Turks and Caicos: Coco Bistro (April 2015)

My spouse and I dined at Coco Bistro for dinner on a Saturday evening in late April 2015. About one month prior to our arrival, we requested a reservation via email (even though the website states to reserve by telephone only), and the restaurant responded promptly with a confirmation. Coco Bistro is located in Grace Bay, which was a 10-minute (0.5-mile) walk on lighted and paved sidewalks from our hotel, the Seven Stars Resort. Coco Bistro is open for dinner only from 5:30 pm to 10:00 pm, every evening except Monday. Frommers awards this restaurant 2 stars, and it is also a Fodors choice restaurant. The restaurant accepts credit cards. Coco Bistro offers mostly outdoor dining. We saw a few tables indoors adjacent and open to the kitchen; however, the room was dark and they were unused on the evening that we dined. The remainder of the tables are spread throughout the rear garden, beneath palm trees and amidst tropical foliage and strings of lights. Some additional small tables are located in the “bar” area on a deck at the side of the property. Coco Bistro has a resident cat named Coco who roams the property. She is very friendly, and we loved petting her, but the table adjacent to us was not pleased as Coco sat on the ground, very well-behaved, and gazed at them as they dined. The restaurant has no official dress code; however, most patrons sported resort casual wear (for example, most men wore Bermuda-type dress shorts and collared Polo-type shirts). We encountered a few problems with our dining experience at Coco Bistro. First, upon arrival, even though we had a confirmed reservation via email, none of the three hostesses could not find our reservation. (Perhaps this is why the website states to reserve by phone only.) One staff member then gave us a beeper / pager and told us to wait at the bar until our table was ready. (The beeper / pager surprised us, because we generally associate those devices with inexpensive chain restaurants; we did not expect to receive one from one of the finest restaurants on Provo. We were also unimpressed with the quality of the lighted signs for the restaurant located on Grace Bay Road and at the entrance to the parking lot.) We initially walked right past the bar (which only has four seats) and the deck dining / lounge area into the back dining area before realizing our mistake. When our table was finally ready, one of the hostesses seated us at the worst table in the garden, positioned at the rear of the property between the doors to the rest room and the wine cellar. Unfortunately, all other tables were occupied, so we had no choice but to accept that inferior position. We had hoped to share several plates of food, but the Coco Bistro menu stated that there was a sharing charge for all dishes. Upon further questioning of our waiter, he explained that shared appetizers were assessed a $4 fee, and shared entrees were assessed a $6 fee; however, when we received our bill, we were only charged $6 for the split entrée. As an appetizer, we ordered the satay shrimp (which was served atop banana chutney and accompanied by a Jamaican dipping sauce and siracha accents; however, the dish did not need all three of those garnishes), the wahoo for our entrée (which was served with mashed potatoes and asparagus), and Coco Bistro’s famous coconut cream pie for dessert (the pie and whipped cream accents were delicious, but we would forgo “decorating” the plate with drizzles of chocolate, caramel, and strawberry sauces, which did not elevate the presentation, in our opinion). Prior to our meal, the waiter delivered two breadsticks filled with herbs and spices, which he instructed us to dip into the olive oil and vinegar that was present on our table. Overall, the food was tasty, and the service was good; however, when we left the restaurant after our meal, the three hostesses were so busy laughing and joking amongst themselves that they did not even acknowledge our visit or departure. Still, even with the few issues that we experienced, we enjoyed our evening at Coco Bistro and feel that it is a good choice in Grace Bay.