TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Good food with seating for 15?

My college roommate will be bringing a large group to the island in March. He asked for my dinner recommendations. The part that stumped me a bit is the size of his party. Most of my favorites tend to be pretty small places.

Any suggestions appreciated. Is Captain Oliver's still open? With the seafood buffet? There seems to have been some change at Paan Lan (sp). Is it still recommended?

Is Spiga now large enough to accommodate 15 people?

I can't speak to the specifics of Spiga, Panlaan or Captain Oliver's but regarding a party of 15, when we were on the island in December we seemed to run into several large groups, at least one of which had to be at least a party of sixteen, and I'm guessing it was a business or professional group having a Christmas celebration.

I'm sure there are many places that could handle this request as long as advance reservations were made to assure appropriate reserved space and service staff since a group of this size would probably require it's own dedicated waitstaff.

We've seen very large groups seated at Skipjacks and Chesterfields to name two options and we were a family of eleven or twelve one Easter and Antoine's was more than able to take good care of us at one continuous table. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Depending on the day of the week [ie open for dinner], Dreams could take 15
Pat's advice about an advance reservation is a good idea and would give the best result
J&B

I didn't even think about Dreams but surely, with advanced notification, they could easily handle a group that size and the food there is varied with options for every taste. And OMG - it's so very good.

But again, I would definitely speak to the management in advance regarding a group that size to enable them to reserve an area that would easily accommodate the group and at the same time, not interfere with the rest of their dinner service. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Oh, I think it goes without saying that an advance reservation is an absolute must; thanks just the same.

Dreams is on my list to finally get to next month so, subject to that trip, I will pass it along. Good call on Skipjacks; my friend has eaten there and likes it.

Spiga has remodeled & expanded, they can certainly seat a group of 15 for dinner.

Avantika in Puerto del Sol can easily seat 15 on their patio, Thai, former owner of Panlaan.

Also, Captain Oliver's can seat 15, I believe they still have the Saturday evening buffet.

We had a group of 15 at Dreams and it was fine. Unfortunately seating that many at a long table is not always easy for enjoying conversation with everyone. I would suggest seating at two large round tables close to each other as it is better for enjoying the company of others. Avantika is another great suggestion and you can dine either indoors or outdoors on the patio. The food and service at both places is very good.

Le Moulin Fou in Maho could definitely take a larger party...If reservations made in advance you probably could get a choice of outdoor under the canopy....or inside with the two large tables.

is the group all adults? Do you want fancy or fun? If they want a festive and fun atmosphere with entertainment try Cheri's..in Maho. If you want great food..follow the advice of the posters above..

As Pat mentioned, more restaurants than you might expect can accommodate larger parties. When I was on the island two weeks ago, Le Cottage had a table set for a party of 14. That said, I would make sure to give plenty of notice for the reservation. I would also expect a number of restaurants might require a credit card to hold the space since 15 places could block 20% or so of their capacity.

We had a party of 16 at alliances and it was no trouble at all. We called the day before and were lucky. I'm sure no restaurant will want to turn away that many people. I'd email or call the week before they leave. Just my 2cents lol

We were there over the New Year's holiday and saw many large parties at Pineapple Pete's and IZI's.

Agreed, Pineapple Pete handles large groups very well. Been there with groups of around 12 people or so, no problem.

Make reservations at Yvettes and tell them you want to eat like a local. No menu family style. A little bit of everything.

Thanks for all the great ideas.

I agree with Elizabeth--two round tables next to each other <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />.