Looking for a restaurant for dinner/sunset by the water

[Marcys]

My family (2 adults, 2 teens) love restaurants with local flavor. We prefer not to go back to the ship (Destiny) for dinner but to eat on the island, near the water, and watch the sunset. Prefer something with open-air dining. Would prefer something closer to the port and Carlos and Charlies to make it easier to meet up with the rest of the CC group for evening activities!!:D

 

Your recommendations?

[LUPY48]

This is a FANTASTIC spot!! You literally sit at the table with your bare feet in the sand! http://www.flyingfishbone.com

[Marcys]

This is a FANTASTIC spot!! You literally sit at the table with your bare feet in the sand! www.flyingfishbone.com

 

AWESOME!! A little pricey, but awesome!

[Coolmama_1]

Great website! Menu looks awesome!

[Cabin8538]

Do they offer a children's menu? This seems a bit much for an 8 year old. The older two will have no problem with Sirloin!

[Arubalisa]

Another much less expensive alternative, for seafood lovers only, is Marina Pirata. Unfortunately they do not have a website. If you do not eat seafood, there is a very limited selection of NON seafood items.

 

Oh and yes, the fish is fresh. The last time we were there, as we ended our meal two local fishermen pulled their little boat up to the dock. The cooks came out of the kitchen, the fisherman grabbed a fish, held it up and the cooks picked and choose which fish they wanted. Fresh fish does not get any fresher than this!

 

The restaurant is located in the same neighborhood as the Flying Fishbone, but instead of dining on the beach, you dine on their dock. The water surrounding the dock is all lit up, so naturally the fish are attracted. People see the fish and toss them pieces of food and that brings on more fish.

 

Marina Pirata Directions are as follows:

Take the main road from town out past the airport. After you pass the airport on your right, you will go for a few miles before coming to a traffic light. Before coming to the traffic light, you will pass the Balashi brewery on your right, and at the traffic light the drive-in will be diagonally across the road on your left. You make a right turn at this light. However, this is not your normal right turn. You actually have to go through the traffic light and will then see the right turn lane in the road.

 

After taking the right turn off the main road, follow this road a short distance to the end and take a left. After making the left turn, you will pass the entrance to the power plant on your right, and then the road to De Palm Island on your right. You will travel over a small concrete bridge over some water, and then you will travel a short distance and take your first right. After making the right turn, follow the road a short distance until it ends. The dirt parking lot will be on your left. Park your car, and walk through the entrance, down the stairs, and into the restaurant.

[LUPY48]

I'm so glad you posted. I've been trying to think of the name of that restaurant for a month!!

[Arubalisa]

I'm so glad you posted. I've been trying to think of the name of that restaurant for a month!!

LOL, I should have added it is also known as Nueva Marina Pirata. We are looking forward to taking our daughter there for some "shrimps" in September.

[jerseygirl3]

How far is this restaurant (Marina Pirata) from the ship? We would probably get a taxi, but do you have any idea of the travel time involved/cost for taxi?

 

We thought about the Flying Fish Bone, but it looks a bit pricey and I'm not sure I want to actually have my feet in the sand. A dock sounds nice, though.

[Cheeseboy]

I'm not sure about the second restaurant mentioned in this thread, but my wife and I were just at the Flying Fishbone on Tuesday, and it may have been the best overall dining experience we've ever had in our lives.

 

Yes, it's definitely a little on the pricey side - but we both thought it was WAY worth every penny! Calamari appetizer, creamy corn and crab soup, shrimp/lobster combo, very generous portion of beef tenderloin w/bleu cheese, potatoes and veggies, dark chocolate mousse and warm apple pie desserts (including small bowl of fruits and cookies that come along for the ride), plus an irish coffee, decaf, and two 10-oz. Balashi beers ran us about $135 without tip.

 

And let me tell you, the food was OUTSTANDING. Service was also very gracious; our waiter Joseph was terrific. (It's not a "chop chop, move you from one course to the next as fast as possible" type place, so don't expect that, but trust me you won't be in a hurry to leave!)

 

Add in the fact that this is about the most peaceful and romantic setting on the water you could imagine (including a roving saxophonist who walks around from table to table playing softly after the beautiful sunset), and suddenly $160 seemed like not that much at all. It was an experience we'll never forget, and the highlight of our cruise.

 

There were a handful of younger children and some teens at the restaurant as well, and although extremely casual, it did seem to be a very quiet atmosphere - probably because most people are so appreciative of the setting. It's the kind of place where you don't even feel the need to talk sometimes; you find yourself perfectly content to just sit together and soak in the wonderful atmosphere.

 

All in all, this is probably more of an ideal couples spot, but I certainly think that if your teens have an appreciation and enjoyment of good restaurants especially on the water), they would love it too!

[Marcys]

Cheesesboy, thanks for the review of this restaurant. My teens have always traveled with us and know how to behave and appreciate things like this. I do have one question though. My 17 year old DD is a very, VERY picky eater. I have never seen her order a full meal in a restaurant. Rather, she'll order things like salad, soup, eat the bread, etc. Do you think they are able to make basic pasta with simple red sauce?

[Arubalisa]

How far is this restaurant (Marina Pirata) from the ship? We would probably get a taxi, but do you have any idea of the travel time involved/cost for taxi?

 

We thought about the Flying Fish Bone, but it looks a bit pricey and I'm not sure I want to actually have my feet in the sand. A dock sounds nice, though.

It is about a 10 -15 minute taxi ride from Oranjestad to Marina Pirata. The taxi is about $18 each way http://www.taxiaruba.com/farelist.html The fare is per car, not per person. Fare to the Flying Fishbone is the same.

[jerseygirl3]

Arubalisa, thanks for the info. Now after hearing the review of Flying Fishbone, I'm not sure which one we'll go with. They both sound wonderful.

[Arubalisa]

Arubalisa, thanks for the info. Now after hearing the review of Flying Fishbone, I'm not sure which one we'll go with. They both sound wonderful.

Well with the price of the taxi ride being the same it is a tougher choice.

 

 

I dug this up the below from our 2003 trip report. In 2004 we skipped the FF because my in-laws were with us (the 2 LEAST romantic people you could ever meet :rolleyes: ) and last year we took our newly adopted dd to Disney World, so dh and I skipped Aruba. This year, we'll introduce dd to Marina Pirata. She would do fine at the FF, but she loves seafood and will get a kick out of the fish around the dock:

"Definitely do dinner at the

Flying Fishbone

. We had skipped it the last couple of years, but ate there this trip and it was fantastic. Beware though, it is expensive but definitely one of those things everyone should do at least once in a lifetime. People always ask about bugs at this place. We have never had ANY problems anywhere with bugs, flies or mosquitoes anywhere in Aruba during the months that we have been there= January, March, June (4x), July, August and September. The one September we were on the island, there were a few gnats on the beach but no mosquitoes- day or night. Traveling with a bug repellent is always a good idea; we were able to do battle with those annoying gnats with no problem.

 

Marina Pirata was totally opposite from the

Flying Fishbone

. Marina Pirata is all seafood (not the best of places to go if you can’t eat fish I found out first hand) in a very casual setting: eating outdoors on the dock. They have the water surrounding the dock all lit up, so naturally the fish are attracted. People see the fish and toss them pieces of food and that brings more fish… The best compliment for this spot though is when the fishing boat pulls up to the dock with the night’s catch. The cooks come out of the kitchen and point and choose the fish they would like from the boat. To find any fresher fish than this, you would need to reel in your own fish and handed it to the chef

Prices are also much less than the

Flying Fishbone

."

 

No matter which you choose, you will have a great time.

[Arubalisa]

In my travels I stumbled upon this photo of Marina Pirata...

[Marcys]

Thanks arubalisa! do you know if we can get some basic pasta with red suace there. I have a 17 year old daughter who won't eat fish or much of anything else.

[Arubalisa]

Thanks arubalisa! do you know if we can get some basic pasta with red suace there. I have a 17 year old daughter who won't eat fish or much of anything else.

You know, good question. I do remember steak being offered.