PreviousIn the mood…for food
Ask Jean-Georges Vongerichten to describe the ambience at the Dune and Café Martinique, his two famous restaurants on Paradise Island, and one word falls from his lips: “Sexy!”
Vongerichten, the internationally acclaimed chef who runs 31 restaurants around the world, is especially proud of his two upscale dining rooms in The Bahamas. Both serve exquisite dishes in elegant surroundings. But that’s where the similarity ends.
Café Martinique overlooks the gleaming yachts and bustling shopping concourse in the Atlantis Marina. But the restaurant’s mahogany staircase, birdcage elevator and etched glass windows take guests into another world. The menu is an eclectic mix of classic and modern French gourmet entrees.
Ultra-chic Dune, meanwhile, offers luncheon guests spectacular ocean views to accompany French-Asian cuisine, touched with Bahamian flair. Dune features lighting by Christian Liaigre, the renowned French interior designer who has, among other projects, designed the lighting for Mona Lisa in the Louvre.
“Here (in Dune) we did the room purposely, pretty dark,” says Vongerichten, referring to Dune’s rich wooden interior. “When you sit inside for lunch, the outside pops in. It’s very bright.” But in the evening, “the ocean is completely dark, so the lighting outside really creates the mood.”
“Ambience … has to be perfect, the lighting has to be perfect,” says Vongerichten. “Everyone has to look beautiful. You go to a place where the lighting is perfect, you relax. Nobody wants neon lighting.”
First impressions, he says, are especially important. “Nothing should be aggressive in a restaurant, except the sauce. Everything should be soft, from the linen to the lighting.”
An inviting decor entices one to linger over a meal. It’s more than just lunch or dinner, it’s a unique experience, and that’s what Vongerichten seeks to create.
Choose your ambience
No less engaging, but polar opposites from Café Martinique and Dune, are fun-loving restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe and Señor Frog’s.
At Hard Rock Cafe, the name says it all. The two-storey restaurant sits on Charlotte St, just off the main downtown thoroughfare. Pictures and memorabilia of music legends past and present festoon the walls of the first-floor gift shop and upstairs restaurant.
Don’t expect to do much talking here. The atmosphere is enhanced by rock and roll music blasting from the overhead speakers and flat-panel television screens.
Casual and bustling, Hard Rock Cafe serves good food at reasonable prices, whether you’re in the mood for chicken, steak, seafood, burgers or a salad. Among the desserts, Hard Rock Cafe offers a sinful apple cobbler with a scoop of ice cream and a dollop of caramel.
Señor Frog’s bar manager Rudy Huerta sums up the ambience of his lively eatery as “Party!” It’s the place to be for anyone in search of a fun time.
Sandwiched between the British Colonial Hilton and the Prince George Wharf, Señor Frog’s overlooks the harbour, where giant cruise ships dock. The restaurant doesn’t stand on formality. Its motto is “Every dish served with a side of fun!” Menu items include standard bar fare like nachos, chicken wings and hamburgers.
A deejay hypes up the lunch and dinner crowds with concerts, karaoke and games. Don’t be surprised if you’re invited to join a conga line.
“Expect the unexpected,” says Huerta. “You never know what we’re going to do.”
Cozy and convivial
A top choice for charm, ambience and delectable menu items is Simmer Down at the Marley Resort & Spa.
The Marley Resort invites guests to “make yourself at home.” That’s easy to do in this laid-back Afro-Caribbean environment. The restaurant is located in a governor’s house that became the Marley family vacation home before it morphed into a charming resort.
Whether you’re dining on the beachfront terrace, in the elegant dining room or the picturesque courtyard, the ambience is natural and inviting. Menu offerings range from gourmet Caribbean to classic family recipes that Bob Marley enjoyed.
A great restaurant for Chinese food, delicious aged steaks and ambience is East Villa on East Bay St just past the Harbour Bay Shopping Centre. Casual and at the same time elegant (the attentive waiters wear tuxedos and serve customers individually with two tablespoons), it’s a favourite spot for visitors and locals alike. Patrons return again and again to enjoy the dimly lit dining room, deliciously flavoured dishes and reasonable prices.
Locally famous
Locally famous for its down-home Bahamian food, Montagu Gardens Steak and Grill is also located on East Bay St, but don’t let the distance bother you. Montagu Gardens will send a free shuttle to pick you up and take you back to your hotel after dinner. (For details see the dining list beginning on pg 31.)
Warm and gracious, Montagu Gardens is located in an old mansion on a pond known as Lake Waterloo. Statues and gardens add to the ambience. Steaks and fresh seafood are the specialities, along with chicken, lamb and pasta. For a Bahamian treat, order the minced crawfish with taco chips.
Another restaurant, or rather two, that depend on local patrons is the Poop Deck on East Bay St and also across the island at Sandyport, West Bay St
The East Bay St restaurant offers family-oriented, casual dining in the restaurant or out on a balcony overlooking Nassau Harbour and Paradise Island. The Poop Deck Sandyport, which also offers al fresco dining, is newer, and you’ll find couples opting to sup here because of its elegant atmosphere.
Both Poop Deck restaurants feature the freshest of seafood. Their Andros crab cakes are not to be missed. There’s also the classic fisherman’s platter, which features a half lobster tail, grilled grouper and shrimp in a light cream sauce with vegetables and white rice.
“We always say there’s no place near this place, like this place, so this must be the place,” laughs Kihan Murphy, Poop Deck’s manager at Sandyport.
Whether you like ambience smart, casual, elegant or “sexy”–as Jean-Georges Vongerichten puts it–you have a long list of choices in Nassau and New Providence.
Bon Appetit!
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In the mood…for food
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