My husband and I will visit Anguilla for the first time Feb 12-19 and we'd love restauarant (dinner)recommendations. We're staying at the CuisinArt and plan to eat there our first night. Otherwise, we are considering Altamer, Blanchard's, Hibernia, Pimms, Straw Hat, Tasty's and E's Oven. Help!

Those are all good restaurants and consistantly get fine reviews (although I personally think Blanchard's is way overrated) - you won't be disappointed with any of them. You can use the search feature above and you will find many posts written in the last year about the restaurants on Anguilla. Also, go to www.caribbean-on-line.com and click on the Anguilla link at the top right hand side of the page. It will bring you to a very active Anguilla forum where you'll find hundred's of reviews and comments on just about every restaurant on Anguilla - they are the most popular topics of conversation on that forum.

Thank you so much for the quick response. I'll check out www.carribbean-on-line.com.

The COL forum has three recent trip reports one of which is mine. Other by Penny and Joe. My recommendations are do Hibernia for lunch and then go to Shoal Bay East for the afternoon. I recommend Altamer on tuesday when Dumpa plays, Mangos on Mon or Thurs when Boss and Friends play, We peraonally love Blanchards but it is expensive. Trattoria Tratmonto is a lovely dining experience with great lobster ravioli. Would scrap Pimms and go to Cove Castles instead. Make reservations. Instead of E's Oven although very good would pick Picante--More atmosphere and the Tequilla lime marinated brick chicken $14 is excellent--so are the seafood enchiladas. If you can't fit in tastys try if for lunch.

I was at Blanchard's this past Saturday night. It was beautiful and the food was incredible. And yes, VERY expensive but hey, it's vacation. I don't know how it will be when you go but the mosquitoes were biting and they had a mosq. coil right next to my table. I'm reading their book, "A trip to the beach" and it's very interesting after being there. We also went to Tasty's and enjoyed it.

cindgail, I recently read "A Trip to the Beach," and really enjoyed it. It so reminded me of when we first moved down here to the islands.

Enjoy the book. I hope to try out Blanchard's the next time I'm in Anguilla, as well.

Forgot One Other--Koal Keel which just reopened and is in the must do category. Excellent dining experience.

First of all, thanks to all of you for your outstanding inputs on this site for Anguilla. My wife and I just returned from celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary the first week of November. We stayed at Cap Juluca and it was by far, the best vacation we have ever taken.
As it relates to restaurant recommendations, we followed many of the suggestions from this site, and were not disappointed. Our first night, we had reservations at Straw Hat, but unfortunately, they were still waiting for new kitchen equipment, and could not reopen for the season yet. So we opted for Picante's and had a fantastic night. The couple that run this great little Mexican restaurant relocated from California, and have done an outstanding job. Service was great, atmosphere wonderful and food was just what we wanted. Very reasonable and laid back, which is more our style. We loved it so much, we opted to do take out another night later that week, and then ate by candlelight on our rooftop patio at CJ. What a romantic night.
Anyway, our other nights out included Trattoria Tramonto, Oliver's and Pimms. The setting for Trattoria Tramonto was wonderful and the lobster ravioli, as everyone raves, was outstanding. Service was also super. I do think our best night out was Oliver's. We got there early and had drinks down in the lounge, with the sounds of the waves hitting the beach below. We had a table overlooking the beach for dinner, and Oliver himself stopped by several times to check on how we were doing. Food and service were perfect. You will pay a decent amount, but it was definitely worth it, and Oliver's personal touch made us feel like we were dining in his home.
Our final night, we decided to eat at Pimm's and it was another great evening. The hostess that night was so welcoming, and we got our table right on the edge of the room, overlooking the water. Unfortunately, it started to rain, and we opted to move to an inside table. Service started out great, as we had an early seating, but as it got a little more crowded, they became less attentive. However, you are on vacation, and who wants to hurry. The food was very good, and it was a very memorable night as we capped it off with a stroll along the beach back to our villa.
Have a wonderful trip and enjoy every minute you are there. We can't wait to return!

We stayed on Anguilla July 2004 and our favorite restaurants were Kemia and Blanchards. We also enjoyed Straw Hat and Johnno's.

My wife and I were at CuisinArt in November. We loved Blanchards (expensive but excellent, and the Blanchards themselves are charming), Hibernia (a trek, but worth it. The earlier suggestion about having lunch there is an interesting idea) and The Overlook. We thought Santorini (at CuisinArt) and Straw Hat were very good and Oliver's was good but the service was pretty slow. We walked out of Mango's prior to being seated. The band (someone mentioned Boss and Friends -- I am not sure) was exceedingly loud (I saw a lady at a table holding her fingers in her ears) and awful (imagine Bill Murray's lounge lizard character from Saturday Night Live doing Billy Joel songs). The man who greeted us was straight out of a New Jersey Diner, which on its own would not have bothered us but compared to the charm of the folks in other restauarants, it stood out. However, the place was packed so other people must really like it. Tasty's was very good for lunch and very overrated for breakfast.

It would be best to say what type of restaurant dining you are interested in. Blanchards is somewhat high end but elegantly casual. Tastys and E's-Oven are locallly owned. The food is great. Just look at the star ratings and read the comments. Anguilla is the Cuisine Capital of the caribbean. The newest restaurant is now Rumza which has a South American/Euro/ Anguillian cuisine. However, they only serve dinner 6-10PM.

Is mangos that bad? Maybe I should change my reservation and go somewhere else this coming Monday ?

We leave this week for first trip to Anguilla...
Loud and like a New jersey diner???/

Should I go elsewhere?

We returned from a 2-wk. vacation a few wks. ago--trip 12. We eat out at least 2 times daily--this time we loved dinners at Altamer--great service and setting; Blanchards this time around had it all; Picante--great new addition to casual dining on the island; Straw Hat--great setting and food; We were disappointed in Trattoria Tratmonto which had always been good in previous yrs., Kemia (disappointing); Malli (2nd class service if you're not a guest). Also liked (not loved) Oliver's and Koal Keel. Mango's was the biggest disappointment of all--noisy with poor service and they tried to overcharge us by $65. This is a restaurant that can be good unless it's crowded--then forget it! Good luck and enjoy--Anguilla has the best restaurants!

oh my.....

you did not like any of the ones I have made reservations for......time to re think!

No...not time to re-think....time to trust yourself. There's a reason the Zagat's have made a fortune. People have different opinions....especially when it comes to food and restaurant ambiance.

I'm sure that some of your best friends have differing opinions on restaurants. Here, you are listening to total strangers. Although many offer wise advice...they don't know you.

Once you arrive on Anguilla, I think you'll understand that it really will ALL be fine !!

Now, I'm going to curl up under my down comforter and watch Law and Order SVU !

No more motherly advice from me...tonight ;-) !

Marion

Samara: My opinion on Mango's was based on my one visit. I also met another couple that had gone there and they were not terribly impressed. The experience I conveyed in my earlier posting is my own experience -- we walked out before being seated. However, we never tasted the food. The place was full and some folks were waiting. Obviously, it is popular so I guess others disagree with me.

Points taken. Thank you.

Mangos is one of our favorite spots.
I love the setting, right on the beach,
nice seafood, and it can be a quiet setting. On Monday nights Boss and Friends are the entertainment-fun group,
I think one of the members works at CJ.
It is one of the most popular restaurants on the island. This was the original site The Blanchards opened their first restaurant-yes it was called Mangos then too. The American owner David is an A type NY-NJ personality---not what you would expect
as you get this at home--so it can have an affect on people's expectations. In fact he is from Westwood New jersey!

The chef David Coburn is excellent,
nothing fancy-but wonderful seasame snapper, an outrageous veal chop, and many other items.

Samara trust your judgement, Marion
gave you great advice! The only problem with Anguilla is that there are too many choices. Just go, enjoy, relax,-----it will be fine.

Hi - I have to put in my 2 cents about Mangos --it's one of our favorite restaurants on the island. The food is fabulous and the setting (right on the beach) can't be beat. We thought David was charming and had a great time with him. Went to dinner there 2x last time we were there. I certainly didn't get a "New Jersey Diner" feel from the restaurant. I mean really, how many Jersey diners are located on the sand of a gorgeous beach. Being from Northern New Jersey and a frequent visitor to the Jersey shore, I can guarantee you there is no comparison. Mangoes is excellent and rivals many a NYC restaurant. I feel that europewithkids missed a great meal. And am wondering what the problem is w/ New Jersey???? Don't knock it until you try it.

Mangoes food is great. However, I don't think loud music should on while dining. Soft background island music is appropriate. The band can get loud. I suggest Samara rsearch a little more what type of dininng she want. If you don't like live music, find out if live music will be on and choose another of AXA fine restaurants. All opinions are welcome. Please don't take things personally. AXA is too fine to let one experience get you down. Similarly, this is your vacation, you don't need unnecesary stress.