TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Day 2. Report

Night #2 began with a stroll over to Orient Village to eat dinner. As I said in the Day One report, it was going to be a choice between Le Pimente and Table d'Antoine. I knew going in that Pimente has the higher ratings in TripAdviser, and I had tried to make a reservation there but had failed due to technical reasons on the site. But I was open to Antoine.

As we turned the corner and walked through the archway, we immediately saw Antoine's. Their courtyard looked mighty enticing with the white tablecloths and widely-spaced tables. But we were headed for Pimente. There we were greeted by the congenial woman who seems to lord over the restaurant. She was very enthusiastic and convincing. But I hesitated. The tables were packed together, and the chairs looked uncomfortable. With my back, that can be a deal-breaker. And zero evidence of ambience.

So I hesitated and backed up to look at Antoine's menu. Not nearly as much variety. No enthusiastic greeter. But it looked so nice. Those white tablecloths and all that room was tempting. While I did my indecision dance, one group of diners after another walked past us to be greeted with enthusiasm and shown to their plain, wooden, crowded tables at Pimente. Meanwhile, only two of Antoine's tables were taken. While the tsunami of diners headed into Pimente, our chances for a table in their crowded courtyard were disappearing. The seating options continued to get worse. The white tablecloths beckoned like sirens on a rock.

Fortunately Abby slapped me to my senses, figuratively. This river of diners dying to dine at Pimente was trying to tell us something. This was the place to eat. Forget about those tablecloths. So in we went, and I do mean in. Deep within this narrow restaurant was our table for the night. Right below a Superwoman poster. No white tablecloth. But from then on we had no regrets. There are three very good reason why Pimente is so highly-rated: 1. The food, 2. The service, and 3. The .....wait for it...the ambience. It is a different kind of ambience that no white tablecloth can bring. The restaurant is alive. The servers and diners become one big group family dinner.

Poor Antoine's. One pair of elderly ladies -- at my age there aren't many I can get away with calling elderly -- sat down in Antoine's. (And, by the way, why is the majority of people in Orient north of 50 years old? But that is a question for a whole separate thread.) After they looked at the menu, it was apparent they found themselves in the wrong restaurant. Up they got, and over the wall they came to join everyone at Pimente. They too had been seduced by the white cotton cloth adorning those tables. But tablecloths obviously do not make a restaurant. Now I am sure Antoine's is quite good. But being only slightly second-best in this case makes all this difference in the world.

Caveat: the food a Pimente is not of the same caliber as the food we had had the night before at Astrolabe, nor is it as expensive. But the experience was just as good at Pimente. Everything was wonderful. And we had way more laughs at Pimente.

Then a posse of what looked like "real housewives" passed by with an entire camera crew in tow taping their every move. We were told that it was the cast of a French soap opera called "The House of Many Broken Hearts." Or something like that. Our hostess told us that French soaps are worse than anything that appears on US television. They settled into another restaurant two doors down. Picture keeping with with the Kardashians in SXM. Hmmm, maybe I should pitch that to someone.

Anyway, that was our memorable night #2. Had I chosen those white tablecloths, we never would have had this story to tell.

Today started out a little iffy on Orient Beach. The skies were cloudy, and the wind was stronger. The surf was obviously up compared to yesterday. We could see from our breakfast table that seaweed was rolling in today, where there had been little or none yesterday. When Abby took her walk, she found that the amount of seaweed was correlated with beach location. Club O was essentially untouched, but by Coco Beach the seaweed made walking farther north very difficult. The winds to the northwest were carry the crud in that direction?

I have to back up here to recount what we saw as we approached SXM. From the plane, we saw long tendrils of something brown in the water. It looked gooey enough to be oil. That would be most disconcerting. We asked the pilot, and he told us that we were actually seeing seaweed. Hard to imagine. Well, it was that same brown goo-like stuff that we were seeing from the beach. It was just the usual seaweed, but from a distance the mats of it looked like an oil spill.

After a dusting of liquid sunshine, the weather turned perfect, the wind died down somewhat, and the seaweed stayed offshore waiting to make its next landing invasion at the next high tide I suppose.

In short -- and don't you wish this report were short -- another wonderful day in SXM.

Tonight, our anniversary dinner is at Le Cottage. It a first time for us there. I am hoping for a table on the street-side porch. I wonder if they have white tablecloths?

Enjoyed every single word and I hope you stay for a month!! Thank you for exposing us to places we typically don't experience. But I'm thinking we will down the road......... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I have dined at Le Piment a few times in the past and really enjoyed it. Glad you did too. You will love Le Cottage! It was always a favorite for us for Anniversary dinner.

So much fun to read!!!! I wish I could write like you do..but NEVER will...

Loving your reports! You do have a way with words.

Your almost-review of Table d'Antoine is like my almost-review--never ate there, read the menu numerous times. Same attraction--table cloths, space, first restaurant you see, several bottles of rum. We get confused by the menu--too much, too much tweaking with this spice and that sauce. La Piment--basic entrees done well, with standard sides that are excellent, and a more adventurous menu for those who want more. Table d' on tripadvisor--high ratings--3 out of 4 very happy, but service up and down, I'm guessing can't predict a crowd, so service is inadequate with a crowd. Never have seen it even near capacity. All of the restaurants in the village could take a lesson from La Piment. Piment is always busy and is staffed accordingly with good people--our favorite in the Village. Thanks for the reality check. The side of au gratin potatoes--doesn't get any better. And they have dover sole.

The chef at Le Piment, Sylvain, is fabulous. His style and imagination make his food a notch above the rest. Christelle and he are the owners of the restautant. Christelle is the lord of the restaurant as you have mentioned. Love the way she greets us every time we eat there. We visited Le Piment five times during this past vacation and loved every meal. I will admit that the white tablecloths caught our eyes also and we did eat there one evening. That too was very tasty and very well presented. The after-dinner rum that they give you is nasty-strong. Slept well that night since I had to drink mine and my wife's. And, they leave the bottle on the table if you care for seconds or more. The Madoudou that Le Piment pales in comparison. But, I do love the Banana Vanillae much better. Can hardly wait to see how you enjoy Le Cottage and the experience you have there. Hope you get the table you want. Happy Anniversary!

am LOVING your trip reports so far. We have been going to sxm for almost thirty years...but have never dined in the evening at any of the orient bay restaurants. We do spend almost every day on Orient....and love the food during the day. After reading your reports the last couple of days, next year's visit may have to include a dinner or two in Orient.

Thanks for another good read.

Like I mentioned on your Day one Report, you have me very interested in trying the restaurants at Orient especially Le Pimente.
We are not white tablecloth people anyway. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />
You didn't mention what you had to eat.

I hope you take the time to spend a day at Mullet Bay Beach. I have yet to see seaweed there. If you do, Hopefully it will be a calm day. Then it's the most perfect beach on the island.

Enjoy your dinner at Le Cottage. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> I have often asked for a table out front.

BTW, I loved your elderly comment. Sounds familiar.

Great write up. We've dined at LePiment several times and always enjoyed the food. On our last visit in April Cristelle had the night off which changed the experience. Her passion for describing the specials and talking to us was missed. Food was still great but experience flat because she wasn't there.

Thank you for the report! This is getting me very excited for our upcoming trip (just 3 days away!). We always stay in/near Orient Village and dine at Le Piment at least twice during our visit. Once, we had a group of 6 and there was a bit of a wait @ Le Piment, so we tried Table d'Antoine and it was quite good, definitely worth a try. Le Piment is our favorite though!

You must be there by now. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />
We are back home. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />
Try them both again. Best meal of our trip was Astrolabe. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Wow, now I'm depressed, that you're back home!!!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/cry.gif" alt="" />