Océan 82 — Restaurant in Saint Martin (France)

We were really looking forward to our sunset dinner at Ocean 82, but the experience was incredibly jarring. I always try to write positive reviews to share positivity in our travel experiences and have never written a negative one. As this is my first negative review, this really needs to be shared for anyone planning to book here. It seems like there are a lot of very similar reviews likely about the same person now looking back.

My wife and I booked a table for two with an ocean view at sunset and even confirmed the details days ahead. When we arrived, the host checking guests in told us our reservation was for four people and said it wasn’t his fault that “only two showed up.” He told us he had already given our table away (even though we arrived before our reservation time) and claimed all the empty seats by the window were reserved by people who properly booked. He took us in and seated us at a table in the back, indoors.

Wanting to make sure there wasn’t just a mix-up, because we travelled across the island for a special dinner, I checked the reservation on my phone once we got connected to wifi just to make sure. The confirmation showed two guests and our request for an ocean table at sunset. When I brought it up, the host came over, slammed his phone on our table, and told us, “I am right and you are wrong and I am going to show you why.” It was incredibly aggressive and completely shocked us. He showed me the reservation on his phone, which showed a table for two and he claimed "see you didn't request a table by the ocean" contradicting his earlier excuse about reserving a table for 4.

Even though I had communication in both email and texts back and forth with the restaurant, he dismissed it entirely and continued to argue loudly. The whole interaction was uncomfortable and embarrassing, both for us and the entire staff watching the interaction.

His tone was loud, aggressive, and completely unprofessional. It made the whole restaurant go quiet and stare, and it was honestly humiliating. Our server, who had been lovely, came over afterward and quietly apologized for the manager’s behaviour...he looked just as uncomfortable as we felt.

We ended up leaving after this interaction and walked down the road to Lolo’s, a local BBQ spot, where we had a fantastic meal in a welcoming, down-to-earth atmosphere. Looking back, we’re happy we chose to support a small local business and enjoy the food and atmosphere of Saint Martin.

Confirming our suspicions that the host was just a disgruntled person, our taxi driver confirmed he probably knew which guy we were talking about. Maybe avoid Ocean 82, there are lots of great restaurants with a view to choose from while...

Ocean 82 is an excellent experience. The pressure was greater in this case because my wife and I were celebrating our 35th wedding anniversary. This of course means we are going to be even more critical. I found nothing out of place. It does get crowded around 7:30 but that is to be expected for a restaurant of this quality - RESERVATIONS ARE a MUST. We were there for three hours and never felt rushed.The duck liver pate foie gras with fig was prefect in consistency and flavor. While relatively expensive my entrée, veal oven braised in Cognac, was outstanding and worth every penny. It was the finest veal I have enjoyed anywhere on this planet. I chose to have the waiter make my choice of wine and if was a perfect compliment to my entire dining experience. This tells me the staff knows their cuisine. An excellent choice.

ABOUT MY RATING SYSTEM. I base my ratings on the entire experience from the moment I step into the establishment to the moment I leave. Obviously the food carries the most weight. However everyone and everything is under scrutiny from bathrooms to floors, tables, staff congeniality, lighting, table spacing, attentiveness, relaxed atmosphere, quality of decor, cleanliness and so on and so forth. All of this is subjective to my own opinion. Some notes on my ratings: WAIT TIME - - reservations are your responsibility and unless not honored there is no reason to complain. PARKING - Not the responsibility of the establishment. No restaurant to receive a black mark for poor parking conditions. NO WHINING - read the reviews before you go to a restaurant. While reading the reviews, go to the negatives first and look for patterns of consistent failures to satisfy our excel. All restaurants excel in certain area and fail in others. See what they are and if there is a pattern of failure in an area that is important to you - don't go, or dismiss that area of critique since you took the risk. NO BLANKET STATEMENTS good or bad. It is unfair to the reader to read a review if it is based on a narrow sense of what is perceived as "good" or "bad". BE FAIR & REASONABLE we're all imperfect, make mistakes, have bad days...

I hate writing bad reviews, but I feel compelled. After doing research for a fancy dinner for my daughter and I, we landed on Ocean 82. I read that it is an elevated dining experience with French flair and excellent sunset views. It was probably the worst meal we had our entire trip to the island. Ordered an appetizer from the specials menu (escargot and mushroom puff pastry), which was the most flavorful thing we had. The drinks were bland. I tried to order an entree from the regular menu, but told it wasn't available and I needed to order from the specials, which were way more expensive. I ordered the whole snapper with mashed potatoes and she ordered lobster fettuccini alfredo. The whole snapper was brought and deboned tableside in a presentation. It was extremely dry, even with the disgusting white wine sauce it was served with. The mashed potatoes served in a ramekin, was like a soup and tasted more like chicken broth and butter. The fish came with a few dollops of a vegetable puree that were watery and bland. The lobster seemed overcooked and chewy in the pasta. The noodles tasted fresh-made and the parmesan shavings were quality, but there was no real sauce. Everything was dry and bland. We were never offered drinks aside from our initial order prior to ordering. After seeing social media videos of the theatrical display, we, reluctantly, ordered the souffle flambe. It was brought out and lit on fire very dismissively. It was the worst thing we've ever tasted. It was soggy bread that had such an overwhelming amount of alcohol left that we both got nauseous. I would have rather taken a shot of the same liquor than eat it that way. Then our waiter pushed us to buy their bottle of rum. I declined. Our check was brought to us right away and I was reminded not once, but three times that the tip was not included in the bill and cash was preferred. While I have not described everything well, the whole experience felt predatory with the upcharges. I can make better food at home. Bonus: We sat right by the water and enjoyed a...