Favorite Lunch Spot Near the Port?

Our first time in GC last year, my wife and I did an day-long excursion and we didn't get the chance to explore the downtown area at all. This time around, we aren't planning any excursion, so we'd like to walk around and explore for a couple hours. One thing we'd like to do is find a good lunch spot, so rather than pick a place at random as we walk, I figured I'd ask here.

We'd love some good seafood, of course, preferably something that won't empty the wallet entirely, though I know reasonable prices can be hard to find in GC. Any suggestions, along with an idea of how to get there, would be very appreciated.

Cheers!

My Bar at Sunset House .... .8 miles south of town ... you can walk there ... considered by many the best bar on the island and they have a full menu. Open air and right on the iron shore

http://www.compasscayman.com/whatshot/2014/09/02/Sunset-House--My-Bar-A-legendary-local-favorite/

Guy Harvey's Rest' ... a bit more upscale that the other two I mention ... you can eat outside on the balcony overlooking the port and looking over the next place I mention which is across the street. This is on the south edge of town ... minutes walk from the tenders. http://guyharveysgrill.com/

Paradise Grill .... on the water and at the south edge of town ... hard to miss ....

http://paradiserestaurant.ky/bar-grill/

I go to My Bar ... but I'm biased as I've been going to My Bar since 1984

We enjoy the convenience of going to Paradise Bar & Grill (next to Eden Rock) as well as the view. Love their fish sandwiches! :)

http://paradiserestaurant.ky/bar-grill/

LuLu

MyBar is great, but it's a bit of a walk and not really "in town". Paradise Grill is right on the water and has nice food at decent prices! Not fancy by any means, just good Caribbean vibe with conch fritters and fish sandwiches, that kind of thing. Open air facing out to the sea. I liked the food better at MyBar, but if you don't want to take the 2 round-trip walk, Paradise Grill is great. You will see it as you tender in. It's to the right of the tender piers with the bright green roof! Can't miss it.

You can also see MyBar/Sunset House from the tenders as well. It's right next to the large white round tank farm down the coast to the right. (Sunset/MyBar is just before it). You can get a feel for the distance/walk when tendering in if you know where to look!

Thanks for the suggestions! They all sound great.

Cheers!

We like Breezes, more for the view than for the food, however. The food's good, but the view is better.

http://caymangoodtaste.com/restaurants_detail.asp?restaurantID=12

http://www.breezesbythebay.com/

Breezes and My Bar get my vote, we be there soon

how crowded are the restaurants listed above on a day when several ships are in port? Is it advisable to make reservations, and do they even take lunch reservations?

In reading about My Bar at Sunset House, I'm confused about the distance. Someone on another thread said it was 1 mile from the tender pier and walkable. However Capt BJ says it's 8 miles south of town which does not sound walkable.

My Bar was our first choice but if it is in fact 8 miles maybe we'll go to Paradise.

Suggestions/opinions?

Jaci

In reading about My Bar at Sunset House, I'm confused about the distance. Someone on another thread said it was 1 mile from the tender pier and walkable. However Capt BJ says it's 8 miles south of town which does not sound walkable.

 

My Bar was our first choice but if it is in fact 8 miles maybe we'll go to Paradise.

 

Suggestions/opinions?

 

Jaci

read more carefully : point eight as in 0.8 :p it is actually a little under a mile I usually walk it in under 15 minutes {sorry for the confusion}

if you go 8 miles south of the tender landings you will be about 6 miles in the ocean!

************

how crowded on ship days .....

well let me put it this way, the closest place to snorkel when you get off the ship is Eden Rock, & the biggest restaurant sign you see by Eden Rock is Paradise ... a large number of folks stop at the first place they see ...

on the other hand since the majority of folks never venture farther south than Eden Rock, cruisers at Sunset are pretty uncommon .... which is why so many locals show up for lunch I suppose . . . and so long as cruisers don't become a 'crowd' at Sunset the staff & mgmt seem perfectly happy to be open about the pool etc. If there comes to be a question of hotel guests vs cruisers that will have to change I suppose but for now, except for the odd time when they are hosting a big dive event .... no problem ... access to the ocean is always free (I have seen them 'close' the entries because of rough conditions/safety) and the bar is always open to walk ins . .

p.s. IME folks staying at Sunset tend to avoid town when ships are in. But since ships tend to leave early, it is easy to walk to town for dinner

this shot is looking from the edge of Sunset's pool area/outside night dining area toward the ship anchorage area

if you can pick out the smaller boat to the right of the black and white ship ... that's a dive boat at the Devil's Grotto area of Eden Rock . .

Thanks for clarifying the distance, Capt. BJ. My friend and I both read it wrong! Which place would you recommend for lunch - My Bar or Paradise? It's our first time on Grand Cayman.

Jaci

Fellow Chi town guy here ... I grew up in Hillside

I'm biased ... I go to Sunset House, hands down. I go there when I visit by cruise, and have taken many weeklong dive vacations staying there. I prefer it for the reasons above ... if on a cruise I seldom see other cruisers there (altho sometime crew, who also seek out places where few pass' go) ... the cruisers either never heard of the place or it is too far to walk (0.8 miles?)

Funny thing that I just figured out and probably the hotel figured out long ago .... if they sold day passes to use the facilities they'd probably get VERY popular with cruisers and that would piss off the regular guests. Some say that Sunset was the first dedicated dive resort on the island. I dunno if that's true but I've been going since the 80's and every other place I remember from back then is gone . . .

Paradise is good, and so is Guy Harvey's .... when I did my last week on GC I ate dinner at GH's twice. But at Sunset you can hang out all day and just chill getting stuff from the bar ... watch the snorkelers and divers . . maybe even join in. BUT NO BEACH . . . this is 'Iron Shore'

Search on Sunset House or My Bar ... you'll find plenty of reviews.

http://www.compasscayman.com/whatshot/2014/09/02/Sunset-House--My-Bar-A-legendary-local-favorite/

This is NOT "rock the house" with a band or a DJ and trays of shots ... you can go to Jimmy's place for that. This is divers hanging out between dives, locals staying out of town while cruisers fill the down town and 7 mile areas, and a few who know the secret.

Sunset House from the air

the sea pool at at the north end of the property, then the swimming pool, the driveway to the shore entry and boat loading area, then My Bar

Watch for the sign in front of reception

just b4 the sign is a driveway, follow this road towards the water and you'll run right into My Bar

p.s. taxi drivers know where it is too!

p.s.2 they have wifi too . . .

Thanks for all the good info, Capt. BJ. We will definitely be having lunch at My Bar. We're the only ship in port that day so it won't be crowded with other cruisers.

if you go

please give us an after action report . . .

We won't be there until the first part of December but I'll give a report when I return.

Jaci

Is there shopping on the way to sunset house?

We like Breezes, more for the view than for the food, however. The food's good, but the view is better.

 

http://caymangoodtaste.com/restaurants_detail.asp?restaurantID=12

http://www.breezesbythebay.com/

I second that!

Is there shopping on the way to sunset house?

no, not once you leave the town area ... or in other words past Paradise . . .

to get to these places you need to head SOUTH from the tenders .... shopping will be EAST

Is there shopping on the way to sunset house?

Not too far past My bar is a local shop called Pure Art

Both of these places sound great. My husband and I like to find out of the way spots as often as possible. My question...are there beach areas at either one or do we have to go to 7 mile for that? We will be on the island for the third time this February and have only ever ventured to 7 mile prior to this trip (because that's what the rest of our group wanted to do) and want something more authentic this time but a little beach time would be nice too!

don't go to Sunset House

last time I was there it was crowded at the bar

Capt BJ: I'm concerned about your last comment. Based on your prior posts, we were planning to go to Sunset House for lunch. We'll be there on Sunday, 12/7, and we'll be the only ship in port that day (540 passengers). Do you think it will be overly crowded on a Sunday?

Jaci

facetious

I don't want the bar to get crowded . . .

Sunday for lunch should be great . . .

as I've said many times ... FEW cruisers are willing to go the 3/4 mile to Sunset ... so much the better for us.

These places sound great!

This is our first visit here & we are looking at snorkeling at Cheeseburger Reef and from there getting some drinks/eats & some shopping. Wondering where to go based on those 3 "wants". Most of my group will be doing their 1st non ship foray so are nervous about doing it all & not missing the boat.