BONITO SAINT BARTH

One of the most beautiful restaurants in St Barth with unbeatable views. The wine list is impeccable as are the very inventive and instagram friendly cocktails. This spot never disappoints. Cuisine is refined French with South American influence, truly unique and special. Service is always extraordinary as well and the ambiance is unmatched. Highly recommend.

It was the 2nd night this week that our family visited Bonito on our 7day trip to St Barts for Thanksgiving week. Bonito was Undoubtably the highlight of our restaurant bookings - we tried all the top places in St Barts . From the Moment Marie greeted us at Reception to the table service, the exceptional menu and food and the excellent Sommeliers (lead by Nico P) we had 2 wonderful evenings @ Bonito this week - confirming that Bonito’s owners have assembled a world class team. The menu and Food is amazing - seafood is their speciality - the new Peruvian chef is clearly a seafood expert, securing daily local catches - they make the most wonderful daily fresh Ceviche (which they are famous for) - for New Yorkers think Milo’s NYC quality x2 with a better and deeper wine list. The wine list is exceptional - Nico guided me thru amazing French champagne (Jacques Selosse) ; Chardonnay (Batard-Montrachet Grand Cru and Meursault Olivier Lefaive ) and Red Burgundy (La Richmone - Vignes Centenaries - Perrot-Minot), concluding with an amazing Cevrey-Chambertin (Vieille Vigne) - we sharing stories with Nico of his annual visits to Beaune, Burgundy, dining at Le Cellier Volnaysien and the Grand Cru vineyards he visits annually for tastings in preparing the next season’s wine list. I was fortunate to visit the Bonito cellar for a tasting and witness first hand the amazing collection Bonito and their Somme’s have established. Bonito is a truly special beacon on an island of 1st class food and service - with the most spectacular view of Gustavia harbor - a must visit for the discerning food and wine lover - I look forward to visiting again soon 5/5 and 10/10. Matt E.

Everything was perfect—the service, the food, the cocktails, and the atmosphere. Special thanks to Jeanne.

Bonito is all pretense and no substance. Though the prices suggest something exceptional; the food was aggressively mediocre—and somehow both rushed and cold. Plates hit the table with the urgency of a diner and the temperature of leftovers. Nothing about the execution justified the cost. Service was equally deplorable. Servers were upselling us on everything shamelessly—very tacky for a restaurant to be so egregious about it. Despite being no more than 30% full during peak season, we were hurried through the meal as if they needed the table—while still managing to deliver incorrect orders and sloppy, uncoordinated service. True fine dining requires choreography and timing; this place has neither. When we declined to order alcohol, our server’s demeanor severely shifted. We saw him sneering and snickering with colleagues, gesturing toward our table in plain view. This level of unprofessionalism would be unacceptable anywhere, let alone at an establishment charging luxury prices. Management, including the owner, was dismissive and unwilling to correct any mistake when these issues were raised. No accountability, no attempt at resolution. We have no problem paying premium prices when they’re deserved. At Bonito, they are not. It is a restaurant where tacky unknowledgeable diners are overcharged for mediocrity and arrogance. I advise any sophisticated, worldly patron to take your business elsewhere.

Bonito St Barth Bonito was recommended by our family members and we were very disappointed with their service and food. After all, we are foodies. Our waiter didn’t even make eye contact throughout the serving, maybe because we didn’t order wine. Food came out fast with warm, not hot temperature. For the high prices, food was mediocre and sourness stood out, meaning not well balanced in overall taste. Even the great atmosphere was overshadowed by the service, food and value. We complained to the owner but instead of apologizing for the waiter’s bad manners, he brushed it off by saying “we can’t satisfy every customer!” Top-down bad management. Definitely overrated, not worth the hype, and we wouldn’t recommend it!

Bonito used to be one of our favorite go to dinners while we were in town, but after this year’s experience we are striking it from our list. We came for our friend’s birthday and arrived on time for our 9:30 dinner reservation but were not seated at our table until after 10 pm. At this point we were quite hungry and asked if we could order some appetizers asap but were told that wasn’t possible and that our whole order would need to be placed at one time. For shared apps we ordered the ceviche tasting, mole verde and the special pork tacos. I thought that the vegetarian ceviche and the mole verde were top notch. For my main I ordered the lomo saltado and my husband ordered the suckling pig confit. The lomo saltado almost inedibly salty and the pig was so gamey that my husband literally did not eat it. The real problem came when my friend, who ordered green curry mahi mahi bit into a metal safety pin. We immediately alerted our waitress who said that we must have dropped it in there because they don’t cook with those… Which… I should hope not. The restaurant was completely unapologetic and refused to take the dish off of the bill or take any responsibility at all. It was honestly pretty astounding. Long story long, we won’t be coming back or recommending Bonito to friends.

Absolutely beautiful open air space with stunning cocktails, and perfectly executed seafood with a Peruvian flair. This is definitely one of the most lively and gorgeous dining rooms in St Barth, and the style perfectly fits the island. The cocktail program is superb, delivering some of the best drinks I’ve had, and each has its own unique presentation. Service is very friendly and attentive. Highly recommended for a date night or dinner with friends!

This was the best meal we had in St. Barth! The restaurant is beautiful and charming, with warm ocean themed decor and views of Gustavia. The cocktails were outstanding and the food absolutely exquisite. This is a must-see in St. Barth. We can’t wait to visit again soon!