TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Upcoming trip/ What restaurants are open?

We, God and Covid tests willing, will arrive Saturday for two weeks. Our favorite, La Villa, reopens tonight per instagram and facebook. Who else has reopened and does anyone have recommendations? Thanks!

Isloa , Shiv Shakti, Sale and Pepe, La Bodega, Mario's Bistro , IZI, Nowhere Special , Juliet's Bistro , White Swan , Pink Pearl , Sand Bar , Drift Wood and Jax Steak House on the 20th , awesome steaks and great service at Maho.

Right there with you on the "God and Covid tests willing"! I am also interested to find out who else is open in the Grand Case area. Why is La Villa your favorite? Have not been there.
Cheers,
T

Lesley,

Don’t know if you can help or not but if anyone can, it would most likely be you.

Did Sublime reopen yet? I heard it was coming to Maho a while back but haven’t heard anything else since. Same name or called something else? And location, please......

La Villa has really good food, friendly service and a 49 euro fix price 3 course option which lets you pick anything from the menu except lobster, foi gras or the filet. Those come with a surcharge, but still cheaper than a la carte. That does not include the amuse bouche thrown in as a pre-appetizer, the excellent bread and the plentiful after dinner rum shots which just appear as part of the meal. In years past they have done one to one dollar to euro for cash and added valet parking when they reopened after Irma. Even on years where we are trying to economize we can still swing an evening at La Villa for at least one fancy evening out.

Hi Pat ,
The two Brothers have two new restaurants, Dhamenra is on the Boardwalk at Kahlua and Sunderndra will open one at Maho soon the spot of old Bamboo Bernies . Sorry for the spelling mistakes with their names lol.

Some one else will open a new restaurant where Sublime use to be . They are currently working on it and it will have a very good main Chef.

We don’t know yet who’s open but La Villa is always on our “must visit” restaurants in Grand Case. Bistro Caraibes, Spiga and Piazza Pascal round out our dinners with the exception of our first night there. We usually get a pizza from Papadan for takeout and have an inexpensive meal in our house or condo. Neither one of us feel like going out for a big meal and are usually a little tired from getting up early and doing the airport shuffle. Add wearing a mask for 6-7 hours throughout the day and the pizza and scotch are going to be looking very nice tomorrow!

Todd, La Villa is owned by the former chef and manager of L'Auberge Gourmande. Before La Villa opened, and after L'Estaminet closed, L'Auberge Gourmande was our favorite in Grand Case. French cuisine, but not crazy fancy, just good fresh food prepared and served well.

Thank you, Lesley.

The Palm's in Simpson Bay is opened and a favorite of ours. Across the street is La Palapa which also serves a nice meal.

anybody know whether Little Jerusalem in Simpson Bay is open?

Yes it's open.

I don't thing that Vesna Taverna was mentioned.

It's excellent!

Sublime is taking over Bamboo Bernie's spot in Maho. They will likely be open in late November or early December. Big upgrade for the restaurant, happy for them.

I know Lal opens Dec 1st. Will have to try La Villa. I had not heard of Sublime and we will be in Maho in December so if open will have to give it a try. Pretty anxious to be there, not thrilled with all the hoops that we have to jump through along with the other life obstacles and hope it all works out. I will believe it when I walk out of the airport and get in a cab!

LaVilla has been our number one place for years now. The service is fantastic...the food is to die for.....the best filets i have ever had with the most delicous sauces....incredable desserts, and the atmosphere is fantastic!!! For those who used to frequent the old L'Alabama, it is in the same spot that L'Alabama was.

Quick run down from last night: Grand Case looked like a ghost town! We had dinner at La Villa excellent as always! Bistro Caraibes and Rainbow Cafe are closed until December. Spiga is closed “until further notice”. Piazza Pascal is open. Lolo’s were open. Captain Frenchy was open. Most shops were closed as well.

On a different note, Orient Bay was pretty full! We went down to Le String Beach Bar at 9am and there were very few folks on the beach. We left around 2pm and the parking lot was full all the way out to the square. The man who ran the beach chair service at Rainbow Cafe “John” is now at Le String until they reopen, $20 for chairs, umbrella and 2 drinks.

Ben, I've seen posts that say the road through Grand Case is closed and being paved? Is that the case?

We have had 4 four meals out, on 5 nights on the island, since arrival. Pizza Italy, The Greenhouse Simpson Bay, Avantika and Lees. I would say each restaurant we attended had at least a 2/3 occupancy going on while we were there. I would think that the restaurants that are open are capitalizing on the fact that so many others are closed or gone. Each restaurant we have gone to has had excellent procedures in place for customer safety. Hand sanitizers before entering each establishment, table spacing, all servers wearing masks. We have felt extremely comfortable at each establishment and enjoyed wonderful meals
.

The main road through Grand Case is open but mostly gravel in large sections. They're in the process of burying the utility lines so they will be less prone to damage from the storms.....allegedly. I think they were replacing the water and sewer lines back in January so hopefully they're in the home stretch!

Ben,

I might be wrong but I’m pretty certain I read somewhere - perhaps on Facebook? - they are now in the process of paving the main boulevard through GC but the road should be open for use early this week.

If I misunderstood what I was reading, I’m sure someone will let us all know.

Ben..thanks for the update. Glad to hear John (Jean Henri) is at LaString...That is where he spent years before Rainbow. hope he decides to stay there...at least until April. Would love to see him again!!!!! LaString has been our ''home" beach for years now. Love the people there!!

Just done and looking great .

We ate at La Villa last night as well! Usual great meal. Now we are looking for someplace for dinner tonight. Wanted to try the Palms, but they are closed Mondays. Thinking maybe of Al Pasha, which we enjoyed on our last trip two years ago.

My husband and I talked to Das as they were doing a big remodel at the Bamboo Bernie's location, definitely keeping the same name of Sublime. Das thought they would be open late November. If not then, within a week or two at the most. Will be inside and outside seating. Kalua on the boardwalk in Phillipsburg is open. (Just don't ask for kahlua - ha ha - they did not have it.) Kalua has a dining room in back that is air conditioned, and then the regular seating area. They are awaiting the cruise openings in 2021 to get really busy. Das was also there the night we were dining at Kalua, since we parked a ways away, Das walked us back to our car.

I think Palms is closed both Mondays and Tuesdays.

phillygirl7,

Thank you for your response re Sublime. We really loved the food last November even in what seemed to me to be its' father sketchy location slightly off the beaten path in Simpson Bay, and we look forward to being able to try it again soon. Is Das the chef/owner? If yes, we met him several times last November as he walked the dining room checking on his patrons dinner satisfaction, which in our case was always way up there. I'm even worse with names than I am with locations.......

I guess I'll have to admit to a 'senior moment' but please remind me where Bamboo Bernie's was located in Maho. I'm thinking upstairs on the Jax side of the street but not a hundred percent certain.

Pat....correct...corner of the building closest to mullett. Not sure if it was first or second floor though.

The Palms is definitely not closed on Tuesdays.

The Palms is closed Sunday and Monday. We will be there this evening!

I heard Desmond will be opening the Oyster Bay Mama’s Pizza again soon.