Spent 6/21-6/30 on Grenada. I will post my opinions on restaurants in no particular order.
Bananas- Had not planned on dining here as I pulled up the menu here at home before trip and looked like typical US rest. menu. I had also heard it was more of a party spot/bar. Decided to give it a try. We rec'd the best service & food here out of all the rests. we ate at. Excellent crab cakes, pumpkin soup, blackenend mahi-mahi, grilled mahi-mahi in spicy seasoning and jerk chicken with mango chutney. Only negative, small baked potatoes about the size of a peach, but the waitress brought out another. My 12 year old lived off of shrimp, fries and baked potatoes when we could find them. Cheesecake, so-so more like the consistency of key lime pie. Wished we had tried this earlier in our trip, we would have returned. Reasonably priced/excellent service.
Tropicana- service started out to impress immediately being seated and water glasses filled, chairs pulled out, napkins put on laps-soon fizzled. Very long time for appetizers to arrive and even longer for dinner w/ little attention to refill beers. I was ready to fall asleep. Crab back so-so, a bit too fishy. Broiled swordfish and grilled shrimp not much flavor. Grilled pork chops and rum punch very good. Curried lambi, good, but didn't taste or look like a curried dish. A local man kept calling out from behind a wall in back of our table begging for US money to buy some food. Reasonably priced/overall service not so good.
Aquarium-called in advance to reserve table at noon for the Sunday BBQ. Arrived at 11 and ordered at about 1pm. They said they opened at 10, but didn't seem to be ready for our noon reservations. Service was not the best. Every thing ala carte, but reasonably priced. Vegetable kabob-delicious, gr. shrimp and chicken-good, gr. tuna-a bit rarer than I'd prefer. At about 4pm I thought I'd order some fries to hold my daughter over until our late dinner. Over an hour and no sign of the 2 orders of fries, finally asked for check and they mentioned the fries, told them they never came, said they'd check kitchen, told them not to worry about it-too late. This place was very quiet when we first arrived, but got busier-live band played for about 2 hours, wished they played longer. The location and setting beautiful-nice for photos. Can rent beach chairs-$10EC all day for one. There were beach vendors here, which I was not happy about, but they were not as annoying as our Grand Anse experience.
Coconut Beach-nice beachfront setting, short walk from Coyaba, tried lunch. Steak sand-excellent/huge, fries-extremely greasy, fish salad-okay, creole mahi-mahi-good, tom/cheese crepe-good, pina colada-good. Only negative, one of our friend likes the island hot sauces. He always requests a bottle on the table to smother his food in-nothing to hot for him. They brought out a very small condiment cup with some and when he asked for more, they said they didn't have any. Well, he was not happy. Reasonable prices and good service.
DeBig Fish-outdoor setting, but not pleasing to the eye surrounded by some junky boatyard. Huge baked pot w/ melted cheese-daughter said excellent, blackened chick. quesadillas-excellent with great salsa, grilled swordfish sand-huge/good. Reasonable prices, but service slow and poor.
Beachhouse-this was the nicest rest. we dined at. Beautiful setting w/ lots of tropical plants and view of water. Food was excellent, great presentation, but small portions. Great blk. mahi-mahi, cajun shrimp good, but very very spicey (were warned though), good shrimp in hot sesame sauce. The desserts here were the best out of the trip. The cheesecake was huge, very dense and the coconut pie-huge and delicious. Service could have been more attentive. A bit pricey for the portions, but worth it if you're looking for something not so casual or fine dining. Only negative a stray kitten sat by our table our entire meal meowing over and over again. My daughter said the cheesecake was so good, that she'd be willing to pay the $40 cab trip just to get another piece. After sampling the cheesecake here, she had to try the rest on the island and none came close.
LaChateau-this casual rest was in the LeMarquis Mall area w/in walking distance to the Coyaba. Excellent service, very friendly and attentive. Reasonable prices w/ good portions-food good not outstanding. Desserts- creme caramel and cheesecake, so-so. Lots of car whizzing by at high rates of speed on the road behind the restaurant
LaBoulangerie-in the LeMarquis Complex as well, so another convenient dining option close to Coyaba. Very reasonably priced pizzas, foccacia bread, pastries and such. Got things from here several times due to price, location and quality. The sweet bakery items were limited-you could find more from the grocery store bakery. Only negative not very friendly. Do not take credit cards.
True Blue-nice waterfront setting, good presentation, but smaller portions except chicken tacos that were loaded and delicious. Garlic shrimp and curry chicken not too flavorful. Reasonable prices, service okay.
SurLaMer-nice waterfront view. Had simple lunch as we were to spend day here, but due to seaweed and crabs in the water it was a no go for my daughter. Excellent service and reasonable prices.
St. George's University Canteen-not sure the exact name of this place, but next door to Coyaba that was brought to my attention for the best deal on the island. $15 EC for a huge plate of food, that will leave you full all day. I did not eat here, but the others in my group did and said it was worth it. Appears to be a hot spot for locals during lunch.
Nutmeg-we did not dine here during our stay, but our friends who are still there tried to dine there 6/30 night. Their email states "The Nutmeg is a disaster. They are out of everything. Took an hour and a half to get appetizers, we left and went to LaChateau". So, I guess I didn't miss anything.
Coyaba Beach Resort-There is a dress code for trousers in the dining room after 7pm, which we never bring trousers on vacation. The dinner menu looked nice, but very expensive. We did eat lunch at the pool bar restaurant and lunch/breakfast room service, which was good-average. Service great. They do have an excellent blueberry cheesecake and triple decker club with hard boiled eggs (unusual, but very good) and outstanding plantain chips which I wish I had now. Only negative, the rum punch and pina colada entirely too strong. Felt like there was all rum and nothing else-don't light a match!
Hardwood Bar (Carricaou)-typical beach shack restaurant with excellent service and reasonable price. Delicious stewed chicken plate with four pieces of chicken, peas/rice and island vegs, good fries. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/dine.gif" alt="" />