We had our "almost leaving Bonaire" dinner tonight at Salsa, and were we impressed!

Salsa, we learned, has only been open for three weeks, and we were in Bonaire for two of them. Our mistake was not coming earlier.

The menu has elegant fare. We had a full, 1 kg. lobster, which we split between two of us, and it cost $38 -- so that was $19 each. Other entrees are in the $20 - $25 range as I recall. The lobster was delicious; the service was attentive (Susan was our server -- a Dutch-Indonesian young woman with winning smile and personality); the ambience was special.

Salsa is on the waterfront, between Capriccio and the sea, right downtown near the harbor. It is owned by 7 owners -- two from It Rains Fishes; two from City Cafe; three from Curacao. (How do I know? I inquired while there.)

The prices look the same as Capriccio, for we glanced at that menu after we left.

The ambience: The restaurant is on a second floor, overlooking the harbor and sunset. Below is an open-air bar. Pleasant music plays during dinner. The structure is almost cathedral-like, with a high, high roof of wood and covered with thatch. They used palm fronds from the Amazon (after the fronds had died), which were combed into fine hairs and woven together for the thatched roof, in a jungle style. I recognized a couple of canoe paddles from a trip I made to the Amazon 37 years ago.

I realize that this sounds like a puff piece, but it expresses the reactions of my wife and myself to the experience and the dinner -- totally positive. A very romantic place.

John

(I have no connection with Salsa; we just stumbled across it and decided to write. We have been here two weeks on our first (but surely not last) Bonaire trip -- having dined at Richard's (twice) (great waterfront), Lion's Den (nice ambience; good food for us, and live music below at our dinner), Blue Moon (had to remind them about the 20% discount for ordering before 7 pm, as they gave us the bill with full prices), and cooked at our inns some nights.)

Does it have AC? What other type of food does it serve? Does it serve spicy food?

Hi, Sue,

It doesn't have AC, but doesn't need it. We ate there at sunset. It was open-air.

What other food does it serve? Is the food spicy?

Not spicy. (I think that one dish was, they said.) They had fish-of-the-day, a tenderloin steak dish, some pork.

Where is it in relation to Karl's Bar?

Just down the street -- in front of City Cafe.

Just drop in while there and take a look.

John