Golden Spoons Review: My Bar
(CNS Foodie): Located on the water, just several miles south of George Town, Sunset House “Grand Cayman’s Hotel for Divers, By Divers”, is a popular attraction for the diving community, locals as well as tourists, for the past 50 years. Aside from the lodging and diving, the Seaharvest Restaurant (inside & air conditioned dining) and My Bar, located on the water’s edge, offers spectacular views, a giant wrap-around bar and large patio with umbrellas to shade most tables.
Honestly, I’ve never called this place anything other than “Sunset House”, so I had a good laugh when I saw the actual name of the bar/restaurant on their website. You learn something new every day, I suppose.
Seaharvest is also known for its Indian cuisine but offers the Indian menu at My Bar, which is a great convenience for those of us with kids or large groups coming up after or before a dive and wanting something casual. We had some free time for lunch so went down to check out how things are going down there.
We wanted as much shade and breeze as possible, so we opted to sit at the bar underneath the fans. Our bartender was nice enough to ask us what we wanted to drink and remembered our drink order throughout our visit, but beyond that, the service was mediocre at best. Maybe it was the fact that we weren’t asked if we wanted a salad or fries with our steak sandwich, or maybe not being asked if our food was ok or how everything was going at any point during our meal.
Maybe it was when she picked up our empty plates with, “Finished?” and then walked away, without asking if we wanted anything else, and proceeded to the end of the bar to go and eat her lunch, leaving us in the hands of the gentleman with the “too cool for school” demeanor, who never once even said hello.
Whatever the factor was, we were still better off at the bar than at a table, since I watched several patrons approach the bar asking for things their servers clearly missed or waited too long to get. Please keep in mind there were three servers and it was not that busy yet. One server was even eating her lunch out of a to-go container while standing at the service area where they pick up their drinks — yuck!
Although this place is a gem to lots of people, I think we can all agree that service is not a high point for them, so let’s move on to more positive points, shall we?
Our lunch started with the vegetable samosas, the crispy Indian patty stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas, which were bursting with so much flavor you didn’t even need the dipping sauce. The portion was fantastic for the price of $5.50 for two.
We shared the steak sandwich ($14) which came with sautéed mushrooms, onions and a lackluster pinot noir sauce (on the side) on a soft hoagie-style roll. Although the bartender asked what temperature we wanted the steak, it did not come out that way, and was overcooked but still tender.
The shoestring French fries were also overcooked and under seasoned, and once it arrived I realized that we were never offered the choice of fries or a salad (as indicated on the menu).
Since My Bar is known for the Indian cuisine, we tried the chicken korma ($14), marinated in yogurt, cooked with sautéed onions, ginger, garlic, turmeric and finished with cashews and cream. This was the star of the lunch; it was so delicious and tender. It was served with a good portion of basmati rice and a small salad of cucumber, tomato and onion, which would have been better if it was seasoned or had a light dressing on it, and paddamums, which were super thin, slightly spicy and a great compliment to the sauce.
Overall, we had more than enough food to share and finished up quite satisfied… not that the bartenders cared to find out.
In all the years living here, I’ve never tried the Seaharvest Restaurant (inside dining). I wonder if the service is better there? The Indian food is a highlight and would be worth checking out to see if service can match the food.
However, for what it’s worth, My Bar has a nice, casual vibe, a fantastic view and serves good food. So if you’re not in a hurry and can handle the wait for your drinks or the follow-up to check on your food, there’s not much wrong with this spot.
They do not add gratuity either, which makes me even more perplexed as to why their service is so terrible. Don’t they want to at least try to make a good tip?
See readers’ comments on My Bar here
Category: Golden Spoons Review, Lunch
