La Langouste — Restaurant in Saint Barthélemy

We were in St. Barths recently for vacation and were looking for some under the radar spots with good food and good service, and we came across the reviews for La Langouste. We dined here on a weeknight at the end of season and our hotel concierge made a reservation for us in advance. The restaurant is very small, with just a handful of tables. There is free parking in a nearby parking lot and you walk up the small sidewalk to get up to the restaurant (located at a hotel).

We were greeted by one of the restaurant employees and were seated at a table near the pool. We were provided menus and ordered a bottle of wine to start (they started around 50-60 Euros).

For appetizers, we ordered the Gazpacho soup (13 Euros), and for entrees we both ordered the Red Snapper with Passion Fruit Sauce (28 Euros). The fish is fresh from the island and is a filet with mini accompanying sides as well. For dessert, we ordered the Fine apple tart (14 Euros). All items were really amazing and fresh and was a really relaxing meal, and all service staff were very friendly.

The only call out to be careful of is on the menu on each page it says "service included". But the bartender that prepared our check asked if we wanted to add tip and I asked to clarify because the menu said it was. The bartender said this was only for people for France, but no one else. He said but it's on you because the owner pays him a small salary. The interaction was pretty strange, and we really didn't see that anywhere else throughout the trip. Another note is they do not accept American Express cards, pretty much the only place we dined that didn't accept...

1st of all for future reference, this place is not on the proper map marker. It is further down the road than what Google maps show. Make sure you look for the Baie des Anges Hotel where it is actually located. We walked in and were greeted by a friendly young lady at the left hotel entrance and she told us to ask for Lisa. Lisa was so sweet and promptly found us a table near the pool. She made sure we all got menus pretty quickly and that was just the beginning. We ordered a bottle of Sincerre which was €55 and was smooth to drink. I personally am not a white wine drinker but this one was nice. For appetizers we got the spring roll filled with Mahi Mahi, tuna and lobster and we got the acres de more (codfish fritters). They were both tasty. I ordered a seamanship, and we ordered the red snapper, both were fresh! The lobster salad, Soupe de poisson de roche and rouille. She asked us if we wanted dessert. I am so happy we chose the cheesecake and creme brulee. Both were super good and light. They were so tasty! Perdy was our server and she did a fantastic job taking care of us. La Langouste is a romantic place with high quality food and drink as well as...

You would think after all these years they would have the common sense to place a sign at the entrance, but if you can’t find it just ask the parking attendants at Cheval Blanc. Our prime reason for going was the Dover Sole, which was very good. The rest of the menu is mediocre at best which is reflected in the lower prices. I have never seen more than one server working at a time so service is slow. Although it is open it can be loud. Ambience is non existent as you are sitting around a small swimming pool. The last time I was here I was not solicited for a tip. This time I was asked for a tip. I refused and was told that although service was included a tip was not! Perhaps he thought I was a stupid American, but after 34 years coming here I know the French law regarding tips and the soliciting of them. So for his stupidity he got nothing extra which I would have...