​Grand Case – French St Martin – The Gourmet Capital of the Caribbean

​by Joe Mack

​Thinking about the Caribbean Island of St Martin, for me, there is only one side, the French Side. I had heard about St Martin. I knew half of the island was French. I like all things French. I go regularly to Quebec City, Canada, and I have toured the South of France.  Nice, St Tropez, Cannes.  But that’s another story.  HERE I deal with the Caribbean. 

I did research before coming to the island. My wife Jaci and I are “foodies" and I discovered the town of Grand Case is considered the “Gourmet Capital of the Caribbean.” There is a good reason why. Main Street in Grand Case is called Grand Case Blvd. Here you will find some hotels and B&B’s lining the beach side of the street but, the first thing you will notice, are the number of restaurants. They adorn both sides of the street. On the ocean side, you will get the extra benefit of an ocean view while you dine. Anything in Grand Case that is along the beach is RIGHT ON THE BEACH. It is not a walk to the beach, you are right on the beach. In St Martin, as in most Caribbean islands, no beach is private, they belong to everyone.

​After breakfast it’s off to the beach to enjoy the sun, sand and water. On Sundays, just about every Sunday, there is a Boat Race in Grand Case. The boat race is done by locals. They own and take pride in their boats. They head for to the beach. Get their boats ready, then off they sail to the Island of Anguilla that is just beyond St Martin. You can see it from the beach in Grand Case.  Watching them get ready was more fun than watching them sail.

My first time on the island, I stayed at the Atlantide. This is a small building. Three stories, and three units on each level. Then, they were all hotel units, but over the years they have been purchased privately and get rented out by the owners on Airbnb and web sites like that. This first photo is from our terrace. We had the middle unit on the first floor. Again, when I say we were RIGHT ON THE BEACH, I mean we were RIGHT ON THE BEACH. In Grand Case you don’t pay a fortune for this luxury. We have returned many times. The second is a shot taken from out in the water, what a great place to stay.

You like good food? So do I. Breakfast is simple and NOT so gourmet. But oh so French. Down the street from our room, is a small place. It’s only open for breakfast and lunch. Their menu was simple. And the price was always right. Café au lait, croissant, and French baguettes. 

​​On my first trip to St Martin, I didn’t know what to expect. And when I found the Atlántide, parked and then started walking, after seeing buildings similar to this one, I didn’t know what to expect. And thought,

​“Maybe this island stuff isn’t for me”.

​It didn’t take long for me to stop dwelling on these buildings. And they are not the norm. As of this date, places like this are few and far between. Renovations are booming.  And now, at least on the ocean side, it’s hard to find a vacant building. The rest of the town is wonderful. And the people really are friendly as the name implies, The Friendly Island.

​Grand Case Blvd is narrow. Cars park on both sides. Lucky for you, on most of Grand Case Blvd there is only one way traffic, including the main part. You learn to weave in and out of parked cars as you maneuver down the street. You see people walking, in cars and in their houses. You wave, they wave. You learn the rhythm of the island very fast.

​The beach is a small one. The water is shallow, warm as you might expect. There is a sandy bottom. Not really much of a surf.  If you want surf, got to Orient Beach.

​Oh, this was about food wasn’t it? You have your choice. French, Sea Food, Thai, Italian, Creole, Vietnamese, Indian, Japanese, Tapas and, of course, Caribbean.  There is an Island Barbeque type place with traditional island food called “a Lolo”. There is one in Grand Case. 

​Don’t expect luxury. Plastic forks, plastic knives and paper plates. But the food is delicious and you can’t beat the price. When I was there last, it was New Year’s week.  The Lolo had entertainment, this steel drum band. They were very good and the music went well with the food. Great ambiance

​​On New Year’s Eve that year, we did “the restaurant crawl”. We had a pre-dinner drink in one bar. Then on to a restaurant for an appetizer. We left and picked out another for our entre. We found our last restaurant for desert. We really learned how to ring in the New Year that night in Grand Case.

​
​So at the end of the day. What do YOU think of? After desert and drinks I mean. SUNSET right?

Grand Case has the best sunsets. You can sit on the beach to watch the sun set, or you can watch it from your table at your restaurant if you were lucky enough to get one on the beach side of the street. We did.

​At the end of your stay. Before you pack your bags and head for the airport, you have go to “Tijon Perfumeries & Boutique”. Here you will get a lesson in making perfume. The owner is very knowledgeable about scents, and guides you thru the process of making YOUR own personal scent. You take one of these scents, one of those, one of the other. He mixes it for you. Catalogs it in his data base. YOU give it a name and the formula is saved. If and when you come back, you can have more made, the same fragrance. Or you can contact him thru a web site and re order your own special scent that NO ONE else in the world has but YOU.

​Did you enjoy this short tour of Grand Case, on the French Side of St Martin? It really is a beautiful little town to stay in. You have so many choices of types of places to stay. A Resort, a B&B, a Hotel, maybe a Condo, you name it.  

One more thing. I forgot to tell you. It’s about our very favorite restaurant, if we eat nowhere else, we eat at “Le Pressoir”. It’s at the end of the street, well beyond the rest of the restaurants and stores. There is a large old Salt Press across the street from the Restaurant, you can’t miss it. It’s worth the walk down the street. Get a table on the porch. It’s not beach side, well away from the water, but on the beach side, but it is still our favorite. If you like Pâté de Foie Gras get the sampler, “c'est très bon.“

If you want to know more about Grand Case, contact me: [email protected]

​I’ll be happy to tell you more, answer questions or even make some suggestions for you for dinner or a place to stay.


Joe Mack is a Photographer, Writer, Craftsman, Musician and Engineer Tech. He, and his wife Jaci live in upstate New York and love to travel. Look for more of their adventures here, or on his Facebook pages at:
Joe's Facebook
Vacation Photography
More photos on Viewbug