A Very Brief Recap

[cassidain]

Food/Drink First

New for us - Nyama, Mamo, Pearl Beach

Very much liked all three

Nyama - engenders tender feelings
Mamo - sexy and very good
Pearl Beach - fills a gap we've needed filling for quite a while

Le Piment - under appreciated by most here

Al Mare - first time for dinner and surpassed expectations

Fish Corner - solid lunch option in town

Toiny Beach Club - should be on everyone's list . . . especially newbies

Tamarin - in top handful for best food on island and that setting

L'Isoletta - solid budget dinner option in town

Ti Corail - two lunches . . . one home run, one batter-hit-by-pitch

L'Isola - haters gonna hate, but best overall dining experience on the island

Viennoiseries Etc - JR to Go was hands down the best; Eden to Go is now the best; ChokolaVany next; then all the rest


Other Thoughts

Only a single tip solicitation in 9 days

Traffic is pretty crazy (at certain times)

The charm is still there if you know where to look

It is definitely still a French island

Odile is just the best

Hoping 2026 sidewalks go all the way to GCdS

Parking spaces near Bruyn saved the day on several occasions (pss - don't tell anyone)

A highlight - encountering Bruno one evening and having a little chat

If my lottery ticket ever wins, I'm still choosing Pointe Milou for my villa

 

[dadto6]

Thank you, CASS, for taking the time to post such a nice recap. Well, Done!!

 

[GMP62]

Wonderful review, Cass! Thanks for sharing your opinions and glad that you and Mrs. Cass had a lovely vacation.

 

[Rocket]

NIce, thanks and Odile is the best

 

[Dennis]

Good summary, Cass. Glad y'all had a good time!
Any notable Negronis?

 

[cassidain]

Since you ask
L’Isola’s cocktail list has strangely shrunken from quite extensive and interesting into a handful of what I would categorize as ChickDrinks.
We had Negroni’s there both times.
Again strangely, I asked for a Negroni Bianco first, then a Cynar Negroni, and they were unable to make either.

 

[cassidain]

We had Vespers at Mamo and Tamarin.
Good job on both.

 

[elgreaux]

Tamarin seems to have bounced back from "meh" to very good this year which is nice to see, as Cass says, the setting is quite lovely and they have a new tree - a fromagier (kapok) tree - replacing the old tamarind tree that died....

 

[shihadehs]

Nice report. Heading down tomorrow and looking forward to trying Mamo and Nyama.
Glad to hear the charm is still there…we will find it also..

 

[KevinS]

Tamarin seems to have bounced back from "meh" to very good this year which is nice to see, as Cass says, the setting is quite lovely and they have a new tree - a fromagier (kapok) tree - replacing the old tamarind tree that died....

To their credit, the Tamarin owners appear to have done things mostly right with the tree replacement. They worked with the Collectivité to get permission to remove the beloved dead/dying tree, and they’ve sourced a tree which will become as massive as the old tree. Could they have sourced a Tamarin instead of a Fromager/Kapok? Perhaps, perhaps not, but I give them credit for at least sourcing a massive tree that is possibly more native than a Tamarin.

 

[Bart -my real name-]

No visit to L'Esprit?

 

[cassidain]

I know L'Esprit is very popular here, and I think J-C is one of the top chefs on the island, but after a half dozen plus dinners there, we finally concluded that we just come away every time underwhelmed with the overall experience.

 

[Cwater]

So glad you have discovered Pearl.

 

[cassidain]

So glad you have discovered Pearl.

Moi aussi !
Not sure why it was never really on our radar, though we really rarely go to the beach and, if we do, not Saint-Jean.

 

[Cwater]

Moi aussi !
Not sure why it was never really on our radar, though we really rarely go to the beach and, if we do, not Saint-Jean.

Probably the reason I have never seen you on the beach!

 

[davesmom]

Nice to try new things! There are so many that we missed out on, so maybe next time

 

[cec1]

Food/Drink First

New for us - Nyama, Mamo, Pearl Beach

Very much liked all three

Nyama - engenders tender feelings
Mamo - sexy and very good
Pearl Beach - fills a gap we've needed filling for quite a while

Le Piment - under appreciated by most here

Al Mare - first time for dinner and surpassed expectations

Fish Corner - solid lunch option in town

Toiny Beach Club - should be on everyone's list . . . especially newbies

Tamarin - in top handful for best food on island and that setting

L'Isoletta - solid budget dinner option in town

Ti Corail - two lunches . . . one home run, one batter-hit-by-pitch

L'Isola - haters gonna hate, but best overall dining experience on the island

Viennoiseries Etc - JR to Go was hands down the best; Eden to Go is now the best; ChokolaVany next; then all the rest


Other Thoughts

Only a single tip solicitation in 9 days

Traffic is pretty crazy (at certain times)

The charm is still there if you know where to look

It is definitely still a French island

Odile is just the best

Hoping 2026 sidewalks go all the way to GCdS

Parking spaces near Bruyn saved the day on several occasions (pss - don't tell anyone)

A highlight - encountering Bruno one evening and having a little chat

If my lottery ticket ever wins, I'm still choosing Pointe Milou for my villa

Fantastic, succinct reporting! Merci!