Having been recommended by our on island foodie", we made reservations for Saturday night The restaurant is located opposite the main entrance to orient beach in a gated community of villas we received professional correspondence with driving instructions along with the gate code It is situated among five housing units around a pool much like Astrolab. There are only 8 tables either under the porch cover or very large banana umbrellas which got good use during a quick but heavy rain two professional girls dressed in nice shorts, tops and high top sneakers provided attentive service The chef-owner also greeted every table, he has worked with Michelin chefs He is also responsible for Kon Tiki on the beach and the upscale Maison Mere in the Village
The 69e set prix-fix (online in French) included amuse bouche, first course, second course, cheese trolly and set dessert
I reviewed the menu online and did not see any menu choices that my wife might not enjoy (although well versed in fine dining there are a few culinary things not to her liking (sardines, sweetbreads, rabbit) (mostly mind over matter)
although they had a nice wine list the white wine by the glass was limited to a wonderful chablis and the red to a cote du rhone which was drinking very nicely I guess I can't complain as both wines we perfect for my taste
The amuse bouche was a roll of Gravlax, very simple with no sauce or compliments
The first course was a burrata with curried tomatoes, bacon and the traditional side salad. The cheese was extremely creamy believing me to think it was made in house
The main course was a perfectly cooked MR beef tenderloin with a morel mushroom sauce It is the first beef we have eaten for over a week and was awesome
being the last seating for the night we got to watch the cheese trolly moving about the tables My wife was trilled to see about 17 choices and probably selected 13 slices omitting the few stronger cheese the server described all the cheese very well (I have worked with cheese trolleys several years ago) and she arraigned the cheeses in the proper way to enjoy them (mild to stronger flavor0 The attached picture was my wife's plate, I selected a few less pieces I enjoyed a glass of port with my cheese Unlike some other restaurants, Les Galets pours the standard 5 ounces of glass wine and 2 ounces of port I have noticed most restaurants pour way over the american standard in SXM
The servers surprised me with a special dessert of a large macaroon "sandwich" filled with a pistachio cream and topped with pristine raspberries This was an better dessert than what I saw the other tables eating 2 glasses of complimentary champagne was delivered to the table
all though totally different than our tasting menu at Le Pressoir, it tied for our best meal so far
I'm not sure what to make of this, but just the picture of the cheese trolly offering blows me away. That alone, with a baguette would be a fine meal in itself.
Just another place we have to go. Thank you for all you culinary reporting, Mahokid. You'll make our upcoming trip a much better experience, although there are now too many worthy meals competing for our limited stomach space.
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