TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Dinner at Emilios

We were really looking forward to tonight's dinner. Was a big disappoint. I had the seared duck which was dry and tough and my wife had the scallops which she said were chewy and dry. Service was pretty sketchy as we had to keep asking for our waiter for water etc. Its always a downer when a server that took the order has to ask you who gets what. Nice setting but one and done for us.

Have you tried the Sunday Brunch? Quite a nice buffet style spread, all you can eat for $30 pp. And the live entertainment is the guy who plays guitar, I believe, at The Hole (can’t remember his name).

No. That was our first time there and a one and done for us. Too many other places to spend my money with the time we have on island.

That's really disappointing to hear. I had a fabulous duck salad (for lunch) in November.

I had high hopes for the Duck as it looked great when it came. Was the reason I took that picture. Had a flavorful sauce but very tough and chewy. Caesar salad was good. It was a split whole head of romaine that was grilled. Oh well. Checked off for us.

We ate there once, a while ago. It was OK, but nothing exciting, I didn't think. Our service was awful that night, but I blame it on the table for 12 next to us. Still I am not in big hurry to go back.

Where is Emilio's?

tourist trap

There were no big tables occupied last night and a few still open.

Michael and I went there to enjoy a Sunday brunch. We arrived and there was no one to greet us. We had no idea that it was a buffet. We waited for a good 5-10 minutes and it was like we were invisible. We have never been back.

I'm confused--brunch is almost always buffet, isn't it? Regardless, someone should have waited on you to take drink orders.

we had no idea that it was a buffet and there was no one to tell us where to sit or anything like that. It was like walking into a bunch of people. In fact, I think I said to Michael that this must be a private party since no one was there to greet us or anyting.

A couple of years ago we did not enjoy our meal so, as Scubaman says, "one and done."

Actually brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch. There is brunch, ordering off a menu, or brunch buffet.

lcote--but you knew it was brunch? Again, aren't brunches almost always buffets? Regardless, if I walk in and no one from the restaurant acknowledges me, I don't wait too long before leaving. .

It certainly is a known SXM establishment but with a few exceptions,, That could have been about any restaurant on the island. We love SXM and its residents ….but when it comes to a good customer service experience anywhere it’s extremely lacking compared to the rest of the world. Very few restaurants have what I would consider properly trained staff. Oh yes, walk into a restaurant and nobody wants to move and it takes forever to get acknowledged. So many times I’ve seen staff talking to each other in the corner and ignoring customers in the locally owned and operated restaurants are among the worst. Unless the owner is there forget about getting good service. No motivation. Unfortunately that’s why many places have to hire foreign staff that has real training and experience. Call it just don’t care or lazy …. They call it island time. I’m not in a hurry on vacation I suppose. So we just have to be aggravated or get used to it. To me French side a little better, but with a definite attitude. Pretty much the entire Caribbean on island time. IMO.

Sorry to hear of your experience.

We had a lovely meal with matching service last September.
I am assuming that Norman the owner was off for the evening as it seems he touches base with each guest table during the evening.
His niece oversees the floor in his absence and also is very caring

Chalk it up as a bad experience.
Sort of a bummer when you have high hopes.
Sometimes hard to give up a an evening at an known restaurant to try something new

Norman was there and stopped by the table before the food was served.

No, brunch is not almost always a buffet. We go out for brunch often, and always order from a menu.

Not here... usually a special menu, but not buffet.

OK, that's not been my experience in general. But if one researches brunch at Emilio's, the pictures that come up are of a buffet.

Two things as an ex restaurant manager.
Carol, Brunch is not always a buffet. You may go to a Brunch Buffet but as Scuba said, Breakfast and Lunch make Brunch.
I always order Eggs Benedict. You cannot serve that on a buffet.
Forever, Service is NOT always bad in the Caribbean. It's not the server. It's the owner. I an owner does not
set standards, non will be followed. We have been in over 14 islands in the caribbean and we have had great service on SXM and others.
Cheers!
Wish I were there now!

I agree with everything you said except about eggs Benedict. I have had it at a brunch buffet before. Sometimes not as fresh with soft yokes but still ok.

Irina--as I said, if one researches brunch at Emilio's, it is a buffet.

I have to agree with you Scuba, I have seen plenty of eggs Benedict at a brunch/breakfast buffets before, especially on a cruise ships. And like you said, might not be of a best quality but edible.

We have put this place on the list, take it off. After this report, thank you for saving us the aggravation!! I'm in the service business, if the service is bad, I don't care how good the reviews are about the food. It's off the list! There' is a few places on that list where you couldn't pay me enough money to go there again!! I'm not naming names, this isn't about bashing restaurants, it's about a good experience. That includes high end and casual dining too!! There are far too many places to catch up on and favorites to go back to, knowing that everything is going to be exactly has it should be,start to finish! It starts with good service!!!

FOREVER, I totally disagree with you, besides my disagreement with your general criticism about the level of service in the Caribbean makes me wonder why you keep going.

Lots of good reasons we keep going. Obviously like everyone we love the beaches, the weather and its people. After almost 30 years I’ve never met anyone that goes to sxm because of its wonderful customer service but I’m sure they are a few exceptions. We’ve traveled the world and generally when we go abroad almost everyplace has good prompt experienced staff. My opinion is sxm needs help on that.

That's what I mean. It's not really a buffet item. But you guys are missing the point. Any business is only as good as it's owner.
Don't blame the servers.
Cheers
irina

If service isn't good it's the server. That's that.

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure there ARE servers who may have never been to a restaurant before. But if you have, you know what you want in a decent server.

Different people have different expectations of servers. Some want a server who checks repeatedly to make sure everything is OK, while others want a server who observes, and recognizes when the diner needs something. I'm in the second group. For the most part, I find service on the island to be good.