The Peppertree Restaurant - La Veranda Resort Phu Quoc MGallery — Restaurant in Phú Quốc

I've eaten at quite a few fine dining establishments in my time, with many suffering from an over inflated sense of importance. Thankfully, The Peppertree at La Veranda is not one of those places, and meets all the expectations one may have of fine dining, without any pretentious attitude.

My wife and I visited during the Tet holiday after several disappointing experiences at other high end restaurants, where it was evident they were understaffed, and the few staff remaining obviously did not want to be there during Tet. The service and quality was definitely not on par with the prices. This was not the case with The Peppertree. From the moment we stepped foot on the La Veranda grounds, we were greeted warmly by every staff member we encountered. At The Peppertree, the Deputy F&B Manager, Laura, made us feel genuinely welcome as she escorted us to our table and explained the menu choices with confidence, not arrogance. In true testimony to her professionalism, Laura has the amazing ability to make you feel as comfortable as you would at a long time friend's home, evidence of true grace and refinement. Big things are definitely in store for her.

On to the food! While I am more of a gourmand than a gourmet, I have learned to appreciate quality ingredients and complex flavor combinations. I've been on a quest for the world's best pumpkin soup, and thanks to Chef Alex Stones' interpretation, my quest may be finished. Each spoonful yielded a new, welcome surprise to this classic. Do yourself a favor. Order it, but don't look at the menu description. Let your sense of taste take you on a pleasant journey.

Our other starter, Muc Nhoi, was an elevated version of the Vietnamese classic pork stuffed squid, this being stuffed with shrimp mousse. Wow.

Our main courses consisted of the pork belly and the La Veranda seafood ravioli. Both were great, but we had to give the edge to Chef Alex's interpretation of ravioli. Unlike any seafood ravioli I've had. Simply amazing.

The mashed potatoes. While just a common side dish in many places, I've discovered you can tell a lot about a restaurant's overall commitment to quality, just by this item. The Peppertree understands this, and delivers. I say this under threat of being disowned, but it's better than my own mother's recipe.

Special mention to the F&B Manager, Ryan, for taking the time to chat and ensure our expectations were being met, as well as all of the servers who did a remarkable job. Well...

Avoid unless you want to get SCAMMED

I am giving a 1-star rating because of dishonest practices which I find unacceptable for a resort of this caliber.

We chose the Peppertree restaurant because it was recommended in the Lonely Planet. When we arrived the waiter told us (in a very broken English) that it was a buffet night and that it would cost 390,000 dong per person. I asked a second time to be certain and she wrote the figure on her notepad, but I was naive enough not to take a picture.

When the bill arrived it was 930,000 dong, more than double the quoted price! I asked to see the manager who assured me that it was the correct price and that I must have misunderstood the waiter. Trouble is, everyone at the table understood 390,000 dong.

It's a sneaky but very obvious scam. The buffet was mostly seafood, which was good, but nothing special compared to the other seafood buffets available on the beach for a fraction of the price. 930,000 dong per person (just for the food) is a completely ridiculous price for a restaurant in Vietnam, and it was not justified by the service and food offered. I have eaten in Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and paid less than that.

Shame on The Veranda hotel for allowing their staff to...

We recently dined here with a large group and, unfortunately, found the food to be very average, especially considering the high price point. Despite spending 7 million VND, the dishes fell far short of expectations. Given the positive reviews we had read beforehand, we were left confused and disappointed. The quality and presentation simply didn’t match what we anticipated from a venue claiming to offer fine dining.

The service in the restaurant was also underwhelming. While the staff had promoted it as a fine dining establishment, the reality was far from it. Both the food and service have significant room for improvement to truly align with the elevated standards the restaurant aims to project.

On a positive note, the spa experience was outstanding. The massages we received were exceptional, and the service in the spa was top-notch. The staff were professional, attentive, and ensured that everyone in our group had a fantastic experience. The spa truly stands out as the highlight...