TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Looking for a French restaurant

Not aware of a French restaurant on Dutch side. Any suggestions for Grand Case? Thx in advance.

There's a couple that I can name on the Dutch side. There's Moulin Fou and Mario's. I understand there is new restaurant that opened, Frenchy Ludo's I think is the name. The first 2 are 2 of our favorites. Because it's new, I don't know about Frenchy Ludo's, but plan on trying it when we get there at the end of March. I haven't heard much about it either. I'm sure there are more, but these are the ones that come to mind quickly.

Frenchy Ludo's has been getting rave reviews from friends.

Elaine, Where is it located? Thanks,Mike...

Former Saratoga/Charter House Building, Simpson Bay. Next to Simpson Bay Pharmacy.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Restaurant/Frenchy-LUDOs-343570359792703/

Their website looks amazing. Waterside tables. Good review so far. Can't wait to get there.

Wingman and RonDon--I have not heard of Frenchy Ludo's either. If either one or both of you go, would very much appreciate your review!

For French on the Dutch side, you also have Antoine's, which is in P'burg. We have been to Antoine's, Moulin Fou and Mario's. We probably enjoyed Moulin Fou the most, but I will confess, some of that might be as a result of our company that evening, which was delightful. Antoine's would be my third choice, because of location, unless you want to go for an elegant lunch on the Boardwalk and people watch, which is what we did. If you go to Antoine's, make sure to pre-order the soufflé!!

For Grand Case, you might check out the thread about water side restaurants in Grand Case. Unfortunately, not much open water side now. For land side, my personal preferences would be Bistrot Cariabes and Le Cottage. You can't go wrong with either one.

Otherwise, on the French side, we REALLY enjoyed an outstanding lunch at Tropicana, at Marigot Marina. Personally I don't feel particularly safe in Marigot after night, but I would definitely do lunch there again.


Enjoy!

La Cigale, Nettle Bay.

Has La Cigale reopened yet after Irma?

Yes! A few weeks ago. The reviews are great!

OK, thanks. I knew they weren't open for a long time, didn't remember that they finally reopened.

For lunch there's Chez Delphine on the boardwalk in Philipsburg.

Saw a very poor review of Frenchy Ludos last week on fb, possibly Jeff Breger’s Site. Was planning to go this week but will wait awhile....

There are few places that DON'T get a poor review on that site.

Carol---so Antoine's is open for lunch? Serving full meals? Haven't been there since the 80's.

Ro--we were there for lunch in June 2018. They had a full menu, including souffles', IF you ordered them early. That is my one regret from our meal there, that we did not get to order a soufflé!

We ate at both Moulin Fou and Bistrot Caraibes in February. Bistrot Caraibes continues to provide amazing food and excellent (and friendly) service. In several visits, I can't think of a meal there that has disappointed. We've been big fans of Moulin Fou in the past; it was good this year but just didn't wow us this time. We've enjoyed Antoine's many times in the past but didn't make it there this year, so can't commit on it under the new ownership.

Thanks Carol. I'll be sure to go in a couple of weeks AND I'll remember to order soufflé ahead. Good advice!

Bistro Caribes, Le Cottage, L'Auberge Gourmand all in Grand Case

A lovely location there on the water. The former Saratoga was a fabulous restaurant we enjoyed for many years.

Moulin Fou. Ate there in December and both the food and service was wonderful. Back in March and I’m definitely going back to Moulin

Here's unbiased reviews: https://www.facebook.com/pg/Frenchy-LUDOs-343570359792703/reviews/?ref=page_internal

I understand that Le Pressoir has reopened in Grand Case. See link below.

https://www.caribjournal.com/2019/0...m_term=0_ea4e1e4090-e223eaec22-189172317

Le Pressoir is the ultimate French restaurant!!

I had lunch there in November and was underwhelmed.

Linda--I wouldn't say that Antoine's would compare to the best restaurants in Grand Case, but if you're looking for something French on the Boardwalk..

Re: Antoine’s -this was always our go-to place for a special dinner but.........

We had dinner once under the new owners and it was okay - not the Antoine’s we knew, but it was okay. We tried to go back twice in November and both times it was closed. Thinking I’m not all that inclined to make the drive from the Maho/Mullet area for just okay, but I guess we’ll see in a few weeks.

Has Tropicana in Margot re-opened?

Yes....closed on Monday nights.

I believe that Le Pressoir has reopened under new management and chef. I think Spiga now owns it. Probably much different than in the past.

Been on island for 7 weeks & have eaten at La Villa & Le Cottage three times each with our guests. Both restaurants are superb & service impeccable. Highly recommend.

Both good restaurants but what really stands out for me is L'Auberge Gourmand and its consistency plus fair pricing for the quality of food. Their vegetables are also excellent but even better is that if you give them notice for something not on the menu or you have a certain request, they will do it, as opposed to others I have found. Le Pressoir was also good but did have problems with the locals bike activity in the car park opposite and the previous owners being unable to sort this out and already see there have been a few complaints from recent guests about the noise which could ruin your whole evening.

Tropicana does take some beating when it comes to really great french food. jmho though.

Good to hear because when they first took over that restaurant their prices were higher than all the other places on Grand Case Blvd. Back the the early years when Christopher, from La Villa now, was waiter there it was excellent and priced evenly with other places.

Does L'Auberge Gourmande still stamp "gratuity not included" on the check of American patrons? It was once our favorite Grand Case restaurant, but after they started doing that we never returned.

That would be a flagrant rip off!

Which is why we stopped going there. Sadly, I'm sure it worked well for them. This was after Florence and Christophe left to open La Villa. We never had that problem there.

Sad. Kind of like another long-gone place on Orient that used to subtly add a 15% service charge.

I (like you) pretty much would not return to a place I felt was practicing business in that manner.

We just went to Frenchy Ludo's last night. It is new this year, in the Simpson Bay Yacht Club. We thought it was excellent. Went early at 6:30, and were their first customer of the night. A few more came in shortly, by by 8 pm it was beginning to fill up. I had the lamb special and it was delicious. Hubby had red snapper and said it was very good. So, another good French Restaurant on the Dutch side.

Where is it specifically? Perhaps in that restaurant which has had many different iterations, basically behind Zee Best?

Not 100% sure but from the pictures, it looks like it is where the Charter House 1863 restaurant was most recently located.

The old Saratoga.