Jacala Beach Restaurant
Intimate Meads Bay fine dining where Chef Alain Laurent plates refined French cuisine for just 35 lucky guests.
Why Go
Tucked behind the sand at Meads Bay, Jacala is the kind of restaurant Anguilla regulars whisper about before they'll admit it out loud. Only 35 seats, a Moroccan-inspired open-air room, and a chef, Alain Laurent, whose pedigree runs through Michel Rostang's kitchen at Malliouhana. Martha Stewart called it her favorite in the Caribbean ΓÇö and once you've watched your steak tartare being coarsely hand-chopped tableside as the sun drops over the bay, it's easy to see why.
The Experience
Arriving at Jacala feels less like showing up to a restaurant and more like being welcomed into a private beach house that happens to have one of the island's most serious kitchens. The airy, breeze-cooled dining room is dressed with Moroccan touches ΓÇö lanterns, textured cushions, natural wood ΓÇö and every table has a sightline to Meads Bay. Lunch is the sun-soaked, toes-almost-in-the-sand version; dinner is quieter, more romantic, with candlelight and the sound of surf just beyond the terrace. Service is deliberately unhurried: Chef Alain and his team keep the seat count low so that wine pairings can be chosen after you've ordered, dishes can be finished at the table, and no one feels rushed. It's the kind of meal that starts at 7pm and, if you let it, doesn't really end.
What to Try
Start with the wakame-marinated tuna carpaccio with wasabi or the lobster soup with fennel and a golden puff-pastry lid. The signature is the steak tartare — coarsely hand-chopped and seasoned at your table with theatrical precision; order it with the crispy potato wedges. For mains, the snapper meunière and the lobster risotto lean classic-French, while the filet mignon with herb-crushed potatoes is the reliable showstopper. The watermelon-and-goat-cheese salad makes a bright, palate-cleansing side. Trust the sommelier's pairing suggestions — they're chosen once you've chosen, and it shows.
Insider Tip
Book lunch, not dinner, at least once ΓÇö the light on Meads Bay is unreal, the pace is slower, and you can roll straight from the table onto the beach. Reserve well in advance (a week+ in high season), request a table on the terrace edge for the best bay view, and if you're a tartare fan, ask for Chef Alain to prepare it himself ΓÇö the tableside show is half the pleasure. The restaurant is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, so plan your Anguilla dining week around it, not the other way around.
The Practical Stuff
Location: beach road behind Meads Bay, West End Village, Anguilla. Hours: WednesdayΓÇôSunday, lunch and dinner (closed Monday & Tuesday; seasonal closure typically late summer ΓÇö confirm when booking). Reservations essential: +1 264-498-8888. Price range: $$$ (fine dining; expect USD $70ΓÇô120+ per person before wine). Dress code: smart resort casual ΓÇö no swimwear at dinner. Payment: major cards accepted. Getting there: 10ΓÇô15 min taxi from most West End resorts; parking available on the road.
Pair It With
- Meads Bay Beach — Walk off lunch (or work up an appetite for dinner) on the same powder-white bay your table overlooks ΓÇö arguably Anguilla's most photogenic stretch of sand.
- Blanchard's Beach Shack — Just up the beach, this casual counter-service sibling of the legendary Blanchard's is the perfect low-key lunch or rum-punch stop on days you're saving your appetite for Jacala at night.
- 20 Knots at Malliouhana — Chef Alain's old stomping grounds ΓÇö pair a Jacala dinner with a sunset cocktail here for a full-circle taste of Meads Bay's fine-dining lineage.
- Sandy Ground / The Pumphouse — After a refined French dinner, cross the island for live music and late-night rum at Anguilla's most storied bar ΓÇö the ultimate high-low Anguilla evening.