TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Canoa and Rum and Peas

The owner of Canoa in Oyster Pond has recently opened the new Rum and Peas Restaurant in Simpson Bay. It is not surprising that the reviews have been good as we have enjoyed dining at Canoa in the past and have always enjoyed the food and service there.Wishing them much success in this new endeavour.

Where is Rum & Peas?

I was very enthusiastic when I saw the building.

It's made up of several containers.

We tried it and they still need a little adjustment. There was hardly anybody there and it took a long time to be served and even more to get pay the check.

The menu should be a little more exciting if the want people to stop off there, the neighborhood is not very attractive.

Funny, I knew that was what the building was made of and that would NOT have made me enthusiastic in the slightest. Where is it, exactly?

Somewhat close to Pineapple Pete.

I wonder if the same people who complain about Mark's Place being in a parking lot will accept a restaurant built of shipping containers?

Across the street from PP or same side of the street? Honestly, eating in a shipping container sounds terrible to me. I have to assume they have a/c in those things, as they would have to be hot as hades inside.

Same side as PP, just before the Casino when driving towards Cole Bay.

You don't eat inside, they have built several outside areas.

Same side of the street as PP.

It appears to be open air and not actually in a container but they kind of make the structure from what I could see driving by.

OK, so that's the kitchen and bathrooms, then, I presume?

Shipping containers are all the rage in building now. There's actually a show on HGTV about building homes from them. David always wanted to build one, or a house out of silos. Fortunately I prevailed, lol.

OK, I don't get the attraction, but I guess I'm out of the loop. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

I think it's about re-purposing something that would otherwise end up in a landfill. I'm with you, though!

This is a Caribbean style restaurant and not gourmet dining, thus a casual atmosphere and some favorite Caribbean foods as suggested by the name. Friends who live there and appreciate good Caribbean food ate there recently and really enjoyed it.It is nice to have another casual restaurant in Simpson Bay offering good food at reasonable prices. Variety is the spice of life!

We have eaten lunch there twice. Great service, interesting food quite a varied menu.
Loved the container concept, very comfortable

Honestly, I find that they have done a good job with the containers.

I'm not a great fan of containers but the used them in a pretty innovative way.

It's just a pity that the menu is so bland and the service so badly organized.

I'm not sure that they will last, customers are few and far between.

I also expected a large collection of Rhum and Rhum based cocktails, alas hardly any...

We had a menu/flyer on our car last night from the restaurant. Appears to be around 30+ menu items and some daily specials. Like with anything different, it is personal taste and some items did look interesting. I am guessing they are trying to drum up some Regatta business with passing the flyers in the area.

We had an early dinner at Rum &Peas last night. Did not find the menu "uninteresting", and certainly not " bland". Had the Caribbean Mania burger, Churrasco steak, Bajan Ribs and Chicken Curry. Only negative of the food was that the curry had boned chicken and made it hard to eat. Everyone liked what they ordered. Only real negative was that they advertise "Traffic Jam 2/1 cocktails, but there is only 1 you can order. Last night it was Tequila Sunrise.
If you can get over the screwup on the drinks, it has an interesting menu, food we enjoyed, and $3 Caribs. We will be back.
Oh, by the time we left, (7:30 or so) the place was hopping.

Yes, the place has a nice vibe inside and the menu looked very interesting.

Authentic Caribbean curries have the bones in the meat; it adds to the flavor of the overall dish. The menu certainly does sound interesting! Another one to add to the list.

That's what I was going to say, like jerk, they just hack the bones with a big cleaver and throw the whole business in!!

Not an issue, but the bowl was a bit small, making cutting it a bit of a challenge. Still would return. A fun place!

OK, sorry, didn't realize that was the issue. Actually I would thought they should have served that on a plate to begin with.

Check out their menu online. Some nice photos too.

Saw a picture of it on TripAdvisor. Looks rather welcoming. Nice job putting it all together. What is the web site to see the menu?
If interested here are some reviews and a picture on TripAdvisor.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi..._St_Martin.html

I don't trust Tripadvisor at all. There are so many places that lack good service and food that "manage" to get good ratings.

surprised they don't offer rotis (filled wrap, not just skin)...surprisingly it's not that easy to find decent roti in SXM...but we did finally discover the Melting Pot in Simpson Bay last December...pretty good west indian island food...run/owned by a Trini, so you know it's authentic <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" />

Wow Rotis, just like in India

If you click on your tripadvisor post, their website is to the right of the picture, right over directions to get there. Their menu looks fabulous!

For Indian cuisine I recommend Shiva Shakti on the road to Pelican Key.

I lived in India and believe me, it really brings back vibrant memories of the subcontinent.

People that post the reviews there are just as reliable as the people that post here on ttol.

The PEOPLE may be reliable. However, Trip Advisor ratings are so easy to 'game' that they are pretty worthless.

I'm referring to the reviews of actual people that have been there. No different than people posting their experiences and trip reports here.

As I said, way too easy to game. All people have to do is register again and again and again and post a great review for their family member that owns a certain restaurant or other business. Happens ALL the time....

Didn't eat there but stopped by on our way to the airport. Really looks cute and menu looks good!

I'll agree to disagree. A lot of reviews are totally legit.

Little Jerusalem is no. 1 in Simpson Bay on Tripadvisor, I went there 2 weeks ago with 2 friends, we got severe food poising.

That is just an example.

You can trust what feels ok for you.

"Severe food poisoning " as in requiring a visit to the ER ( as would be needed)?
That's quite a damning statement, but I hope you are feeling better by now and can eat solid foods.

We are on island now and had dinner there twice. We were very happy with the food, menu, service and atmosphere. We enjoy different places for different reasons. This is casual dining with an interesting menu.

Couldn't agree more. In Italy there is a restaurant that has the best Tripadvisor reviews of the whole town. There is just one problem: It doesn't exist.

Previously posted about this place in "New Restaurant" Thread last month. Stopped in for lunch and found the food to be very good and seasoned just enough to let you know it was there but not spicy enough not to eat it. Had the Mahi and Johnny cake sandwich with French fries. Service was good(only another 2 tables were occupied). will definitely go back on our trip next year.