Champagne at the breakfast buffet and other temptations at seven mile beach.
Back home in Toronto, the snow was piling up, and on the U.S. East Coast, Winter Storm Fern was raging, taking out power lines and cancelling flights. But on Grand Cayman, I was in shorts and a T-shirt, contemplating the breakfast buffet at Ave, in the Kimpton Seafire Resort on Seven Mile Beach. Fresh fruits, smoked salmon and cheeses, an omelette station, pastries; in short, it was overflowing with everything one might need to get one’s day off to a solid start — along with one remarkable extra: an enormous ice bucket filled with self-serve bottles of Champagne Billecart-Salmon NV.
How much was too much? I wondered. There wasn’t much to get stressed about on Seven Mile Beach — luxurious accommodation, white sand, pristine, tranquil waters. Plus, it was a quick direct flight to get here. And awaiting us upon arrival was reliably great weather, exceptional swimming and diving, easy living and Champagne for breakfast, all of which made for a winning combination. A perfect recipe for a brief winter escape.
Where to Eat
A casual lunch
Bonny Moon Beach Club
It is as it sounds — a convivial spot for swimsuit-and-flip-flop fare beachside. But you won’t be long settled at one of the blue wood tables set out on the sand before you clock that bar and kitchen putting in some proper effort. The passion-fruit margaritas are bracing. The fried calamari is crisp and the callaloo and spinach fritters have crunch and deep flavour. A properly seared snapper comes topped with julienned mango, and the charred octopus, sautéed in a skillet, arrived with roast new potatoes, young corn and lashings of aïoli. A tasty, casual meal under the hot sun.
Drinks
Library by the Sea
Before you get comfortable here on a stool at the marble bar with the stunning underlit wood panelling beneath it, or in an armchair by one of the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the terrace and greenery between bar and beach, have a look at the books. The non-fiction features weathered hardcovers by Walter Isaacson, Stephen Fry and Dominick Dunne. Over there on the bookshelf, the cluster of thrillers includes not just Grisham but also Christie and Ludlum and a signed first edition Dick Francis. And — wait a moment — there’s a first edition of Le Petit Prince. There are real readers in charge here. When you open the cocktail menu, which is beautifully illustrated by local artists, you’ll find the bartenders are also masterful at distilling literary concepts into cocktails. We fell for the floral B612, for Consuelo, named for the asteroid in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s classic. And there’s the Transylvanian amaro-spiked, Bram Stoker–inspired The Night She Walked Again, which is served with a small chocolate coffin.
Dinner
Tillies
The spiffiest address on Seven Mile Beach is arguably Palm Heights, designer-entrepreneur Gabriella Khalil’s recently renovated boutique resort. And if price or unavailability deprives you of the keys to one of its 60 rooms, well, you’d better stop in for a meal at its restaurant. The chic, open and greenery-filled dining room is inviting. But our suggestion is to only pause there at its handsome bar for a well-made Carajillo or a Mezcal Negroni, and then move on to one of the white tablecloth-draped tables on the beach, all the better to savour the sounds of the surf. Under the moonlight, get started with a ceviche — say, luscious tuna, with avocado, slivered scotch bonnet and cucumber and coconut water. Then enjoy some very properly grilled fish or, for a real taste of where you are, a well-executed goat curry with a stack of flaky rotis and condiments of tamarind and coconut sambal. To finish, a Basque cheesecake. Why not?
Blue by Eric Ripert
Pressed, starchy white tablecloths, spacious banquettes, table lamps, a plush carpet, accents of dark wood and gold, and a textured namesake dark blue ceiling — this posh seafood restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton very much looked its part. And then — as the food started to arrive — it began to exceed it. The five-course tasting menu opened with an exceptionally sweet cured scallop, sliced and fanned over a smoked parsnip purée, with miniature pickled radish for texture and acidity — all adrift in a Granny Smith-and-celery jus. For a classic pairing, a Rudi Pichler Riesling from Ried Achleithen, in Wachau. They had our attention, my wife’s and mine, and held it, rapt, over a meal that spanned shima-aji, Atlantic lobster, hamachi, tuna and snapper, culminating in an exquisite striped bass with shrimp, tomatillo and al pastor emulsion and, for my wife, succulent seared monkfish with charred avocado and pasilla sauce. Old-world pairings delighted throughout. Hats off to Ripert’s local head chef, Michele Tenzone, a man in rigorous charge of his kitchen.
Where to Stay
Kimpton Seafire
Start the day at their gym or with outdoor Pilates or spinning — or with a Champagne breakfast. For lunch, go for casual Mexican beachside at Coccoloba (ceviche and camarones al ajillo tacos recommended). In the afternoon, visit the superlative spa (Dreamy Duo or other similar couple’s treatment highly recommended). Repair to loungers on Seven Mile Beach to read and nap. Then, in the late afternoon, enjoy cocktails off the lobby at Library by the Sea (#49 on the 2026 North American list of the World’s 50 Best Bars). This handsome, luxurious property has it all.
–JACOB RICHLER
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