TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Bamboo House

Just over the bridge and to the right, perched about halfway up the mountain is Bamboo House
we parked in the well lit carefour lot where a marked white van with a courteous driver transferred us across the street and up a steep hill to a stunning restaurant, Bamboo House
There is limited parking but they do offer $5 valet service
It is owned by the same owners of Bamboo Bernie's
it is worth the stop for happy hour drinks as the view is stunning looking out over the lagoon directly at the airport runway
The restaurant is decorated as nice as the view with hip music playing which still allowed conversation
to the right the blue mall twinkles in the night, to the left is a view that reminded us of Santorini in Greece
I think I see where Below Deck was filmed

We were immediately greeted by a well dressed young hostess and escorted to a "front row" table with an unobstructed view
Water was served very quickly while our server Nikola presented menu and took our drink orders
He had an infestic laugh and professional , we were enjoying his service
from the craft cocktail list I selected the Lychee martini which was very smooth while my wife enjoyed her usual Mojito with some passionfruit added
I do enjoy a little sweeter wine (Riesling) with sushi to offset the wasabi but I had to switch off with a rose which also pairs well since no sweeter wines are offered

the appetizer combination included two pieces each of the beef dumplings, dynamite shrimp, chicken satay, oriental wings and a light and fluffy accras (fish fritter)
I thought it was a little over priced ($32.00) but every single taste was absolutely delicious
Sort of happy it was not bigger so that we could enjoy the sushi

Beside sushi there is a nice selection of fish, beef and chicken entrees
considering our appetizers, i would believe the entrees would be equally as good

we selected three specialty rolls as we would do at home, rolls are about about 25 more here but my wife says you are paying for the view, well worth it
when our platter was served the food runner pointed out which was which and described one that was not ordered
Nikola checked on us very shortly and he said keep the mistake and returned with the correct roll
the sushi rice was light and fluffy and the rolls were wonderful
much like at home we got full and asked Nikola to wrap the remaining and he commented we had tried the mistake roll

We did leave enough room to share a beautifully presented mango, passionfruit and yuzu (citrus flavor) dessert, a light whipped dome served with a frozen ice, sweet and sour flavors excited my tastebuds
thankfully the dessert was very light

At this point this was a perfect evening until reviewing the bill

The sushi roll that was mistaken by our server was on the bill
I know in the United States that we would allow the guests to enjoy as it can not be returned to the kitchen and comp it
Nikola continued to say we ate two pieces and asked for the rest to be wrapped
never would I speak to a customer in that manner, even as a server I would allow my manager to handle the situation

He returned latter smiling with the roll removed but unfortunately the sour taste in my mouth had returned just like I had the dessert again
I do not think he realized how he changed a perfect mood

although a 15% service is added, I still left a little extra
I compliment the bill for stating suggested additional tip from 2% to 7%
I feel this to be very honest and the bill also states at the bottom that 15% gratuity is included

Upon saying goodbye to the hostess, the van had been called to return us to our car

it was a wonderful evening until the end and I'm sure this mistake will not happen again

Bamboo house will be starting a Sunday brunch buffet including all you can drink island drinks which includes mojitos ($85)
The menu looked very inviting

Although we visited on a Wednesday night, the Gatsby music on Thursday has been recommended

Please do not allow my bill experience form enjoying Bamboo House (hopefully with better training it will be handled better)

Obviously, the server was incorrect in putting the extra roll on the bill, and glad they did fix it ultimately. Some more training is in order though, as you stated. I do plan to go there next trip, for the view if nothing else.

Great review Mahokid! We're planning on going there for our upcoming trip, so your review is actually quite timely. May I ask what the general dress was for the restaurant? I would expect maybe a different dress or vibe on the Gatsby night, but I'm just trying to get a feel of what it may be like on other nights, so we can plan accordingly.

We were there twice in August (once on Gatsby Night). Dress was rather casual on both nights (I wore long pants but there were a few in shorts). I would imagine folks would dress up a bit more in high season since it is cooler. I was expecting folks to dress more for Gatsby Night but I really didn't notice a big difference. It is a nice setting so I dressed in a manner that I thought appropriate for the occasion.

Thank you for the details. Still trying to figure out the parking situation. Is the clearly marked van just waiting all night to drive guests to restaurant? My husband messaged with the owner who said there was valet service but wasn’t clear do you drive up to restaurant?

Can’t wait to check them out.

Two options

drive up steep hill and they will valet park your car ($5.00)
park at Carefour, van will be there unless making a pickup, It is right in the front of the well lite lot, it was clearly marked Bamboo House

like all island restaurants with the exception La Hibiscus, casual attire is common and certainly accepted

I plan on messaging the owner and tell him about our unfortunate ending of our evening


My recommendation is take the van!!!

Ditto!!

Thanks for the review!!! Wife (fabila) and I are looking forward to experience this restaurant !! I'm very fortunate to have her, she has an eagle eye for these mistakes in the bill! "it's good? it's good." Time to cash out! We'll take a dry run at the place, see if valet or van works best for us. I have dress shorts, with matching dress shirt, but no long slacks! OKAY? Louise likes us to match!!! (grinning LOL)