Papiamento Restaurant

We visitied Papiamento Restaurant on March 27th. This is our third time vacationing in Aruba and our 1st visit to Papiamento. Two of our friends recommended the restaurant and I have to say that outside of the beautiful dining around the lush gardens and pool, I was not that impressed with the food. I did like the presentation of the stone plate, but my wahoo and shrimp were overcooked and the vegetables were undercooked. My husband can't remember what he ate, which tells me that he was not that impressed. The wine list is impressive, but our waiter brought out the wrong wine and was annoyed when my husband explained that was not the correct wine. The gardens and atmosphere are amazing, so I was disappointed that the food wasn't better. We might try the restaurant again when we return to the island. But, there are other restaurants that I liked more. I will say that you do get a good amount of food and the Ceasar Salad and homemade croutons are the best by far. My other complaint is that they have too many waiters and waitresses waiting on you. We never knew who to ask when we had a question. Hopefully, this was just an off night and if we return, it will be better.

This was our third time dining at Papiamento in the past few years. We love the unique outdoor setting around the pool with large trees and the Aruban house with interesting antiques inside. Our last time there I was disappointed when we were served a bottle of white wine at room temperature. When I said something to the waiter, he brought me an ice bucket and I told him it would take half an hour to chill. He should have brought a new chilled bottle. We decided to give it another chance and we are so glad we did. Our overall experience was second to none since vacationing in Aruba for 9 yrs. I mentioned the wine issue to our waiter, Andre, and he made sure it was chilled properly. The Kesha Yena appetizer was wonderful. My wife and I always split one entree, we had Roti, which was grouper with shrimp and scallops. It came with mashed sweet potatoes, rice, okra and passion fruit. Absolutely delicious. The size of the half portion was what I expected the full portion to be. It also came with Ceasar salad. Music by Frank on guitar was beautiful, it added so much to our perfect evening. Andre was very knowledgeable about wine and took us into the wine cellar after dinner, a real treat. He told us then that he felt bad for our previous experience with warm white wine and wanted us to have a better one this time. I told him we had a perfect evening; beautiful location, delicious food and wine, gracious service, romantic music, and an added bonus at the wine cellar. Papiamento is now at the top of our list.

Being our favority restaurant in Aruba year after year, we always save Papiamento for the last dinner of our vacation, and once again, it did not disappoint. The setting and service are great, as well as the food.
Went with a party of 8 and all raved about their meals. Baked shrimp appetizer, Keshi Yena, and onion soup were great appetizers. For entrees the grouper, prepared with various sauces, were all cooked to perfection and steaks were cooked perfect as well. I cant say enough about the meals we've had at Papiamento and the great staff. A "must go" when in Aruba.

Went to Papiamento with no reservation and sat at the bar and had dinner. A beautiful setting, friendly and attentive staff and the almondine grouper and snapper creole were some of the best fish we had all week. Can't wait to come back next year.

Although the atmosphere was very nice the meal was very disappointing! The steak was cold and the grouper was bland. The presentation of the meals was very unappealing. We will not be going back!

This was one of our favorite places on the island and I can't wait to go back. The atmosphere is very romantic and the food is exceptionally good. I started off with a fish soup that had plenty of fish and a tasty broth. For our entrees, we had the wahoo served on a stone and the grouper. The wahoo came with 5 large shrimp and that were all perfectly cooked. Prior to that, we were served individual ceasar salads which were a surprise to us (everyone gets one prior to their entree). I would say the only disappointment was the chocolate cake as it seemed like it was made days prior and it didn't have the same freshness as the rest of the course. Overall, a great experience and can't wait to go back.

Very nice restaurant and atmosphere...service started out good but the restaurant got busy and we never saw wait staff again...waited at least 20 minutes for a check....otherwise would recommend

The setting was beautiful. Under the lights by the pool. My husband the grouper and said it was excellent. I had the Mahi and shrimp on the stone and it was okay. Would not get it again. Salads came with the meal and they were very good. My husband got soup (can't remember what kind) and he said it was okay. I had the choc. cake for desert and it was yummy. Would definitely go back but I would try something different. Service was above the 10 rating.

We ate there last night (as well as a fe years ago). We had; lamb chops (really a rack of lamb), shrimp on the stone, chicken picassa, and a seafood mix which had three small shrimp, a filet of some sort and one scallop). The meal with four drinks and tip was $200. We have dined at many places here and the bills are usually that amount at the finer places but usually the food is worth it. MJ's for instance is fantastic. You could miss this place and spend you money elsewhere for some of the best food you will ever get.

Hands down our FAVORITE restaurant in Aruba. The hostess told us that we would be seated inside, as if she was apologizing for it. I preferred it! The historical 1879 manor house had so much character and was elegantly appointed with antiques and quirky furnishings. We were seated in the main hall at a table with comfy arm chairs. We walked around later, and were amazed at the beautiful tiled kitchen, the side room and a small bedroom that had been preserved like a room in a museum. Most of the other tables were outside, romantically flanking a swimming pool.

The food was good – my husband loved his chargrilled hot stone walla wish w/shrimp (the Mermaid entrée). We split a mushroom casserole appetizer, which was dripping with Dutch cheese. I had a tasty seafood casserole, which was very creamy, and came with sweet potato puree, okra and rice on the side. In retrospect, I think I’d order a hot-stone fish if we were to go back – it was so flavorful and healthy. Definitely get a reservation.

As always, the best meal we had all week. If it was open on sundays we would have gone back again for our last night.
With an 8:00pm reservation, we arrived to people waiting outside, but were seated promptly upon our arrival. There were 8 of us and we had a huge table that provided enough space for all to be comfortable. Service was very good with attention to detail, even though there was a big crowd.
The onion soup is the best I've had, and others enjoyed the baked shrimp appetizer. Grouper or snapper, prepared several ways, were all cooked to perfection, moist and flavorful with a veriety of sauce choices. The Limon sauce, lime and caper cream was delicious. Steak dishes were also wonderful. The Creme Brulee was a very good ending to a perfect meal.

We have been to Papiamento many times. We made our reservation 3 weeks in advance, and asked for a pool side table for two. We were looking forward to a very romantic dinner. We arrived on time. There were more than twice as many tables in the same area as there were a year ago. All the tables for 2 were occupied, but there were 3 tables set for 4 that were empty. We were seated not by the pool in a table way too large for 2 that was under 2 bright, glaring lights. When I mentioned we had requested a pool side table, I was told this was a pool side table. Not. So instead of looking at the wine list together and enjoying a beautiful, candlelit dinner, we sat and enjoyed a good, but not great meal. Service was friendly, food was fine, if not a bit overpriced. But the evening had none of the magic it was supposed to, and we left disappointed.

Our 6:30 reservation gave us the opportunity to watch Papiamento transform from a pleasant poolside dining experience to magical moment as light gave way to dancing firelight. The red snapper was excellent, though it coulde have been more moist, but the hot rock seafood plate was divine. Hands down the most romantic evening of our vacation.

After dining at Papiamentos on Jan 10th 2011 this restaurant is off our list. We had been here 3 or 4 times in the last 5 years and enjoyed ourselves. This year was totally different. We arrived on time for our 730p reservation. There was no seating available. We were originally happy to sit at the bar and have drinks. It cost our party of four 50 dollars. They forgot us at the bar. When my wife went to check on it they were actually rude to her. We were seated at 815 and did not get drinks till 845p because we had no waiter. A bus boy was trying to fill in! We ordered and our meal came about 930p. The kitchen was so backed up for everyone that the chef was sending out salads that were the equivalent of mixed greens from a bag a few croutons and ceasar dressing. The tables around us got the same. We noticed that servers often brought the wrong dishes to the wrong tables. We finally got our food and needed to have drinks replenished. My wife had gone to the bathroom (one of which was out of order) and I ordered her a fresh glass of wine. The server took her glass quickly with wine still in it. So she returned to no wine and her meal. She was half way through her grouper before I had to loudly ask another server to bring her the wine I had ordered. By then it was 1000p I was fuming. My meal was the champagne casserole. Which was no better than a new england fish chowder. My sides were an ice cream scoop of white rice, mashed sweet potato, a single piece of okra sauteed and a thin wedge of watermelon on a piece of lettuce. I did not have dessert being so upset. My wife had creme brulee -- nothing special. We did mention how dissatisfied we were and they offered to give us a free meal next time. Except we will not be back to Aruba till next year. So they took 20 dollars off the bill. If you want a much more satisfying experience our next night at Yemanja Woodfired Grill was wonderful.

Our experience here this year has led us to take Papiamento off our list of places to eat. We were seated in a nice area but soon realized we were surrounded by smokers. Nothing better than spending 75 to a hundred dollars a person and taste cigarette smoke in every bite. The food was tasteless. The grouper with almonds wwas awful and my wife who had the mixed grill said it had no taste. Will not be back

One of our favorites. Sitting by the pool under the lush trees and starry sky - what else to ask? Food is delicious, the presentation on hot stones is very interesting. Very good vine selection. We go there every year sometime twice in one week. Friendly atmosphere; staff even shared the recipe for a tomato soup the best I ever tried!

This has been our favorite Aruba restaurant for the past 16 years. It is hard to describe the setting by the pool, the quality of food and service. This restaurant is a must for anyone wanting to experience the best Aruba has to offer. Ask for a table by the pool and enjoy. Thank you Eduardo Ellis for sharing your home and talents with us all.

Unfortunately, we were here on a windy, rain-threatening evening and missed the ambience that others have raved about. Our friends recommended Papiamento and referred us to the hostess, to whom we introduced ourselves. After a friendly hello, we never saw her again, and the bizarre evening began. We were asked our name THREE times (it's only 6 letters!) by a gentleman who was checking off the reservation list. The majority of the appetizers were variatioons of shrimp, so I did something I rarely do--ordered soup! "Eduardo's Fish Soup" was well-stocked and in a broth-base, not a rich bisque. My wife ordered shrimp in butter and garlic sauce, and it too was excellent. The problem was, they brought our entrees (Wahoo with, you guessed it, shrimp) BEFORE the appetizers! When they finally maintained "order" to "our order" and the main courses were served, we wondered whether the stone-cooked fish was sizzling, or "re-sizzling" Whereas the food was very good, they did nothing to atone for their serving mistake (after dinner drink, perhaps?), especially considering that we were among the few guests who had ordered a bottle of wine! Perhaps this was a stand alone bad experience, but on the whole, it was a disappointing (and expensive) evening.

Always return here to celebrate our Anniversary...so pretty and the service is great. We sat around the pool(I requested in advance) and enjoyed a nice dinner under the stars. I had the Neptune(lobster,shrimp,fish)which I asked for it to just be grilled and not served on the stone..no problem..was very good. My hubby had the chef'sfavorite..tenderloin steak with Gorgonzola cheese melted over it..he enjoyed it. You must get the Creme Brulee for dessert...yum yum! Was a really nice and romantic night.

OMG this was by far one of the most romantic restaurants we have ever been to. The food is absolutely amazing. We have traveled to mexico and hawaii and have dined in some pretty amazing places and I am telling all of you, if you come to Aruba you HAVE to eat here!! It is amazing. Get a table outside by the pool for dinner and I guarantee you will not want to leave!!!!!!

We dined at Papiemento on 9/1. As stated by other reviews, you cannot beat the ambiance. We dined outside under beautiful stately trees and foliage. We were not seated near the pool, most likely because we had our two 7-year old children with us. And, we do appreciate the fact that they most likely wanted us further from the other diners who were mainly couples. I cannot say enough about the service here - it was impeccable. The staff were also extremeley attentive to our children. I wish I could pay as high a compliment to the food. One of us had the tenderloin medallions which were quite bland. The other had the Mermaid (wahoo and shrimp) served on the stone. The seafood came with a spicy papaya sauce. I was warned by no less than three members of the staff that the sauce would be served on the side because it was EXTREMELY spicy. They were not kidding - it was so spicy I could not eat it. I really wish they would have toned down the sauce because the fish in and of itself was bland. I would give this place another try just due to the atmosphere and staff. Also be sure to tour the house. The owners were on site the night we dined so we had the opportunity to meet them.

You could not ask for a more wonderful evening. We sat by the pool and the singer was a wonderful addition. The food was absolutely delicious, as usual. Everything was so fresh. We have been here many times before and once again we had a spectacular evening. Our favorite restaurant on aruba:)

We went to Aruba for our honeymoon and Papiamento's was our favorite place. Very romantic and relaxing. The service was impeccable(esp for Aruba, they seem to a little slower there for then the east coast hustle, but your on vaction!Theres no rush)We will definitely go back to Aruba and Papiamento's! Thank you for a wonderful meal!

My Husband and I had the pleasure of dining here on the last night of our honeymoon! Everything was wonderful - from the pool-side ambiance to the service to the meal. I highly recommend everyone try the Keshi Yena appetizer - a true Arubian treat!

EXCELLENT!!! I would definitely return for dinner here if I returned to Aruba.
The food was delicious and the service was very friendly. The atmosphere was so relaxing and pleasant! We loved it!