We spent the day on the beach in Anse-à-l’Ane, and a perfect one it was at that. But there’s a cute restaurant on the beach which we finally took the time to eat in — one that we can recommend.

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Table of Contents

1. Day One — Our Airbnb Host Was Nowhere to Be Found.
2. Day Two — Like a Bloody Fire Engine!
3. Day Three — Things You Need to Know About Renting Cars and Dining.
4. Day Four — I Know Where the Rum’s Gone!
5. Day Five — The Diamond Rock / Rocher Du Diamant.
6. Day Six — A Beautiful Sunset.
7. Day Seven — Beaches and Nudists.
8. Day Eight — How to Avoid Crowded Beachs on the Weekends.
9. Day Nine — The Volcano and Jardin de Balatan.
10. Day Ten — Banana Museum.
11. Day Eleven — Sunsets.
12. Day Twelve — the One With Me Being Lazy.
13. Day Thirteen — Les Trois Ilets, Pointe Du Bout, and the Museums.
14. Day Fourteen — Anse Michel, Anse Trabuad, and Driving Down a Road Narrower Than Our Car.
15. Day Fifteen — Astrophotography of the Night Sky with a Fuji X100T.
16. Day Sixteen — Trying Some More Astrophotography with the Fuji X100T.
17. Day Seventeen — Restaurant Pignon Nouvelle Vague in Les Trois Ilets.
18. Day Eighteen & Nineteen — Probably the Best Vacation in My Life.

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We found Pignon Nouvelle Vague on TripAdvisor before coming to Martinique, since it was close to our villa. Its currently listed as the sixth best restaurant on the island. There is one strange thing about it — the opening hours. You can eat from 12:00 until 14:00, and then from 19:00 until 21:30 (apart from Sundays; it’s closed in the evening). Make sure to get a reservation — everyone else does and seating is extremely limited. At least five couples were asked to come back later as we ate our meal.

While the langusta and rice were very good, the chayote was exquisite.

The restaurant is known for its langustas, so that was what my wife ordered. I chose the filet de bœuf with french fries. We also ordered a couple of drinks. She chose the margarita and I went with a freshly squeezed juice (banana, melon, pineapple, and something else I don’t recall — it varies depending on what they have). Our drinks arrived promptly, but we waited close to thirty minutes for the main course, not that we complained — we were having a wonderful time talking to each other in the romantic atmosphere of the evening, with the waves lazily lapping at the shore.

The langusta came with a chayote cut in half, and some rice mixed with vegetables. While the langusta and rice were very good, the chayote was exquisite. The way it was prepared is a known creole recipe — the innards are removed with a spoon, made into a puree, mixed with butter, garlic, onions, cheese, and various spices in a skillet, then cooked for a quarter of an hour in an oven under a sheet of (most probably) parmesan cheese. Iwona let me try some of hers, and it was truly fantastic. We found chayotes being sold on the local market (they’re named christophine on Martinique) the next day, and we actually made some in our kitchen. It wasn’t as good, but I could eat it all day long. We more or less followed this recipe.

I asked for the the filet de bœuf to be medium, just in case they undercooked it — it arrived medium to rare. I didn’t complain since I that’s how I like it, but… I won’t recommend the beef. The homemade fries was good, but I’ve had better in cheaper restaurants on Martinique.

I would strongly recommend going for seafood instead of chicken or beef. And try the chayote — it was near perfect on its own.