We love seafood and would like to know which is the best restaurant serves the beat seafood on Bonaire?

Obviously, you'll get lots of differing opinions here; one person's favorite restaurant is another's worst. That said, here's a few of my favorites and why:

Mona Lisa: they usually have a fish trio that depends on what's fresh and available. It is outstanding, as is everything else there. One of my favorites.

Cactus Blue: they serve a barely seared tuna with a wasabi sauce on the side that is superb if you like sushi.

El Fogon Latino: this small, out of the way placed that is patronized largely by locals serves whatever is fresh covered in garlic. If you are garlic lover, don't miss it.

I'm sure that others will disagree, but to my tastes It Rains Fishes is highly over-rated. We'll see who disagrees! It's also pretty important to ask what's fresh and what's frozen. One year we went there shortly after the fishing tournament, and had numerous very mediocre fish dishes; apparently, there was not much fresh fish on the island that week and most restaurants were digging into the frozen supplies. Some of the fish you can commonly get locally is wahoo, dorado, snapper, tuna, and, yes, barracuda. My understanding with barracuda is that in some parts of the world the barracuda is toxic and can make you very ill, but apparently that is not the case on Bonaire; I've eaten numerous times and it is delicious.

Mi Banana has lovely red snapper. I concur with Mona Lisa. Their bar hap usually features a trio of fish. Swiss Chalet has amazing Grouper. I love Wil's Grill when he has fresh Grouper. Too many choices.

The best fish we at last year was the fresh wahoo at Richard's. I agree with Scott that It Rains Fishes is overrated. Salsa has (had?) what they call a Fish Market, in which you choose the amount and types of fish and side dishes you want from a variety of stalls; this might seems interesting, but it's a trap: you pay far too much and the fish is badly prepared. The seared tuna sounds delicious, must try that some time!

And for a real treat for a fish lover be sure to try the fresh fish pizza at Pasa Bon Pizza. The preparation changes each month but is always yummy.

The grilled fish (what ever is fresh) at Bobbijans is very good.

My favorite is the "land and sea" combo at Casablanca. The shrimp is to die for and the filet is just... well... there are no words.

Thanks for making my mouth water!

We had the best dinner at Will's in November. We had Grouper served on asparagus with a nice cream sauce and Wahoo served over an asian slaw. The best I have ever had, anywhere (not just on Bonaire).

Our seafood is mostly fish and not the traditional clams, oysters, crabs, etc. It really is fresh and well prepared. If you order it at a local place, be sure to tell them not to overcook it!!!

It Rains Fishes, cool name, but can't cook fish worth a dam! Over cooks everything, to heavy on the sauces. All the above mentioned places are good choices, and like Michael stated, ask them "not to over cook it".

Agreed, Jerry... cool name, cool exterior, interior and great location. Not a fan of the food, though....

We love barracuda and lobster. We ate both in Belize last year after spending the day catching them. This is our catch and this is how it looked cooked on an open fire on this little sandy spit of an island we fished near. Prepared by Capt Bicho Oh we sure had fun that day

The smoked marlin at Wil's Grill is superb! So delicate with a just right spicy caper sauce! Only available when he has marlin so watch for it listed on the board outside the restaurant.

p.s. his new hot chocolate chip cookie with kahlua whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and vanilla ice cream is over the top!

You can order fish as you do meat--medium, medium rare, etc., to try to avoid the over-cooking that can easily take place, and sauce on the side.

I always have Barracuda several times whilst on the island. I like it best served in a Creole type sauce and with Funchi. They do a great job of this at Den Laman.

Anyone ever see wahoo as the catch of the day?

Quite often, Jerry, in fact I've probably seen wahoo as catch of the day more often than anything else. When we were there last month it seemed like red snapper was a common "catch of the day", but also wahoo, dorado and a few others.

Anyone know of a place to buy smoked marlin? We used to get it at a house down from Gas Express (I think that's the right street...), but they no longer smoke it. We LOVED it, and could eat a LOT!!! Would love to be able to buy it for that late-afternoon snack again!

Less than 25 days now -- first to Aruba for three days, then my wonderful 5+ week sojourn on Bonaire!! But, of course, who's counting!

I will make sure I have some smoked marlin for you Josie...!

What fish are on the endangered list if any in this area out of curiosity? I never buy swordfish.

Ann, and other interested folks, this link has the endangered seafood and recommended seafood lists for lots of areas....
Seafood watch

The seafood market is still on at Salsa on thursday evenings. Lots of choices and all super fresh.

Michael --- you da best!!

Is there anything I can bring you in January?
I'll be stopping in Aruba for 3 days on my way to BON.

Jerry,
I've seen a whole Wahoo fish come into Richard's. He walked around with it. You can bet that's what we ate that night. It was great. BTW I just moved from North Reading,MA. Was there ten years.