Maito Italiano restaurant in Simpson bay, Wow in the 27 years coming to St. Maarten I have never had such a bad meal. The owner says he is from Tuscany. The service was ok. My wife ordered the risotto with ragu (meat) and it came out with fish on top of it the waitress had no clue what it even was. This is one that you need to stay away from. I know some of you will say give them a try they are new, well do that and post how you like it also.

Where are they located?

SXM??? Wendell

That is too bad. I saw another post about this restaurant opening up in the Dean's Steakhouse location. Not that I would seek out Italian food on SXM particularly (I am probably a bit picky about my Italian), but it sounded as though it would be good quality. I read the owner is from Tuscany. Was it just the service that you felt suffered or the food as well?

In the location that Deans Steak house was

For some reason, ever since Peg Leg Pub was there, that location seems jinxed.

The food was so bad, The service was better then the food, The wiatress just did not know the menu

Ok, thanks

SXM??? Wendell

Too bad. I'm not a big italian restaurant fan but last night we had a good birthday dinner at Basilica by the Casino in Maho. Really nice!

Basilica by the Casino in Maho??? Is this a new place?? Would love to hear more.

What a shame. We met the manager in Italy last year and became friends with him. He is a nice guy who owned a catering business in Italy. They had a falling out and he left SXM after only being here about 5 weeks. One manager doesn't speak English, the cashier doesn't read English. I saw a sign outside the restaurant "No credit cards". We were so looking forward to an authentic Italian restaurant. After Laguna closed down, there's been a void. Oh well, maybe they'll get their act together. I understand the actual owners are arriving to SXM from Italy today. Also, from the pics on Facebook, the restaurant doesn't look inviting. Needs some plants, etc

Sorry It's Basilico! Maybe it's a year old. I had Frutti di Mare and it was seasoned nicely. All the meals were nicely presented and no one complained. Very good service but we know the waiter and staff, I saw others were enjoying their meals too. Give it a try and mention Capt. Bob to Nero formally of Sorpranos.

How were the prices at Maito? Did they tell you ahead of time that they aren't taking credit cards? Is this temporary or will it continue? Thx

Ed,

Basilico is adjacent to the Atlantis Casino at Cupecoy. We had a very good dinner there in December. Good service, good pricing. No complaints whatsoever.

thanks....one i never heard of......

We had a very good meal there last May. The caesar salad was amazing!! Probably the best I ever had!! Owner/chef came over to see if everything was good. We were a little distracted as it was during that extremely rainy period and it was pouring out and the wind was blowing. We had a private waterfall which they were trying to fix as I believe part of their roof had blown off, but they went on like things like that happen every day! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Groovin.gif" alt="" /> and it didn't affect our experience at all!!

We found the prices reasonable and the food quite good. We were there on the 3rd dr 4th day they were open and found the hostess and waitress very nice. I asked for a Carib which the waitress said they did not have and my wife wanted a glass of Pinot Grigio which she said they only serve by the bottle, she quickly went to the manager and returned with both the glass of Pinot and a Carib .We had the beef dish ( no fish) . I think they will have credit cards after they get established. Setting next to the lagoon was lovely and we would return.

Sounds like the waitress needs to learn what they have to serve. Lots of things to get ironed out before I'll go there.

For sure still learning but they were accommodating which is a good thing.

But not IN the complex? They still have La Gondola there? That place didn't impress me.

Yes it is in the complex.

La Gondola is history. Once one of the best then after being sold things changed and it is now closed.

La Gondola was closed when we were there in December.

The casino has now taken over where La Gondola was. Word is
they are turning it into a sports "bar"

Interesting. Thanks for that update!

Hi the chef was there before now is out....so now you can try it again...for the credit card they work on it...:)

It is a good Caesar salad, but $15.00??? We ate at Basilico twice in last 2 weeks and their food is very good, service too. Just have a hard time with the salad price...

The Atlantis Casino is now called Stars (or Starz ?) and they are in the process of demolishing The Sugar Cane Cafe as well as the entryway next to it.

Does anyone remember when Atlantis née Starz was just a little hole in the wall casino beyond the pool deck at what was once the Treasure Island Resort. We used to sneak down to SXM for long and eventually longer weekends and often stayed up on the hill behind that whole property. Many, many years ago. There may even still be a papier-mâché parrot in one of the upstairs closets left over from those days of 'back in the day'........that was purchased in one of the little shops that used to adorn the once upon a time pool area that is now a part of all that which is now Atlantis. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

Did you ever eat at the second floor restaurant at Treasure Island?

SXM??? Wendell

If it's the one I'm thinking of, we had breakfast there several times.

Yes, it was a nice spot for b'fast, stayed there a few times in the late 80's and early 90's

SXM??? Wendell

Now they have a new Chef
Chef is Mr.Thomas Bosano that was workin at Cipriani Restaurant in Monte Carlo and for Flavio Briatore (Formula Uno) second help chef Mr.Alessio Mastroberardino <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Was that called "Hillside"? If so, we remember it well.

Ron
Yes I believe it was.
SXM??? Wendell

Okay, I must be confusing different locations. The few times we stayed at Treasure Island there was a restaurant there somewhere where you walked up a huge flight of entry way stairs to a lovely spot for breakfast or lunch and they may even have had a light dinner offering of pizzas and such.

The only area that I remember as being specifically called the Hillside was at the Mullet Bay Resort on the road that took you past the second tee and up to the hillside pool. There was a large building adjacent to the pool area where, on the lower, there was a restaurant called the Deli that served both breakfasts and lunches, along with a couple of more upscale restaurants on the upper level - one I think was Chinese (Dragon something, perhaps??) and the other completely escapes me at this point. Our favorite on-prem restaurants at Mullet were The Frigate and the Gourmet. It was all so long ago that I can't recall the fine details, though I probably shouldn't own up to that, should I..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />