We’re taking our first trip to Anguilla in late February. Booked at the Frangipani resort on Meads Bay. Apparently the restaurant in our hotel (Straw Hat) is supposed to be pretty decent. Otherwise we have no idea where to eat or if there is anything interesting to do beyond beaching and water sports.
Any ideas/thoughts would be appreciated.
Al
I was just there for Xmas/NYE and have been a number of times over the years. Frangipani is supposed to be very nice - good choice. It’s on Meads Bay, which is my favorite beach.
For restaurants, Straw Hat is very good and you should go. Other worthy places include:
Jacala - best food in Anguilla
Picante - good Mexican, lively and fun
Pit Stop by Ben - totally authentic French bistro fare - went for the first time and was stunned at how good it was
Trattoria Tramonto - good Italian on Shoal Bay West beach, which is lovely
Blanchard’s Beach Shack - great for lunch/drinks on the beach; on Meads Bay
Da’Vida - also a pleasant lunch/beach choice; the beach here (Crocus Bay) is great
Nat’s Place at Junk’s Hole - another good lunch/beach; get the curried snapper and johnny cakes (best in Anguilla). Junk’s Hole beach is very wild and windy and not the most comfortable (no umbrellas etc.), but it’s beautiful
Dune Preserve - a bar and music venue run by local reggae legend Bankie Banx
Aside from dining, beaching, etc., there is some decent shopping. There is a tennis center; you can take boat trips to nearby islands, or from Crocus Bay to Little Bay where there is good snorkling. There is also a newly revived miniature golf course/ice cream parlor that is amusing.
Thanks so much for this. Super helpful.
One follow-up on the restaurants: are reservations generally necessary? I’m guessing for the nicer places for dinner?
Reservations are recommended for pretty much any dinner. Some places like Picante are always very busy. It is not normally necessary to reserve at any of the beach restaurants for lunch.
Is Garveys Sunshine Shack still great? We loved that place but it’s been nearly a decade since we’ve been to Anguila…I saw he opened a new restaurant inland as well called the Lobster House.
We went to SunShine Shack for a special birthday dinner. The bbq was good but not great - definitely a fun time, though.
We went to the Lobster House - it was good but unexceptional. The service was very good and everything was tasty enough. It had just opened in November so maybe it will improve.
Great info above. Excellent
Stayed at the Fran, the beach is amazing.
Head down to this area full of bars.
Absolutely. Sandy Ground (where Johnno’s is) is a fun area with bars and shops, and often live music. Roy’s is a decent place to get breakfast.
I see that Uncle Ernie’s on Shoal’s Beach is permanently closed. Didn’t make it back after the hurricane?
Not sure about Uncle Ernie’s - but certainly a number of places closed after Irma. And you should see Cove Castles - I took these five years ago and not much has changed since then.
We have stayed on Meads the last 3 years. We are a couple in our late 50s.
There are two resorts at either end of Meads Bay - Salt at Four Seasons is the sort of over-the-top thing you’d expect, but we were surprised we ended up enjoying ourselves. We’ll return this year. Celeste at Malliouhana is at the other end of the bay … equally upscale but more of an outdoor casual feel (not casual on the $$$).
Salt, Celeste, Straw Hat, Blanchard, Savi are all walkable along the beach … but if you had a car you’d be just as happy to drive to Celeste and Salt. The sand on the beach is quite loose and deep, so walking is a workout!
Best Buy near Meads Bay is the grocery store / beer / liquor place close by. Again, you could walk if needed. Wine shop on the island has some interesting selections. No great buys, of course. :-).
So our plan for the week: Straw Hat, Salt, Blanchards, Sharkys, Celeste, Picante, Salt. All very close to us.
We love Anguilla.
Sharky’s is great.
For more casual fare, give Pit Stop a try - it’s a bit of a haul across the island but it is fantastic. We went for lunch, which was a much easier reservation to get. Also the wine on their list comes from the Grands Vins de France wine store. You could have lunch there and spend the afternoon on Shoal Bay East beach. Olas makes a mean rum punch.
Just back from our trip. Had a really lovely time. We will definitely be back (in fact we booked a week for next year on our way out). Some notes:
Frangipani - We thought that it was a great place to stay. Meads Bay is gorgeous, and Frangipani is right in the middle, in a perfect spot. The beach by the Four Seasons on one end of the beach, and by the Malliouhana on the other, are not nearly as nice as the beach in front of the Frangipani. The hotel is relatively small, good service, excellent and friendly service and housekeeping. We had a roomy 1BR suite, and it was perfect for us. Downsides are that the property and design are pretty dated, and as in many tropical spots, things aren’t always perfect. It worked well for what we’re looking for. We went by the Four Seasons, and it was trying to be generically Miami-ish (as someone also said about Savi). Don’t see the point in a place like Anguilla.
Straw Hat - We ate here our first night and for most breakfasts. Good solid food with the convenience of being in our hotel. No complaints, but not sure I’d seek it out if I were staying elsewhere. Pleasant bar.
Pitstop by Ben - A bit of a hike, and not waterfront. Very friendly and casual spot. Good food in a fairly classic French style, pretty good wine and spirits list. Would go back.
Blanchards - On Meads Bay, bustling spot, reservations definitely necessary. Had delicious ribs and crayfish. Okay but somewhat pricy wine list. Overall really good and we will return. Didn’t have a chance to try their Beach Shack, which people recommend.
Jacala - This one is funny. The food was creative and excellent. Probably the best we had. Also on Meads Bay. When we mentioned to a lot of people at our hotel they were like “we don’t go there anymore, the guy is an asshole.” Apparently Jacques, who was the chef and owner, is a pretty nasty guy. I don’t know if he still owns the place, but they have a different chef now (who we met and was quite nice), but apparently he turned a lot of people off. Anyway, for us it was excellent.
Malliouhana Bar - On our last night we went over there to grab a drink and a bite. Gorgeous view from up on the cliffside, and a very solid burger.
Beach places - During the day we visited a bunch of other beaches. It’s lovely that you can sit in front of the restaurants and grab a lounge and lunch, and snorkel right off the beach. We ate at Elvis on Sandy Ground (good tacos, not much of a beach), Da’Vida on Crocus Bay, which has excellent snorkeling and was quiet and beautiful, and Elodias on Shoal Bay East (nice beach, food not much to speak of).
We flew direct from JFK to SXM, which was fine, except getting through St Maarten immigration on arrival before then getting on a boat to Anguilla was kind of a mess. Next time we may try transferring in Miami so we can fly straight to Anguilla and skip St Maarten immigration.
Overall a fantastic trip. We really loved the place. Thanks for everyone’s ideas and advice.
Al
You got all around, great job!
I believe Jacala was named for Jacques and Alain, and only Alain remains.
Ah. I think Alain is who we met.
Thanks for the useful thread everyone. Anyone been to Veya?
Veya is good! Or at least it was the last time I went there, which was about five years ago.
Thanks Zach!
Getting into the weeds a bit… is lunch a good option at Jacala?
