Frommer's Review
This is one of the island's finest restaurants, and one of our favorites, positioned on a strategic plot of US$32-million real estate in the heart of the Seven Mile Beach "golden strip." The Reef Grill manages to be chic, savvy, elegant, hip, and fun all at the same time. The savvy entrepreneurs who rent the space are Ohio-born longtime residents of Grand Cayman. With a well-trained staff of around 50, they maintain a compound of one- and two-story buildings that include a beachfront bar and grill; a nightclub that everybody seems to groove on, especially on weekends; and a classy citadel of gourmet cuisine that local condo owners view as a gastronomic shrine. To fully appreciate the place, we recommend a brisk walk-through (the staff at the entrance will help) as a means of determining which corner of the place you'd most like to occupy. Let's just say that the inland, "landlocked" bar and dining area is elegant, red, and evocative of an upscale corner of Europe, while the seafront bar offers dance-floor views of Grand Cayman's most nubile and flirtatious chatterboxes: you decide.
We enjoyed a meal starting with a Maytag blue-cheese salad with chopped Granny Smith apples and spiced pecans, and conch fritters with jerk-flavored mayonnaise. There's an absolutely brilliant, melt-in-your-mouth version of honey-and-soy-glazed sea bass with Thai-style curried vinaigrette, or go for the jumbo scallops with smoked bacon and a fricassee of corn, accompanied by mashed potatoes garnished with chunks of lobster tail. If you opt to dine under the stars on a Friday or Saturday, you'll hear talented local musicians playing soca and calypso in the bar pavilion about a hundred paces away. A helpful staff member, perhaps Will, one of the owners, will guide you through one of the Cayman's best wine lists.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
