I am not a "nice restaurant" kind a guy. I don’t even like wine. But, I do like great food at good prices. Can you recommend places that have great food at reasonable prices?

Dave, you sound like me and my husband. We're coming to Bonaire for the first time May 3 and food has been one of my main concerns.

Well I am hoping that the great people here will help us both with the food thing!

Dave, April.........Can Linda and I join the club? Like most others, we communicate with on the board, we don't have very sophisticated palates, and will be looking for plain old food (at plain old prices). We have read postings of a check for $56.00 US for a couple of cheeseburgers, a salad and a couple of beers (GULP!). Not for us......

We'll keep and eye on this thread along with you, if you don't mind.......

Linda and Jim

I would suggest you try Bobbyjeans, China Nobo and El Fogon Latino for good, inexpensive meals. Also go to Casablanca and order the mixed grill. It's great and you'll have a ton of leftovers.

City Cafe is moderately priced, casual and pretty good. Last year we had barracuda with pasta in a garlic cream sauce and BBQ ribs which were both very good.

April, Linda, and Jim,

We should all travel together!!

As a point of reference the cost of the above mentioned meal at City Cafe was $39 w/ 2 cokes and one mixed drink.

Thanks for the tips, Ed.

And yes ... Dave, April and Dave, Linda and Jim ... we would make up a very compatible dining group.

Ed, was that $39 for one person? Or two?

Even on vacation I don't mind cooking! One of the first things we do is grocery shopping. We plan our meals before hand and for me it's a lot easier than going out!

Unfortunately, my husband and I are stuck in a room with no kitchen, but hopefully the ocean view will make up for that. I'm bringing down some snacks to get us through the days. This is our first trip to Bonaire and we're already talking about the "next trip". Next trip will be an ocean view room with a kitchen ... upgrade!!

Between the mosquitos having to get dressed,the length of time to eat it's just as easy to cook!

The last time I went with my family we ate for about 10$ a day, a person and ate well.

If you want inexpensive, go to the Divi for their free rum punch happy hour and follow that with their pasta buffet. Cost $21 per couple plus tip.
The pasta is cooked while you watch with your choice of ingredients. Yum! I think it is on Fri nights.

We're staying at the Divi, so I'll be asking about this. Would be nice if they had it other night than just Friday. I love pasta!

The last time the whole family went to Bonaire there was 10 of us and we stayed at the Sand $ in 3 condos, so you basically were responsible for cooking and cleanup one day--not bad!

Restaurants of Bonaire are like the dive sites , they are all good , you will enjoy some more than others , some of the small bar joints serve up great meals at a very reasonable price , enjoy

Bobbi Jan's, Rib Factory, City Cafe, Casablanca are just a few that come to mind. You can eat reasonably or expensive but most of the resturants run about the same as here in the states. Go to www.infobonaire.com and click on resturants, they list many of the resturants on the island and have websites for many of them. A good many of the websites have a good representative of the resturants menu with prices. This may help you make your selections as where to eat. Also check out the snacks on island, these are local small places that the locals frequent. There is also KFC, Subway and a hamburger place called Whataburger. Eating is not a problem on Bonaire only where to eat.

Have a good time. Hope to get back later this year as we love the island and her people.

Andy & Dave

We just returned from eight days in Bonaire and HAD to recommend Richard's. Not only is the food really good, Richard is awesome. We were lucky enough to stay right next door and got to know Richard a bit. Not only did he help with island info, he hooked us up with where to get fresh fish, "must" sees, etc.. What an amazing guy - ask him about how he ended up in Bonaire from Boston! You definitely need to go and should probably make a reservation. We can't wait to go back!

Jason & Anne

Just a note about grocery shopping-we had more problems finding things this time than previously. And prices on food have really gone up a lot in the grocery stores, so be prepared.

All the restaurants mentioned are good. Pasa Bon Pizza is another option, though hardly cheap. Bistro de Paris is good for lunch as well-much cheaper than dinner and very filling.

We were very surprised at the increase in cost, though, with transportation prices soaring, I guess that would be logical.

April, The price was $39 for the two of us. Not too shabby.

Dave you are going to love the restaurants on Bonaire. I was there in September 2007 and loved it so much that I'm coming in two weeks. I plan on visiting the following restaurants:

Bobbejans BBQ, Capriccio, Wil's, Bistro de Paris, Richard's, El Fogon and Rose Inn Rincon.

Check out www.bonairediningguide.com for most of the restaurants. Also, infobonaire lists them as well.

Even if you don't have a kitchen, check out the supermarkets on Bonaire. The sausage rolls (available at the bakery section of Warehouse Foods) are AWESOME and cost about $1 US for 2. If you time it right, you'll get them right out of the oven. But they are good a room temp, too.
Or grab some delicious freshly-baked bread and eat it with the wonderful gouda cheeses available (you can get small amounts sliced for a single meal). Stop by one of the vegetable markets and get some fresh fruit---you won't believe how wonderful they taste!
To keep costs down, we usually ate our "big meal" at lunch if we were eating at a restaurant. El Fogon Latino(for fresh seafood and awesome soups), Maiky Snack (for the goat stew---local specialty), Bistro de Paris(for HUGE and delicious sandwiches and paninis),and Bobbejan's BBQ (only open weekends)were some of our favorite inexpensive choices. We also had a wonderful lunch at Vespucci that was very reasonable---delicious pasta and seafood. Have a great time!

Do you know if there is a microwave and small fridge in your room? If so then I'd definitely recommend the mixed grill for two at Casablanca. At $18pp you will have lots of leftovers.

I had a great burger at the Caribbean Club for around $6.99. It seemed as though all of their prices were reasonable.

I second the recommendation for El Fogon Latino. It's cheap but very good, just not located in the downtown area if that matters to you. Total was under $40 for 2 with soup or appetizer, main course and beer.

The Rose Inn in Rincon was a very good deal and good food as well.

What do you recommend from the menu at the Rose Inn?

I had the fried fish with rice. It came in a flavourful creole sauce, with salad and funchi (a cornmeal cake) and there were some spicy condiments available on the side. I knew the fish was fresh because it was brought in just as we got there!

I forgot to mention that there is no set menu at the Rose Inn; just ask them what is available that day.

(Message edited by natalie_s on April 22, 2008)

I'm told there is no microwave in the deluxe rooms at Divi. But there is supposed to be a tiny fridge. I already bought PB&J to bring down, just will need to purchase some of the delicious Bonaire bread everyone raves about.

April, you can also freeze lunch meat to bring down with you. We froze several packs, wrapped them in newspaper, and had them in a soft sided cooler in our checked baggage. The meat was still frozen when we arrived in Bon.

While getting your bread, and if you feel inclined, grab a bottle of curry catsup. I bring bottles back home with me as this stuff is great on brats and burgers. *wink*

John...The Rose Inn has the best goat stew (Cabrito Stoba) on the island. They usually have a choice of chicken, fish or the goat. Last time we went (in March) they had iguana soup (which I decided to pass on) but another couple said was great. My husband has had all three of the above meals and says they are all excellent. I have to put in my pitch for the Mona Lisa right in the downtown area. For a special meal this is not to be missed. The best ever. Carol

Thanks Carol - I visited Mona Lisa when I was in town Sept 2007 and found it terrific. I had the fish special and it was cooked perfectly.

at most restaurants you can find something relatively inexpensive. bobbejans take away is cheap (e.g. ribs are Nafl 10.50 if you take it away, Nafl 16.00 if you eat there...includes fries and slaw). a medium pizza at pasa bon with two toppings and a few beers is inexpensive also.

try mi banana on kaya nikiboke nord. peking restaurant on kaya korona, and china nobo on kaya emerenciana.

we love cactus blue. i think we've had dinner for two with a drink or two for about $55.00. and they have cheaper stuff too.

remember, at any restaurant anywhere, you'll hike up the bottom line with drinks, appetizers, and desserts. if you skip the appetizer and dessert and only order one or two drinks each you can keep in your budget. however, some desserts (like the key lime pie at cactus blue or tres lechi at mi banana) are too good to pass up.

that being said, on our flight home yesterday we ate at the playa del sol restaurant in the san juan airport. as with almost all airport restaurants, the food wasn't cheap. i told mary that i was going to order "the greatest chicken fingers in the world...the cost so much ($12.50) that they had to be the best in the world". surprisingly, they were really good and very filling. they weren't little chicken strips, they were more like deep fried chicken breasts. there were four in the order along with some fries and i was stuffed after lunch.

on bonaire some restaurants (richards and it rains fishes come to mind) that are more expensive and fancier. but if you look around you can find a lot of reasonably priced places.

HEY PAT - welcome home. Yes - we love Cactus Blue too - and we meet the NICEST people there.

So glad we got to meet you and Mary. We had a lovely evening and it was nice running into Linda and Al from Colorado and their daughter and her friend at Cactus Blue too. It was great!