A Week in St. Martin

I would highly recommend trying at least one of the restaurants along "restaurant row" in Grand Case. We enjoyed every meal we ate there, especially a dinner of fine French cuisine at L'Amandier -- the food was exquisite!

Quick Tips:

I'd also recommend trying different beaches on the island. We tried a new one every day and although we had very different experiences at each one, they all had unique appeal, especially Ilet Pinel.

Best Way To Get Around:

We rented a car and were so glad we did. It allowed us to see the island at our own pace. Although driving on the island is definitely different than driving in the U.S. (it has a "casualness" I've never seen anywhere else but the Caribbean), I would certainly do it again.

The Hotel L'Esplanade was one of the nicest places we've ever stayed in! Every room in the hotel has a beautiful ocean view, as the hotel is built on the side of a hill. We stayed in a Deluxe Loft room (they also have deluxe studios and one-bedroom suites), and it was wonderful. The rooms are beautiful, accented with Brazilian hardwood. We had one full bathroom and one half bath, a kitchen, dining area and living room, one bedroom, and a balcony, where we ate breakfast every morning looking out on the ocean.

The hotel has a pool and pool bar and offers beach access adjacent to a wonderful restaurant about a five-minute walk away. The hotel has no restaurant of its own, although it does offer fresh bread and pastries for breakfast each morning served in your room for a fee.

One of the best features of the hotel is its proximity to the many delicious restaurants of Grand Case. We walked to dinner from our hotel each evening (except for the one we spent at a casino on the Dutch side).

I would highly recommend staying at L'Esplanade. We would definitely consider going back!

My husband and I ate here the night we arrived in St. Martin, as it was so close to our hotel (Hotel L'Esplanade). The restaurant itself is just a small shack, but it serves some tasty Creole dishes and a wonderful drink specialty, Rum Punch. The menu isn't extensive, but it offers something to satisfy most tastes, including seafood, fish and chicken dishes. It really doesn't compare to some of the fine restaurants along the main road in Grand Case, but it was a nice inexpensive option.

This was probably my favorite restaurant of the six we tried (for dinner). The restaurant is located very near the Hotel L'Esplanada (where we stayed) and is situated right on the beach, making for a lovely atmosphere.

The cuisine is French and everything we tried -- appetizers, entrees, desserts, and drinks -- was wonderful. They have a variety of dishes from the traditional (somewhat Americanized) French -- think French onion soup, etc.- - to the more exotic. And, there's a tempting selection of fish, seafood, beef, lamb, and chicken dishes. Dessert was fabulous too!

The prices are about average when compared to the other nice restaurants on Grand Case Boulevard. The service was great too -- attentive but not overly so. I would highly recommend this restaurant. They serve both lunch and dinner.

Restaurant du Soleil is an attractive French and Creole restaurant located right on the beach. The menu is fairly extensive, including seafood, fish, white meat and red meat options and a decent wine list to choose from.

The food was quite good, although I think the best part of the restaurant is its location. Most restaurants don't have air conditioning, so the beachfront location was perfect for catching the evening breeze. The service was also very good - we had a very attentive young French-speaking waitress.

I would highly recommend this restaurant to others. It was one of our favorites on the Grand Case beach.

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Temptation! I was really surprised to find such a nice restaurant with a great atmosphere at an island casino!

Temptation is located right on the Atlantis World Casino Complex, so it's very convenient to begin or end your evening of gambling there. We went to the casino first, and once we were sick of losing money (not much, but enough), we headed to the restaurant.

Temptation is the nicest restaurant in the complex, and it offers a nice getaway from the casino atmosphere. The interior is beautiful and relaxing with small window waterfalls on several of the walls. The lighting was perfect - not too bright or too dark, and while you're seated relatively close to those around you, it's not too intrusive.

The menu is not as lengthy as some of the other restaurants we had been to, but what Temptation does offer is exquisite. I tried a salad to start, which was good, but my main dish and the dessert were the highlights of my meal. I had a perfectly cooked filet of beef with herb mashed potatoes and, for dessert, I tried the decadent chocolate dessert our waiter recommended - it was heavenly! My husband had a wonderful hot and cold soup, the rack of lamb and shared my dessert.

The restaurant also offers a short but intriguing wine and drink list, full of many drinks ending in "tini." I tried the St. Maar-tini, which was an interesting blend of passion fruit juice and alcohol.

We really enjoyed our meal at Temptation, partially because it was so unexpected. For anyone looking for a nice dining experience located near a casino, this restaurant is perfect!

We enjoyed Il Nettuno, although I think you can easily do better in Grand Case. We had had French food every evening of our vacation and thought it would be nice to try something different.

Il Nettuno has an extensive menu of Italian favorites and a very good wine list. The food we had - Penne alla Vodka and Linguine Calebrese - was certainly good, but I just felt that we could have had as good (if not better) Italian almost anywhere. I think I just regretted not trying another French or Creole restaurant.

The restaurant is located right on the beach, which is a definite plus, and the atmosphere is pleasant. The prices are pretty reasonable, and it's probably a great place for families. The service was pleasant and quick as well.

I would recommend this restaurant if you're really in the mood for Italian food, although you might be able to get better food (albeit without the beachside location) at Spiga (at 4 Route de L'Esperance - a 5 minute walk from Il Nettuno). However, if you're just looking for a great meal on the beach, I think you could do better at one of the many other Grand Case restaurants.

Le Cottage is located on the main road through Grand Case; however, it's not on the beach. This is probably the only drawback of the restaurant, though.

The food was excellent, and the restaurant even has a wine aficionado who can recommend wines with your entrees. They have a nice array of dishes to choose from and probably the best and most extensive wine list of any restaurant we tried. Not connoisseurs ourselves, we happily took a recommendation and were not disappointed.

I was feeling slightly less adventurous that evening and played it safe with my appetizer by choosing the French Onion soup. It was slightly different than the American standard (maybe a different type of cheese mixed in?), but it was quite tasty. And the lamb dish I tried for my entree was delicious. I topped the meal off with (yet another) chocolate dessert, which was quite good (although not quite as good as the one I tried at Temptation - you can see my recommendation for that as well).

All in all, we really enjoyed our experience at Le Cottage, although we wished the restaurant had been located on the beach. I love the beach terraces at many of the restaurants, and on warm evenings, it makes a big difference!

Talk of the Town II is certainly not fine dining, but if you're looking for a fast and cheap meal, you won't be disappointed.

Talk of the Town II is one of four barbeque joints located on the main road in Grand Case (on the beach side). And it serves what you'd expect: lots of ribs and chicken. Both my husband and I had one of their combo meals - his was with both ribs and chicken, mine was with just chicken. The combo meals come with your choice of three sides - things like corn on the cob, green salad, coleslaw, French fries, macaroni and cheese and baked beans.

The service was adequate, but not great. Once they've taken your order and brought it to you, it's pretty hard to get their attention again. You can't beat the price though - our combos were both less than $10.

If you're looking for a cheap and quick lunch or snack in Grand Case, Talk of the Town II (or one of the other three barbeque places right there) is probably your best bet.