Eddy's

A little piece of advice: Eddy’s doesn’t really get going until 9 p.m. That’s when locals—the regulars—start coming to this affordable gem with a lovely, fairy-light-strewn garden in downtown Gustavia. The owner, Eddy Stakelborough, or his son, Mahe, usually holds court at the tiny bar, welcoming their friends as the evening goes on. But here’s why we really love Eddy’s: The simple, hearty food has French, Creole, and Thai influences—dishes include codfish fritters, wahoo with ginger sauce, roasted rack of lamb with Indian spices, and wild prawns with curry and coconut milk—and won’t set you back a mortgage payment. The décor leans toward French Polynesian or Asian (pagoda lanterns, a thatch-roof ceiling, stone walls, and teak wood accents from Bali), leaving diners with the feeling that they are not in St. Bart’s but rather an even more exotic land, far off in the tropics—where parties last well into the wee hours.