Grand Case is a small village on the French side of the island that has become renowned across the Caribbean for the quality of its restaurants. The main street runs for less than a kilometer along a calm bay, and it is lined on both sides with restaurants ranging from elegant French bistros with white tablecloths to casual beachfront shacks serving grilled fish and rum punch. The cooking is genuinely good — French technique applied to Caribbean ingredients, with Creole influences throughout.
The lolos at the northern end of Grand Case are the most enjoyable eating experience on the island: open-air barbecue stands where lobster, chicken, ribs, and fresh fish are cooked over charcoal and served with rice, beans, and a cold Carib. They fill up at lunch and in the early evening. For dinner at the table-service restaurants, booking ahead is wise on weekends and essential during high season. The beach in front of the village is calm, sheltered, and far less crowded than the more famous stretches on the Dutch side.