Day 7

Just an early morning shower before we got up, so it was off to the elZafiro beach on Simpson Bay. With boats in we knew it would be crowded, but needed to drop off a little glass dish to assistant manager, Roan, for all her help on previous visits there. Chairs are free with food and drink purchase. Started with a Miami Vice drink which mixes Pinacolada and strawberry smoothie. This is Anna(Annie) delivering it. Lunch was their Chicken Caesar salad. A little more beach and back for our usual afternoon nap. We made reservations (highly recommended) for dinner at Palapa Grill on Airport Rd. Our table was waiting when we arrived. We ordered a 9oz Tenderloin. OMG!!!!!!! what a tender piece of meat. We both agreed that it was the best steak we had ever had!!!!!!!!!! It comes with fries and you can order different sauces. Save your money, this steak doesn't need anything. Dessert was their Lemon Grass Creme Brulee. Also outstanding!!! A stop down the street at Ultimate Casino. Norm up, Betty down.

Nice! Have fun! I am jealous!

9oz Tenderloin is a generous piece of meat. May I ask how much for that cut?

The 9 oz tenderloin was $41.00 . They had a 6 oz which was $30something and a 11 oz which was $49. But the 9 oz split satisfing portion for each of us.

Thanks. Prices seem reasonable for the quality you shared.

Norm--did that come with a salad or just fries?

Just fries along with a 10% sales tax and 5% service charge......

Odd, as there is no sales tax in SXM. Looks like a good way to disguise an additional service charge if they are in fact doing this.

Some friends ate there last week and said there is also a $1 "box' fee, if you bring food home!

We ate there in Nov. and had a decent meal. I thought there was a 15% (service) charge of some sort so I paid the bill and left a couple of $$ extra. My biggest disappointment was the extremely short pour of cheap (US/CA brand) house Cabernet at a high price. I honestly thought the pour was a tasting. The place has been getting decent reviews but I don't get a $1 box fee for what is probably a styrofoam box that costs pennies.

I’ll probably hit El Zafio today. Anna (her name is longer but I can’t remember) and her friend are always great on the beach. The weather is really nice now. Finally.

It's Annalee, although that might not be the proper spelling. She goes by Annie, a lot.

Indeed they are.........but you don't find out til the end. Decent meal but ruined the experience for me by slipping that in.

They got me once.....never again.

Regardless of how it is stated on the bill, I would view the sum total of both add-ons as their service charge and be done with it unless one wanted to leave something extra for the server.

Some places on the island have been known to show the TOT (turnover tax of 5%) on the bill or verbally state it is part of the service charge, which is supposedly not how it is to be done. When they do this I factor it in as part of the total service charge. Once anything resembling 15% is added to the bill on Dutch SXM, it IS a service charge.

El Zafiro adds 15% to the bill.

Agreed.......... but NOT when they specifically refer to it as a "Sales Tax".

Fine by me as long as it's called a "Service" charge and not a non-existent "Sales Tax"

Any chance the receipt/bill is not "island friendly" and the only line to show the additional 10% service charge was on a tax line? Confusion at best and deceptive at worse. Not sure why they wouldn't just lump the two together for a total of 15% but I guess if you are trying to confuse people, you do it as they are.

Agreed, JD, that is disappointing and deceptive, with the 15%. Just call it a 15% service charge, which it seems half the places on the Dutch side are doing now, and be done with it. As far as the 'box' fee, have never heard of that before, at ANY restaurant. I wonder if they have bought some type of environmentally friendly box that is fairly expensive and are trying to recoup the cost for that? That wine situation would be a big disappointment for me also. The markup on wine is ridiculous already, without them doing that kind of stuff. I would have asked about the wine situation.

Another person at our table had a white wine and it was the same very small pour. A typical pour is around 5oz. I doubt I had 3oz of Josh Cabernet and it was in the $8-$10 range if not more. The server poured what I thought was for me to tastes and approve, she then walked away and what was poured was what I got.

The 15% service charge, however they want to disguise it) is akin to the service charge being built in on the French side. Best to not ask, take it as any added charge IS the service charge and add any reasonable amount for the service it it is deserved.

Huh. Guess if we go there, a bottle is the way to go. I generally don't order US wine in SXM, as it is over-priced there, versus other wines.

I would usually go that route but I was the only one drinking red wine. I would have been ok with the price had it been a reasonable pour.

Norm,

Just curiosity on my part but but when you and Betty share entries do you typically get charged a plating fee in most island restaurants? I know many places here at home do this but not sure about on the island. I’ve contemplated sharing meals many times but we usually end up ordering individual meals and doing carry out with any substantial uneaten portions.

I doubt if it is a receipt/bill problem as the bill showed a separate 5% SC add on. Jimbo's is one that shows a separate line for TOT. which is illegal, and 15% SC along with Pineapple Pete breaking down the 15% as part TOT.

Pat, Think we have only been charged a plating fee once on SXM. Can't remember where it was. Palapa Grill did not charge for extra plate.

Thank you, Norm.