TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin 2ND TRIP TO RESTAURANT SUCCESS?

I'm wondering how often you repeat a visit to a restaurant you absolutely loved and raved about to find it less than stellar on the return visit? My 2nd trip to the Hideaway didn't rock it like the first. Of course you can't compare Conch Stew to a seafood fettuccini! The first time I ordered the seviche it was crushingly good...this trip the scallops were underdone and it was just OK. weird, huh?

Nope. You were lucky the first time. In my opinion the Hideaway hasn't been that good for quite some time.

SXM Scubaman-says
(Nope. You were lucky the first time. In my opinion the Hideaway hasn't been that good for quite some time.)
I have to disagree with him as we went to The Hideaway in late June 2015 and had a delightful dinner ,fine service and the entertainer was very good as well. The setting is very inviting and the prices were reasonable.
All in all , The Hideaway is worth a revisit.

In my opinion unless you are at a high end restaurant it is hit or miss. We like the Stone & usually dine there two or three times during our three weeks but it is very inconsistent. Concerning the Hideaway I have more of a problem with the service than the food.

I DON'T know about that sands,,, it seems I can't go wrong with lee's or the greenhouse or alexander's...

As long as your expectations aren't too high Hideaway works for some.

I find no restaurant to be perfect every time, but I have always enjoyed the Hideaway..

You know, Carol, we used to really enjoy the Hideaway, and I know I've written this before, but the past couple of times we've been there, we were a bit disappointed each time.

We stopped by and made a reservation to take the 'Grands' there one evening, thinking how nice it would be to spend an evening with just the two of them the last time we were all on the island together - and this has to be 4-5 years back now, I'm thinking - and at the same time, giving their parents the opportunity to spend an evening alone together without needing to make plan for the kids first, and from our reservation right through our desserts, things were all just a little messed up. It was okay, but again, just not up to our expectations from our earlier trips. We tend to be relatively forgiving where dining is concerned, so unless something is really baaaad, which the Hideaway wasn't, I'm sure we'll go back but it just isn't on my go-to A-list any longer.

But here again, we all have different tastes and expectations, and if we all wanted to eat at the same places, some of us would end up very, very hungry, I'm afraid!! I'm sure there are a ton of places we love that others would be left scratching their heads and asking themselves, "Why?" with all those other choices across the island...... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/jester.gif" alt="" />

It is such a subjective question it is always hard to know the right response. We have been to many of "our" favorites. Generally I would say they are very good to excellent each time. But there are times when that is not the case.

If a place is slammed before we even get there, that is one thing, if not then that is another. Also sometimes, as I like to try meals that I have either not had before or rarely. Sometimes I just do not like the taste of the food, that is not the restaurant fault at all. But it does make it seem as the "experience" is not the same. But again, we try not to make that a determination as to whether the restaurant has gone south, so to say.

Service can make up for OK food, but good food cannot make up for bad service either. Maybe "great food" can make up for bad service, don't know that I can answer that question.

Also the second time, if the first time was exceptional, it is hard to compare the second time. Why, because the expectations at time are so high or have magnified themselves into something that was not the case in the first place.

Last May we hit Bajatzu 2 times. While I wanted to try something different, I went with the same meal as the previous time as did my husband and it was good both times.

It's funny - we gave up on the Hideaway about 5 years ago for all the usual reasons - service, quality, experience. And since it is right across from our timeshare it was a loss! And then in March we tried it again when my brother wanted to go - and I was happy again! 4 out of the 5 meals were excellent & the one that wasn't was good, just not rave worthy. I only remember my dinner which was the seafood in puff pastry. So we'll go back next year. We also had an uncharacteristically awful meal at Pineapple Pete's, but we'll go back cuz we had too many good times not to. Plus Pete made good on our meals. I know when I cook not everything I make comes out the way I want it, but then I'm not a chef or paying a lot of money for the meal

Hi All, thanks so much for your feedback, this is Andrea from La Vista. I will take all your comments into consideration and work on it! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/chef.gif" alt="" />
See you soon..WARM regards

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Thank you for responding here and we will look forward to giving the Hideaway another shot next time on the island. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />