Good dinner restaurants.....please rate these for me

[bhoy]

My husband and I are flying to Aruba in November for a week...........can't wait. We were there on a cruise this last Feb. and fell in love with the island and decided to go back and stay for a week. We are staying at the Westin in Palm Beach area.
Booked with Expedia and they offer a dinner pass for several restaurants and need to know if they are worth going to.
I am thinking about the following: Please let me know if they are good

Amadeus
Amazonia
French Steak House
Gasparito
Iguana Joe's
Texas de Brazil
Sunset Beach Bistro

A five(5) night dinner pass costs $193.00 per person, includes appetizer,entree and dessert...........is that a fair price, this is the one we are thinking about getting
A seven(7) night dinner pass costs $267.00 per person.

Also any suggestions for breakfast, someone online said that a place called Salt and Pepper was great for breakfast.

Also thinking of renting a vehicle, so we do not have to rely on taxi's and public transportation....are scooters better to rent????

[Andrea J.]

If you had to pick three...
check this link above for other recommendations.

the pass of which you speak is the dinearound by AGA.
i am not wild about it, but many folks are.
we used the pass a number of years ago and found that we could have done better on our own.
we never got the dessert that was included as we were too full. so that we found was a waste.

scroll down to see how i rated your choices. (in red)
remember, my opinion is just, that my opinion.
there are a few restaurants not on the AGA plan that you really SHOULD NOT MISS while in Aruba. (Madam Janette, Flying Fishbone, Cooks, Passions)

no comment on salt n pepper's breakfast, as we have never been there for breakfast.

and most importantly.........welcome to the forum.
scroll down.

Originally Posted by bhoy

My husband and I are flying to Aruba in November for a week...........can't wait. We were there on a cruise this last Feb. and fell in love with the island and decided to go back and stay for a week. We are staying at the Westin in Palm Beach area.
Booked with Expedia and they offer a dinner pass for several restaurants and need to know if they are worth going to.
I am thinking about the following: Please let me know if they are good

Amadeus 8 excellent
Amazonia 5 typical brazilian all u can eat 6
French Steak House excellent 8
Gasparito no comment
Iguana Joe's 4 good salads, drinks
Texas de Brazil similar to amazonia
Sunset Beach Bistro nice location, mediocre food 5
A five(5) night dinner pass costs $193.00 per person, includes appetizer,entree and dessert...........is that a fair price, this is the one we are thinking about getting
A seven(7) night dinner pass costs $267.00 per person.

Also any suggestions for breakfast, someone online said that a place called Salt and Pepper was great for breakfast.

Also thinking of renting a vehicle, so we do not have to rely on taxi's and public transportation....are scooters better to rent????

[Andrea J.]

please go to "getting around aruba" for threads on car /scooter rentals.

[jdoll]

I would pass on that deal. Most catch of the day seafood entrees run $23 - $27 at more unique restuarants on the island; appetizers at $7 - $12 and desserts at $4 - $8. Granted it is only my opinion but we dine at some great places and for almost the same money; it's not much of a savings money-wise and you'll miss some very special dining experiences.

[Andrea J.]

http://www.aruba.com/forum/tags/scooter.html
here is a link to some threads on the scooter rental.
imo it is not a good idea.

further talk on scooter/vehicles/rentals check out the GETTING AROUND ARUBA section as i have gone OFF TOPIC here (sorry)

[Arubalisa]

meal plan

If you are not traveling until November, the restaurants do change fairly often*, that some of the participants may no longer be in the program by November.

The plan offered by expedia is https://www.arubadining.com/dine-around-program/

*"The list of member restaurants on this website is always changing so be sure to check for updates. Each member has provided menu highlights, a brief description, address, hours and contact information to help you make your selections."

Amazonia and Texas de Brazil are more or less duplicate experiences.

[Arubalisa]

Originally Posted by bhoy

Also thinking of renting a vehicle, so we do not have to rely on taxi's and public transportation....are scooters better to rent????

Car Rental vs. Taxi

car rental or not

car rental vs. bus

[danadog56]

I think I would pass on the deal as well, but as others have said it is only our opinion....
Amazonia and Texas de Brazil are both an all you can eat steak house, no menu, the gauchos just bring meat and you choose to have some or wait for another offering
French Steak House, good food, not great but good
Sunset Bistro, okay, atmosphere is better than the food
Iguanan Joe's, good for an afternoon snack when shopping only
no opinion on the other 2
Salt and Peppers is okay as well, better for lunch than an evening meal

However, you must go to Madame Janettes, Cooks, Papiamento and Marina Pirata. I would also say to try Peanuts for local cuisine, it is good and cheap and you wont leave hungry.

[chell]

I have been to 3 of these places. Iguana Joe's(Oranjestad) and Smokey Joe's (Palm Beach) are good and fun. Texas de Brazil is AMAZING, dinner for 2 with Sangria, Cognac and dessert came to about $150 but was worth every penny. Amadeus was good too. If you are in Palm Beach and want authentic food from Aruba go to Soenchi's. It has a small menu but the food, atmosphere and service is wonderful. Papillon is a good french restaurant in Palm Beach as well. Have fun!

[Kris10]

Aren't there other restaurants that participate in the dinearound by AGA deal? I recognize some of the restaurants on the OP's list but it seems there's some missing from what was provided to us (we stayed at LaCabana). We only used the pass once though and went to Gari & Wasabi, this AMAZING sushi place...omg it was sooo good!