With its consistently sunny weather, gorgeous scenery and mouthwatering food options, St. Maarten is the place to be. Since St. Maarten is known as the culinary capital of the Caribbean, saying they just have “good” food would be an understatement. This Caribbean island is home to two countries and has over one hundred different cultures. St. Maarten is divided into two regions, the French and the Dutch. So, you can only imagine the various food options they offer. We quickly realized that not only is St. Maarten a beautiful place to vacation, but it needs its own blog post devoted to their food alone. Today we will be focusing on our adventure with the Dutch food as 18-22 year olds. St. Maarten is made up of three main cuisines, Local, International, and Beachfront dining. So here are some of the restaurants we decided to give a try.
ROMA CUCINA ITALIANA
For our first spot on our food tour, we dined at a restaurant called Roma located in Maho Village. After being recommended by multiple people, we decided to give it a try. This restaurant is the latest creation of Marco and Matteo, the famous manager and head chef duo of the Caribbean, owning several restaurants around St Maarten. Marco has been involved in italian restaurant business his whole life and has been involved in some of the most successful italian restaurants in St Maarten for the past 20 years. Matteo is a master Italian chef that specializes in classic Italian dishes, some of them directly from his family’s recipes from Italy.
We decided to get drinks first which consisted of a paloma, and mojito. Let me tell you this Paloma was like drinking it straight from Italy and was one the best drinks we have ever tried. With our dessert we decided to get an espresso martini which is their signature dessert drink. Their martinis were to die for which our friends decided to get as well.
As for food they had dozens of options to choose from. We were so overwhelmed. We had decided to get the burrata appetizer, which is our favorite back at home, linguine and clam sauce, which we order at every Italian restaurant we go to, and the special of the night, which was lobster ravioli. Their food was absolutely amazing. I was kind of surprised because we wouldn’t think Italian food would be so good in the Caribbean. Our friends had gotten gnocchi with alfredo sauce, and the seafood pasta which were both amazing as well. Roma is a more fancy restaurant and is more expensive compared to the local restaurants but it is so worth it.
Overall Rating: 9/10
So if you’re looking for some good Italian during your stay in the Caribbean, this is the place to go.
JULE’S FRENCH BAKERY
This little bakery is about a five minute walk from our hotel and right in Jordan village, home of many different little restaurants and bakeries. Jule’s is a french bakery that has many different options to choose from such as croissants, sandwiches, fresh juices, waffles, crepes and many other french pastries. They also serve coffee, lattes, and frappuccinos if you are in need of some caffeine.
This was a quick little lunch spot for us right after class before we were heading to the beach. We decided to try a chocolate croissant, which was actually the best thing we have ever tasted and a turkey and cheese sandwich which was served on a french baguette. (Imagine how big that is.) We also decided to try the fresh juice, we got grapefruit and orange juice. This was juiced right in front of you and so refreshing on a very hot day in the Caribbean.
This little bakery was a quick place you can sit down before going to the beach to get a bite to eat before your long day. It was nothing special but it was a cheap option especially for us students on a budget. Our whole meal only cost $10 total which was an amazing price for the amount of food we got.
Be sure to treat yourself to a $10 breakfast and coffee during your stay in St Maarten and you won’t regret it.
Overall Rating: 7/10
MAMA’S
Our next spot had to be the popular pizza and italian restaurant down in Cupecoy Bay, that everyone raves about. With over 30 different types of pizzas to choose from and plenty of appetizers and entrees, you are overwhelmed with the food options Mama gives you. Not only do they have amazing foods but you also have the option to be seated outside with the most spectacular view of the water.
Compared to Roma, the other Italian restaurant we went to, Mama is a more casual setting and also less expensive. You don’t really have to dress up for this restaurant but obviously if you want to, you are more than welcomed to. Although, their wine menu is exquisite, perfect for an Italian dinner. The only downside about Mama’s drink menu is that they are a little more on the pricey side. Mama has a range of specials that change every day which often include fresh fish, fresh steaks and specialty pasta dishes. There were so many amazing options, it was so hard to decide what to choose for our main course.
We ended up ordering from the Specials menu and got a 12’ personal pizza with burrata. I even wanted to add arugula on top and they were so accommodating to us. We also ordered a pasta dish of Linguine and Clam sauce. This dish was so delicious and had all the right flavors. They also offer all pastas with the gluten free option which was super accommodating to the other girls we were with.
Our food came out super quick which is the best when you are feeling extra hungry….which we were! Another perk about Mama was it was one of our friends birthday and they came out with free shots and a birthday dessert. They let us sing and even had a candle she could blow out. Between the service, the location, and the most delicious food, It was the most perfect night.
This is the perfect place to have a quick, easy dinner with friends and/or family.
Overall Rating: 8/10
