We lived on Saba for only three years, but the island and its people have a warm place in our hearts. Whenever we visit the island, we will ask the friends we are staying with about events that took place after our last visit and if there are new places we should visit. This time, they talked enthusiastically about a new restaurant that had opened in Th e Bottom. I should know the chef, as she had worked in restaurants I had written about before and had now started her own restaurant.

So on Sunday, we drove down to Island Flavor Restaurant, looking forward to a pleasant and delicious lunch. The place had a large porch, shaded by some trees and a few umbrellas. There was also a seating area inside with airco. We are outside people, so we sat down under the beautiful tree. Our friendly waitress Veronica handed us the menu and took our drink orders: three glasses of red wine and a cool beer for my husband.

We decided to skip the appetizer and made our choice from the main course menu, except for my friend, who chose a dish from the sandwich and burgers menu, the Fisherman’s Burger, which had a fresh filet of blackened island snapper topped with a delicious pineapple/mango salsa. She chose the pasta salad to go with it. Definitely a good choice I decided when I tasted it. Her husband opted for the grilled, marinated chicken skewers with Thai green curry sauce. He had French fries to go with it.

My husband chose the mahi mahi with Creole sauce and rice and I went for the herb-crusted beef tenderloin topped with mushroom/amaretto sauce and the baked potato. All main courses came with deliciously fried plantain and a combination of crisp French beans and broccoli.

We all finished our plates without any problem, telling each other what a perfect choice we had made. Our attentive waitress made sure our glasses were refilled and once in a while, wonderful aromas wafted by when plates were served to other customers.

Chef Joeni Child has done herself proud with this restaurant. She was involved in cooking from a young age, growing up in St. Vincent. She used to watch her grandmother, who always cooked outdoors and would send her regularly to the garden to pick some herbs or vegetables. This must have given her the feeling for the tasty infusion of herbs in her dishes.

Joeni has a herb garden behind the restaurant and brings fresh herbs and vegetables from her home garden to the restaurant. All fish is bought fresh on the island. Sabans also sit down on the pleasant porch to enjoy one of her famous fresh juices, from which a lemon chiller with fresh mint is a favourite. We definitely will go back there on our next visit and try one of these, perhaps with one of the appetizers or a fresh salad which also looked tempting on the menu. Although I would not mind a repeat of the tasty, juicy tenderloin I had this time.

And the final assessment????