Captured within a grand garden setting near Saline beach, L'Esprit is one of the area's more famous eateries within a series of indoor and outdoor dining rooms that capture the chicer lunch clientele of high season. Nestled within a sandy perch above the main shoreline, the dinning room is arranged along a teak deck under interconnecting pergolas and palm forest facing the sea. A simple décor of teak chairs and tables lend the feel of a St. Tropez beach club without the electro-bass and yet just as many chic Francophiles enjoying amorous late-evening meals in the perfect beach setting.
The Food
A recent chef shake-up has resulted in the L’Esprit toque being handed to famous island chef Jean Claude Dufour of On-the-Rocks who oversees one of the island’s best looking and skilled wait staffs for a menu honed in Bordeaux and tweaked over years cooking at the island’s top resort. The result is an impressive array of innovative farm-to-table cuisine accented in market-sourced seafood and sauces with a pan-Asian influence.
Last Word
L’Esprit lands chef Jean Claude Dufour for a culinary coup that will likely result in the island’s best French restaurant and toughest reservation of the 2011-12 season.
