Tortuga Maho — Restaurant in Île des Terres Basses

The restaurant is located just outside the Sonesta Hotel, with a beautiful view overlooking Maho Beach. They’re open seven days a week, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This was our first time dining there for dinner.

On Thursday nights, they feature live entertainment—a singer who was genuinely engaging. She walked around the restaurant, inviting guests to sing along and giving shoutouts to those celebrating birthdays or anniversaries. I believe they have live music on other nights as well.

Even though it’s an open-air dining setup, smoking is not allowed at the tables—but you can smoke at the bar.

The service, however, is slow. It’s slow for breakfast, lunch, and definitely dinner. Not the place to go if you’re in a hurry—but then again, you shouldn’t be if you’re on vacation. Still, at times it was hard to get a waiter’s attention as they tended to gather near the bar, which got a little frustrating. That said, when we did get service, it was good.

My husband ordered the blackened duck and really enjoyed it—he said it was delicious, and the portion was very generous. He chose the potatoes au gratin as a side (same as I did), and they were excellent. Served with a small side of veggies.

I ordered the shrimp and mango dish. It was flavorful, but the portion was small and the sauce didn’t match what was described on the menu. It wasn’t what I expected, and I wouldn’t order it again. Small chunks of warm mango with 4 or five large shrimp. Potatoes au gratin were the star on my plate. My veggies were stone cold. I ordered a garden side salad, which was a very generously portioned at only $5 although the balsamic vinegar dressing wasn’t my liking.

Food wise on breakfast and lunch better just given the quality and quantity. Yes I would return for dinner and just make sure I didn’t order the same dish. There were other things on the menu that...

We decided to go eat lunch at Tortuga for lunch and I will say that it did have beautiful atmosphere off the ocean. However, we waited for roughly 30 min for food and then the kitchen decided to tell our server that they didn't have any Proscuito for my husband's paini and my food was already ready. Therefore, we had to split my wrap. Also, they didn't have any fresh mint for a mojito so had to change plans. Not the servers fault, poor ownership and/or management, if any. There was no discount off the meal to top it off. We have had wonderful meals since we have been in Sain Martin except here, unfortunately.

Editing to responde to owner:Thanks for your response and the offer to make it up. Our point is that there should be a manager or shift leader present and better kitchen communication. If it was brought up immediately, then my husband would have been given an opportunity to order something else and not when my food was already ready. Obviously, it is a restaurant and we understand sometimes running out of items does...

Hands down the best restaurant experience we’ve ever had! From the moment we arrived, everything was just perfect. The food? Out of this world — the salmon was cooked to perfection, and the cocktails were so good we couldn’t stop at just one. The view alone is worth the visit — total island vibe, day or night.

We loved it so much, we came back twice during our 4-day trip! What truly made it unforgettable was the amazing service. We mentioned we were celebrating a birthday, and the entire staff went above and beyond — they came over to sing and celebrate with us, and it genuinely felt so special. A huge shoutout to Candace, the manager, who made us feel like family. Her warmth and attention made all the difference.

We’re already dreaming about coming back — honestly, we’d book another flight just to eat here again. 100/10, thank you for such a beautiful and memorable...