Sand Bar another miss

[davesmom]

Had wonderful lunch today. Relaxing vibe, attentive service. Tartare was excellent as always. Wife's watermelon gazpacho was refreshing. We split a lobster roll, which actually had lobster in it, unlike ti corail. Have had a miss or two in the past, but fortunately not to the levels some of you.

That is interesting that you mention Ti' Corail's so called "lobster roll". I think I may have mentioned that what they call a "lobster roll" is more like a chopped up lobster salad and the lobster part was not big chunks of expected lobster. That being said, at ER, I have to say that my lobster roll was more of what I was expecting. I will admit that dinner at ER was more of a hit or miss when it came to service and I still believe that they utilize too many "hospitality stagiaires" because the service is inconsistent. I guess SBH is a great place to be "posted" and do one's internship but who doesn't love coming back to a place that has consistent employees? The challenges of SBH being a small island is understandable, but there have been a number of places where the staff has been there quite awhile and dining has been a better staff experience in those places.

 

[cec1]

That is interesting that you mention Ti' Corail's so called "lobster roll". I think I may have mentioned that what they call a "lobster roll" is more like a chopped up lobster salad and the lobster part was not big chunks of expected lobster. That being said, at ER, I have to say that my lobster roll was more of what I was expecting. I will admit that dinner at ER was more of a hit or miss when it came to service and I still believe that they utilize too many "hospitality stagiaires" because the service is inconsistent. I guess SBH is a great place to be "posted" and do one's internship but who doesn't love coming back to a place that has consistent employees? The challenges of SBH being a small island is understandable, but there have been a number of places where the staff has been there quite awhile and dining has been a better staff experience in those places.

As you note, Gina . . . “

The challenges of SBH being a small island is understandable, but there have been a number of places where the staff has been there quite awhile and dining has been a better staff experience in those places.”

One of the biggest “challenges“ today explains why there’s such high turnover in newer restaurant staff: There’s insufficient affordable housing for them. Those servers who have been in a restaurant for quite awhile generally are blessed with adequate “staff housing.” Newcomers aren’t as fortunate, however, as housing has become VERY difficult to find . . . and what’s available typically is at very high rates. Newly arrived restaurant personnel may be fortunate enough to get employer-provided housing, but it’s crowded & not conducive to building loyalty staff. Without housing support, newcomer staff simply cannot afford housing on the island.

 

[le_reve]

We have been going to the SBIPOA fundraising luncheon at SB for a few years now, and I am always impressed with the food and service during this fun event. That being said, I have not gone to SB for lunch or dinner in years due to some of the misses you all have talked about in this thread. The last time we were there was a Valentine's dinner three or four years ago that was almost laughable in the bad food/bad service categories, so it went off the list. It is a wonderful place for a cocktail, especially at sunset time. It is sad, it was one of our favorite places pre-Irma. And, I will continue to enjoy the fundraiser luncheon in the future, they always hit it out of the park for that - not sure why it doesn't carry over to regular table service.