After eating out 6 nights in a row on the Dutch side, we invited our Anguillian villa chef friend to dine with us at Les Galets in Les Jardins Orient
The are located across the street from the main entrance to Orient where many nice villas are Friday was their reopening night after vacation They send you a code to pass through the gates and are a quick left and right to the restaurant Eight tables surround the pool much like a smaller Astrolab
Chef Hubert greeted me wife as they are facebook buddies and showed us to out table at the close end of the pool and not far from the open air kitchen where you can watch everything being prepared
It is convenient since he is the only one cooking and adorable Frannie is the only server
A five course prix fix is served to all guests with no menu, all dishes are described in full detail when served My wife did check out the menu in advance The menu changes every week so you may find some food items not to you liking and sort of doubt there are many substitutions We did alert the chef in advance of our guest's allergy to shellfish
there is no wine by the glass list but was delighted to enjoy a Puligny Montrachet (a high quality Burgundian chardonnay) by the glass and only E12 when the wine warmed up a bit, it was incredible
The menu is attached so I will spare the a lot of details
I find the menu to be of higher execution and quality ingredients
The smoked cauliflower soup was smooth with not too much cream and the smoked salmon added another layer
with my second glass of chardonnay,I was in food heaven with thin sliced scallop carpaccio garnished with shrimp and the citrus to bring out the flavors A simple but memorable second course
I switched over to a red Boudreaux to pair with the tender filet mignon encrusted in mushrooms, the deep reduced sauce added to the flavor
I saved a little red wine to pair with the star of the evening the cheese trolley
On a funny note my wife excused her self to use the restrooms which are located behind the small building that houses the kitchen, bar and refrigerators I told my other dining companion that she will reenter the dining room from the other side from where she went in search of the cheese trolley
She returned with astonishment on her face and seriously said in disappointment that they were only 5 cheeses choices on the trolly Maybe because this was their first night back opened
with a couple other tables finished before us we get to see all the courses before we receive them when our neighboring tables got to select their cheese, the cart was filled with about 18 choices My wife was extremely happy to find that the cart was just not set up
Fannie described every cheese in detail and we shared about 10 cheeses down from 2 individual plates from 2 years ago which had 17 and 15 choices respectfully
Our dining companion who has worked at the top high end hotel restaurants In Anguilla kept saying this is his new restaurant to bring his wife when they venture over
Fannie heard him say he liked the pistachio goat cheese and returned with some more for him
Although dessert was not chocolate (I'm all chocolate), the light catalan with fresh raspberries was a nice way to finish off the meal along with some celebratory champagne from the chef
Catalan is similar to creme brulee and uses milk instead of cream and some light cinnamon
I found pricing very reasonable for such a great dining experience
This is a true French dinner with time between courses and allow about 2.5 hours to dine especially since they sometimes need to slow down service as there is limited staff
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