TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin skipjacks tonight. Worst food ever

We have always has great food and service in the past. Three out of four of us had to send our food back. Was so looking forward to having great yellow fin. Mine came out stone cold and partially frozen. Two others in party had overcooked dry shrimp in pasta. Paid for drink and other dish and walked out. One and done this trip. So disappointing.

Sorry to hear that. Is the staff still mostly the same?

wow....i really missed skipjacks when i was there the last few times, hopefully they get their S#$% together by my next visit.....really enjoy the panseared ahi ahi

I do not visit a new restaurant, anywhere, until they have been open for 30 days. By this time they will have worked out their opening kinks, This is why hotels and large restaurant groups have a preopening period of "Trial Feedings" to get the operation in sync.

The last time we were there with our gang, (2019) the waiter got a little snarky with us about service and our orders. In the past, that was one of our go to places. We'll be on the island in Oct-Nov, we'll have to stop in for a drink, check it out. Based on that, we'll know if we'll bring the gang!! I'm hoping that they had an off night!!

Wow. I was there with a party of 4 either May 7 or 10 adm all 4 of us had amazing meals and service was perfect!!! That’s really awful wonder what happened to change the food and service so quick.

"..really enjoy the panseared ahi ahi"
Me too but didn't happen. 🤨

Did you talk to the Maitre d', Jimmy?

He was off island. I made reservations through him. No need too. Don't think it would do much good. Restaurant has turned into a tourist magnet like PineapplePete. Better places to get good food and service with my money.

They might be a sponsor for your site but that doesn't make them a place to get good food no matter how you promote them.

Have you been to Bacchus in hope estate for lunch? You seem to enjoy anse marcel, bacchus is like the non-beach version of a great french lunch.

Might want to consider dining on the French side. Sounds like things aren't going too well with some of the restaurants on Dutch SXM. Some great places in Grand Case, Orient Village and even Marigot.

LOL Cheers!

Sorry to hear about your experience at Skipjacks, Scubaman. That type of experience would put me off returning as well. It was always a favourite place for us. While we have had the occasional visit where the service was a bit spotty, most of the time it was quite good and the food was always enjoyable. Hopefully they will get their act together before we arrive in January! if not, there are lots of other good places to go for an enjoyable meal.

I do miss their tuna carpaccio. Did you happen to notice if it is still on the menu?

Allergic to fish. Never liked that restaurant! LOL
Cheers
irina

"I do miss their tuna carpaccio. Did you happen to notice if it is still on the menu?"
Sorry, I didn't notice.

Scuba if you enjoy cooking in your rental unit there is a butcher shop in Concordia that has very nice meat. They also get a shipment of the Bresse chicken (will chop it into pieces for easier cooking as well, of course they give you the head too)
https://teledom.fr/annuaire/boucherie-de-concordia/
It also serves lunch, pretty neat place.

OK, thanks Scubaman. I guess if the reviews don't improve by the time we get down, I will check to see if it's on the menu. We can always just pop in for a plate of tuna carpaccio and a beer or glass of wine, either at lunch or for cocktails. As long as the tuna is fresh, I would think it would be hard to screw up the dish and if service is still an issue, we can always just sit at the bar! Let's hope they get their act together.

We have never had good luck there.

Everyone seemed to love it, so we kept it to ourselves, but
we always found the service and quality of the food very disappointing.

That's why there are different restaurants for different people. Skipjacks was traditionally our first night dinner on the island. We liked it because it was near to where we usually stay, it was "al fresco" (important coming from a northern city in the middle of winter) with a decent view overlooking the lagoon. It gave us the instant feel of finally being in the Caribbean.

It was never "the best" restaurant on the island IMO, either for food or service. The food was good, simple and honest. Our service experience was mostly at least OK to very good. No need to be hesitant to express a different opinion, for whatever reason(s).

We try to do a "fancier" dinner every week to 10 days while we are down. Last year (February 2020) we went to Mario's while they were still in Porto Cupecoy, since we were staying there. Everyone seems to rave about them. It was a nice venue with great views over the marina and the tables were nicely set. Our overall experience was very "meh". The service was much less than stellar. They were full and obviously short-staffed.

We have a fabulous Italian restaurant scene here in Toronto, due to the large numbers of former Italians who have settled here. We have eaten at really good Italian restaurants here, as well as in places like NYC and all over Italy itself. The food at Mario's was well presented, but the flavour was only "OK". It did not leave us with a "what a wonderful dinner" feeling. There was something missing. At that price level, that is not what I expect. As a result, we would probably not give them another chance. Too many other places to check out.

Very well stated, CanuckTravlr,

Skipjacks was a very nice destination for an easy dinner experience. Their grilled lobster, IMHO, was not as good as Lee’s but the setting was more upscale and for me, it was a nice choice. They made a pan sautéed grouper that rivaled the one Chef Pierre of Antoine’s used to make for me. That might not seem like much of a culinary feat but I’m often amazed at how so many kitchens can mess it up.

And as so many times has been stated, “that’s why they make vanilla and chocolate” AND “any restaurant can have a bad night.”

Canuck, thanks for your reply.
I was afraid that I would get my head bit off and didn't want to post.
We did not judge them on one visit, but tried a few times over several years. It's fine, there are so many restaurants.

I have heard others comment about Mario's also, but I guess it has been around so long, that people think they have to
go there, or they have missed something.

One amazing little place, for Italian food, is the Spaghetti House.
If you haven't tried it, put it on your list.
I will be looking forward to your comments in January.

I do love a good butcher, which can be hard to find at home, let alone on the island.

That was the problem. Tuna wasn't fresh.

@pat

Agree completely. My wife also really enjoyed the grouper. We will be disappointed if Skipjacks (or whatever name they end up going under) does not up their game in the coming months.


@The_Lurker

You're welcome. Factual errors are one thing, but if anyone bites your head off over a differing opinion, especially concerning a restaurant, the problem is all theirs IMO, not yours! We normally stay in the Simpson Bay / Pelican Key area, but we ended up staying in Porto Cupecoy on our last visit. We enjoyed it, because it caused us to get to know that part of the island a little more intimately. We got to Fat Tony's a couple of times based on recommendations here, and really enjoyed both visits, one for lunch and one for dinner. The second visit we met some fellow Canadians at the next table. One of them actually knew my DW's father. It's an amazingly small world sometimes! We had planned to try the Spaghetti House, but ran out of time. Will definitely look forward to it.


@SXMScubaman

Really sorry to hear that. Their tuna carpaccio was always very fresh, sushi-grade, in our experience. That is a kitchen or management problem. No excuse for letting less-than-fresh tuna out of the fridge, let alone the kitchen. If it doesn't improve by the time we get down we will likely be "skipping" Skipjacks.
.

Does anyone have current contact info for the new Skipjacks. WhatsApp number?

+1 (721) 523-0664