L'Atelier Restaurant — Restaurant in Saint Martin (France)

#1 place to eat on the island. If you’re a foodie, you’ve just died and gone to heaven! You can judge a great restaurant by its owner. We were greeted, unexpectedly, by the owner Alexandre who walked us through his menu. It was thoughtful, well balanced, and wonderfully personal.

The foie gras was perfectly seared on a bed of caramelized apples- mouth watering. The bone marrow is a must try! Perfectly seasoned and cooked to perfection on house baked bread. Who knew the salad garnishment would be the best salad you’ve had in a while? The goat cheese and olive jam from his family’s farm in France is something you can’t miss. You think you’ve had some great cheese and jam pairings, but you’ll quickly realize you’ve been missing out on life when you taste this. The way his family makes this goat cheese is not the same as we have in the US, and now I’m dying.

We followed this up starter heaven with his suggestion of the Australian Wagyu (the perfect combination of Japanese wagyu and Prime American Black Angus- delicate, buttery, but not so decadent and rich that you can only eat one piece like it’s Japanese cousin). As a Texan, there is no harsher critic of steak and how it’s prepared than me. Rarely a restaurant meets my standard of taste and temperature. I am the jerk who will send a steak back for being over cooked. Some how this French chef and his team impressed even me, medium rare was perfectly done. What you absolutely must pair this mouth watering steak with is Truffle mashed potatoes and the Gorgonzola sauce on the side. Combine these delicacies together and you will be transported into steak ecstasy! I promise you, you’ve never had truffle mashed potatoes quite like these. Most of the time people over do it on the truffles, this was so perfectly balanced and executed. End your meal with whatever dessert he suggests, he will not disappoint you in closing off the evening.

He also is an incredible mixologist. The smoked old fashion has stepped it up with a smoked syrup (and I thought I’d tasted it all). It’s not too sweet, but it will make you want to have a second! Whatever you do, don’t miss out on pairing your meal with his incredible wine selection. This chef has an incredible palate so let him pair the wine for you. Sommelier must be his past life’s job, he will not steer you wrong.

The atmosphere- it’s a beautiful restaurant. It makes you feel like you’re in Paris with a cafe whose windows open on to a street with no cars- but an added bonus of being in the Caribbean.

This little place and its owner deserve a Michelin Star, a James Beard, Zagat, or Savuer award. It’s not pretentious as many restaurants I’ve eaten at that hold these awards winning distinctions, but it’s every...

My family and I came to St Maarten and all of our friends told us that this restaurant was one of the best in all of St Maarten, so we were very excited. We were looking forward to it all week and when we got there we were lucky enough to be seated without reservations. From everything that we ordered the best was by far the bruschetta. We decided to split a 49 ounce steak between the four of us and we waited for over an hour and a half. When he finally brought out our meat we noticed that a large amount of the steak was fat and that the meat was clearly low quality. Out of courtesy we decided to try the steak before asking questions, but after each of us took a few bites, we noticed that not only was the steak low quality, but it was also pretty much raw and almost impossible to cut. Minutes later each of us began feeling sick and had to step outside to get some fresh air. Despite the quality of the steak, it costed over 200 euros, which at first seemed pricy but fair, but after trying the steak it was clear that it was just a hopeless cash grab. I would not recommend this restaurant, in fact I would discourage people from wasting so much money for such awful food. If you don’t trust me then take a look at just how much fat and raw meat we were served in these pictures. No one is attempting to ruin your restaurant, instead I am trying to warn others to take a second to think before coming to dine by your “amazing” restaurant. On top of this the owner in fact was the one to cut and serve the steak, so he saw exactly what was being served and made the decision to...

Alex and his team are super impressive. His passion shows in everything they do from the communication in reservation through to dessert, the experience was flawless. The star of the show here is the meat. Let’s make no misteak (sic) this is why you come to L’Atelier. They do everything well and have plenty of options for those who prefer chicken or fish and bring the same level of passion and high execution but the variety, knowledge and presentation of their dishes are on another level from anything you’ve experienced. Alex is a showman of his domain. He presented a broad selection of options with crystal clear precision and took us on a trip from the hills of Spain to Japan and everywhere in between all thanks to his menu. We started with the pancha of mixed meats, French cheese, salad, yellowtail and mahi ceviche finished a mango. To say this was an impressive start would be an understatement. We found the perfect red wine and dove in. The tomahawk was perfectly done to a precise medium rare and just the way I envision my perfect temperature. It was expertly prepared table side. We also had the rack of lamb which was delicious. Others had the grandma which they loved and the short rib. We had a number of desserts including the upside down apple pie which is worth a mention, the lava cake, and the signature ice cream. This was truly special and if you’re only getting one dessert this is the choice. We really enjoyed this meal and can’t recommend Alex and his team at L’Atelier...