Patti

We are looking for recommendations on places to dine. We are hoping for the best food and atmosphere, a good wine list and hopefully a beautiful view of the ocean. Great Martinis would also be nice!

Are there any good places where a jacket is required? If so, are these places worth packing the jacket?

Thanks!

freewoman

Just returned from Grand Cayman last week for the third time. I have not found a restaurant yet that requires a jacket. Some require collared shirts (such as polo shirts) and most all will allow nice shorts. My favorite places are The Lobster Pot, The Wharf (these are owned by the same people), The Grand Old House, Hemmingways at the Hyatt, The Pennisula at the Mariott. At most of these (not the Lobster Pot) you can sit outside right by the water. Have also eaten at Hooks Grotto and The Cracked Conch and their food is good too. If you want to have a great meal in the coziness of your room, you can dial 949-DINE and tell them what you would like and from where. They have about twenty restaurants that they deal with. They will order your meal and deliver it to your room. I have done that on the evenings when I am just too tired to get ready and go to dinner. Have fun. I wish I was still there!!

Mare

After 3 vacations on Grand Cayman, I will tell you our favorites! Also always looking for the best! OTHERWISE, I CAN COOK AT HOME!!! Casa Havana at the Westin-can't go wrong there and have a great wine list-sorry we are not into martinis-bet you could get a good one tho! Nice atmosphere-waiters will actually talk to you! Hemmingways at the Hyatt offers good food but the waiters are somewhat stuffy and they are like you are doing a favor to them by being in their establishment. Way different attitude! Skip the Wharf and the Lobster Pot if you want great food.It (especially) the Wharf is like a cattle herd (move them in then out) food not great either. Lobster Pot is not worth going to! I was sorry we wasted a night out there! Ottmars was very European and stuffy-I had a perfectly good piece of fish ruined in a flood of cheese-who needs that? My son had veiner schnitzel-which I make better at home. Very rude wait staff. Would never go back to that place. We always enjoyed Maxins in downtown Georgetown. Little French bistro type place with excellent food but it has changed ownership lately-I still think it would be worth checking out. Also Smugglers Cove was great-but had a run in with flying cochroaches-on my plate-but they gave me a new one at no extra cost-don't let that scare you away-food was excellent! Also another place downtown that I can't remember the name of right now that served an awesome 5 course Sunday night dinner complete with wine. My 13 year old son thought after that dinner that rack of lamb was the best and ordered that at Pappagallos also! That brings me to Pappagallos! It is a wonderful place that will match wine to your entree and was excellent! The Cracked Conch was also very good! I would skip the Crows Nest if I were to go again! These choices are all my own opinion-others may have very different views-I realize that! If I could answer any more of your questions, feel free to e-mail me!

Vince

Don't forget Anthony's, a great italian restaurant, with great food and service. it is across from the Westin and down the raod a little. I think it is called the Coconut Plaze. Vince

cmw

I just got back yesterday from a week on Grand Cayman--great place!
We prefer casual, so we didn't go to any restaurants that have strict dress codes; however, the best experiences we had were at the Almond Tree (right on the water & casual. Very pleasant & comfortable atmosphere) & Cimboco (not on the water, but great fresh Mahi Mahi). Also had great lobster at Deckers. I would AVOID the Cracked Conch. It was by far the worst meal, and to add insult to injury, the most expensive.

Suzanne

Just came back from Grand Cayman. We had a great time but our one disappoint-
ment was the food. We tried a couple of places I saw recommended on this message board-Cracked Conch and Crow's Nest- and were not impressed with either. We did try EATS, across from the Westin and would highly recommend that restaurant-great selection and reasonable prices. It was our kids favorite place to eat. On our last day we were waiting for Eats to turn over their menu to lunch entrees and went to check out the Westin across the street. I was talking to the bartender and mentioned how I thought many of the restaurants were over-rated. She said the bartenders always know the best places to dine (The only restaurant she named that I can remember was Calypso Grill.)
Wish I had that travel tip at the beginning of my trip instead of on my last day!

Tim

Try the bed it is a great restaurant and they make these infusion martinis that will knock your socks off

Cheryl

My husband and I just went to Grand Cayman (end of April). We had great meals at each of these restaurants (which we picked based on recommendations of our hosts at the Turtle Nest Inn where we stayed):

Lighthouse - South shore, right on the water
Pappagallos - West end (on water)
Portofinos - East end (on water)
Lantanas - Seven Mile Beach area
Almond Tree - Seven Mile Beach area (right on water)
The Edge - very casual and inexpensive restaurant on south shore, right on water (good for lunch or a real casual dinner)

A jacket would not be needed for any of the restaurants I mentioned. We found restaurants to be relatively smart casual or casual. I usually wore a sundress, skirt or slacks, and my husband wore slacks and a polo shirt or short-sleeve button down shirt ... comfort is key, especially if eating outdoors since it will be warm. With many restaurant, you could probably even wear nice walking or dressier shorts. Have fun! We loved Grand Cayman and hope to go back some day, although we want to visit some other islands first. (So far have been to St. John, Bermuda and Grand Cayman.)

Suzi

I'd love to hear what you thought of the Turtle Nest Inn, and Grand Cayman. We've enjoyed their website, and are planning to visit Grand Cayman and stay there. However, we want to go to St. Lucia first. Any advice?

Cheryl

We really enjoyed the Turtle Nest Inn. It is off the beaten path in Boddentown, about a 20 minute drive into Georgetown and 7MB area (longer if there is alot of traffic), however it is not isolated like being on the east end. A car would be a necessity if you are staying there. Boddentown is really not a tourist area; it is a residential town on GrC. If you do a review on this forum you will generally find very positive comments about TNI, along with some comments that it is too isolated. We tend to like to be away from whereever the main strip of resorts is, but we don't like to be too isolated. For us, the location was fine. We made breakfast in our room everyday, and then either packed a lunch (they will provide you with a cooler), or came back to the room later to hang out and make lunch.

It is right on the south shore with its own small beach. The beach at the TNI is not the silky smooth sand that you find on 7MB ... there is a bit of turtle grass right off the shore that you have to wade through and the beach is pebbly because there is a reef right off the shore. Although you can walk a little way, you can't walk for long stretches on the beach as you can on 7MB. There is also a small pool behind the inn right next to the beach. Most of the time we had the beach to ourselves, and many times we were only ones at the pool. We really liked that there was excellent snorkeling at the reef right off their shore.

We tend to like the ambience of smaller places and enjoyed the hospitality of the hosts there, as well as meeting other guests. There are only 8 apartments. They do offer daily housekeeping with fresh sheets and towels everyday. The place was immaculate.

We loved staying there, and will probably stay there again for our next trip to Grand Cayman. We had great views from our windows ... we were only about 75 feet from ocean. (Note - With the way the inn faces, you will get beautiful sunrise views, but not sunset like on 7MB.) We enjoyed using it as our homebase and exploring the rest of the island.

I think you have to know what you tend to like in your accomodations to judge whether you will like it. If you want a resort/hotel type atmosphere that offers amemities like a restaurant, room service, help with luggage, bar, etc., this may not be for you. Also, if you think that you may want to spend most of your time on Seven Mile Beach (which is absolutely beautiful) you may want to stay at a place on 7MB ... there are many nice places to pick from.

Hope this helps ... let me know if you have any other questions.