a couple weeks prior that you posted that you cancelled QG. Did you just not go there last week?

Me too. looks like we will be taking our day at Flamands to Chevel Blanc.

Hopefully this is just a bad moment in time. We've been going 2-3 times each visit the past several years and love the place. Do miss Benjamin, but have no plans on canceling any upcoming reservations based on a single review. Of course we also love Maya's and Orega and are fed up with the consistently inconsistent Grain de Sel, so what do we know.

We have never eaten at La Langouste but we went (tried?) for lunch last visit. After finding parking and walking around and walking into the restaurant the staff begrudgingly looked up from their phones and plates just long enough to curtly tell us they weren't open. I can't remember what it was but I asked them something after that (probably asking when do they open or something about making a reservation) and it was obvious as stated by the OP that they either hated or didn't care about their jobs and/or us as customers so we just walked out. Nothing is more of a turn-off to me in a restaurant than indifferent or nasty service.

Want to go to Flamands for lunch? We went to Chez Rolande today and had the Dorade. It was delicious. Chez Rolande is a small outdoor restaurant frequented by locals. We have been there several times and the food is always good.

kent1994 said:

Want to go to Flamands for lunch? We went to Chez Rolande today and had the Dorade. It was delicious. Chez Rolande is a small outdoor restaurant frequented by locals. We have been there several times and the food is always good.

Click to expand...

”Like!”

kent1994 said:

Want to go to Flamands for lunch? We went to Chez Rolande today and had the Dorade. It was delicious. Chez Rolande is a small outdoor restaurant frequented by locals. We have been there several times and the food is always good.

Click to expand...

One of my secret places and not many reviews here. I’m taking my kids there for a true sense of what St Barts used to be.

I can’t bring myself to cancel our reservation. Walking the beach to dinner after the Cheval fashion show is such a treat. Fingers crossed we hit the restaurant when the staff is in a good mood.

kent1994 said:

Want to go to Flamands for lunch? We went to Chez Rolande today and had the Dorade. It was delicious. Chez Rolande is a small outdoor restaurant frequented by locals. We have been there several times and the food is always good.

Click to expand...

Driven by multiple times for several years. Saw a mention in one of the freebies and stopped for lunch. Loved it. I had the curried dorade and the wife the dorade grillée. A couple of cold Caribs. Made for a perfect lazy lunch. Nice crowd. Speaking some French a definite plus.

We had dinner there in December. The Sole was very good, the same as always.

Enjoyed the sole for lunch today! Our new server was charming and tried so hard to get things worth. Her smile was delightful and we wish her well. True, we too miss former host Benjamin and his smooth running the dining room.

Bob
We cancelled one booking and tried QG for dinner. We enjoyed it and said we might return. In retrospect, we have decided too many better places and plan not to return.
We have Fish Corner coming up for lunch next week and people here (locals) are telling us how much they love their tuna tacos and octopus. Can’t wait.
We cancelled both our bookings for La Langouste after hearing more bad reviews from others here in addition to those posted on the Forum. Benjamin was an important part of the team there.
Chez Rolande has consistently good food and there’s nothing like a cold beer after a hike to Colombier for just a couple of Euros.

We love the walk on Flamands and always bring treats from the bakery up the hill. Stopped at Chez Rolande last year and it was closed. Will make the effort to eat there in May