My son just got back from his semester @ sea and their final port of call was Aruba.

He came home raving about the filet mignon served at MATTHEW'S.
This kid is very fussy and he said MATTHEW'S had the best filet mignon he ever tasted.
(said it was better than Capital Grill in Chestnut Hill newton/brookline/boston)
He has been to Aruba numerous times and has given ElGaucho a thumbs down, French Steakhouse a thumbs down, LaCascada a thumbs UP and now Matthews 2 thumbs up.

andrea

We had planned a dinner on the beach at Passions in June, until we found they were closed for the dates we will be there.

Based on Kevin's suggestion, Matthew's may be a good substitution:
http://www.matthews-aruba.com/docs/matthews-aruba-dinner-menu.pdf

I guess the only questsion I have is what the atmosphere is like at night after dark?

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18

Lisa,

We went to Matthew's in Sept. and the atmosphere was very nice, quiet, and had soft lighting. It was really very nice and I wouldn't hesitate to go back again for a nice dinner with the hubby. Except next time I will have to SHOW the chef how I like my grouper cooked - tried to convey to my waiter that I just wanted it broiled or grilled with lemon - well, it came back in a lemon/wine/butter sauce and was soaked in butter. Now most people would like that but I'm not most people (hate cream sauces, butter, etc.) so I could only eat a few bites of my fish (they should have offered to take it off the bill but didn't.) Mike, however, had a wonderful tuna that I would probably get next time. I'm sure we'll go back again in Sept. but I just have to choose my dinner a little more wisely (sometimes it's hard to eat healthy!)

~Amy~®

19th Trip to Aruba: April 2009

Okay Amy, now I remember the "butter incident" from your review. So it is not dining on the beach, but more of an atmosphere like the old Marandi (what is that now Ambianz?). Jerry would probably love the tuna too.

Aruba Bound! ~ Hoosier Kitties ~ Our-Cruises ~ Blogging to Aruba
Back to paradise Trip #18

Yes, kind of like the old Marandi location where you can see the beach from your tables but you're not right ON the beach. Casa del Mar's palapas on the beach kind of block your view. I wish I would have taken photos that night but I think I was too busy trying to steal tuna from Mike's plate. (I need to let the "butter incident" go....I obviously just ordered poorly - it happens!)

But they did a very nice job with the outdoor atmosphere - I really liked it. We'll definitely go back again.

~Amy~®

19th Trip to Aruba: April 2009