Dining advice, please!

Your questions and comment on restaurants and dining out
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K Travers

Dining advice, please!

Post by K Travers »

I don't want to necessarily take over Sarah Jane's post below, but I too am looking for a romantic, upscale dining spot. My husband and I will be in the Crown Point area for 2 evenings in February, and I thought I might take advantage of the greater variety of dining options there than in Speyside where we will spend the following week.

I was looking at the Arnos Vale Waterwheel restaurant, attracted by the setting and the Friday night entertainment. Another attractive option, closer to the Toucan Inn where we will be staying, is Panache. My only quibble with Panache is that on Friday nights they seem to offer jazz music, which is lovely, but I was hoping for something more island-inspired!

But it really comes down to the whole dining experience- the food, the atmosphere, the service. Any advice for choosing between these options?

Thanks a bunch,

Karin
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

The Arnos Vale Waterwheel is in a lovely romantic setting and should fit the bill nicely. I have heard reports of erratic quality and service (and even opening times) during the low seasos, but this should not be a problem when you're there. Its somewhere well worth visiting.

Panache is great, but it's certainly not upscale - except possibly in terms of other Creole food restaurants. Again, well worth a visit, but mid-week when its quieter. It's only a tiny place with six tables covering a maximum of 24 covers, so 'intimate' is the word.
Steve Wooler
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Sarah Jane

Post by Sarah Jane »

Hi Karin,

If your going in feb maybe you could let me know if you find anything nice!

We are looking for something in the Charlottesville and speyside area, thanks Karin :)

Sarah
K Travers

Post by K Travers »

Thanks for the suggestion and info! It seems like the Arnos Vale Waterwheel might be the place for us. I was indeed a little put off by the reviews indicating an erratic aspect to its management, but I think it will be worth a shot.

Sarah, I shall certainly post my experiences when I return! This board has really helped me out quite a bit. I'm looking forward to giving a little back, albeit from the perspective of a first-time/short-term visitor.

Thanks,

Karin
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Hi Karin

I look forward to your views of the Arnos Vale Waterwheel and any other restaurants/accommodation/tours, etc. The views of first-time visitors are often more pertinent than those of long-time visitors like myself who naturally build opinions based upon wider knowledge - despite every attempt to remain balanced. Approaching everything 'fresh' will give you a different perspective, so let's hope that the views and opinions expressed in the forum don't prejudice your thoughts and expectations too much.
Steve Wooler
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
Richard Laurence

The Shirvan Watermill...

Post by Richard Laurence »

Well we were in Tobago over Christmas and New year 2003 and we visited a number of restaurants including the Shirvan Watermill Restaurant.

It was fabulous. Although when we first went to look it looked closed, when we finally went the food was great and the owner very accomodating. I would say I thought some of the service from his staff was cool, rather than friendly, but it was something we could live with.

Some other random thoughts....

Whilst we were there we also visited Melange which is just up (or down) from the Watermill and we had probably our best meal in Tobago. I would definitely recommend the Callaloo Soup.

Where else?

Well Patinos was good as well. Also on Shirvan road.

We didn't get to Me-shells - it was closed - but it cam highly recommended.

Pizza Boys was good pizza. Just make sure you don't order the mega version if you can't handle a mega pizza! I couldn't.

We tried the Golden gate (or Star) just opposite and thought the service was virtually non-existent and the food overpriced.

Pelican Reef. This was excellent despite the extremely loud live music making conversation difficult. The food was good, the service friendly and the prices were acceptable.
Richard Laurence

ooops! Wrong restaurant!

Post by Richard Laurence »

I've written a review of the Arnos Vale Watermill in the thread below.

Big mistake!

I was referring to the Shirvan Watermill NOT the Arnos Vale WaterWHEEL!!!

(Why can't I edit my posts! - Then I could hide my stupidity!)
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Steve Wooler
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Post by Steve Wooler »

Richard

Me thinks that you have partaken of a little too much Tobago rum!

Just to embarrass you further, it is the Arnos Vale WaterWHEEL and the Shirvan WaterMILL. I have taken the liberty of editing your post so that there’s no confusion in the mind of other readers (want to bet?).

Sorry that editing is disabled. One nasty person, now banned, wrote a mildly critical post about an establishment, which passed moderation, but then went back and changed it into a totally libellous malicious attack. Trouble is, if I tell the system to report to me every time somebody tidies up their spelling or punctuation, I will be forever checking posts.
Steve Wooler
myTobago.info - the definitive Visitor Guide to Tobago
Richard Laurence

Post by Richard Laurence »

Thanks Steve....

I'll cut back on the Rum! :D
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Paul Tallet
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Post by Paul Tallet »

Hi

I have been to the Arnos Vale Waterwheel over the last 2 years.

The food is always of a high standard and the location/setting is awesome if you can get there just before sunset ... can't see that much after dark although the restaurant is well lit. The access is poorly lit from the car park and can be off-putting if you have not been there before.

There are also many Fruit Bats that occupy the eaves which can give you a fright but they are harmless but I personally do not see this as a food/hygiene issue and they keep the flies away anyway.

My only criticism would be that it is (in my opinion) overpriced and I guess the service can be erratic from day to day ... I say this because the service on our last visit was appalling.

I suspect that it could be best to pre-book and they will be prepared ... but seriously ... watch the prices ... I am no stranger to posh UK restaurants and this restaurant seems to be pitching itself at the top end on price, but 'nearly' on the food and 'hardly' on the service.

If the service is alright on the night ... it will be special.

Apparently, you can arrange to be taxied there and back by prior arrangement with the gardener if you have no transport.

Paul
Roger Wyatt

Post by Roger Wyatt »

My wife and I spent two nights at Crown Point Beach Resort last week after ten days hopping around the island.

We had dinner the first night at the resort's Best of Thymes restaurant where the service, ambiance and food were very good. We took advantage of the "fixed price" complete dinner menu - $100TT - and a need for a red meat fix after many fine dinners of fish, shrimp and chicken across the island. My wife had the rib-eye steak and I had the roast pork. Both were superb.

The next day we opted for the same restaurant's advertised "Tea" served from 4 - 5:30 p.m. When we arrived at 4:15, they seemed shocked that anyone would actually order the Tea and so the staff quickly improvised with no tea pot provided (and surprise that we would wish a second cup of tea), a very basic cheese sandwich slapped together, a small samosa and a cinnamon bun (left over from breakfast) as a substitute for the advertised gateau.

Given our limited time availability on our third day in Crown Point before heading to the aiport and our departure for Canada, we did breakfast at the Thymes, with some hesitation after the previous day's Tea. The breakfast was excellent and the service even better than our first evening.

All this to say that the Thymes restaurant was very good when a chef was in charge of the food preparation and would be worth considering for dinner when you are in Crown Point.

Unfortunately we were not able to take advantage of a very high recommendation from friends to visit Patinos on Shirvan Road, closer to Buccoo but not far from Crown Point. Running out of time to visit Patinos will be another reason for a return trip to Tobago sometime in the future.

RW
Bryn

Post by Bryn »

The restaurant at the Coco Reef is excellent. We were there 2 years ago to celebrate our engagement. The service was excellent and the food was superb!

Bryn
Jean Sampson

Recommended restaurants

Post by Jean Sampson »

Having just returned from a second holiday in less than a year I have a few recommendations having tried quite a few .
For the Speyside restaurant I would recommend Gemmas Treehouse.
For the quality of food, ambience and for gentle background live music I would recommend Indigo Blue near Mount Irvine, but for friendliness and not being overpriced meals, then RubyLous at Crown Point.
A must is the Pancake House for breakfast which is near StoreBay and for takeaways my vote goes to Crystals on the StoreBay Local Road crossroad.
K Travers

Post by K Travers »

Thanks for all these helpful replies, folks!

I'm now back from our trip, rested and relaxed. I've put together a smattering of restaurant reviews on the site:
I've also put up some pictures of our trip and accompanying commentary here: Enjoy!

Karin
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