Francois Plantation - one of hte best meals I've ever had

Le Gaiac at Le Toiny..one of the best meals I've ever had.

Carl Gustaf..Sunset drinks or excellent for dinner ..very french though.

Wall House..Great service and excellent food.

Do not be intimidated by French food most menus have english translations and it's not all cream sauces anymore..Just returned from a week on the island and loved every meal I had.
You will not be disappointed..

What type of food do you enjoy and I can make a few suggstions.

For a good time with decent food, go to Ti St Barths. Great ambience. Boubou's is also nice, and the food is good.

Try Esprit de Saline on the road to Saline Beach. More casual than Le Gaiac or Francois Plantation. Good food.

Le Select for a Cheeseburger in Paradise(now thats not intimidating).

There's no need to feel restricted. St-Barth has plenty of restaurants serving Continental, Italian, & Asian cuisine. Get a Ti St.Barth guide (they're free, and they're everywhere) when you arrive, it will lay out many restaurant choices for you.

Why would anyone go to Le Select when there are so many great restaurant's. Maya, Francois plantation,Au Port,Tamarind(i think,name escapes me right now)

We liked La mandala a lot.

I thought the Carl Gustaf was the worst most over rated place I have ever had dinner. Service and food was really awful. However, the scenery was nice. Would definitely recommend a drink but skip the food (and the cats running around the dining room!)

I also vote for Mandala. I had an amazing Steak in Saki Sauce last October. If you like steak, order that! YUM!

Also, make sure you order grilled lobster (almost at any restaurant). It is delicious.

We also liked a small French bistro type restaurant Le Re...? Right at the edge of town. Inexpensive and really very good.

I recently had one of the best dinners I had ever had at the Carl Gustaf..Can't imagine how anyone could think their food was bad..It was very expensive though and very French so maybe that had something to do with the bad review above.

Joe,

There's a wide range of dining options in St. Barth's, in terms of cuisine type and price range. Here are a few suggestions from a recent trip:

The Palace at Pipiri Gallery, in Gustavia. We shared a grilled whole red snapper that was absolutely delicious and there were some delicious-looking bbq options as well. Moderately priced (for St. Barth's).

For lobster, La Langouste in Flamands was wonderful. You will be presented with a lobster for your inspection and then it's grilled and served with a few sauces. Great service, romantic atmosphere with tables around a pool. Lobster is expensive, but the creole specialties are reasonable. Best accras, salt-cod fritters, that we had on our trip.

Andy's Hideaway near the Villa Creole shops between St Jean and Lorient has good salads, wood-oven pizzas and some hot-stone cooked specialties. Reasonably priced. This is a place where locals come to eat and hang out.

We didn't eat at Wall House, but the menu looked really good. Same for Do Brazil which is on Shell Beach and looks like a fun casual place with interesting food. If you do any shopping around Villa Creole or the smaller shops in Gustavia ask the owners where they like to eat and you may get some good tips for restaurants.

Why would you go to Le Select?

For the best people watching spot in Gustavia plus the burgers are good...

you've got to be kidding. My teenagers won't even go back to le select. It's like a white castle or krystal

Erin,

Le Select is a landmark in St. Barth. It's been there for 50+ years but I don't think anyone goes there for the food. LOL! Since it's located on one of the busiest corners on the island it seems that most people go there to watch the world whirl by in the jeeps and scooters (great people watching). The place just has a fun atmosphere.

Erin,
St Barths would be the LAST place I would consider taking teenagers... I don't consider it a children kind of place.
Le Select has a mix of locals and tourists and we were lucky to meet Mr Stakleborough (sp?) a few years ago, the owner, who couldn't have been nicer or more sincere. He has been a one man ambassador for St Barths and he and Le Select have been an institution on SBH for countless years.

If you like eating well done cheeseburgers while trying to swat flies, i guess le select is for you. I've been bring my boys to St barths before they were teenagers and it's their favorite island. We go there every winter.

Erin, You must be used to swatting flies because in St. Bart's many of the restaurants are open air. There's nothing different about Le Select in that respect except for the fact that it is a very casual place and many of the other restaurants are more elegant. Can't drink champagne and eat fois gras at every meal and places such as Le Select can be a nice change.