TOP 10 SXM RESTAURANTS

Will be on SXM for 10 days over New Years. Looking for everyone's Top 10 recommendations across both sides of the island. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

Here are my favourites: Piazza Pascal, Le Cottage, Le Soliel, La Villa, Bistrot Caraibes. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />

We've been going to SXM for nearly 40 years and I STILL haven't tried all the restaurants and I STILL can't decide which are better. Each has something special.

As well as the above mentioned, add Le Mer (for seafood) Spiga (semi-Italian), Ocean 82 all in GC

Sol e Luna and Le Taiitu in Cul de Sac on way to Pinel Ferry turn at Mount Vernon.

Mario's Bistro formally of Sandy Ground now in Porto Cupecoy.

Rosemary's on the waterfront in Marigot for Caribbean & Creole. Bistro Nu near the athletic complex.

Better yet, pick your own then post it here so we have new ones to try.

Here are some of our favorites :

Le Cottage, Piazza Pascal in Grand Case
La Table d'Antoine, La Voile Blanche, La Plantation in Orient Bay
Dreams in Nettle Bay
Blufin in Cupecoy
La Main à la Pâte in Marigot
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Our favorite restaurants are Spiga, Ocean 82, Bistrot Caraibes, Calmos Cafe and Piazza Pascal in Grand Case, Pineapple Pete’s, SkipJacks, Hideaway and the Yacht Club in Simpson Bay, and Big Fish in Oyster Bay. For lunch, it is fun to stop at the Sunset Bar and Grill (SSB&G) to watch the planes land and grab a burger. The Buccaneer Beach Bar (BBB) in Simpson Bay probably has the best burger at the best prices.

There are great bakeries in Marigot and in Simpson Bay for breakfast and lunch. We go to Zee Best for breakfast in Simpson Bay. If we are driving over to Orient beach, from Simpson Bay in the morning, we may stop at a bakery in Marigot for a snack to take along.

Our favorites change from year to year. Last trip they were:

The Palms, Kakao, Dreams, Avantika, Byblos, The Delight, Loterie Farm, SMYC (for breakfast) and Lal's.

Our favorites include Fusion,Le Moulin Fou, Ship Jacks, Pineapple Petes and Chesterfields on the Dutch side.

On the French side we like Ocean 82, Piazza Pascal, Le Cottage,Sol e Luna and Dreams.

Pelican--Have you been at NY before??? If so, you already know this, but MAKE RESERVATIONS, preferably from home before you leave. We were on SXM last year from just before Christmas to New Years and everywhere was absolutely PACKED. We went to Grand Case one night during the week, can't remember which night it was now, and literally EVERYPLACE was full. After checking about a half dozen places, we waited about a half hour to get in and were able to get squeezed in because we were only two people. We called Dino at Temptation and with a whole week to choose from at that time, he was able to squeeze us in one night at 6:30, again, because we were only two people.

My personal favorites right now are, in no particular order, Ocean 82, Bistrot Cariabes, Temptation, and probably our favorite is Dreams.

We like Sol e Luna and Bistro Caraibes. Also, for a beach bar, Bikini Beach has great food.

If you like foie gras and truffles Le Cigale is not to be missed.

Le Sand next door to Dreams has phenomenal grilled whole fish.

Our two absolute favorites:
Piazza Pascal - Grand Case
Le Piment - Orient Village

Thanks for the replies....my rough count is 38 different restaurants mentioned. Most hits (so far) in descending order are:

Piazza Pascal (5)
Dreams (4)
Bistrot Caraibes (4)
Ocean 82 (3)
Sole e Luna (3)
Le Cottage (3)
Pineapple Petes (2)
Skip Jacks (2)
Spiga (2)

We've only been to Le Cottage & Pineapple Pete's before so plenty of new choices.

Carol, Stayed once before on New Years, but we stayed at CO and didn't venture off the reservation until days after NY mainly cabs to Grand Case. This time, hoping to hit some places we've never been that all the "experts" rave about. Thanks for the tip to call ahead for reservations.

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Enjoy your trip and definitely do make those reservations!!!

Where exactly is Dreams??

On the island right now, and just had dinner at Le Pavilion in Oyster Pond. Food was excellent,and the open air feel of the place was wonderful. We will definitely make this one of our favorite places to eat. Probably have dinner there a couple more times in the next week and a half we are here. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /><img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Clapping.gif" alt="" />

Dreams is in Nettle Bay. If you come on the main road through Cupecoy to the French side, about 5 minutes, just before you get into Marigot, on the left hand side.

Some of our faves are:
our top 10.
La Villa and Piazza Pascal in Grand Case
Le Moulen Fou and Bajatzu in Maho
Chesterfields and Mark's Place in Pburg
Lees, Toppers, Pineapple Petes and Fusion in Simpson Bay

Gourmet:
Sol e Luna Mont Vernon/Cul de Sac
Ocean 82 Grand Case
Le Cottage Grand Case

Casual :
Cafe Calmos Grand Case
Pineapple Pete Simpson Bay
Pizza Galley Simpson Bay
Mark's Place Philipsburg
Claude Mini-Club Marigot

Very casual:
Little Jerusalem Simpson Bay
Driftwood Maho Beach
The Perch Orient Beach

Gourmet: Antoine's
Casual: Chesterfields
Very Casual: Mark's Place
Happy Hour Special (Discount Appetizers/Drinks): Greenhouse

I'm shocked that no one has mentioned L'Auberge Gourmande. We rarely eat outside GC, and I think this is still the best food in town. Not to Downplay Bistro Carribe, Ocean 82, Spiga, Pressior, Estamine, or any of the other great eateries, I just think the Auberge is the place that captures the GC experience the best...it's more that the excellent food, it's the ambiance and service as well.

That is exactly how I feel about Le Cottage ! So you see, everyone has a favorite!The OP will have a lot to choose from !
By the way, L'Estaminet is closed since summer.

Not by price range, as I can be just as satisfied with a good pizza and/or salad as a gourmet meal, or by preference, but alphabetically here are 4 we love: Bavaria, Ocean Lounge, Temptation, Tutta Pasta.

Yup, everyone has their favorite! And it's very hard to go wrong in Grand Case. A restaurant that is not good does not last long there.

So many choices and so many different tastes in dining.....we don't do GC dining too much these days but we enjoyed Il Nettuna and the Sunset Cafe at GCBC last year.

For great lunches and tapas, we thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant at Loterie Farm and for an off-beat and inexpensive dinner, Gutside near Friars Baie is fun.

That said, in Maho we really thoroughly enjoy Le Moulin Fou and would rate it about the top of our list in that area.

In Philipsburg, our favorite has always been Antoine's by the Sea and that hasn't changed but our plan B in town is usually Chesterfields.

In the Simpson/Cole Bay areas we really liked Luna Rosa and thought it to be about the best Italian food we've had on the island in years, and you can't go wrong with Skip Jacks for any of their choices, but particularly the seafood choices.

And if it's opened by now, Marios at Porto Cupecoy is a great option.

For beach dining, the Restaurant at Anse Marcel and Dreams are both excellent choices and our favorite, Friars Bay Beach Cafe is a must-do every year. Dreams, on the evenings it's open, is an excellent dinner choice, too.

And for cheap beach eats, we really love the ribs at Rosies on Mullet Bay.

Less expensive dinner options would include Marks at the roundabout by Grande Marche, Lee's in Simpson Bay along with the Greenhouse in either location, and in the past, Figs but I have no idea if they've upped the ante with their relocation to the Maho area. If you enjoy German food you have to try Bavaria........OMG - the strudel is out of this world.

Our choice breakfast stops are SBYC by the bridge, Chesterfields or the Barefoot Cafe in Pholipsberg, and we enjoyed our breakfasts at SSB&G in April along with Tortuga on the other side of the beach at Maho.

There are so many awesome places to dine across the island and honestly, in 43 years of at least once a year trips, we've NEVER had a bad meal on St. Martin.......not one! And I don't know how anyone can limit themselves to ten only..... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I agree that the OP's summary of the best restaurants in Grand Case is accurate. And we will be eating at most of them this current trip.

However, you are also correct that Auberge Gourmande's food is superb. I put it in the same class as Pressoir and Sol e Luna. However, the price at all three is commensurate with the quality.

So even though we eat multiple times at Piazza Pascal and Le Cottage every trip, we would rotate between places like Auberge, Pressoir and Sol e Luna. Going to only one a trip.

So it depends on how the OP wants to balance their spending.

All in all it's pretty hard to go wrong with the list th OP summarized.

If I had to pick only one right now I would probably pick Sol e Luna simply because it has just been renovated and it is absolutely lovely especially if you ask to sit on the balcony. They also have great 20€ prix fixe lunch (if they are offering it in the off season).

However, if you can manage more than one of these three, by all means, go for it!

+1 for Sol e Luna
The cuisine is outstanding, the location is superb and the service is top notch. Overall, it's our favorite gourmet restaurant, one level above Ocean 82 which is another great one. Granted, dining on the water at Ocean 82 brings something that Sol e Luna doesn't offer but Sol e Luna's cuisine and atmosphere is much more refined.
I agree with you that it's not the place where we could go every evening because this would put a big dent in our vacation budget but for a very special celebration like Valentine's Day, it's definitely our #1 pick.
In the lower categories, there are tons of great places to eat at, which makes a vacation in St Maarten/St Martin a truly unique experience. No other island offers the quality and variety available in SXM, from a $10 shwarma shack to a 5 stars restaurant with dozens of great places in between. We can't wait to be back there.

We love Skipjacks, Pineapple Pete's and The Stone. Pizza Pizza behind Cheri's has excellent pizza.

L'Auberge Gourmande
Spiga
Andy & Cheryls
Le Cottage
Marios
Orange Fever
Papagayos
Little Jerusalem
Gutside
Le Piment


We had a very average meal at piazza pascale, but it always has recommendations, maybe we need to give it another tryi

Revised count and Top 13 ranking:

Piazza Pascal (7)
Le Cottage (6)
Ocean 82 (6)
Sol e Luna (6)
Dreams (5)
Pineapple Pete's (5)
Chesterfields (5)
Bistrot Caraibes (4)
Skip Jacks (4)
Spiga (3)
Marios Bistrot (3)
Antoines (3)
L'Auberge Gourmand (3)

Since we only have 10 days of dinners, which of these is open for Lunch and on the Beach/Water?

Dreams is !

http://dreams-sxm.com/

My favorite for lunch !!

Pineapple Pete's opens at 11:00 AM every day.

Ocean 82 and Dreams are both on the water and open for lunch. At Dreams, go for the bo bun nem salad!! Outstanding!

Everything at Dreams is outstanding! The seafood salad is wonderful too.

I love homemade nems so this salad sounds yummy. We'll try it next February. Thanks for the tip.

Check out my photos as I posted a photo of the nem salad from Dreams. It was outstanding.

I just saw it and it looks fantastic. I'll definitely go eat one during our Feb trip. Thanks for the report and great pictures.

Ok good, we hope to hit both of those.

Hey Everyone quick question regarding Dreams and the beach. Is there a charge for the beach chairs there and is there other beach access chairs on Nettle beach? Only second time to SXM and leaving Sunday. Thanks! Need to arrive early?

Dreams does not charge for their beach chairs, as long as you patronize their bar and/or restaurant. Of course we always enjoy drinks, lunch, and more drinks while we're there.

Le Sand, next door to Dreams, also has chairs, but I don't know their pricing arrangement.

We usually arrive around 10, but plenty of chairs are available later as well.

I've yet to find a restaurant I didn't like in SXM and we've been going since 1979.

We date ourselves back to '73 and I agree absolutely, but sadly most places we enjoyed early on are long gone. Back then, if you can believe it, there were almost no free-standing restaurants in Simpson/Cole Bay, and just look at it now.... <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Yikes.gif" alt="" />

Georgia answered your question, but I was wondering why you wanted to know about other chairs on Nettle Bay Beach? In general, it is not a particularly attractive beach overall. The attraction is Dreams (and le Sand next door). The beach itself is not very attractive.

Can you tell me how leSand is? We always say we will try it, but end up at Dreams. Basically food choices?

Le Sand is wonderful. One of our favorites, I always beg to go there when the opportunity to go out to dine.

Whenever we have dined there, whether it is lunch or dinner there up is a mix of villa guests, local business people, French families.

We love it, I can only speak for us. I love the ambiance too.

Good menu with fish, meat, tartare. Love the frites! Somewhat expensive.
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Curious what you enjoyed at Le Pavillion in Oyster Pond?

Have not seen any mention of Le Cigale in Sandy Ground. Personally thought it was better than L'Auberge Gourmand.

Just returned from 15 days on the island. Here are our favorites for this trip:
Lunch - Le Bateaux Ivre, Dreams, Zee Best, Little Jerusalem, Hilmas Windsor Castle
Dinner - The Palms, Lal's, Byblos, Bajatsu, Avantika

On our most recent trip over Thanksgiving, we finally discovered Sol e Luna. They had a price fixed lunch for 20 euros which included a choice of appetizer, main course and desert (4 options each). It was a great value... will return several times on next trip during the Regatta week!