My Wife and I dined at Salsa on Sunday evening and were very disappointed.
When we arrived, we were told that there were no seats available upstairs. As we were in no hurry, we said that we would be happy to wait. We got the feeling that we were being pressed into sitting downstairs and were told that we would have to wait more than an hour, we decided that we would still wait and (unsurprisingly) a seat was available within 10 minutes.

Had we not seen the specials menu at the entrance, we would not have been aware of their existence as the waiter did not suggest them. We ordered our food and some drinks and waited for our meal.

The drinks arrived immediately and the first course followed. I ordered soup but had no silverware to eat it with, the Waitress stretched across my Wife and took her spoon and gave it to me. After we had finished, the Waitress appeared and as she cleared the plates, she knocked a full glass of water over my Wife. The first course was OK and we started the long wait for our main course.

During this time, nobody came to our table to enquire if we would like more drinks . 50 minutes passed and our food arrived. I (to my regret)had ordered the seafood pasta. I can honestly say that it was the worst thing that I have eaten here during the 13 months I have lived on the island. The pasta was overcooked and had the texture of glue, it was possible to pick the entire contents of the plate up in one fork full. There was hardly any seafood in the pasta and it seemed to lack any sauce, needless to say, I did'nt eat it. My Wifes' "surprise vegetarian platter" was described to me as bland.

When the Waitress returned, she asked me "Was everything OK"? if it wasn't already evident by my full plate, I expressed my feelings towards their offerings. The response was a sickly laugh and a sheepish look. I then had to put up with the staff pointing and whispering.

I decided against a desert. My Wife had a 3 course special and her desert arrived at what appeared to be an after thought as we were preparing to pay. I decided coffee was a safe bet. I ordered cappucino and received espresso, they duly changed it.

In conclusion, it was terrible. No apology was made nor any adjustment to the bill. I was not even offered a complimentary coffee! We were not the only ones who appeared to be less than satisfied. A couple opposite seemed to leave in a hurry with a look of disdain while another couple to my left got their main courses while still only halfway through their starters.

If you are going to talk the talk, you have to be able to walk the walk. The meal was not worth 17naf let alone the 117naf that I was charged......................Never again!

OUCH! Over cooked pasta is called rubber, I use to plug a flat tire. The only thing worst then bad food is when you have to pay for it.
Sorry you went through that.
Bad food, bad service, sounds like they are crashing. How long have they been open?
Where are they?

Salsa (for those who don't know) is located on the corner near to City Cafe, it is easily recognised by its thatched roof.

Just wanted to add. I did want to send them this complaint directly via their guest book. As well as all of the above, their email link does not work either!

If it had of done, they would have been spared the wrath of Bonaire Talk......Sorry Salsa

they are just north of city cafe. on the corner where the road splits (near capriccio?). as i understand it, the guys who opened salsa are the same ones who opened It rains fishes. we stopped in for a few drinks last october because we knew some of the people in the band that was playing that night. service was ok...but like i said, we didn't eat, we only had a few drinks while listening to the band.

i think every place deserves more than one chance tho. maybe they had a new waitress or something. i'd give it another chance on a different night of the week and see if it's any different.

You may be right Pat, unfortunately, the Waitress was not responsible for the quality of the food.

i know...but it seems like one thing leads to another. like i said, give them another chance and if things aren't better, explain why you won't ever be back.

I know the place, they opened the day we departed last year. And I do think you are correct about the owners. Last year we stopped in at IRF. I got a chunk of fish swimming in some over kill sauce, the fish was still frozen in the middle. Over cooked on the outside, makes me think it was flash cooked, something you should never do to fish. They did replace it, 45 min later. What a joy. If one has a bad experience , just don't go back, Bonaire is full of nice places. If I lived on Bonaire I might retry, but with just 21-28 days, I want every sec count.

Their main owners are the same as the owners of City Cafe. Ed & Joep (from It Rains Fishes) helped starting it up, and put a minority of money in it. They are not in charge or responsible, as far as I know. And they are also not happy with the way Salsa is doing.

We had some dining experiences there, positive and negative, but Salsa is not on our to-do-list.

If you are lucky and belong to the "happy-few" who are allowed to have the sea-side tables, you have a marvelous view.....


Harrie

Thank you Antony and Harrie, It's really nice to have a 'local' opinion on the establishments!

My name is Huub Groot and I am one of the owners of Salsa, City Cafe, and It Rains Fishes. We appreciate all comments, even if they are negative. Guest satisfaction is the cornerstone of our business. First, I want to apologize for the bad experience that you had last Sunday night. Immediately after reading your posting we did do a thorough inquiry and discussion with our employees so that we can all learn from this. Salsa just opened at the end of May 2005. This is not an excuse, but only an explanation that we ourselves are still learning and going through some staff changes as well as training. The waitress who spilled the water on your wife apologized profusely for the accident and is in fact one of the best waitresses we have working for us. She was hired specifically for her expertise and understanding of the American restaurant system, because she comes from the U.S.. I am hesitant to respond to each allegation specifically, or assumptions about the satisfaction of surrounding tables. Pat Murphy said, "I think every place deserves more than one chance..." Thank you for that Pat. With this thought in mind, I would like to invite Anthony Bond and his wife back for a dinner on my account, so we can show you what we are really capable of and that we do in fact learn from our mistakes.
With regards,
Huub Groot

Mr. Groot,

What a thoughtful and honest first post. I agree with Pat, everyone deserves a second chance. Some times you just have a bad night. I hope Anthony takes you up on your offer, and let's us know how his second try goes.

Good for you Mr. Groot.

I To hope Anthony Bond and his wife takes you up on your offer.

Huub.
Thank you for your response. As I said earlier on this thread, it was unfortunate that Bonaire Talk was my only outlet for my complaint. I did'nt feel at the time that my complaint was met with any seriousness and the email address that I was directed to via Salsa's guest book kept returning my mail.

I appreciate that Salsa is currently going through some changes and that City Cafe and Fishes have always maintained a high standard, we have always enjoyed the service at both.

I also appreciate that the waitress in question was very apologetic for the incident involving the water. My Wife and I did not make a big thing of it as it was obviously a genuine mistake. I would like to emphasise at this point that the service from the Waitress in question was fine. It was only mentioned in my original thread as it was one item that compounded others on the evening in question.

My complaint is concerning the standard of the food and the lack of response that I received at the time when the matter was raised. The Waitress appeared to discuss the matter with other staff members and I would have assumed that the Restaurant Manager would have been the person responsible to deal with customer complaints.

From reading the above threads, it does appear that at the moment, Salsa is receiving a "mixed bag" of reviews. I am happy to hear that changes are afoot and that you expect things to improve in the future.

I must decline the kind offer of dinner on your account but I will be interested to hear when you feel that Salsa is at the standard that you would expect. When that time arrives, I will be more than happy to give Salsa another try at my own expense.

Thank you again for your swift response.

Regards
Antony Bond

I love a good ending.

Case in point..This is one of the great things about the internet. Sometimes I love technology. The internet has a way of opening (or should I say busting through) the day to day barriers of communication.

Huub, my family and I were on Bonaire in July. We ate at Salsa one night. There was six of us. I would just like to say we all enjoyed our meal and our appetizers. Your vino was very good as well. We capped off downstairs at the bar with some Drambuie, and life was good. My wife and I are coming back to Bonaire this Saturday, and we shall definately be there during the week for dinner. I think it to be very cool the response you just gave to Antony.

I'll chime in, too, with a good experience at Salsa. Our group of 4 was on Bonaire in November. You know how difficult it can be to find somewhere open for an early snack or cocktail - many of the downtown restaurants don't seat around 5pm. We wandered past Salsa and noticed that they have "Early cocktails" so stopped in. We had mixed drinks and a couple of appetizers. The calamari were excellent, the chorizo was a little odd in the way it was served but still fairly good. The drinks were fine - and we were very happy to find somewhere seaside that wanted customers! Service was excellent, too, altho it was clear that this was a new establishment and still working out the bugs. I would go back again, whenever I am lucky enough to be back on Bonaire!

Just knowing that the owners and managers of dining (and hotels) establishments are monitoring this board and will actually speak up for their businesses is enough to at least get me to come to try the place!! Wonderful! It is very exciting to think that someone really cares!!

Ah, but Tami, on Bonaire, nearly everyone cares. It's the number one reason I moved here. The people, both Antilleans and immigrants, are a miracle of good will, an oasis of humane concern for others in a selfish and violent world.
I suppose now somebody will tell me about exceptions. But, truly, I have found a greater concentration of this type of person on Bonaire than anywhere else.

Tish one minor correction to your statement it should read, this type of person on Bonaire and BT than anywhere else.

You don't consider yourself on Bonaire even when physically you are elsewhere?????
A novelist friend house sat for me a year ago. When I saw him recently in New York, I suggested he return to Bonaire. But he told me he never really left here (and has written half a novel set on Bonaire).
Once Bonaire enters your soul . . .

Tish, I would love to read his novel and I agree with all that you said!! BT keeps me in Bonaire when I can't physically be there.

The novelist's name is Thomas Hoover. He told me the donkeys play an important role in the Bonaire novel, but he won't complete it for a while.
Meantime, I recommend his Caribbee.

I am posting this in the hope that Mr. Groot will see it and take the required actions.
A group of friends dined at Salsa over the weekend.
They never complain. I mean, they are quite relaxed people. But they did complain about Salsa.
They told me they received AWFUL service there, and they have vowed never to return.
They praised the view and some of the food, though not all, but they plan never to return because of the horrible service, including failure to come to the table, even when the wait staff saw they needed service, and failure to provide water after requests for it.
Mr. Groot, divers require water to avoid dehydration, which causes the bends. Divers will avoid your restaurant if they cannot rehydrate while dining. No diver wants to risk serious health consequences and a ruined vacation just for a nice view.
You said you would take action about the bad service. Whatever you did, if anything, has not been taken seriously by your employees.
I am taking the trouble to write to you in the hope that this time you will correct the problem, entirely and permanently.
Thank you!

Huub,
I would like to commend Anthony for turning down your offer of a complimentary meal. I'm not sure when I'll next be in Bonaire, hopefully this summer, but my wife and I would like to sit in for Anthony and his wife. I am very good at impersonating people and if Anthony would be kind enough to send me a video of himself I could pretend to be him. As an author I've ghost written a couple of books for other people and feel I could do a good job responding in Anthony's voice. The risk for Anthony would be great as I could cause a scene and it would reflect badly on his reputation. However, I promise to behave myself even if a bucket of water is poured on my head and the food is indeed paste. If the meal is delicious and the service excellent, I would write a smashing review on the BT board. This would restore the restaurant's reputation, open the way for Anthony to eat at the restaurant at his expense, and of course, fill my stomach. By the way--while I didn't eat at the Salsa during my recent 16 day stay--I do think it's a very cool looking place and look forward to your response.

Nice one Bill.
You are more than welcome to take my place!
Just for the record, the reason that I declined was that I don't believe that the meal that I would get would be a fair reflection of the restaurants normal service, the restaurant itself could not possibly benefit from such an exercise.
Very few places will please all of the people all of the time, however, recent comments on here are not tempting me to return just yet.

All the more reason to take him up on the offer. Guaranteed great meal and great service! Pass the word on to Huub that you want me to substitute for you. I'm sure he'll think it's a great idea. Of course, I'm not sure when I'll be back.

Our last trip to Bonaire (March 06), my husband and I ate at Salsa twice. We thought the food was very good. Usually he does not like fish, but happily ate it at Salsa. I tried his flounder and it was excellent. Both times I ordered the lobster salad as an appetizer and was delighted with the blend of flavors - the roasted pine nuts make it superb. I had the grilled tuna, and the second time we went we both had the special - dorado.

We were very pleased with the restaurant and it adds to the aesthetic quality of downtown - much better than the pile of garbage that used to be there.

I have no complaints at all about the service, and the bill was surpirsingly less than I expected to pay.

Salsa and the Lion's Den are my two favorite restaurants as of this last visit.

If you had a bad experience, I suggest you give it one more try!

Happy to here that.
Very well put.