Sao Asian Factory — Restaurant in Saint Martin (France)

Enjoyed our time at Sao. We were able to get a reservation same day, and went for an early dinner right when they opened.

Ordered miso and sushi. Miso was good, heavy on the spring onion and light on the miso, but we enjoyed it. Ordered lobster Tempura and Panko Wahoo rolls. We were surprised when the wahoo roll came and it was a raw fish roll. We are experienced with sushi and prefer to avoid raw, especially when travelling, Under the Crispy/Janko rolls, were chicken, shrimp, slamon, tuna, veggie and wahoo - no descriptions, no explanations. Given that raw chicken sushi is not a thing, and these were a separate section from nigiri, sashimi, and other rolls that specifically listed "tartar," "cevice," etc - it was reasonable to expect this was a variation on a Tempura style roll and that the proteins would be cooked. When we tasted the roll and realized it was raw wahoo, we asked one of our four servers to confirm. She then explained that in the whole restaurant menu for sushi, only lobster and shrimp are cooked and all fish is raw. (We assume chicken is also cooked, but didn't ask). We hated towaste such a great fish as wahoo, but we were not able to eat it raw.

They graciously replaced the roll with a shrimp Tempura roll that was delicious. The Lobster roll was also delicious, and had a surprise flavor of rye seed - very unusual, but enjoyable.

They did comp the wahoo roll for us, and the server who brought the check (without asking if we are familiar with sushi) proceeded to "explain" to us that "fish sushi is usually raw, just in case we came back or had sushi elswhere." We graciously allowed her to inform us of "our misunderstanding," and quickly turned the conversation toward her and her years of experience as a server.

Our other server offered us a lychee/mango rum shot complimentary to finish the evening, and it was also delicious. We decided to avoid desert and went across the path to get homemade specialty Gelato.

We would recommend Sao for delicious sushi flavors, just ask alot of questions if you do. As for the multiple server experience, this one was a bit off putting, but it worked well when we were at Java in Grand Case - which we...

Where to begin. The service staff were excellent. The bathrooms were clean. We have been staying at Orient Beach for 10 days and have eaten at most of the other restaurants. Not all are equal, but none had such dreadful food to warrant a negative review. Except this one. We arrived without reservations - 'sacre bleu' - whereupon the exceedingly snotty hostess spent an inordinate amount of time deciding we needed the worst table in the house - by the entrance. OK. Except that by the time we left the place was still 75 % empty. Clearly someone got to the folks with reservations and told them the awful truth regarding the food. The drinks were served by a very nice chap who did a charming job. Now the food. Apps: We were told the shrimp app had six pieces, which upon headcount magically became five. Described as Panko shrimp, they were basically Birds Eye breadcrumbed frozen krill, doubtless poached from the "Casino" convenience store across the street. The octopus was passable - I'm not sure it made the legal limit for harvest, but edible nevertheless. The spring rolls were ... bad. The Mains. My friend had the Pad. Allegedly Thai, but it was basic rice noodles boiled in boullion. Terrible My wife won with the Asian beef tartar - very tasty. They excel at recipes that preclude cooking evidently. My friend had the 1/2 roasted amputee duck. Well - that's not the menu description but he received 2 wings, no leg and a few chunks. And it was fried. Or re heated in an oily skillet. I had the ramen. I could only eat the 3 strips of Oscar Mayer bacon (!) that mysteriously ended up in the bowl. The rest - inedible flavorless mush. One has to admire the license taken with the word "fusion" that permits American style bacon 🥓 in a ramen dish. Traumatized, we skipped desert. The people responsible for the kitchen at this place clearly do not care, and let down the rest of the places who...

I know two stars seem harsh, but they were earned. On vacation with a 5-month-old baby back in the room, my husband and I have to divide and conquer dinner sometimes. Earlier in the week he got take out for us from here and it was okay. Not great, not horrible, but very okay (salad rolls and pad Thai) it was my turn for the dinner tonight so I decided to get sushi. The place was busy but not full. I immediately told the server I wanted to place a to-go order and was in a hurry and I assured it wouldn’t be long. 45 minutes into my wait, I was told it would be another 5-10 minutes and my check was brought to me. Foolishly I let them run my credit card before my food came. It was another 25 minutes later when I told them I was going to have to go and needed a refund on the food I hadn’t received (I immediately got a drink and snack for my wait) they refunded a portion of my total and handed me a bag of old “hot” food I ordered but no sushi. I say old because the edamame were cold and the gyoza has hardened, so it was obvious to me they had been sitting for a long time. here’s the thing: I was a long time server. I know what it’s like when the kitchen is backed up and it’s busy on the floor. But I also knew how to give service and honesty. My server would hustle by me activity trying not to make eye contact. The manager was even worse and refused to look in my direction. Not even a drink comped after what turned out to be an hour and 20+ minute wait for food I never got. I’m never looking for free things, but hey, a drink on the house helps ease the headache of the long wait. As for the food I did receive (the drink and snack while I waited) the drink was delicious. Gin and lychee and lemon on the rocks. Yum. The Thai style beef tartar was weird. The beef wasn’t minced, more like ground beef for a hamburger patty. Flavor was alright but the cut was pretty...