TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Monday and Tuesdat so far

As I said, yesterday we went to El Zafiro for the first time. We enjoyed it immensely. Nicole and Ed greeted us and sat us. Wonderful people. Ivana was our hostess for the day. The service was great, drinks great, lunch even better. Grace had the chicken, I had the ribs and Carol and Rob had the Chicken club. As I said, it was outstanding.

Sand gravity really set in and we didn't leave until almost 5. We were still stuffed from lunch so we decided to stay in, eat cheese and crackers and drink wine.

We enjoyed it so much we decided to go again today. This time for breakfast on the beach. Terrific. Just got back and it looks like a trip to Grand Case for Calmos and Il Nettuno.

Are they actually preparing food at El Zafiro now or is it still being brought in?

The kitchen at el Zafiro has been open for quite some time now.

Thanks, I was not aware of that.

Hi, J.D.,

Regarding ElZafiro's kitchen, we had both breakfast and lunch there back in April, actually a couple of times now that I think about it, and both were enjoyable. Reasonably priced, both, and one morning we even got to meet and spend a few minutes with the owners infant daughter, Bella. Very cute little girl.......

Re the meals, they weren't anything too fancy but still good for a basic all included day at the beach. Easy parking, free chairs with food, good bar with full beach service and the staff were all very pleasant. Certainly not up to Dreams standards (or prices for that matter....) but a very nice day regardless.

Now that I've said all that, I hope it doesn't become so popular you can't find a place to park either your car or your body as was the case with Karakter the last time we were there.

Glad to hear El Zafiro may be hitting its stride now. Like that place.

Yesterday it was the 4 of us and another group of 4 for most of the day. Later in the afternoon a family of 4 showed up. Today we had breakfast there and then the joint got jumpin. They had almost a full house all afternoon. Happy for them

As Pat pointed out, the food is not fancy but it's very good beach food. And as Pat knows, it's pretty close to where we are. SSBB was a mob scene. Mullet parking lot was wall to wall. We were very happy in our spot under the Palms.

Il Nettuno is no more. Ramon sold the place several years ago. Very different menu, so check it out first. Not very good reviews from several people that have dined there recently.

It's no longer called Il Nettuno?? We haven't been there for a long time, but it used to be one of our favorites in Grand Case..

They were reviewed onTA in June, albeit it wasn't good.

I don't know what people are talking about. We had a great meal and great service at a lovely waterside table. Having not been there in the past, I suppose I can't comment on Ramon, but if it was better than we had last night I am sorry I missed it.

I really don't read Trip Advisor restaurant reviews, but if it was only one bad review, that's not that big a deal.

Glad Rick and Grace had a good meal.

Rick and Grace,

The secret to Mullet and the beach parking lot is get there early and, IMHO, NEVER park in the center of the lot where the ground has eroded around the rocks jutting up and out of the ground. People will almost always form a third row in the center if the beach is busy, blocking the people in the center completely and making leaving a pain in the neck. We generally back into the outer perimeter of the lot and we leave ABSOLUTELY NOTHING anywhere in the car. We leave the cardoors unlocked and the windows down. At that point, if someone wants to get into the car at least they won't smash the glass or break the door locks as happened to us there once many years ago.

And with regard to IlNettuno, we hadn't been back for probably twenty plus years and returned a year and a half ago. It was different from our memories but still very enjoyable. We were told it had just changed hands so is this ANOTHER change in ownership?

Surprised Mullet would have been so busy on Monday or Tuesday this time of year? Other than on the weekend, it never appeared that busy when we drove by in June..

Okay, I have to admit I've never been to the island in June, July or August, but the actual Mullet Beach parking lot has always been tough to get a spot in anytime of year we've been there if you go after 11:00 or so.

The year our car was broken into, we had been to P'berg that morning and back to the Towers and decided to head over and get some ribs for lunch. Guess we should have walked over....... We ended up parking in the very back of the lot (away from the beach) because that was the only area that was still open short of parking in the center island. We got our ribs, enjoyed our lunch and returned to the car and in that short span of time our car had been vandalized along with every other car along that back row facing the tall grass.

OK, we are always there before 11 AM regardless..

Try lunch at Mary Boon's on Simpson Bay. Free Chairs and umbrella with lunch. Become a Boonie for a day! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

As of this winter Ramon was back as the owner of Il Nettuno having to take it back from the people he sold to. I have not seen him now for a few months so possibly he has resold it but everyone raved about the food once he was back in charge.......

We loved El Zafiro when we were there last February. Cannot wait to try it again as it sounds like it has only improved!!