This will be our third trip to the French side. Our first visit was in January’22, during the peak of the pandemic for the island. So, needless to say the restrictions made it easy to walk into any restaurant and get a table. Our second trip was in mid August, definitely not peak season, the only issue was towards the end of our vacation restaurants were closing for hurricane season. Now, we will be there just after new year’s, and it seems the island is getting back to normal. Does it get crowded enough that reservations will be needed in orient village? How about lunch at Pinel?

I don't know about lunch at Pinel, but I would say definitely reservations for dinner.

I would say it kind of depends on how many people you are and what time you normally dine. If you have 4 or more, I would say yes. If you HAVE to eat at a certain restaurant on a certain night, definitely yes. If you normally eat early, say 6 PM, and are only 2 people, maybe not. The week between Christmas and New Years historically is THE most difficult to get a reservation, so it could be that there would be some spillover from people who couldn't get in where they wanted the week before. If you're staying in the Village, you could walk up and down one night and make reservations for a couple of different nights at one time.

Why not make a reservation....and then you don't have to worry or wonder.

We were just there, and made reservations pretty much every night when we wanted to go out. That said, we had at least four, and as many as seven, people, so it just seemed the right thing to do. It may or may not have been necessary, depending on where we ate. We also make reservations at beaches, even if it's only two of us. I find we get much better service when we do, and they remember us the next time we come.

I agree with GaKaye. We made reservations for our dinners in Grand Case - super easy with Open Table. Always got a great table and personalized service. Restaurants were busy.

Regarding Pinel, I would make reservations. Especially if you are spending the day there and want front row loungers. Even if you are just doing lunch, reservations recommended.

SXM is VERY busy and SBR is already booked to over 90% capacity THROUGH MARCH. Make reservations for ALL dinners - in advance, or you will either get NO table or the WORST table in the restaurants.

Thank you all for the feedback. I should have provided more info… just me and the wife. I’ll get going using open table and see if what’s app works. My wife and I have a very different perception of how it is there, we walked into every restaurant, and at times were the only people eating. (Last January)

Open Table wouldn't work for most restaurants. I made most of our resys by either direct messaging on Facebook or Instagram. If you have WhatsApp, use that since most people & restaurants seem to be on WhatsApp