Aruba Restaurants

Everywhere you go in Aruba, people (especially locals) will ask you if you have been to Madame Janette's. So....we just had to try it. It has, after all, been consistedly voted the best restaurant in the Caribbean and has been awarded a bevy of gold medals by both Les Amis d'escoffier and rising culinary star of the year.

When our taxi pulled up outside (having travelled a myriad of backroads in the pitch dark) it looked just like a straw roofed shack with locals sitting outside on benches (these turned out to be waiting taxi drivers). You walk through the door and find yourself in a modern, hopping, happy bar and restaurant full of both locals and tourists but overall a pretty upmarket crowd.

At the very front there's a garden waiting area with tables and chairs made from old trees. You check in at the front desk and they give you a little space age disc. When your table is ready this buzzes and glows red. When they give it to you they don't explain what it is or why you have it, so you pick it up from watching everyone else.

I thought the guy at the reception was quite rude, but I think perhaps he was just too busy. That saying, in a service industry there's just no room for rudeness. That, however, was the limit of our disappointment.

We were quickly seated at our comfortable table and soon found ourselves comfortably surrounded by a bevy of waiting staff. Again, as in many Aruban restaurants, the menu choice was vast and I found myself puzzling over my order. The food came quickly and with big smiles and pleasant chat from our lovely waitress.

There was live music from one singer on guitar and as the night wore on I saw that he was taking requests. People sat very happily over their coffees and cocktails listening to him sing and there was no sense of urgency to leave.

The place is huge, but you don't feel it to be so as it's divided off into lots of sections. I believe that it's packed to the roof every single night, so be sure to make a reservation well in advance.

I started with blue crab lobster lollipops, which consisted of three large "lollipops" of seafood, deep fried in batter and served on giant lollipop sticks with mixed salad leaves, soy sauce,and oriental style crackers. The serving was more than generous but I found the lollipops just a little gluey for my taste. I think others would adore them, however.

I followed this with a surf and turf dish called "Gianni Versace" consisting of superb fillet steak topped with medallions of lobster served with a delectable sauce and slices of portobello mushroom. This came with the house style roast potatoes - diced potato with bacon and onion.

You'd think after all that that I wouldn't have room for dessert, but I had to indulge. I had fresh diced pineapple marinated in rum and served with ice cream, cream, flaked almonds and toasted coconut flakes. Very tasty indeed.

Aruba Restaurants

Visiting Aruba?

Visiting Aruba?