Sunday Brunch

Since trying their mojito happy hour last winter, we've long been fans of the location of the Clubhouse at Frenchman's, and our visit last Sunday only reconfirmed what a beautiful spot they have, with a view to the South-East over the Sir Francis Drake Channel, and wonderfully manicured grounds surrounding the restaurant.

The location alone is almost enough reason to return to the Clubhouse, but we had an unfortunate experience at dinner over the summer, so it took a lot of convincing for me to get HB to return for Sunday brunch. Only the multiple reports from many different quarters of the deliciousness of the brunch food prevailed on HB to give the Clubhouse another try. I think both of us were happy he relented, as not only did the service at brunch show an improvement over dinner, but so did the food.

Frenchman's offers a three-course prix fixe brunch menu, including one "libation" and coffee, for $24 per person. Even if the food were mediocre, it would be a pretty good deal, but as it stands, this is probably one of the best restaurant values on Tortola.

First courses range from house-made duck liver pate to a New York style bagel with dill and salmon cream cheese, while second courses offer a wider variety of both sweet and savory options. My Belgian waffle was nearly transcendent, it was so light and fluffy and creamy. I seriously have never had such a delicious waffle, nor known that they could even approach such deliciousness.

I expected the "libation" included in the prix fixe menu to reflect the weak pour we experienced at happy hour, but, happily, the opposite was true. Similarly, the coffee was Grade A Blue Mountain, freshly brewed in a French press -- by far the best cup of coffee I've ever had. I would almost say you should go for this reason alone, but unfortunately, when we ordered a second cup, it seemed more like Folgers grounds than the Blue Mountain we were expecting.

Dessert did not quite live up to the standard of the rest of the meal, with somewhat uninspired choices (key lime pie or passion fruit cake). The cake was a little dry, but ultimately, I was too stuffed from the rest of my meal to properly enjoy dessert anyway.

If you happen to be on Tortola on a Sunday, brunch at Frenchman's is highly recommended.