2 more weeks until we're in St. Martin. We are staying on Orient and need some restaurant recommendations that are on Orient. We aren't looking for fancy. Just want some great food!! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

Thanks.

Palm Beach! Great creative French and an awesome atmosphere! Beach service is a nice plus and the loungers are quite comfortable (free with lunch). I'd suggest spending the day there!

Our favorite is Kakao. A widely varied menu and a lovely setting. Go on Friday or Saturday for fresh fish specials.

Don't bother with Kakao's "Cafe Gourmande" though, it was totally lame when we had it in February.

Our experience in December was the complete opposite.

We got four quarter-sized yellow spongy-cake stale circles with a flavorless bit of unidentifiable fruit on top. And I was so looking forward to my first ever cafe gourmande! And, there was not one bit of chocolate in it.

Iloveflipflops2, you should do a search, this topic was recently discussed at length with all kinds of suggestions.

It's no secret we are big fans of Aloha. Love the staff AND the food! We also enjoy Papagayo; just be aware that it's clothing optional. If you want something quick and easy one day, the Perch bar down on the Club O section of the beach also has pretty decent hamburgers.

chez leandra`s is the best food and price

Wow, that was disappointing for sure. The restaurant changed ownership while we were there in December; I hope your experience isn't a sign of things to come <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Our café gourmande there was absolutely fabulous, with four or five different bites, each one delicious. And plenty of chocolate. I'm sorry you didn't have a similar experience.

Had a fantastic lunch at the restaurant half way down the beach. Cannot remember the name, but the manager/owner shouts "Yeha" when the tip is given?????

These "best" questions are always difficult as tastes vary and the restaurants change, sometimes season to season. The places we frequented this year included Palm Beach, the new Bikini, the new Kon Tiki, Perch and Papagayo (both Club Orient). I would call the first 3 "fancy" for the beach and relatively expensive. Perch is the most casual, by far but then again it is Club O. Palm Beach, Bikini and Kon Tiki are all "French" and fairly similar in my view. Others swear but the old guard (La Playa, Kakao, Coco) but they tend to be kind of dark for my taste (as were Bikini and Kon Tiki before renovations). Many of our friends love the shacks (Aloha and Chez Leander's as mentioned are examples) near Pedro's and I will admit there are good values there but that is also, by far, the worse section of the beach so there is no "atmosphere", at least the kind I am looking for.

Take a morning and walk the beach and you will find places that appeal to you and that's what matters. After all, it is really hard to find bad food in French St. Martin.

I agree that "best" questions are difficult, but I've tried again and again to ask people what their taste in food is before I answer, and they rarely respond; so I just post my favorites and say why I like them. We generally eat our main meal midday when we're on Orient, so I like a big meal, and French is always fine with me!

I'm curious as to what you mean by Kakao being "dark". With the tables in the little cabana-like structures right on the beach, I find it quite bright and pleasant.

We haven't eaten at anywhere close to all of them, but so far, our favorite has been Sun Beach Clubber. While some have been better than others, I agree that it is very hard to go wrong.

That "Yehah" would be Nat at Aloha. It's our favorite

For beach bar restaurants I would recommend Aloha and Sun clubber for a step up and more money but really great food I would recommend. Le Piment and L .Astrolabe.

That would be Aloha, they are great. Check out the Handel on the bell she rings

Yep, that's our Nat at Aloha. Fun-loving person with a great heart.

Are Andy and Cheryl still there?

Cheryl is still there although she lost a portion of the restaurant in the last hurricane. If you had not heard, Andy passed some time ago. Things are pretty much the same on the menu but the vibe is much more low key...we old timers love Cheryl but it feels like she is just going through the motions.

No mention of my fav, Ethnic, has it slipped as well?

Ethnic has not slipped! We enjoyed it a few times in February.

38 days until my fix.

I went to Ethnic for my daily pina colada (usually took it to go so I could head up to Club O) it was always very, very tasty! Also, I'm sorry I did not try their grilled sardines while I was there. Will definitely do that next February!

Ah the sardine topic. I will try this next trip. I usually go for the mussels.

Not sure if the original poster was thinking lunch or dinner. Half of those mentioned are only open during the day. Also not sure where you're staying. There are a few good evening restaurants in the Orient Village area. A couple of our favorites are Le Pimente, Le cottage (I think that's the name of it) , La Playa and La Plantation restaurant. Papagayo's food was excellent this year as well but like others said, it's clothing optional.

Le Cottage is in Grand Case.

I vote for Ethnic and Chez Leandras

Agree. We meet Cheryl in March. Place was empty. We did not hang around. We wanted to because of all the positive reviews on the forum.

Randy

I disagree about cheryl just going throuugh the motions. We dined there quite a few times in the last 3 weeks, and all except for one saturday, she was as busy as ever. That one saturday, the entire beach was dead.
As for the food...it was delicious with a couple of new items on the menu. She is as personable andfriendly as always

Hey GaKaye, I was speaking to the interior of the restaurant but I am glad that you have a spot that you enjoy. If we disagree then you win because I have never run into anyone on this forum that is so well informed and gracious...