TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Upscale lunch..

For years, we have gone out to really nice lunches--Dreams, Kakao, etc. However, this year we are struggling to think of places that would suit that mold. Would prefer someplace with at least a view of the ocean, although it's not an absolute necessity. Any suggestions??

Make a day of it and go to Pinel. Yellow Beach and Karinubi are in full operation. Mary's Boon too.

We haven't been to Pinel in years and years. Is there a menu for either Yellow Beach or Karibuni online? Do they have chair service there with wine served in a glass glass?? .

Not sure that Mary's Boon would qualify for what we want, but it is on the list for consideration..

Carol; when we stayed at BSV in January we had a lunch 4 times at El Zafiro and it was great. Even better we only had to walk 50 yards from BSV. We have had many lunches over the last 3 years at El Zafiro and never had a bad meal. Enjoy your trip and I am sure you will be impressed at the remodeled/restored BSV.
John Hill

Sorry, all our experiences at El Zafiro have been dismal. The location is beautiful, but all our experiences there have been bad.. I would never consider them upscale..

If you have not been to Mary's Boon lately you need to go back. The redo after the hurricane is amazing and the food and service excellent. I don't really get El Zafiro. Been twice, nothing special at all and a bit overpriced.

It is my understanding that Friar's opened back up which may fit a bit closer to Dreams, La Playa and Kakao. I did not eat at Marys Boon this last trip but it is probably in the upper tier right now. As for El Zafiro, it has improved dramatically and I am not sure when that took place but from range of options to quality it is a different experience. I was surprised, very pleasantly surprised, and while not at the level of what Dreams was it is pretty good now. I heard they got a new chef, not sure when that happened. I would guess you could get some recent reviews from the BSV crowd as they were a fairly steady stream of business while we were there mid May.

I heard very mixed reviews on Rainbow in Grand Case, and less than positive on Kokomo.

If there was one thing we missed having on island is a few days at places like La Playa, and our regret was not eating at El Zafiro earlier in the week.
Cheers,
T

What about the Lotterie Farm??? I think i heard that they have reopened??? It is not a beach day there....but it is a totally wonderful experience. Just a thought.

Attended a birthday party at El Zafiro about a month ago and the food was just as abysmal as always. If they have a new chef in recent weeks we will wait for a few more decent reviews before wasting our $ again.

While not at the level of Dreams, Mary's Boon does have chair service and wine in REAL glasses.

From all reports, Rainbow has been pissing off all their customers with lousy service.

Yes. Yellow beach serves wine in stemed glass glasses. Don't recall the menus on there web page or Facebook page. We plan on going there again early next week and I'll try and take a picture of the menu and pm you it.

During our recent trip we had lunch one day at Mary's Boon. The salad we had was excellent, and the service was great. Not Dreams, by any stretch of the imagination, but still good. Karakter was disappointing; their food just isn't what it used to be. We tried to go to Kokomo, but were treated so rudely when we arrived that we left. We also tried to go to Rainbow, but they were closed on a Monday, even though their signage said they were closed on Tuesday, not Monday.

Thanks everyone for the replies. I had already eliminated Rainbow from consideration, as have heard too many bad stories. And I am terrified of the road to go to Kokomo, so that probably is out. We have been disappointed with Karakter the past few times, and their chairs are just way too close, so had eliminated that also. We may well try Mary's Boon. Scuba--if you could take a picture of the menu at Yellow Beach (and Karibuni too please!!) I'd really appreciate it!!/ Never been to Friars, so I guess that is a possibility.

Lunch at FBBC is definitely upscale (or it was the last time I was there). Be aware that they don't take credit cards.

As to the road to Kokomo, it was under construction when we went, and we had to detour over a lot of unpaved areas; it was pretty harrowing. And I don't care how good the food is, I'll never go back. I prefer to give my business to people who appreciate it.

Georgia--OK, thanks regarding FBBC and will definitely strike Kokomo off the list!!

What about Phillipsburg?? Anyplace there, anyone?

Holland House in Phillipsburg.

I thought about HH. Have you eaten there? How good a view do they have from the restaurant? I know it's right by the cruise ship dock.

We ate several times at Kali's on Friars Bay. Food & service very good. Philipsburg we have eaten at chez delphine on the boardwalk ( I think it's open) more towards end of beach closer to greenhouse, Good food & service, we had chicken with coconut cream sauce. Also greenhouse was very good as well in January.
Glad you are going!

Used to go to Holland House for breakfast with Annie. Food was good and the view is to die for! They have a very good reputation.

I do want to get downtown, so we will probably shoot for HH one day. Still open to other suggestions.

I have always heard stuff about bad odors at Friars? And how far a walk is it to Kali's or FBBC from where you park?

If Ocean view is not necessary, but you want upscale, you could try Isola.
Not sure if they are open for lunch, especially in low season.

Lots of good reviews about Tropicana in Marigot!!
Great view of the Marina.

Not really interested in Italian, as we very rarely eat Italian on island.

Is Tropicana open?? I'm really kind of leery to go anywhere in Marigot, even during the day, except for Super U..

I don't know their schedule, but there were so many great reviews on Facebook for Tropicana..

The day we went to the Market, we walked through and it was packed.
I think you may need a reservation for lunch.
There are also tables outside over the water.

If I hadn't just had the greatest shake type drink, at the trailer next to the market, I may have
stayed for lunch.

Pate de la Main and La Petite Alberge were both open and doing well.

We did not feel the least uncomfortable being there.

HH has a great view of Great Bay and cruse ship dock is at a distance. Food was very good and great setting.

Not upscale, but Oualichi on the boardwalk has a delicious Caribbean salad.

Friends of our enjoyed lunches at Sol e Luna, Tropicana and Rancho de Sol when they were on the island in March. Marina from Palm Beach seemed to be running Rancho de Sol. They thought it was greatly improved with her influence. I believe Sol e Luna does a fixed price menu at lunch for quite a reasonable price.

Friends of our enjoyed lunches at Sol e Luna, Tropicana and Rancho de Sol when they were on the island in March. Marina from Palm Beach seemed to be running Rancho de Sol. They thought it was greatly improved with her influence. I believe Sol e Luna does a fixed price menu at lunch for quite a reasonable price.

Tropicana is wonderful and La Main a la Pate is very nice also. No hesitation to go there daytime for lunch, both on the lagoon.

What about Antoine in P'burg? Was always a fave of ours. I know they are under new ownership now.

Carol, Try Pinel for a great day. Pre Irma, it was like a day at Dreams, only better, and the beach is more beautiful. The food at Karabuni is fantastic. Very French, their burgers and grilled lobster are to die for. IMHO the best on SXM! Yes, they did have glass wineglasses.

Is Antoine open for lunch?

OK, thanks regarding Karabuni. It's on the list of possibilities.

What about Antoine's downtown? I've eaten lunch there; view is great.

As far as length of walk on Friar's Bay. Pre-Irma, walk to Kali's was right from the "first" parking lot; not long at all. It was a longer walk to get to FBBC from the "first" parking lot. However, the last couple of trips, I finally found the "second" entrance; it's a very pothole-filled road. Once you get there, however, you are RIGHT behind FBBC so the drive was worth it, to me. The "second" turn is where you also turn to go to Happy Bay. But instead of going straight to Happy Bay (on foot, I think), you turn left for the bad road to FBBC. I'll be checking it all out in a couple of weeks.

OK, I wasn't sure if Antoine's was open for lunch or not. Thanks. Will take a look at their menu.

Not on the beach, but have you ever eaten at Le Taitu, on the way to Mont Vernon? Very good food, reasonably priced, in a very quaint setting.

It's lovely there &Jean is excellent host & owner . Had many lunches & dinner there in January . Really nice setting. Just before sol e Luna.

Tropicana & la main a la pate open & very good. Either Friday or Saturday Tropicana has grand marnier souffle & they sell bottles of bana. I walked around by myself while hubby had more wine & never felt uncomfortable ( I'm over 65). Love the lipstick store there. They sell banana rum as well $13 at Tropicana ..

We did both lunch and a dinner at Emillio's, no ocean view but is upscale for sure, not sure if Dino is there for lunch but it is a very nice place with great food and atmosphere.

Antoine's is open for lunch, went by today.

Went to Pinel yesterday, and had a lovely day at Karibuni. Hubby had a fish stuffed with mahi, and I had a steak. Bottle of the "blue" cote de provence. Glasses.
Fed the chicken, Margarita, some french fries and lettuce. Thankfully she isn't on the menu!

Edit: went to Rainbow as well. I feel if you set your expectations for service and interaction when you arrive (verrrryy nicely, saying bonjour) you will have no problem. Food is excellent. They are charging for chairs/umbrella now, but if you eat there it is 1/2 price. We discussed that before even entering.

We were on pinel yesterday too. Yellow beach side. Took the last boat off pinell and had to wait for an obnoxious drunk party of women that took forever to pack up and get to the boat. Held up the boat and didn't care. Going back Tuesday again.

SCUBA!!!! We were on the boat together! I was SO PISSED about those girls....and vocal about it too.....as were the 2 couples that had come over on the same boat with us...noodles? Were you with the group that hit me in the head with the noodle? lol