Golden Spoons Review: My Bar

| 26/09/2016 | 9 Comments

CNS Business(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.

CNS Business 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).

CNS BusinessSince 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?

Category: Golden Spoons Review

Comments (9)

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  1. annonymous says:

    The service in the inside restaurant has been extremely good overtime i have been. I eat there twice per week depending on the time of year.

    Only male severs work inside. They have all been polite and friendly to me and my party.

  2. Anonymous says:

    I used to love the burgers but the last one I had 2 years ago was an old shoe that should not have been allowed out of the kitchen. I blame the cook for this. Maybe punishing me for not ordering his Indian food? (Which is fantastic but I just wasn’t in the mood)
    I was there for lunch and it took so long that I had no time to wait for another one. Left hungry. Had to grab a pattie at the gas station.
    Haven’t eaten there since.
    Bacon wrapped shrimp would be good if they didn’t cook it to death. Every time.

  3. Anonymous says:

    Totally agree. I love their Indian food but the service at My Bar is laughable. I don’t think the service could be worse if they tried. Forgetting drinks. Not bringing a bill until asked 3 times. I also agree with sticking with the Indian food. I ordered veggie quesadillas for a change one time and the filling was just green peppers and onions. More onions than green peppers. Not what I would consider a veggie quesadilla. Please fix the service so that this place can be an all around gem the way it should be.

  4. Anonymous says:

    This review is spot on. The food and location is amazing but the service is abysmal. I have dined here countless times with many different servers and 4/5 servers are bad.

    This does not extend to the Seaharvest servers who have always been very attentive and professional. The outside servers are always grumpy and forgetful.

    This is constructive criticism from a long-time patron that they will hopefully take to heart. Keep up the good work!

  5. Anonymous says:

    Have to agree. I’d also say outside of the amazing Indian menu, the food is pretty poor standard, greasy and overcooked.

    That said, it is a great place for a few beers on the way back from work.

  6. Caymanian idiot says:

    I agree with the below review, the food at seaharvest is really good and service has always been spot on.
    I haven’t been to My Bar for a long time so I can’t comment.

  7. Anonymous says:

    I agree with this review. I love eating at my bar but mostly for the atmosphere. The food (aside from indian dishes) is nothing special (at least it’s relatively cheap) but the service is bad. Unfortunately I think the quality of the food and service at my bar has been in serious decline these last few years. Why would the owner care? The place is often packed with people who are there primarily to drink, which is where the real money is.

  8. Anonymous says:

    This is one of the problems with these types of reviews. Rating “service” based on one encounter at one point in time, with one person. And now “service” is permanently rated as poor on CNS for this restaurant.

    PS, try Seaharvest for lunch. We go there often for casual business lunches all of the time as its away from traffic (from GT), never busy, decent view, quick service and great seafood and curries. Tables arent crammed together so you can actually talk business.

    • Anonymous says:

      I go to My Bar quite often and must totally agree with the review, table service is truly lacking but the bar staff seem to be on it much more, so I usually go to the bar. The food is subpar except the Indian food, which is very good. This is my personal take and that is a factor in reviews, they are based on personal experiences.

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