Jon Voyage! Guide to Grand Cayman

After seven wonderful outings over the past week, it became clear to me that single restaurant reviews would not be enough to fully convey my thoughts on Grand Cayman. There are quite a few more places to eat on Grand Cayman than the seven that I picked. Furthermore, my posts didn't even scratch the surface on places to stay, or things to do. Therefore, it's only fitting that I collate my thoughts and provide a one-stop shop for those interested in a Cayman vacation to get started. With that, here we go!

Dinner at Luca

One tell-tale sign of a good vacation is the sad reality that the days come and go so fast. Thus, waking up on my final full day on Grand Cayman, I was in full-day savor mode. Two quality dives in the books in the morning, followed by a tasty al fresco lunch at Macabuca and some quality beach time working on a new Tom Clancy novel, made for an excellent day. It was fitting then to cap off such a day with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants on Grand Cayman: Luca.

Dinner at Morgan's

Day six came early, with another round of diving on the south sound of Grand Cayman. This led to another afternoon of relaxing as I typed up my thoughts on the previous night's feast at Blue by Eric Ripert. After such a grand meal, a smart person would plan on staying in the next evening and cooking something simple. We will definitely be doing that next year, but for now the Madre and I cleaned up and headed over to tonight's restaurant: Morgan's.

Dinner at Blue by Eric Ripert

Day 5 of this 2017 Cayman vacation got off to a rocky start... literally, as the prior day's storm kicked up quite a bit of surf all over the island. The side least affected was the south sound, so I packed up my gear and headed 25 minutes south to Red Bay dock to rendezvous with my dive boat. Waves were 2 feet out of the the southwest, which made for a bit of a bumpy morning dive session.

Coming back to the condo around noon, I relaxed all afternoon before getting ready for our 8 PM reservation at Blue, by Eric Ripert. Located at the lovely Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman, in the heart of Seven Mile Beach, Blue is a partnership between the Ritz Carlton and Chef Eric Ripert, known for his 3 Michelin Star signature restaurant in NYC: Le Bernardin. The restaurant is located on the lower level of the inland side of the hotel (seven mile beach road runs between part of the hotel located on the beach, and part of the hotel located inland).

Dinner at Cracked Conch

Day four of my 2017 Cayman Island adventure started off nicely, with a couple of great dives along Grand Cayman's north wall. Coming back to the condo around 11:00 AM, the sun was out making what seemed to be another stellar day. That's when a storm decided to roll into the island, kicking up a lot of wind and surf starting around 3:30 PM. We hunkered down for a few hours, but the aftermath brought some nice color to the sky.

A storm's respite
2017 Grand Cayman, BWI

 Being stuck indoors for a chunk of the afternoon made heading out for dinner even more enjoyable. We jumped into the car, drove north towards the northwestern edge of the island, and found ourselves at tonight's dinner venue: Cracked Conch. Cracked Conch is actually the more formal brother to a pair of restaurants occupying a spot about 100 yards from the Cayman Turtle Farm. It's other brother, Macabuca, is a tiki bar with a deck on the iron shore overlooking the water. Macabuca is an excellent casual restaurant for both lunch and dinner, with great salads, burgers and conch fritters.

Dinner at Calypso Grill

Day three of this year's Cayman adventure started off with reveille at 5:50 AM, allowing for a relaxed two cups of coffee and breakfast before heading down to the West Bay dock. There I was greeted by the wonderful folks at DNS Diving Grand Cayman, would be taking me on two dives this morning. I have been diving with DNS for the past 5 years or so, and highly recommend them to anyone who is interested in diving Grand Cayman. They have nice, open boats that are not packed like sardine cans, as done by some other operators. Their dive masters are friendly, informative, and dedicated to your enjoyment and well-being. They also do the little things, like offer you a towel, bottle of water, or surface interval snack. I had a great first day of diving, and a lot of that was because their operation is world-class.

Yet another gorgeous Cayman sunset
2017 Grand Cayman, BWI

Enjoying another sunset, this time sans gin and tonic, the Madre and I made our way down to one of the islands truly special restaurants: Calypso Grill. Since starting to visit the island regularly back in 2009, Calypso Grill has been the hallmark on fine dining on Grand Cayman. The venue has a nice combination of excellent food and aesthetic charm that is not found in fancier joints chained to large hotels. Indeed, Calypso Grill is located off the beaten track in Morgan's Harbor (right next to The Catch), and features both an indoor and outdoor seating area.

Dinner at Agua

Day two on Grand Cayman started at the ripe hour of 7:30 AM, with a quick jaunt to the dive store so my scuba gear could be serviced. This allowed for the rare occasion to grab a legit breakfast, and so we found ourselves at Cimboco for a morning bite. I opted for the "Spice up your life" frittata: three eggs, jerk chicken, bell peppers, onion, tomatoes & mozzarella cheese served alongside herb roasted potatoes & white toast. The jerk chicken added both sweet and Caribbean notes, while the bell peppers and onions lent their flavors to the overall palette. With a couple dashes of hot sauce, and perfectly cooked potatoes on the side, and my morning was set for success.

"Spice up your life" frittata
2017 Cimboco. Grand Cayman, BWI

 The remainder of the day was spent lounging on the beach, and writing the recap for last night's meal at Catch. After watching the sun set with G&T in hand, the Madre and I cleaned up and head to the evening's dinner venue: Agua. Located in the Galleria Plaza right on West Bay Rd., Agua is walk-able from many of the top hotel/condo locations. A boon to the traveler who wishes to forego driving on the left, but a pain for those looking for a quieter/more intimate setting.

Dinner at The Catch

Another year has come and gone, and suddenly I find myself making the annual pilgrimage to one of the hottest dive scenes in the world: sunny Grand Cayman. Located at the foot of the Cayman Trench, south of Cuba and due west of Jamaica, the three islands that make up the Cayman Island nation are nothing more than coral atolls growing over the centuries out of the ocean. It is this coral activity - as well as a constant up-swell of nutrient-rich water from the Cayman Trench - that makes it team with ocean life. Combine that with what I like to think of as "1st world" dive operators (you know, companies that don't treat you like a bucket of chum for luring sharks), and you have some damn good diving.