Hello all,
I have had great ambitions in the past to post trip reports but never got around to it. We just got back from our first visit in the month of July so I thought I would pass on thoughts. We have been visiting St Barths since 1993 (on our honeymoon) but consistently every year, for about 18/19 years. We recently moved to Texas from NYC and thought a July visit would be a great way to beat the Texas heat and take advantage of low season villa rates.
I really loved St Barths in July. The weather is a bit warmer than February/March but it heated up the villa pool and that made me happy. We had one day of serious rain but the rest of the days were a mix of bright blue and some haze on some days. There were rain showers at night, which I love to hear the sound of on the villa roof. Not sure what I expected but the island seemed to have plenty of visitors, a mix of international and definitely some large American families maybe also, like us, taking advantage of low season accommodation rates. I say low season rates only in reference to hotel/villa rates because that's where the deals end. Restaurants are every bit as expensive as high season and this trip was no different. I am going to scream this at the top of my lungs. THE RESTAURANTS ARE GETTING TOO EXPENSIVE. Nuff said.
We hit most, but not all of our favorites...Dinners: L'sola (Number 1 favorite hands down every year, always go twice), Bonito, Kinugawa (really love this place, food fantastic, got a number of starters as our meal, the best of which was the miso cod in lettuce wraps), L'isoletta, Baz Bar, Toiny, Tamarin. Special note on Tamarin...they have really upped their game in terms of menu and quality of dishes. We had skipped it the last few years. My daughter and her fiancee had the Beef Wellington and talked about it all week. And it was great to see Manu's smiling face greeting us. The man does not age. Lunches: Nikki Beach on Sunday and to my astonishment it was a party, even in July! We went to the Beach club at Toiny twice because it was convenient to our villa AND it is a wonderful place for a tranquil, toes in the sand, lunch. The food was consistently delicious and the service very friendly. Takeway Jo Jo Burger is always one of the highlights for a casual in-villa lunch, never disappoints. And of course, Le Petite Colombe received almost daily visits from us.
For a treat one day, we took advantage of a "Day package" at Gypsea beach club, which included a beach lounger for the day and lunch (entree and main or main and dessert). What a great way to spend the day on the beach. The food was great. My daughter's fiancee is a Texan native and he ordered the "Texas style baby backed ribs" and they got his seal of approval. The ribs were meaty, tender and the sauce as authentic as you are going to get on a French island in the Caribbean.
For the first time ever on all our visits, I cooked a real meal in our villa. (I don't count the roast chicken and sandwiches that we frequently prepare). I am not very good in kitchens not my own but as I have gotten older, shopping in the grocery stores in St Barths has become one of my favorite activities. I love L'Oasis because we have been shopping there forever and it gives such a feeling of familiarity. However, we did check out the new Mono Prix behind Jo Jo Burger and that is great also...they have a large selection of fresh produce and it was fun putting together salad makings. They had a great selection of fresh pasta and all the necessary ingredients for a great pasta sauce. We also checked out the new Epicurean shop near L'Oasis and bought a selection of the most scrumptious salami, prosciutto and cheese. The lady working there gave us little tastes of each item that we bought and we were in heaven. I highly recommend a visit to this little shop. I will be cooking more in future villas.
Just to touch on a topic that has been recently discussed here on the forum...tip solicitations. In the past we have experienced our share of this kind of thing at certain establishments. However, we have begun to make a point of getting Euros out of the cash machine and leave, what we believe to be generous "pourboire" (sorry if I murdered the spelling). I don't think one person solicited for a tip during this most recent trip I am happy to report.
It was a great trip, and our longest at 11 days. The island was lively and I loved not having to deal with the high season crowds. Not one restaurant asked me for a credit card in order to hold a reservation and that was divine. Also, we had our pick of the best tables (on the rail at Bonito for example) without being told that we had to vacate in an hour and half for the next group. Everything and everybody was oh so relaxed. Loved that.
Please do not tell anybody else how great St Barths is in July. To quote a famous lady here on the forum..."AAHHHH St. Barths".
I have had great ambitions in the past to post trip reports but never got around to it. We just got back from our first visit in the month of July so I thought I would pass on thoughts. We have been visiting St Barths since 1993 (on our honeymoon) but consistently every year, for about 18/19 years. We recently moved to Texas from NYC and thought a July visit would be a great way to beat the Texas heat and take advantage of low season villa rates.
I really loved St Barths in July. The weather is a bit warmer than February/March but it heated up the villa pool and that made me happy. We had one day of serious rain but the rest of the days were a mix of bright blue and some haze on some days. There were rain showers at night, which I love to hear the sound of on the villa roof. Not sure what I expected but the island seemed to have plenty of visitors, a mix of international and definitely some large American families maybe also, like us, taking advantage of low season accommodation rates. I say low season rates only in reference to hotel/villa rates because that's where the deals end. Restaurants are every bit as expensive as high season and this trip was no different. I am going to scream this at the top of my lungs. THE RESTAURANTS ARE GETTING TOO EXPENSIVE. Nuff said.
We hit most, but not all of our favorites...Dinners: L'sola (Number 1 favorite hands down every year, always go twice), Bonito, Kinugawa (really love this place, food fantastic, got a number of starters as our meal, the best of which was the miso cod in lettuce wraps), L'isoletta, Baz Bar, Toiny, Tamarin. Special note on Tamarin...they have really upped their game in terms of menu and quality of dishes. We had skipped it the last few years. My daughter and her fiancee had the Beef Wellington and talked about it all week. And it was great to see Manu's smiling face greeting us. The man does not age. Lunches: Nikki Beach on Sunday and to my astonishment it was a party, even in July! We went to the Beach club at Toiny twice because it was convenient to our villa AND it is a wonderful place for a tranquil, toes in the sand, lunch. The food was consistently delicious and the service very friendly. Takeway Jo Jo Burger is always one of the highlights for a casual in-villa lunch, never disappoints. And of course, Le Petite Colombe received almost daily visits from us.
For a treat one day, we took advantage of a "Day package" at Gypsea beach club, which included a beach lounger for the day and lunch (entree and main or main and dessert). What a great way to spend the day on the beach. The food was great. My daughter's fiancee is a Texan native and he ordered the "Texas style baby backed ribs" and they got his seal of approval. The ribs were meaty, tender and the sauce as authentic as you are going to get on a French island in the Caribbean.
For the first time ever on all our visits, I cooked a real meal in our villa. (I don't count the roast chicken and sandwiches that we frequently prepare). I am not very good in kitchens not my own but as I have gotten older, shopping in the grocery stores in St Barths has become one of my favorite activities. I love L'Oasis because we have been shopping there forever and it gives such a feeling of familiarity. However, we did check out the new Mono Prix behind Jo Jo Burger and that is great also...they have a large selection of fresh produce and it was fun putting together salad makings. They had a great selection of fresh pasta and all the necessary ingredients for a great pasta sauce. We also checked out the new Epicurean shop near L'Oasis and bought a selection of the most scrumptious salami, prosciutto and cheese. The lady working there gave us little tastes of each item that we bought and we were in heaven. I highly recommend a visit to this little shop. I will be cooking more in future villas.
Just to touch on a topic that has been recently discussed here on the forum...tip solicitations. In the past we have experienced our share of this kind of thing at certain establishments. However, we have begun to make a point of getting Euros out of the cash machine and leave, what we believe to be generous "pourboire" (sorry if I murdered the spelling). I don't think one person solicited for a tip during this most recent trip I am happy to report.
It was a great trip, and our longest at 11 days. The island was lively and I loved not having to deal with the high season crowds. Not one restaurant asked me for a credit card in order to hold a reservation and that was divine. Also, we had our pick of the best tables (on the rail at Bonito for example) without being told that we had to vacate in an hour and half for the next group. Everything and everybody was oh so relaxed. Loved that.
Please do not tell anybody else how great St Barths is in July. To quote a famous lady here on the forum..."AAHHHH St. Barths".
