We are going to St. Bart’s for Spring Break. Never been. I’m not usually a beach vacation guy, and usually we do beaches in Mexico–but I do love France, so I’m uncommonly excited about this.
We’ll have our very-mature kids with us, ages 11 and 9. We are all set on lodging and travel, but I’d love to hear any and all recs on restaurants, beaches, activities, wine lists, etc. Obviously Google has lots on this, but I trust y’all more!
Thanks in advance!
@Robert.A.Jr has some fun stories…and pics…
Yes, but risqué and sans kiddies. God I love that place.
And Ryan, bring your Amex Black, all Dom, Cristal and Krug in in 3L!
I practically lived there for 8 months. Not sure where on the island you’re staying at, but obviously Gustavia is where most of the action is. Looks like some places I used to hang out at have closed.
Make sure you rent a car. There’s no easy way to get around the island.
And, ahem, Police closes at 6pm so no DUI traps after that 
L’Isola (and for pizza, L’Isoletta). Classy Italian.
L’Oubli, more casual spot.
Eddy’s is decent too.
I felt Bagatelle was a little overrated.
Skip Le Select, the “cheeseburger in paradise” is a ripoff and tastes like something that comes out of a microwave.
Joel Robuchon wasn’t there when I was there so don’t know how that is. But knowing the prices on the island, I bet that would be eye-wateringly expensive.
Remember that pretty much everything on the island closes on a Sunday. There’s a nice Thai place, Black Ginger, that’s open Sundays. That used to be a life saver if I ended up there on a Sunday.
One of my favorite beach hangouts was to grab some baguettes, cheeses and a bottle of wine from Marche U next to the airport, and hang out on the Saint-Jean beach and watch the planes take off overhead.
Oh God, Le Ti. Yes, definitely do not bring your kids 
i love the island. some highlights
nikki can be a lot of fun and the food is really pretty good for what it is. don’t get into a pissing match with a russian billionaire over who can order the bigger bottle of bubbles and you’ll be ok.
not sure if they still do it but if you order a large enough bottle 2 scantily clad superheros will deliver it from the bay via a dinghy! iv’e got pics somewhere
also on st jean, the lunch on the beach at eden rock is excellent. partly a jg production iirc. expensive but worth it.
hell, you’re on st bart’s!
Just returned. One of the most fun places I’ve ever been. Awesome food and wine. Beautiful water and beaches. Lots of variety for a small island. The whole place is a total vibe—French Riviera in the Caribbean. Even the puddle jumpers in and out were fun. I can’t wait to return—perhaps next time sans kids (though they’d kill me because they loved it)
Just came back from a week in St Barth and St Martin. Thanks for the good tips on this page - I had a really fun night out with the boss at Le Ti.
Doing the walk to Colombier beach was also a highlight. Next time I’ll do it with a cooler.
Really enjoyed St Martin as well. Not as fancy but the cuisine was more authentic “France in the Caribbean”.
Thread drift but any recs for St. Martin? Heading to Anguilla for a week in June and will have a few nights in St. Martin as well. Still have not booked lodging for St. Martin so open to any location.
We stayed at at a very small boutique hotel, Le Martin, which was quite good and were able to kayak over to Pinel Island, which was the highlight of our short stay (grilled red snapper right on the beach with a bottle of 21 Jadot Chassagne Montrachet … pretty, pretty good).
For future reference, last night my wife and I ate dinner at Papillon de Ivre in St. Jean on St. Barts. The cuisine is French, but served tapas style. We thought the food was great and enjoyed the tapas approach, which allowed us to sample a variety of dishes. No wine list, but a sign in the window says they have over 400 different wines available ranging from 40 to 25,000 euros, with 70 wines available by the glass. The bottles are on display so you can see what is available and pick what you want. Some people may be put off by the fact that the dining area overlooks a parking lot, but the place was full and contained a mix of locals and tourists.
papillon looks like it’s where chez andy’s was
the sign said something like ok food and a view of the car park
i used to love that place!
Just returning from St Barth. This time we were organized enough to place an order with La Cave du Port Franc in advance and have them deliver to our accommodation, allowing us to enjoy some chilled Egly Ouriet on arrival. Worked perfectly, highly recommended.