My wife and are are flying into St. Maarten this coming Wednesday and staying at the Divi the first three nights before moving to Royal palm for the week. We have never eaten on the French side and other than going to Oriant Beach for the day have never been on that side of the island. This will be our 6st year and just have been content with Simpson Bay area. We would like to try a couple new Restuarants on the French Side. Any recommendations for us??? <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

I would suggest Mario's Bistro and Dreams Beach Bar. Both are a little pricy, but have great food and a wonderful atmosphere and service.

BobandJeana

Some of the best restaurants on the island are located on the French side so you're in for a treat if you decide to try them on this trip. Between Grand Case, Marigot and Nettle Bay, you have a wide range of choices. Excellent and delicious, but also high end, French food in Grand Case includes Ocean 82, Testavin, Auberge Gourmand, Bistro Caribe and more. Casual in Marigot include the many choices in the Marina Royale such as Tropicana, Cafe de Paris, La Belle Epoch and La Main a la Pate. In Nettle Bay you'll find MaTi Beach (my favorite) as well as Dreams (excellent) and Le Sand (expensive). I'm sure you are going to get a lot of responses to your question, as everyone has their favorites, but the list above is a pretty good start.

Some suggestions, not necessarily in order..

Daytime and any evening other than Sunday--Dreams at Nettle Bay. French, upscale. Generally expensive, but for lunch, you can get more inexpensive things like pizza and sandwiches.

Daytime and evening--Calmos in Grand Case--French but much more casual. Toes in the sand, lovely view of Anguilla and of the sunset. Relatively inexpensive, choices like kabobs, ribs, etc.

Evening only--Ocean 82 in Grand Case--French, very upscale. Relatively expensive. lovely view of Anguilla, faces the sunset, but this time of year, sunset will be over before you dine.

Evening only--Bistrot Cariabes in Grand Case. French, very upscale. Relatively expensive, no view, but a long time favorite of ours, great service.

Daytime and evening--Paradise View-looks out over Orient. French, not as upscale as most of the others, relatively inexpensive, eclectic menu, including crepes.

Enjoy!

Going to side with Carol a bit on this one.

Calmos Cafe is a great day on the beach with good food and service.

Ocean 82 is always a very nice treat. It is usually the only "kid free" dinner we take when down there so that should say a lot.

We used to go to Le Testavin, that was always good too.

We like to go to breakfast in Marigot at Le Croisanteree. I always spell it differently so that probably is not the right spelling but it is right on the harbor.

Cant go wrong with any of the choices presented here with the wealth of knowledge folks on this board have.

A few favorites :
In Grand Case, Le Cottage and l'Estaminet
In Orient Bay Village, La Table d'Antoine et La Plantation
In Marigot , La Main à la Pâte et le Plongeoir
In Nettle Bay, Dreams !
<img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Several excellent choices in Orient Village, especially Le Piment. Or, browse the strip in Grand Case, peruse the menus, choose one that suits. Hint: Piazza Pascal is very good.

another vote for Piazza Pascal in Grand Case!! Donna and Pascal will make your dining experience a memorable one!!

I cast a vote for Maroi's Bistro as well

In Grand Case go with Auberge Gourmande, La Villa, La Estaminet and Bistrot Caribes. In Orient Village go with La Piment. We always eat on the French side and these are our favorites

We love to go to Grand Case and eat at either Spiga or Piazza Pascal. Both restaurants are on our must do list each time we visit. In December we also tried Ocean 82 and liked that also.

Marigot - Tropicana