TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Family Friendly Dining

Looking for some thoughts on family friendly dining on St. Maarten. My wife and I are travelling to the island in March with our 6 year old and almost 3 year old and are looking for some places, likely mostly on the Dutch side, that would be ok to bring the kids to. We’re mostly looking for dinner but would take some suggestions on breakfast and lunch as well. We’re renting a villa in Pelican Key down past the Simpson Bay Resort and the Flamingo Beach Resort. We will have a car.

So far we are considering:

Buccaneer Beach Bar
Sunset Beach Bar
Pineapple Pete’s
Marks Place
St Maarten Yacht Club
Spaghetti House SXM

I know these aren’t high end places but it’s the sort of thing we’re looking for with young kids. Any other recommendations?

Skipjacks would add. Mary’s boon, they serve lunch there on the beach. Could be fun.

You're going to the right island, Vegas. Bang for the buck St. Maarten is second to none in the Caribbean. Second Bran's recommendation for Skipjacks. In the same general neighborhood you could add in Topper's (great burgers), Top Carrot, and The Greenhouse. And, that's just for starters. The Buccaneer Beach Bar is also right there based on where you are staying, but keep in mind this is a beach bar and is a little different from the other dining establishments previously mentioned. You already have Mark's Place (my favorite) and Pineapple Pete's so your good there. Be aware that Mark's Place is closer to Philipsburg and will require about a 15 minute drive to get there from the Simpson Bay area. Sunset Beach Bar is in the Maho area and you'd have to drive there as well and find parking. Really good cheeseburgers, but be aware that every now-and-then there's a woman (or two) who drinks for free when 'topless' at the nearby bar on these grounds (trust me ... most kids could care less about that).

The Yacht Club is just past Skipjacks and many people on this board love it, though I have never dined there. Also, in the same direction over the little bridge is The Palms which is yet another recommended place. As for the Spaghetti House that's out in the Cupecoy Area, so you could try that place if you spend a day at Mullet Bay Beach. You will need to check in advance to see which of these places serves breakfast, but all of them will be good for lunch or dinner. Hope this helps.

Hi
With kids you should definitely do Pinel Island.
The ferry leaves from Cul de Sac and first trip is usually around 9:30.
There are two restaurants there, Yellow Beach and Karibuni.
I prefer Yellow Beach.
Pinel Island has great swimming for kids, water is shallow and warm.

Rainbow Cafe Grand Case another nice lunch on beach day.
Good Food.
Calm water.

Greenhouse, Simpson Bay. Good food, nice outdoor space.

I would second Green House. If i remember right there was some children's playground equipment on the beach for the little ones.

Re: BBB ..... on Friday & Sundays after sunset they have a very family friendly fireball and movies on the beach where a bunch of local families come and the kids have a great time. Check as you drive by for the daily event sign. Sometimes it's only on Sunday....

All of your suggestions sound very appropriate for family friendly. I'm not personally familiar with the Spaghetti House, so can't personally recommend them, but all the others are very good. I would recommend Le Suciere for great pastries and croissants, either as carryout, or to be enjoyed on their back patio. They have quiches and all manner of pastries and great coffee, but no eggs/bacon/etc. I might recommend also Captain D's for carryout chicken and ribs, to be enjoyed back at your villa. Not a meal, per se, but also check out the Carousel for the Carousel and some great gelato. And, kids being kids, don't be surprised if they see Mickey D's and want you to go in there!

Oh ... another place I just remembered that many of the locals recommend is Sale & Pepe which is also in the general area (Welfare Road). But, it may be a bit on the expensive side for dinner and I know they don't serve breakfast here. In all honesty it's hard to visit St. Maarten and not have fantastic dining experiences. The number of good restaurants here on both sides is remarkable, and as you might be able to tell from this forum many people keep returning to SXM for the dining first, and the beaches second.

BTW, where is Stouffville, Ontario? Sounds like it's in the Vaughn area north of metro Toronto. I know Ontario very well from my travels but never heard of this town.

Vegas,

All of your noted options are good for family dining, particularly for lunches and dinners. As far as I know, the only ones that offer breakfasts are the St. Maarten Yacht Club - best for a casual family breakfast with a view, depending on time of year and time of breakfast, and of course, the Sunset Beach Bar, of which I'm not a fan but many are. We also enjoy the Tortuga at Royal Islander Club Le Plage but parking there can be problematic.

I just want to add, we are 40+ year annual visitors to the island and traveled here with both our kids when they were young and then our grands and we NEVER found a restaurant that wasn't friendly to kids. Some tend to be on the pricey side with menus perhaps not suited to kids tastes but most will come up with a pasta plate if called upon and they are usually very receptive to little ones.

With reference specifically to the Spaghetti House in the Cupecoy area, it is very good and extremely reasonably priced but there are only a few tables that we could see. The food was excellent and it is extremely casual for a sit-down restaurant. The first time we went I foolishly asked the waiter for a wine list and the response was, "red and white" and that was as good as it got but their house wines were good. They do a pretty big take-out service from what we could see.

And if this one doesn't work for you, diagonally across the street is Fat Tonys, kind of a mostly open air corner bar type place that serves very good pizzas along with a variety of other items as well. Very casual and very reasonably priced and they, too, seem to do a large take out service.

Toppers can be added to that list as well. All others mentioned are great choices too. The kids might like seeing the plains land at Maho and sitting in SSBB having a soda.

Thanks everyone! I'll check into some of these places. We'll eat most breakfasts at our villa and lunches will likely mostly consist of different beach bars but these will be some great ideas for supper. Appreciate the help!

Stouffville in Northeast of downtown Toronto, so just north of Markham.

add Fat Tony's.......across from Spaghetti House. BEST pizza on the island..and great bbq. Lee's is also getting ready to reopen in their new location....and has always been kid friendly.

EdB

Is Fat Tony's the little outdoor place after B.B.'s grill near the university.
If so I second.
Love love the pizza.
Was kinda surprised the first time we had it.
Was excellent.

exactly the place!!! great food...great prices....and fun fun fun

The Palms and Karakter

Some of The restaurants in Porto Cupecoy are kid friendly, we’ve seen many children running around the patio (large open area). When we dine with our island friends and their children they usually ask that we go to the greenhouse or Porto Cupecoy so that if the kids get antsy they could wander around and still be in their parents view.

The same is true of Orient Village, although the original poster's kids, at 6 and 3, are a bit young to be wandering on their own.

"that if the kids get antsy they could wander around and still be in their parents view."
Nothing like having 3 and 6 year olds wandering around in a restaurant by their own. So much for an enjoyable evening for other patrons.

🤣 I agree Scuba.
I never did like to go to Galion on a weekend or Pinel during French Vacation period cuz I feel it spoils the mood.
Or restaurants with noisy kids nooo.

C'mon, Peeps, you were kids, too, once upon a time - weren't you? Lighten up........

Nothing sounds sweeter than the sounds of children laughing and having a good time and in places like the courtyard at Porto Cupecoy, there's no harm in it. Now I'll admit, I'd be the first to say something IF they were running around inside Marios or Spiga or someplace similar but if the OPs were conscientious enough to ask about this in the first place, I'm pretty certain that would NOT be an issue, particularly given the ages of their children.

Children actually running around inside any restaurant is really not a very good idea, given the possibility of collisions with staff carrying full trays of hot food but that isn't my concept of what they are asking for at all. We used to bring small 'table toys' to occupy the kids and the grands and it always worked for them, regardless of the age, and given the wealth of amusements available to even the littlest child today, that shouldn't be a problem. Don't forget, the parents want to have a pleasant meal, too, without the stares of table around them.

With regard to the noise factor, IMHO, that's a whole other story. If a child is screaming or crying and can't be soothed, I personally think they should be removed from the restaurant - perhaps a short walk outside or something of that nature until they're in a happier frame of mind and behavior, but at the same time, I think obnoxiously noisy adults should be removed as well. I'm sure that's not an opinion that most will appreciate but sometimes I wonder how people might feel if they only could hear themselves the way the table next to them does. I'm sure that last doesn't apply to any TTOLers but I'm often amazed at the way some adults I've seen have behaved in public restaurants. Just sayin.......

The reason I chose those two restaurants was because of the LARGE open area where they wouldn’t be running the seated diners.

Excellent comments. I don’t anticipate my kids being up and running around regardless but anything to keep them entertained while the food is prepared is a bonus. I’m really looking for ideas that either have a kids menu or have menu options that younger children are going to like. I know that probably covers a lot of places but good to have options.

I think we’ll spend one morning/afternoon in Philipsburg on the beach and shopping any record for lunch there?

My wife and I found Blue Bittch Bar on the boardwalk to be good for lunch.

Do you mean a recommendation for lunch on the boardwalk adjacent to Great Bay Beach? If so, I would highly recommend the Lazy Lizard. Everything is good there, and the prices are reasonable. Met the owner for the first time earlier this year and he told me that their goal was to bring in the lunch crowd from the cruise ships, etc., but because he has a family having evening hours for dinner was not on his radar. You can also visit the Yoda Guy Museum which is close by on Front Street. This is another place I highly recommend run by a very nice English gentleman named Nick Maley. Plus, it's air conditioned which helps if you're visiting Philipsburg on a really hot day. Hope this helps.

On the west end of the Boardwalk there is Burger Madness. One of the best burgers on the island. Also chairs to rent there on the beach.

If you decide to take the children to the zip lines in St peter's area, there's a restaurant on the property that has a children's menu. Think the name is Enold's Even if you don't take the tram to the top, there's a nice museum there and a gift shop with some reasonable items. The grounds are very nice.

The zip line at Loterie farm area has a restaurant too. They have walking trails as well.

Take the children to Parrotville. Someone with a better sense of direction came give you directions to it. Well worth it. You get a cup of food and feed the birds who will land on you. Fun experience. I can't wait to return!

You can get an ice cream there! That's part of dining, right?

Definitely one of the food groups! The Carousel has great , but expensive, ice cream.

OH! and when at the Supermarket look for ETNA ice cream, It's made on the island in Columbier. Our favorite is Rhum Raisin but the chocolate is rich. Haven't tried the Cinnamon yet.

Love Rhum Raisin. I'll have to pass on the cinnamon. Doesn't sound to good.

Do you mean Emilio's? Enolds is in Marigot.

I will pass on Rhim Raisin since I do not know what it might be.

Correct.

I corrected the rhim to rhum on my post. You happy now that you know what I meant?

Yes Jazzgirl, Emilio's. I was just researching a painter named Enold and I guess he was on my mind.

Where is Enold's in Marigot? There used to be a place near Rainbow in Grand Case with that name. I wonder if it's the same guy?

Ruralcarrier, Rhim ---Rhum who cares as long as it's Etna! I knew what you meant I just thought you wrote it with a Scottish accent lol

Now that brings up a new possible flavor. How about Single Malt Scotch Etna?