Hi all,

We return a few weeks ago from our 14th trip in the last 11 years to our dream island. I would like to start a conversation on everyone's favorite dinning places. Here's my list, ranked in order.

1. Wil's Tropical Grill - The man is the most creative chef on island. If your lucky he will have smoked marlin.
2. Mona Lisa's - Both Douwe and Hans, as well as Rudy and Monique will take care of you. If there's a special, get it!
3. La Luna - Just re-opened while we were there in April. Ring <sp> and Irene have re-started what they had in La Brassie, great food, great sound system and a great oceanview location.
4. Patagonia - Go Hungry because Pablo's will give you plenty. A Meat Lovers Paradise.
5. Pasa Bon - Joe's got to be one of the busiest restaurants on the island. With diner's and take-a-way. Great pizza but do call ahead before your reserved time, about 30 minutes.
6. Donna & Giorgio's - Great food and Great people. Try Donna's pizza, if your looking for something different.
7. Cactus Blue - Wish we had tried this place earlier in our trip. We will be back, great food and quick and attentive service.
8. Capriccio's - Great food and and extensive wine list.
9. The Lion's Den - Kirk per the girls is worth the trip. Food is great and the view is awesome.
10. Maiky Snack - Local, Local, Local!!!

Reservations are a must except for the Maiky Snack.

Looking forward to other opinions...

Ric

I would add La Guernica, great tapas and fun place! Bambu was very good also but had a very limited menu.Oh yeah, I have always liked Richards, always fun to talk to him and beautiful views.

Bistro de Paris....best meal, biggest surprise, best food find of trip.

We would like to add Richards to the list. Great service , plus also the Pier table with the beautiful views.

Bobbejan's for awesome BBQ and the best chicken sate anywhere.

Thanks for the ideas. Where is Richards??

Going south from town, Richards is on the right just past the Divi.

I haven't heard of La Luna before. Where is it? What type of food and what price range for dinner entrees?

My husband and I just went to La Luna, it was our first Bonaire dinner. If I am remembering correctly, La Luna is between Divi and town, just across the road from the ocean. The service was good and friendly. But the food was not quite our own personal style (although I'm sure a lot of people loved it there, because it always looked crowded for dinner on other nights). We both had the chicken stir fry w/ soy sauce that was on special that night with one beer each and spent $48.

Personally, I like them all. If I had to make a decision to my absolute favorite, I would go with Patagonia. I love the family, love the Argentinian Malbecs, the view is pretty damn good, and the food is not shabby either. I also like Cactus Blue a lot as Corinna is just cool, and so is the restaurant. Make sure you try Bistro de Paris for lunch. I never had dinner there, so I shall not comment on dinner. However, if it is as good as lunch, which I'm sure Patrice is, it is a winner.

Great ceviche at Rincon Limeno, but expensive.
Lunch costed about $60 US for 2 ceviches, bowl of soup and a plate of garlic shrimp and a couple of beers.
The waitress said that argentine beef was cheaper than fish on the island because everything is imported...
Is there no fishing industry on the island at all? Water, water everywhere...

Fishing is done here but much of the catch goes to Curacao or to the larger restaurants. The prices for fish are set and if you go to a local market you will be able to buy a few pounds for under $6. Don't understand that beef is cheaper than fish...but the owner of Limeno also tells people that her shrimp is local.. We don't have local shrimp. It may be a language issue.

Thanks for the reply, but language was not the issue.
She was Peruvian, I lived there for 5 years (memories of great ceviche)and speak Spanish perfectly.
Everything at Cultimara was very pricey too, but we stocked up and cooked everything in our studio room at the Divi Flamingo. It was nice to go "home" after a long day of diving and settle in and make our own dinners after all.

Still don't see that fish is more expensive than beef. I have been here for almost 25 years and never recall that to be the case. Her seviche is absolutely the best and even though expensive, well worth the $. I also found out today that the local hatchery (shrimp frye) raises a certain amount to adulthood for experimenting and some of them do find their way into the restaurants.

Rincon Limeno isn't the same as Plazita Limona is it? Could anyone tell me where they are?