Description: Atop a high promontory overlooking Frigate Bay, hundreds of feet above the Caribbean, Marshall’s is informal in dress and decor but elegant in everything else.
This would be a memorable location even without memorable food. My table was on an enclosed deck just a few steps from the brink of a high cliff. There were gorgeous views of the sunset, a four-master moored in Frigate Bay and, beyond, the neighboring island of Nevis.
Menu prices (entree only) topped out at U.S. $35 for steak fillet, broiled salmon or Chilean sea bass. Mid-range items included salmon fillet, breast of duck, rack of lamb or ribeye steak from $24-$29. However, given a list of tantalizing-sounding appetizers, I opted for two of those instead of one dinner.
The St. Kitts Baked Crab, at $12, was disappointingly dry and seemed to contain as much filler as it did crab. Liberal use of pepper gave it a bit more Caribbean "fire" than I’d have preferred, but with a good wine to wash it down, it was definitely appetite-stimulating. Smoked salmon, several huge slices over wilted greens with onions, red peppers and a flavorful sauce, was a huge success. It left no room whatsoever for a third appetizer I’d hoped to try, "Coquille St. Kitts" simmered in olive oil, white wine and cream. Seeing the entree dishes pass by en route to other tables made me wish I had time for a repeat visit.
Service was prompt, pleasant, and thoroughly
professional. Some restaurants are hostile to singles dining alone on a Saturday night; these people treated me as though I owned the place. Wine, surprisingly, was a better buy here than at most Caribbean restaurants: Just $4.80 for a 7-ounce glass of a quality Cabernet/Shiraz.
Marshall’s is tucked away in a quiet and relatively isolated residential community with no highway signs to advertise its presence. Visualize St. Kitts as a whale, with the head to the northwest, the tail a narrow peninsula between the two oceans, and the southeastern portion of the island forming the flukes at the "whale’s" nether end. About two miles east of the airport, where the "tail" begins, there’s a small traffic circle. The main road continues east toward Timothy Beach, the new Marriott resort complex, and the parks at Turtle Bay. Off to the right, a secondary road winds its way up a steep hill toward some fancy houses high above. Follow this up and around to a sign marking the entrance to an affluent-looking subdivision. In there, you’ll find Marshall’s.
(About 200 yards above the traffic circle, you’ll pass the entrance to the Frigate Bay Beach Resort and its Garden Restaurant, two other St. Kitts venues I heartily recommend.)
If you find Marshall’s too expensive for your everyday dining, choose it for an evening especially worth celebrating and savor the experience. This is a small restaurant; reservations are a must for anything but very early dining. Hours are 6-10 Mon.-Sat.
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