Meals on St. Martin: fresh, French, affordable

Our search for moderately priced dinner restaurants took us to hideaways on pretty alleys, little gems tucked into shopping centers, and street corners where enterprising cooks had set up barbecue grills under the stars.

At the wonderful Le Fish Bar on the village square in Orient Village, a dog ambled in both nights we were there and no one batted an eye. This kind of ambience is part of the local charm and is free. Money will buy you a terrific terrine of foie gras, but it won't buy the delight of hearing a dove coo in a nearby tree while you sip wine in an outdoor cafe.

Le Fish Bar, one of two on the island, is casual, inexpensive, and draws local families, always a good sign. The menu, written on a big chalkboard hung among fishing nets draped under the ceiling, focuses on fresh fish. The waitstaff welcomed us with a cheerful ''bon jour."

All the fish we tried was excellent. Le Fish Bar's grouper filet with passion fruit sauce was about $10.50. A swordfish kabob with six big chunks of fresh, firm fish was about $7. (All the dinners came with saffron rice, french fries, or salad.) Other diners ordered mahi mahi tartar, with the only ''cooking" of the fish being the marinating process.

''I have some who come here twice, three times a week for it," said Melanie Floch, the French owner and manager who emigrated from Brittany five years ago. Some of the fish is smoked or marinated at a fumerie, or small factory, then brought to the restaurant for finishing.

Several locals recommended Poulet d'Orleans (Orleans Chicken). In a charming 100-year-old house painted in Caribbean colors and crowned by a rooster, Poulet d'Orleans is owned by the jovial Tony Romney.

The restaurant, perched on a rise at a bend in the road in the French Quarter, is a happy sight. Festive colored lights are strung across the front. Nighttime reveals a blanket of twinkling lights from the houses and businesses below.