Our dining review - some great restuarants

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DavidKram
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Our dining review - some great restuarants

Post by DavidKram »

All restaurants were good to excellent. Our reviews are listed from the ones we liked the most to the ones we liked the least.

La Tartaruga (our #1 out of 6):
A superb dining experience – our favorite place to dine on the island! While we love Italian food, when we are vacationing in the Caribbean we usually like to eat more of the local food and purposely stay away from the types of food we can get back in the states. However, we love our wine and could not pass up the chance to dine at a place that had such a great wine list (one of Wine Spectator Award of Excellence).
Boy – are we glad the wine got us here, because the food would definitely keep us coming back.
The wine list was indeed impressive – a great selection of wine at all price points. If you have a big budget or need to celebrate a very special occasion, there are some fabulous wines available – in the $4,000tt to $5,000tt range!!
The wine service is impeccable – even if you purchase a less expensive bottle of wine. The temperature of the wine was perfect (yes a red wine should be slightly chilled). It was decanted at our table – only the finest restaurants in the US decant all of their wines.

The food matches the wine in every way except the prices for the food is something any budget can afford.
To start the meal, a small tray of bread and olives were served. The olives were pit less and were the most tasty olives I have ever had.
As appetizers, my wife had the green salad ($45tt) and said it was very good while I had the pumpkin/shrimp soup ($85tt) – what a great combination – it was delicious and had plenty of shrimp.
We both had pasta entrees (Shrimp Alfredo - $135tt and fish/shrimp with capers in a white wine sauce - $145tt) and they were out of this world. The pasta is freshly made by hand and the taste of the entrée showed that – I have never had pasta as delicate, tender and fresh as this was – it truly was melt in your mouth.
For dessert we had to try the tiramisu ($50tt) which of course was excellent as well.

The overall service was excellent – the owner, Gabrielle, stopped to chat twice with us. What a gracious person and host. He was born in Milan and of course has that wonderful Italian accent and enthusiasm. His daughter served some of our dishes, but unfortunately we did not get to meet his wife – who was back in the kitchen making that heavenly pasta.
This one of the best Italian meals and dining experiences I have ever had – and this includes Italian meals I have had in New York and Boston.

This was our favorite restaurant on the island and one of the best Italian restaurants we have ever eaten at – anywhere.




Salsa Kitchen (our #2 out of 6):
We like to eat local cuisine when we travel, and this was a great choice to partake of the local cuisine and charm.
One would never think that such a fine place to eat dinner would be off on a neighborhood road.
This was a very romantic restaurant (about 8 tables) on the porch of the owner’s (Paula) home.

We made reservation one day in person while in the area. Walk up the steps from the road and ring the bell – don’t let the barking puppies (behind a secured gate) dissuade you from coming back for dinner.

The food was all excellent – since these are tapas – try a number of them – they are smaller than a full entrée. My wife and I shared each of the following tapas – each was excellent:
Lobster and scallop in coconut curry ($150tt) – this had 3 lumps of lobster and 6 tiny scallops
Grilled lamb in a tamarind sauce ($125tt) – this had 3 lamb chops - phenomenal – our favorite dish
Shrimp salsa ($70tt) – 3 large shrimp in a spicy salsa sauce
Garlic bread ($45tt) – this was like Naan
Caprese salad ($50tt) – you could get this in a small or large – we had the small

The drive from Bucco is about 10-15 minutes and the dinner lasted about two hours – so plan to take your time and enjoy.
We did have to wait about 30 minutes after our last course was served to get the bill, but this was as other posters have stated – because Paula and her staff are busy making individual items for each guest and they can only do some many tasks at once – relax and enjoy another Carib while you wait.

This was our second favorite restaurant on the island.




Fish Pot (our #3 out of 6):
A great place for a unique variety of fresh seafood. The menu consists of a variety of fresh fish – some varieties that may have a hard time getting elsewhere on the island. That night’s menu offered barracuda, mahi-mahi and wahoo. My wife and I shared a crab cake appetizer that was very good. We also both had the barracuda ($160tt) in a coconut curry sauce. This was an excellent dish. I definitely need to try this type of curry when I get home – yummy. The sides of veggies were done just right – still crunchy – and the pumpkin – oh my goodness – this was the best pumpkin I ever had.
To continue with the coconut theme, we had the coconut cheesecake for dessert – it was not heavy for a cheesecake and was melt in your mouth delicious. Two entrees, 1 appetizer, 1 dessert and 4 Carib were $515tt.
They also offer a few wines posted on a chalk board – some nice, reasonably priced choices of Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet and some whites as well.
The restaurant is small – about 8 tables so reservations are essential. Contrary to some posts, the restaurant is open for dinner every night of the week except Sunday.

The service was very good. While we ranked this overall as our 3rd favorite out of 6, we would rank it #1 for seafood.
We agree it is as good as most say it is.


El Pescador (our #4 out of 6):
A great place for truly fresh seafood. The small restaurant overlooks Bucco Bay. You can watch the fisherman bringing in their catch of the day as you decide which of the seafood entrée’s you wish for your meal.

They have a very nice selection of tropical drinks ($40tt) and a number of different beers. The menu was one of the best the number of seafood choices that we saw. Most entrees were $125tt to $180ttm but the lobster entrees were priced to $320tt.

The lobster dishes sound extremely yummy, but we prefer Maine lobster over Caribbean lobster so we tried other fresh fish.
I had a great tasting mahi-mahi that was uniquely prepared with some freshly made salsa. My wife had the Tequila shrimp that she absolutely loved.

We also had the shrimp tarragon appetizer ($60tt). These were warmed, shelled shrimp on that were prepared with a tasty blend of spices and mustard.

The service was very good. while we ranked this overall as our 4th favorite out of 6, we would rank it #2 for seafood.
Very nice.




Bamboo Mile (our #5 out of 6):
We were the only ones dining here on a Wednesday night. I do not know if the lack of diners was due to the noise from Milford Road or due to the menu prices. Their prices were the highest we experienced on the island with entrées in the $125tt-$189tt range. Even the Carib ($15tt) was more expensive here.

The tropical drink selection was the best we saw on the island and the drinks were excellent – very tasty and very generous with the alcohol, but again more expensive than other places. They charged $50tt for the drinks, whereas others charge $40tt.
The food was generally good. My wife had the mahi-mahi ($169tt) and loved how it was grilled and how it tasted. I tried a special of the day (Seafood gumbo - $189tt), but was not as impressed. It was an okay dish, but not worth the cost – especially since the Andouille sausage was under done and there was hardly and heat/spice to the dish at all.

The fish bites ($89tt) we had as an appetizer were very good, but again, more expensive than many other places on the island for a similar item.
The service was okay , but for us being the only ones dining that night, it could have been much more attentive.

We really loved their drinks, but based on reviews from others, I guess we were disappointed.



Café Coco (our #6 out of 6):
One of the nicest decors (Italian motif) on the island – a very pretty restaurant.

There were many menu choices ($100tt-$185tt) including shrimp, chicken, beef and fresh fish. They had a nice selection of tropical drinks ($40tt). Their wine list was very small and expensive for the wines being served – nothing special – try a tropical drink instead.

I had the blackened king fish and my wife had a pasta shrimp dish. A nice meal, but nothing to really make it stand out.

The restaurant is a bit too noisy – I think that is because the tables are too close together. There were open areas in the restaurant, but we were all seated in the same area and it was just too noisy.

The service was average – again – nothing special. Probably not worth a return visit.





The following are places we ate for lunch.

Kings Bay Café (our #1 out of 3 for lunch):
What a wonderful little restaurant. It is a long drive from either Scarborough or the Bucco area, but if you are headed towards Pirate’s Bay or the northern part of the island – try to plan your trip to stop here for lunch (closed Wednesday and Thursday) or an early dinner on the days they are open until 8pm.

They have a small dining area (four tables) overlooking King’s Bay – just a great view). There is a small menu of a few items.

We had some fresh tuna ($55tt) that was grilled with a unique semi-spicy topping. It was a nice sized piece of tuna and came with fries and coleslaw that had a slight taste of ginger! The ketchup for the fries tasted homemade – a nice sweet taste to it – almost like a sweet/sour dipping sauce.

The service was very attentive, but not pushy. Two entrees an two cokes (no liquor is available) were $124tt – a great value.


Trinbago Curry House (our #2 out of 3 for lunch):
A small, open air restaurant across the street from Café Coco. A very enjoyable place to eat lunch. The roti’s we had here were better than any we had on Trinidad. Service was fast and friendly – a good place for a quick meal.


Pizza Squares (our #3 out of 3 for lunch):
We love pizza and just had to try this to see how we would like pizza in the Caribbean. For our tastes, it cannot compare to the pizzas in the Midwest USA, but it was very good. It was made with a thicker crust and had plenty of toppings – the first time I ever had fish on my pizza!
Probably a great late night snack after a few Caribs!


Marguarite's (Castara)
A nice place for lunch along the creek in a busy part of town. We had the special for lunch which was mahi-mahi. A large portion, but would have preferred it being boneless – we do not like eating fish and having to worry about a lots of bones.
Overall an okay lunch. They do not serve liquor.
Thank you,
David
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Paul Tallet
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Re: Our dining review - some great restuarants

Post by Paul Tallet »

Cracking review.

I have been to Tartaruga, Fish Pot and Kings Bay Cafe.

Totally agree with your comments on Tartaruga ... Gabriel is very passionate ... I sense I have to go there again.

Fishpot ... very good but they don't change their menu much apart from whatever catch comes in.

Kings Bay ... that was my favourite last year.

I will try Salsa Kitchen ... not been but on my bucket list.

But wonderful review, I will be following up on your choices.

Regards
Paul Tallet
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Donnwick
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Re: Our dining review - some great restuarants

Post by Donnwick »

Yes really the services that is given here are really very good comparatively and a variety of items have been served.
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