All the way down on the windswept tail of the comma-shaped isle of Grenada, there’s a place we love called Magazine Beach. We love it for its sweet white sands and its reef-calmed waters. We love it even though its name reminds us of work. We love it for a bar named La Sirena.
It’s adjacent to the oft-exalted (and newly renovated) Aquarium restaurant and right down the cliff from Maca Bana Villas, a collection of seven eclectic dwellings graced with gourmet kitchens, outdoor hot tubs and views to die for. They’re all owned and lovingly operated by husband and wife Uli Kühn and Rebecca Thompson. She’s a painter, and if you can pull your gaze from that sapphire sea, you’ll notice that her dramatic, tropically inspired canvases adorn most every vertical surface.
La Sirena sits a scant 500 paces from Grenada’s Maurice Bishop International Airport (not that we’re counting). But because the path meanders up and over a rise and then down a steep driveway to beach level, the bar feels like it’s a world away from the concourse – and everything else. If you’re headed to or from the airport, a drink at La Sirena is the very least you can do for yourself. Better, allot a few hours on the front or back end of your vacation to enjoy lunch or dinner at the Aquarium; it’s a terrific way to break up a long, lazy stint at La Sirena. Naturally, Maca Bana guests have it best in this regard. (Consider that a hint.)
With the happy exception of madcap Sunday nights, when the restaurant and bar host a popular weekly beach barbecue and local reggae band Roots makes some noise, you’re likely to experience La Sirena within a bubble of Crusoe-esque tranquility. Palm-shaded teak tables and chairs abut soft sand that is devoid of human occupation far more often than it isn’t, and as you peer seaward and sip one of barman Andre Quarless’ oh-so-fine Tropical Twists, you might imagine you own the place. Enjoy the moment. Just don’t miss your flight home. Or do. There’ll be others.
La Sirena Beach Bar & the Aquarium restaurant
Point Salines, Grenada; 473-444-1410
aquarium-grenada.com
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