by Anne Evans
Rick’s and my romance with dry rosés began during our first trip together to Europe – a time we fondly refer to as “The 2014 Summer of Rosé”. We had purchased a BMW, later named Ezzie via the “BMW European Delivery Program”.
We picked her up in Munich and spent 3 weeks driving through Austria, Italy, Southern France, and finally north to Paris. Rick and I flew home from Paris and Ezzie rode by ship to her future home with us in Southern California. Particularly in Italy and Southern France, dry rosé was plentiful, inexpensive, and absolutely delightful. Indeed, “Rosé All Day”!
Fast Forward. It’s June of 2023 and after living on Grand Cayman for over a year, we have gained a set of wheels. Time to have some fun and adventure!
One of the activities we enjoy is dining out. Now with a car it is possible to enjoy that activity far more given our increased versatility and mobility.
As mentioned previously, it is expensive to dine on Grand Cayman Island Roughly, assume it will cost you nearly twice what you would pay in the US for a comparable experience – particularly if you include wine with your meal. There are many lovely places to dine on Grand Cayman. However, you probably want to try to select a restaurant that provides the ambience and menu selection that best suits your preference before you commit to making a reservation and walking in the door.
Our solution: make your first visit to a potential dining option late afternoon (we like Sundays) for a glass of Rosé. Doing so allows you to not just enjoy a peaceful afternoon, however, to also review the dinner menu, sample the restaurant’s ambiance and talk with the staff. We have or are planning to return to roughly 95% of the restaurants which we have tested with our Sunday afternoon Rosé excursions.
One which we are unlikely to return to for dinner (Bacarro) is only because we did not feel that the menu suited our food preferences. Yet, it was still a fabulous “Rosé” outing.
- It is indeed a beautiful waterside location with indoor and outdoor seating
- We learned that it is better to keep a glass of Rosé chilled by adding a single large cube of ice to the glass (as opposed to my habit of asking for a glass of standard ice cubes on the side to gradually add as needed – which subsequently melts and dilutes the Rosé)
- We learned about their sister restaurant, Nova, at the north tip of the West End. We followed up with a Sunday afternoon “In search of the Perfect Rosé” experience there which has resulted in our returning for dining twice to date.
- We walked over to Bacarro’s neighboring restaurant, Morgan’s, reviewed the menu and decided, this is indeed a place we need to dine (albeit on a “Splurge” occasion)!
- That said, we recently attended a hosted event at Bacarro with passed hors d’oeuvres that was absolutely fabulous.
Thus far, only one restaurant absolutely failed our “Sunday Rosé Outing” — “The Warf” which is located in the heart of George Town’s Cruise Ship Port. They advertise a daily happy hour [insert Photo of signage].
So, there we were at 4 pm a recent Sunday afternoon and asked if we could enjoy their Happy Hour by each ordering a glass of Rosé. Reply: “Sorry, we don’t offer a Happy Hour.” Rick and I looked at each other inquisitively, and then asked, could we still just enjoy a glass each of Rosé on the patio (empty at that time) overlooking the water, Reply: “Sorry, that area is not available. However, you can sit at the indoor bar”. Rick and I looked at each other. Our reply: “Sorry, this is not going to work for us” and we left. And we certainly will not return for dinner.
Sure, we looked like tourists – however this treatment as though we were tourists, destined never to return was a misjudgment by staff that cost them potentially repeated dining visits by full-time residents.
Subsequent to the experience noted above, I stumbled onto the following article:
Think Twice Before Dining In A Tourist-Trap Restaurant (tastingtable.com) Deja Vue!
It’s important to end on a positive note by mentioning that the overwhelming majority of our Rosé and dining experiences on Grand Cayman have been delightful – from the wine to the quality of the food to the service. Absolutely among the most consistently best dining experiences we have experienced. That said, our experiences have nearly all involved dining at places that the locals are known to patronize.
And in Conclusion: If all else fails, whereever you live, the Perfect Glass of Rose can always be found at home [insert Photo of the Perfect Glass of Rose?]
