Request assistance choosing restaurants in Grand Cayman
 

Hi all,

A friend and I will be Grand Cayman for the first time at the beginning of December. We have four nights and will be staying at the Ritz Carlton. I have gathered a pretty long list of suggested dining spots from this site, but as am I not familiar with the relative restaurant locations, ease of walking or taxi access, or general "feel" or ambience of the recommendations, I would love some help choosing. :-)

Although we may go for one fine dining experience - probably Blue at the Ritz, we are mostly looking for good moderate to slightly upscale dinners. We would prefer seafood and "local" Caribbean style food and casual ambience. A couple of nights at places "on the water" with a view or outside dining would be a plus.

Here are some possibilities I've seen listed - any comments, notes about location or type of food, price range (which would be an "upscale" night, which more moderate or casual), votes for favorites, etc... would be great. Are any of these walkable (up to a mile or so for dinner and pedestrian friendly) from the Ritz? Not a must, though, as willing to take a cab.

Calypso Grill
Ragazzi's (although leaning against Italian)
Cracked Conch
Blue
Calico Jack's
Sunset House
The Wharf
The Lighthouse
Over the Edge
Neptune's
Cassanova's
Hammerheads Brew Pub and Bar
Lone Star Grill
Reef Grill
Grand Old House

Phew, too many choices. Please Help!! :-) We love good food and wine, but doesn't have to be fancy.

Here are a few thoughts from my experience.

Blue is outstanding, but it is very expensive. Basically expect to pay what you'd pay at Le Bernardin in NYC.

Loved Calypso Grill so much we went twice -- once for lunch and once for dinner. It's casual and moderately priced, island-inspired cuisine with outdoor waterfront dining. For lunch, it's easy to get in, but for dinner, reservations are essential as they fill up. You'll need a taxi or rental car.

Cracked Conch food didn't impress, but the waterfront atmopshere was very attractive. Taxi ride.

Calico Jack's is right on the beach. Super casual. We walked down 7MB from the Ritz, but it was midday and we only stopped for drinks. Seems to hop at night, but I have no idea how the food is.

Over the Edge is pretty far away and super-casual and rustic. Not very pricey at all. On the water with an extremely limited menu, however I felt it offered the most authentically island vibe and liked it for that reason. Good conch fritters.

Of the places on your list, I tried a few of them for happy hour and/or dinner during my trip. Here are my impressions:

Calypso Grill: Excellent dinner, fairly casual waterfront location and "moderate" price for Grand Cayman but not cheap (grilled tuna entree, one glass of wine, sticky toffee pudding was $60 including tip).

Cracked Conch: I just had an appetizer (pretty good conch salad) and drink here. I loved the atmosphere and it is a great place for sunset (waterfront bar). I rented a car for one day and drove to Cracked Conch for sunset and then had dinner after at Calypso Grill.

The Royal Palms/Reef Grill (lower level): I wasn't impressed with this place. I was thinking about having dinner but just ended up having a drink and appetizer because the service was bad. Also, I'm not a big eater but the appetizer portion (conch fritters) was unreasonably small for the price. This is within walking distance of the Ritz.

The Wharf: I had heard mixed things about the food, so I just had a sunset drink there (and they had a small buffet of complimentary appetizers that night). Casual, waterfront atmosphere. It is probably about 2 mi from the Ritz.

Other places on your list that are within a mile of the Ritz include: Calico Jacks (more of a beach bar on SMB) and Lone Star Grill (on the main road).

Another place I really enjoyed for a less expensive, casual dinner in the SMB area was Cimboco (on the main road in a shopping plaza near the Marriott, so I think it is around a mile or maybe a little further from the Ritz).

over the edge is almost 40 min drive for you. fun for lunch. we went for breakfast. good portions, cheap, very low key NOT fancy. maybe for lunch? maybe to be combined with a walk through the botanical garden.

lighthouse is maybe 25 mins from seven mile. we wanted to go but it was closed so can't help much there.

you should be able to locate all your choices on this series of maps. map B shows the ritz, D shows rum point & over the edge: http://www.caymanrestaurants.com/maps.html

not on your list but: we loved guy harveys http://www.harveysgrill.com/. went at lunch but dinner could only have been better. we all had Excellent fish. if you go there do go across the alley to guy harveys art gallery. absolutely marvelous drawings of fish.

our favorite (note we stayed near rum point) was the rum point restaurant. http://www.caymankaivacations.com/RumPointClubmenu.pdf
we had a table at sunset which was lovely. very nice servers. very very good food.

did not go to but heard all good things about grand old house.

Fodorites rock!

OK, this is exactly what I needed (plus I finally pulled out a more detailed map).

Blue sounds great but may be too fancy for a beach trip.

OK, narrowing down - on the list:

Calypso Grill - definite (how long a ride is it?)

Grand Old House

Cimboco (thanks for rec - looks great!)

Lone Star (if in a burger and beer sort of mood)

Guy Harvey's

Calico Jacks - for a drink or very casual meal

Can't wait!