Rated by dm on 01/13/08 What amateur goes to the Caribbean in July like Robert A. The heat is terrible and I am surprised the restaurant was even open. I go in February andhave never on any issues with the French restaurants in service or quality. I suggest next time Robert save his money and go in January- March. Must not pay much at his employer.
Rated by brent on 07/25/07 Dinner for 3, $280 plus tip. 3.5 hours.
It was our waiters first night on the job. He was being assisted by someone, and did a fine job. The service here, compared to the rest of the island should almost be called excellent, but compared to the states, poor. (for the price)
Basically, the wait staff was extremely friendly and polite, and did their best to make us happy. But at this calibre of establishment one would expect more professional service. At least we didn't go thirsty with empty glasses like most places. They even cleared our dirty plates fairly quick. (unlike most of the island) In this country we get that service at Red Lobster.
I can usually tell how good a meal will be by the bread. Well it came out so hard that you could chip a tooth. I understand why this happens with the heat and humidity, but at these prices...no way. Unacceptable.
At that point I was ready to leave.
Amouse Bouche, of a ravioli in some sort of foam. We all took two bites. Bland.
Lobster Bisque I think $14, was bland, and not nearly as wonderful as the boathouse recipe for $8 bucks that we had the day prior. It was served french style out of a toureen, which was nice, but I'm here for flavor too.
The shellfish soup en croute, according to my friend, wonderful.
Salads started at around $15 and went up. Like most of the island, grated, warm lettuce. Wow the word bland keeps coming up. We had three different salads. All were warm and had little flavor. Warm lettuce in the hot carribean, just doesn't go down well. The Ceasar with carpacio was $19.
Also, if you really want to eat here, I should mention, these salads are big enough for a meal for some people. Served on 12" chargers. WAY TOO LARGE. They need to cut them in half and the price!
I didn't hear my friends opinion of the crab roll appetizer. But she only ate part of one out of three.
My filet with sauteed foi gras was very good. Cooked perfectly, and served with over-cooked flavorless potatoes. Under them was some sort of ground mushroom and truffle oil, which was different, and actually added some flavor to the potatoes.
Table side fileted snapper. Well our new waiter got burnt on this flaming dish. This was a real process trying to get this dish on our table, and was very akward and embarassing for all, as it was holding up everything. I was afraid the fish might burn. But it was accomplished, and the waiter was able to joke about it. They should have had the poor guy watch this being done once or twice first!
Pasta with prawns and scallops. She ate about a 1/4 of the dish. To me a prawn is a very large shrimp or a very small lobster. These were regular old 25-30ct shrimp. The pasta seemed house made which was nice, but I'm not sure she cared too much for the very thin red sauce. I didn't have a bite of this, my guess is from looking at it.... bland and dry.
Thank god we didn't pre-order the desserts as suggested.
The view here was amazing. And seemed like 3/4 of the price was for the setting.
They actually advertise the brands of flatware and china. But being in that business, the Christophle flatware and Villeroy china, though excellent quality and weight.... were not attractive. I will say the linens were lovely. And felt amazing.
There were a total of 3 tables of couples in the whole place.
And these two waiters handled all of them pretty well... but I don't know what they would have done if someone else came in! This was a Saturday at 8p.
Fake, unattractive flowers everywhere.
Annoying piano music played on repeat throughout the place. We heard the same cheesy songs three times.
The strangest valet parking experience you will ever have. The guy shook all three of our hands at our car, and then came back into the restaurant later with our key, and shook all three of our hands again. In the middle of our meal!
Is this a sign he wants a tip? I guess it was since he stood about 10 feet from our table for another five minutes doing nothing. I've never had a valet bring my key to the table, they hold it. And I usually tip on the way out. All we had were big bills on the way in. This was very unprofessional. I cannot believe the restaurant does this.
Mens bathroom was down, so you had to use the ladies. They had regular small hand towels for everyone to share. (i've never seen that!)
Sitting next to the water with the lovely view made the heat bearable. BUT... if you had more than a party of three, you would have absolutely melted in the middle of the place. If it were full in high season, I don't know how anyone could eat there. It is completely open to the water, but it was more of a small lagoon not really the ocean, so it lacked the big breeze. No air conditioning.
There is a long list of celebrities that have eaten here. In fact there was one the night we were there, and we couldn't figure out who he was and the waiter wouldn't tell us. But I can assure you, they didn't come back a second time.
Folks, take your money to the Dutch side. Eat at Temptations in Cupecoy. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a view there. And it's behind a cheap casino. I prefer to eat on the water on vacation, and Temptation feels like a five star joint in NYC.... but I've compared some of the most expensive and highly rated establishments on this island, and thus far no one...has come even close to this chef's food. The service is certainly the best and really very professional. The food is mind blowing. The piano music is live.
Why the celebs are eating at Le Santal is beyond me. It must have something to do with the five star rating and four diamond rating they CLAIM to have. I guess the 4 diamond is legit, but the guy who gave it to them needs to have his head examined. The five star rating is certainly not from Mobil. It might be from the valet guy though.
Rated by c. j. on 04/11/05 Absolutely loved the Chateaubriand and the chocolate souffle! Best of all was the spectacular ocean-view from our table located on a private balcony. Food and ambiance were wonderful. The only negative was the seedy neighborhood. but, that wouldn't stop me from going there the next time I'm visiting the island!
Rated by ROBERT ATKINS on 04/13/04 BEST OF THE BEST
Rated by dm on 01/13/08
Rated by brent on 07/25/07
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