beatme

My SO and I will be traveling to GCM for a short trip this summer. We decided to get a slightly cheaper hotel (Comfort Suites), and splurge the difference on food.

What are the best places you have been? We are looking both for gourmet dinners, and hearty post-dive lunches.

I stayed on the island around '00, and remember a nice restaurant where they had a dessert with a flaming orange peel. The kind of show where they turn off the lights whenever someone gets it, pour alcohol down it, and you watch as the fire creeps down. I have no idea what the restaurant was called.

VickiSoCal

Not too far from your hotel we liked Cimboco for dinner, Al Kabab and Coconut Joes for lunch.

BostonFlyer1624

I went to Grand Cayman last April (2012) and went to Deckers.

If you like seafood, and specifically lobster, they have all you can eat lobster night on Tuesday and Saturday.

I'm not one for all you can eat joints, but, 1) I freaking LOVE Caribbean lobster, and 2) it was actually in a nice, tasteful setting...this isn't Old Country Buffet.

oiRRio

No offence but I couldn't recommend any of those 3.

oiRRio

Lunch : For gourmet coffee (best on island), sandwiches and salads the Market beside The Brasserie but not cheap.

Italian : Luca, again not cheap.

Value and close to your hotel : XQs for their aged burger but their happy hour pizza (3-6pm) is amazing value (eat-in only).

Local : Champion House I. N.B. this is a hole in the wall beside Champion House II (the latter not recommended).

Ribs : Either Chef John's on Public beach (Fri and Sat evening only) or Duke's across the road for eat-in. I highly recommend the latter's Caybrew braised beef ribs.

Snack with a view : Conch fritters at Royal Palms. Not a fan of the bar itself but their conch fritters are very good.

oiRRio

Pretty good call if you like lobster. Good bartenders as well.

owflyer

Current list combined with others input:

LUNCH:

Sunshine Grill - located opposite the Westin in the Sunshine Suites Hotel, kid friendly, continental

Tim-Buc-Tuu Diner - West Bay, Town Hall Rd off Bay Rd., Local/Caribbean

Brasserie Market - Georgetown-Cricket Square, Deli/Sandwiches - busy btwn 11:30-12:30 weekdays

Heritage Kitchen - West Bay, at Bay Rd & Church St. behind the Esso station, local fish, check the hours

DINNER:

The Brasserie - located same spot as the Market, good local selections and service

Morgan's Harbour - Great Jerk Burger, so, so seafood

Ragazzi - Seven Mile Beach, Italian, kid friendly, good

KAIBO Upstairs - Rum Point, can take water taxi from Camana Bay

Seymour's Jerk Chicken - Georgetown, basic, late night option

Wine Down- across from, just North of the Westin, "Governor's Square Mall", can't see from street - Good for drinks, light food - now closed

American Breakfast - Cimboco, Seven Mile Beach across from Marriott

Camana Bay, hit and miss IMO.

Not recommended:

Lonestar - Seven Mile Beach
Dukes - Seven Mile Beach
Blue - Ritz
Calypso Grill - Morgans Harbour

Dave345

Depends on what you want. Steak, Italian, local stuff?

Off the top of my head though, Luca and Ragazzi are quite nice (they're owned by the same guy), you could also try Casa Novas. Copper Falls is about the best for steak.

For breakfast I like Treats. They do American and English breakfasts, omelets ect. as well as cakes.

Sunset is ok for lunch. Expensive though. But it does have the advantage of being 50ft from where you go diving.

As for Seymour's, I like them but prefer Wright's. Not the friendliest looking place but I don't think anyone beats their jerk.

I live in Cayman btw.

As for the fancy dessert place, it could have been Grand Old House. But it could have been a couple other places that have since closed.

FlyingNelly

Lived there for a couple of years and now have family that live there so we go often enough.

The main problem with Cayman is that nearly all the food is shipped in from somewhere else. For this reason we don't aim to have the world's best dining exeriences, and we try to focus on seafood etc. Though this isn't always locally caught! Salad in particular can be very hit or miss due to freshness issues.

We go to Copper Falls every visit as it's the family's favourite, but in my experience not a patch on steaks we'd get here in Scotland. Luca is ok. We eat at least once every trip at Sunset House, maybe more, but that's more for the setting and cocktails. Brasserie market does some of the freshest food for lunch as they grow a lot themselves. I found the Brasserie main restaurant ludicrously over-priced and under-whelming though. Ragazzi is decent enough, it's another on our "always go" list. Deckers was good but again I've had better Lobster elsewhere for a lot less money. Papermans for coffee.

To be honest we try to maximise out outdoor eating and focus more on the setting than the food - this is what differentiates it from home. But it's a lot better than it was 10 years ago so you can still get good meals, just be prepared to pay for them!

Sweet Willie

Heading to Grand Cayman towards end of Dec this year.

I seem to recall from our trip a long time ago, that the food was overpriced for the quality one received. Perhaps FlyingNelly's comment about most/all food being transported in has something to do with it. I'm also of the belief that most "resort" area restaurants rarely are something special as they are catering to tourists that are primarily looking for convenience &/or view/ambiance. Our family is more about local options that serve delicious food vs being convenient or pretty. Any suggestions?


Also, we have a condo reserved at Plantation Village, (we will have a car so we aren't limited by location). The condo has a fully equipped kitchen & outdoor grill to use.

What are the food market/grocery store options on Grand Cayman? Someone mentioned to me that the grocery stores are closed on Sundays.

Are there any fresh seafood markets for instance?
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Jhensley1607

If you have a car, and you want to try some local options, head to the East End away from 7 mile beach. We had fantastic meals at Tukka. Impressive dinners as well as an expansive Sunday brunch.

Sweet Willie

Tukka http://www.tukka.ky/

I was thinking that the "local" eateries I'm looking for would be away from 7 mile beach. Thanks for confirming.

Anyone have experience with the local food markets or grocery stores?

jerseygirl

Fun to go to local Fish Fries sometimes even in a front yard! Friday's and Sunday seem to be most common
We also liked Tucca, found the lighthouse to be overpriced and an ok Italian restaurant

Sweet Willie

Found this list of grocery stores/markets. Also talks about where to purchase fresh fish and lists a few Farmer’s Markets

http://www.caymannewresident.com/Grocery-Stores

website also has info on activities, fishing, boat rental & lots of other Cayman info.

Sweet Willie

http://caymangoodtaste.com/ is the online food mag for Cayman.

They do list Cayman food terms: http://www.caymangoodtaste.com/pagecategory.asp?cat=63

I was looking for local food spots and the mag seems to have a few places listed: http://caymangoodtaste.com/restauran...&Submit=Filter

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