Marsh Harbour's Bistro Harbourside Restaurant
A What's On Restaurant Review

Marsh Harbour's harbourside Bistro restaurant and bar

The Bistro, as it has come to be commonly known, is located on the premises of the Conch Inn in downtown Marsh Harbour. It is part of a three-company complex now, along with Conch Inn's motel rooms and the offices of The Moorings' sailing vacations. Owned and managed by Mrs. Maria Silvester, the daughter of the owners of Nassau's ritzy Ristorante Vesuvio, the Bistro has only been opened for business since December, 1997 ­ and what a business it is!

We were lucky to be invited in the early evening although we did not realize how lucky, until we parked and came in through Bistro's playground entrance. A wooden sidealk leads you through the sandlot amply furnished with children's play equipment - a jungle gym, swings, slide and benches ­ placed upon the clean, soft white sand for safety and to maximize the delight of the children. The sidewalk is lined by potted palms which all lead up to the deck of the Conch Crawl Bar, operated by Maria's sister, Giselle Santillo.

You are immediately struck by the decor of Bistro... the deck is furnished with white plastic chairs and tables, the verandah, romantically lit with tiny white lights strung at intervals around the railings overlooking the marina. The partially-enclosed indoor deck is more festively decorated...black iron "bistro" chairs with teal-coloured seats around wooden tables and small painted china plates set around the frieze.

French doors separate the outdoor decks from the indoor tiled dining area. My fiancee was particularly taken with the feminine touches of whimsy - the ivy over the French doors, the tiny wooden table holding the selection of international wines, the wooden sideboard for the menus and the generous use of that seafoam green colour on the walls. Bahamian pink appears on the napkins and other accouterments all around Bistro as if an artist has been at work. The Bistro can seat about a hundred people and is available for receptions and parties.

We were seated in the enclosed deck where we had a view of everything from the bar to the dining room. It was not long before we noticed that there is a definite feeling of camaraderie among the staff members of Bistro from Maria, the proprietor to Mark, the newest member of the team. They interact like members of the same family with polite smiles and affectionate touches. Maria came over with Clyde King, our waiter, in tow to recommend the evening's menu. Clyde, a son of Dundastown, had been employed at other establishments around Abaco, but came to the Bistro for the challenge of helping to launch a new restaurant.

I ordered a Bailey's creme sherry and my date ordered a virgin piña colada. Before we had time to view all the enticements of the menu, we were gifted with plates of fried calamari accompanied by a spicy marinara sauce, which was elegantly served in tiny gravy boats. The Bistro calamari (squid) is tender and crunchy, not the rubbery offerings that might be served elsewhere. I had not had marinara sauce before and found it a delicious accent to the squid.

We were encouraged to take our time, to chat and enjoy the music and the surroundings, and we did. Garred Cooper, a keyboardist/singer from Treasure Cay (who also performs at Cap'n Jack's, Hopetown) had been busily setting up his instruments while we enjoyed the appetizers. We had a chance to chat with him awhile and discovered that he owns the Harbour Cafe at Green Turtle Cay and soon will open Coconuts at Treasure Cay. It was a delight to hear him play and sing a variety of hits from the 70's - Bob Marley and Al Green and calypso favourites. We were amused to see a group of German tourists swing onto the dance floor and congo-line dance back to their table in time to the music, laughing all the way.

Our next course of penne in a mushroom-garlic sauce arrived and, I can tell you, was enthusiastically welcomed. The Bistro uses "regular" mushrooms and the darker, more pungent shiitake mushrooms in marilla sauce (named for Maria's mother - who designed the recipe). The sauce uses red pepper, parsley, heavy cream and wine to compliment the flavour of the mushrooms. The only thing lacking was a spoon to ensure that we would get every drop.

We had been quietly perusing the menus for Bistro's "three-squares" ­ breakfast is served from 8-11 a.m. and offers omelets and eggs prepared in other ways, with steak, bacon, grits or sausages.

You can also order pancakes, bagels with cream cheese and rolls. For lunch (11 a.m.-3 p.m.), various appetizers such as Capri salad, fried mozzarella sticks, conch fritters and chowder and artichoke dip can precede a meal of grilled shrimp, Cobb salad, a BLT, BELT (egg included), conch burger or spaghetti & meatballs. Dinner (6-9 p.m. weekdays and 5-8 p.m. - Sundays) is a symphony of colour and tastes...Veal Marsala, Zuppa di Pesce (fish soup), Linguini Bolognese and two of Maria's mother's specialties - Pollo Michele and Linguini Bahamese (conch & pasta). You must have guessed by now that Maria and Giselle's mother, Marilla Santillo is one of those great Italian cooks. She also assisted her daughter with Bistro's recent "face-lift".

Each of the menus had the legend at the bottom...

"To ensure the freshness of your meal
all dishes are prepared to order
Good things come to those who wait"

How right they are ­ between them, Clyde and Mark whisked away our previous dishes and prepared our table with the air of a conductor before an orchestra - new silverware, freshened drinks and a small period of suspense. Then voila! Plates appeared laden with generous samples of vegetables and seafood - a stuffed seafood crepe covered with a variation of the marinara sauce, tangy pan-fried grouper in a tequila/orange sauce and oh! the vegetables! Whipped potatoes, carrots, cabbage and green peppers sauteed in light butter to retain their vibrant colours and crispness. One did not know which sample to enjoy next. I had my glass of red wine to accompany this course (even though the white was available). We ate almost every morsel, sipped our beverages, and chatted with Maria or Clyde ­ who stopped by our table every so often to enquire after our level of satisfaction. During this course, Chef Owen Henry (originally from Clarendon, Jamaica) ­ who had been at Vesuvio's with the Santillos for several years before venturing to the Abacos with the daughters last year ­ sat with us a short while and discussed recipes (we were gifted with the ingredients of a few, but sorry, they are as secret to us as they are to him).

The Santillos had been in the restaurant business for more than twenty years, during which they started Vesuvio's in Nassau (West Bay Street) before moving to Washington, D.C. with their mother and late father, Michele Santillo, a former croupier turned restaurateur. The girls, Maria and Giselle, spent their growing-up years there before returning to Nassau and then, Maria married and relocated to Marsh Harbour with her husband. Her sister, Giselle, the organizer of their parties/receptions and the like, moved here shortly afterwards. The Conch Inn, within a few short months, metamorphosized from its underformed crysallic state to the beautiful, classy butterfly it is today. Parking is ample and it is centrally located; the amenities scream family but slyly whisper...romantic interludes. The menus offer traditional Italian dishes along with those stylized by Marilla Santillo to reflect a Bahamian influence but there are also a few American choices as well. The atmosphere is warm, inviting, upscale and homey all at the same time. Once you have been there, you will return and it will be worth the wait.