Ambianz a new restaurant just opened on Sunday on Surfside beach, at the old Marandi site. The crew of Marandi Restaurant was asked to move because the site was to be converted into a luxury condominium complex, but since the project is wisely on hold, we're lucky to have Ambianz establish itself on the charming beach.

Ambianz is a fun restaurant with a continental menu of favorites. Owners Rene van Norel and Nico Vink have many years of bar and restaurant management under their belts. They met in Crete, on the Greek islands. Rene owned a bar. Nico a restaurant. They vowed to one day own similar businesses in the Caribbean. Then Rene came to Aruba about one year ago looking for a dream location, then Nico joined and Ambianz was born.

The two friends and business partners imported chef Pascal van Houten, the original Que Pasa chef, who recruited Roel van Dijk as his sou chef, taking the kitchn over. They also found the beautiful Anne Nabben to run the dining room and the bar. Try it, they are open for dinner every evening, under the stars, toes in the sand.

Story by Rona Coster

Having fallen in love with the old, quaint Brisas Del Mar restaurant in Savaneta, Dutch business partners Hans Veenhuysen & Robert Nieland decided to make the purchase. They bought the seaside building and decided to shut the restaurant down, renovate completely and reopen in the fall.

So far so good. Their plan has been put in motion by the dynamic Willeke Volgers, of Delifrance, who is at the helm of the project, and she reports that the new Brisas del Mar will reopen for business in early November.

Seafood lover from all over the world have enjoyed a more than thirty years relationship with the famed restaurant. The excitement of the drive, the entrance way with thousands of business cards, the fragrant indoor restaurant and the breezy outdoor terrace were all part of the Brisas del Mar experience, enhanced by delicious Fish Aruban Style, Keri Keri, baby shark, lobster tail, the Brisas Special, and the Commandeurs Dish, which were perennial favorites. Visitors and locals found King Neptune hard to resist—fish filet stuffed with crabmeat in a mouthwatering sauce which originated in Lucy and her daughters, Evelyn and Marchita’s kitchen.

The new edition of the old favorite says Willeke will maintain many of the original platters prepared by Jamaican-born chef Lakie P. Richards, a Caribbean cuisine specialist with over eight years in Aruba. Lakie, explains Willeke is a Fish & Pasta expert, who also has a special way with pastries and cakes, as well as a number of years as catering chef under his belt. Warm and energetic Lakie brings his natural enthusiasm to the kitchen and the menu.

Maren Knooren, the restaurant’s Dutch-born assistant manager with years of restaurant management experience is a very motivated lady, who also knows her way around the bar. She promises an exciting bar & drink menu.

Visitors and local who travel to the new Brisas del Mar will be rewarded with tranquility and stylishness at a seaside lounge, where they can sip good wines and nibble on delicious tapas, fresh fish and interesting dishes all day long without ever moving from their comfortable chaises!

Brisas del Mar is planning on going beyond food and offer a total experience, with music and ambiance.

The major renovations were aided by the professional eye of Jani Croes, a local architect/designer/artist, they were inspired by the latest Spanish and European trends aiming at bringing together locals and visitors in a typical Aruban atmosphere with a contemporary twist.

Amazing is the name of the restaurant that many people know as The Promenade in San Nicolas. Now remodeled, under new ownership and a new name, the favorite restaurant `p’ariba di brug’ is now open to the public. The new restaurant’s chef is Kurt Hoffmann, who has a wealth of experience behind him. Each day will have Lunch Highlights, with Make your own Pasta as one of the features. Kids will eat for free on Tuesday nights while Friday will be the night for tapas and samplers of mouth-watering main courses. Continuing the grand tradition of The Promenade restaurant, Amazing is going to be the place of choice for the Amazing Champagne Sunday Brunch. The place is available for business parties, Holy Communion parties, Christmas affairs, meetings and caterings on location. Open from 11.30 am till 11 pm, six days a week, with a kitchen that can be best described as `international cuisine at a great price’, the focus will be on the place’s excellent price-quality relation. For more information about Amazing, please call 7309500.

Located at Balashi 55, close to the Drive Inn Theater you will find B55. The new restaurant features international cuisine and fresh seafood with great parking space and during the weekend BBQ with live music. Happy Hour is every Friday from 06.00 till 07.00 pm. B55 is open every day except on Mondays from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm. It is available for parties and or other private functions, offering a kids playground with an open terrace and a beautiful view. For more information please contact B55 at (297) 585-2111 or jhwleenslag@yahoo.com

La Terraza Restaurant Café is now located on the first floor of the Mar Azul Marina Mall in downtown. It offers international and local cuisine with a spectacular ocean and bay view and is open daily from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm except on Sundays. For more information please call (297) 583-6046.

Marandi Restaurant, previously located at Surfside Beach, has moved to Bucutiweg # 50, on the pier at the water’s edge, where Laguna Pier was previously located. Excellent dining al fresco under thatch palapas is back again.

Sir James House of Coffee is Aruba’s newest coffee house offering a chic and unique atmosphere. It is located on the second floor of the new Marina Mall located in Oranjestad and open from Monday to Saturday from 8:00am to 10:00pm. It serves signature coffee, a variety of tea’s, sandwiches, cakes, cold & hot chocolate and much more in their indoor lounge or on the terrace enjoying the panoramic view of the harbor area. For more information please call (297) 583-0441 or visit www.sirjamesaruba.com

Beach Grill Barbeque is the new concept at the Westin Aruba Resort. Happening every Monday from 7:30pm to 9:30pm beachfront and costing $35 + taxes. For more information please call (297) 586-4466, ext. 59.

?b>Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino has added a spa menu at Sunset Grille. Executive Chef Matt Boland and Executive Sous Chef Hector of Sunset Grille at Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino are ushering in a new era of modern cuisine in Aruba. It’s the evolution from traditional old world steakhouse with new low calories, low fat spa cuisine. New dishes include Maine Lobster Cocktail with mango, corn, salsa, purple potatoes and citrus chili vinaigrette; and seared fillet of sea bass with fennel and blood orange salad, red pepper polenta and almond aioli. The restaurant continues to garner accolades including the prestigious AAA Four Diamond Award and was recently voted the “The Best Restaurant in the Caribbean” by the readers of Caribbean Travel & Life.

El Gaucho Restaurant, Sunset Grille at the Radisson and Madam Jeanette received the Win Spectator Award of Excellence. This award is bestowed on restaurants that offer a “well chosen list with a thematic match to the menu in price and style, with at least 100 selections”. The complete list of awardees can be viewed online at www.winespectator.com

Executive Chef Matthew Boland’s Team to Bring Aruba-Inspired Menu to New York

Since the year 2000 in Aruba, the most frequently requested dinner reservation has been a table at the AAA Four Diamond rated Sunset Grille at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. The popularity of the restaurant’s cuisine has extended to New York City as the October 16 Sunset Over Aruba Dinner at the prestigious James Beard House has officially sold out according to the James Beard Foundation. The Aruban-inspired menu created by Executive Chef Matthew Boland, Executive Sous Chef Hector Espinoza and Sous Chef Anthony Martinus has tempted the palettes of Manhattan’s most discerning “foodies.” Members of the James Beard Foundation anticipate the opportunity to taste European and South American flavors of the menu, which has been influenced by Aruba’s diverse colonial history.

“I have been enthralled with the charm and spirit of Aruba and it is an honor to bring the island’s cuisine to the James Beard House, a culinary Mecca and career milestone for any chef,” states Executive Chef Matthew Boland of Sunset Grille at Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino. “Chefs Hector Espinoza, Anthony Martinus and I look forward to bringing Sunset Grille and a taste of Aruba to New York.”

Always known for utilizing the island’s freshest indigenous products with an international flair, the steak and seafood house Sunset Grille recently unveiled an innovative menu of spa dishes. These dishes feature flavors elevated with citrus, spice and herbs and reduced fat, salt and sugar. The special five course menu created for the James Beard House dinner includes an Aborio Rice, Coconut and Chorizo Timbale with Roasted Corn, Red Beans and Sherry-Foie Gras Glaze; Pumpkin-Fennel Pancake with Grouper Fillet, Green Papaya Salad, Lime and Cilantro; White Cornmeal Ayaka, Carne Mechada of Duck with Roasted Shallots, Hazelnut and Morels, Wrapped in Banana Leaf; Conch-Stuffed Prime Filet Mignon with Grilled Peppers and Aruban Funchi; and Coconut-Crusted Chocolate Soufflé with Fresh Berries and Vanilla Sauce.

Each course will be paired with the chef’s selected wine that has been chosen to bring out the flavors of each dish. Guests will begin the evening with passed hors d’oeuvres of Plantain Tostones with Shredded Garlic Pork and Spicy Papaya-Lime Salsa; Cucumber Cups with Caribbean Red Snapper Ceviche; Toasted Maize Canapés with Smoked Chipotle Cream and Wild Mushrooms; Spicy Wahoo and Shrimp Fritters with Island Pineapple-Chile Dipping Sauce; and Sweet Plantain with Gouda, Lobster Claw and Anise-Vanilla Glaze.

Chef Boland has been with Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino since its opening, supervising 70+ employees and overseeing the property’s Four Diamond signature restaurant Sunset Grille, Laguna, Gilligan’s, Mira Solo, as well as an expansive catering department. In addition to previous chef positions at resorts on Aruba, his experience includes chef de cuisine at L’Auberge de Cochon Rouge, a four-star French restaurant in his hometown of Ithaca, New York. Boland also trained on the Paris culinary circuit, serving as chef poissonier at Chez Francis and chef apprentice of Le Jardin de la Paresse and Chez Marius.

Since 1986, the James Beard Foundation has been at the forefront of America’s culinary revolution as chefs from the finest restaurants cook in the kitchen of James Beard’s legendary Greenwich Village home. The Foundation was established to honor the late cooking teacher, journalist and food consultant who is widely considered the father of American gastronomy. Chefs present their culinary art to Beard Foundation members, friends and press in much the same way musicians perform in Carnegie Hall.

Pepia Est, a local purveyor and Mount Gay Rum distilleries from Barbados hosted a number of cooking and tasting seminars at Matthews’s Beach Bar & Grill at Casa Del Mar Beach Resort starring Chef Paul Yellin, Mount Gay Rum’s in-house chef, flown in on the occasion from Barbados, the home of Mount Gay Rum.

Chester Brown, Mount Gay Rum’s drink ambassador was on hand to create the best suited cocktails to match the food, making the lunch-time experience a truly unforgettable one.

Seven different preparations of food all infused with Mount Gay Rum were prepared and tasted by local celebrity chefs, from Matilde Restaurant, and the Screaming Eagle, among other famed eateries.

The cooking seminar unfolded under the watchful eye’s of Pepia Est owner Michael v/d Berg and wine & spirit connoisseur Pascal Turpyn, in collaboration with the staff and management of Matthew’s Bar & Grill.

The lovely menu – with rum as the secret ingredient - included an outstanding Banana stuffed jerk chicken w/a coconut curry sauce, roasted plantain crusted best end of lamb w/ a molasses reduction drizzle, vegetable spring rolls with tomato-mint salsa, and rich Mount Gay Barbados XO bread pudding.

The seminar concluded with recipes to go, and embroidered Mount Gay Rum aprons for the participants. MGHR belongs to the powerful portfolio of Remy Martin.

Pictured here, a life-loving crowd at the tasting at Matthew’s Beach Bar &Grill.

Yemanja Woodfire Grill & Chef Sander van Kints, helped welcome the Concha Y Toro wineries ambassador of food, legendary Belgian-born chef Ruth van Waerebeek to Aruba.

The chef came here from Chile in order to promote a fresh and delicious premium brand of wine, Trio, made of tres variedades, three varieties grown in Chile and expertly blended by the famed Concha Y Toro wineries.

Trio is carried in Aruba by Romar Trading and is available in most fine restaurants and supermarkets. It is a fun, uncomplicated wine that is easy to drink and wonderful to match with light and sunny Caribbean cuisine.

Chef Ruth introduced Trio Chardonnay, Trio Merlot and Trio Cabernet Sauvignon to an eager to learn crowd of local chefs and combined some of her original recipes with the wine in the comfort of the woodfired kitchen of Yemanja.

She picked the new Yemanja, in town on Wilhelminastreet, so she could work together with Chef Sander on the food presentations.

Yemanja took a few months to construct, as it is the labor of love. The restaurant is named after the Brazilian goddess of the sea, and focuses on fresh preparations of fish and meats expertly cooked over a mesquite-fired grill. Sander did it all himself from wood & ceramic tables to partially exposed antique walls to natural stone bar, it’s all beautifully hand-made and very eye-pleasing.

Sander, formerly the chef of Marandi, and George Estrada the restaurant manager, formerly at Scandals, took good care of their guests.

The afternoon was sponsored by Mariuccia Amaddeo of Romar Trading and was very well attended.

The chefs enjoyed Cucumber Rolls filled with Spicy Shrimp, a savory Ham, Olive and Goat Cheese bread and grilled Lamb Chops with Almonds, Olives and Mint Pesto, all washed down with nicely chilled Trio wines.

Many local dining aficionados and the thousands of tourists that make their vacation to Aruba an annual trip will recall that once upon a time, Aruba’s premier fine dining restaurant, specializing in classic French cuisine and garnering the island’s first four-diamond rating from Triple AAA, was Chez Mathilde. Located in a renovated historic downtown manor, it was the in-demand dining experience that often required reservations weeks in advance.

As culinary trends in the new Millennium shifted towards the chic and trendy, and diners began seeking contemporary cuisine in generous quantities and lesser prices, old school French cuisine became passé in today’s world of gastronomy. Chez Mathilde management recognized a need to refresh their concept with a contemporary edge, while still maintaining European elegance and quality.

Chez Mathilde closed shop for nearly a year, and the manor was essentially gutted. Kept in tact were the black and white tiles in the back pavilion, with a mini lime mosaic-river with sunken lights added for flair. Triangular glass awnings were hung overhead, with a walk-in wine vault running the length of the room. In the front portion of the19th century architectural beauty, cushy, modern sofas and chairs replaced stiff, formal seating.

The team of culinary professionals poured years of food and beverage experience into the mix to bring the former Chez Mathilde back to the top of the dining scene under the name “Matilde,” and now diners will be delighted to find a menu that tips its hat to both classic French cooking and contemporary food styling.

The new menu does not disappoint. One could make a meal out of piggybacking several appetizers—there are many hot and cold selections to choose from. Pan-Asian is hot right now, and the black peppered crusted flash-seared tuna loin paired with a tuna tartar, Japanese seaweed salad, sesame cracker and Tobiko wasabi caviar with wasabi soy certainly fits the bill, as does the scallops and grouper tempura with an asian shitake mushroom salad. Traditional with a twist can be found in the duck liver and mango tarte tatin with Munster cheese and raspberry champagne sauce.

Soups include the signature Bouillabaisse de Marseille—Matilde’s traditional rich seafood soup served with garlic croutons and the traditional French rouille, and a fascinating crab cappuccino with fresh crab and herbs.

Fresh seafood is heavily mingled throughout the menu, and whilst in the Caribbean, a dinner of fresh grouper must be had, and Matilde’s Brie-crusted version with Caribbean fruit salsa and citrus vinaigrette imparts that island sense of taste and place.

Of course, meat lovers will not be disappointed in another Matilde signature dish—the Chateaubriand Béarnaise, heartily served with a double baked potato, green beans, roasted tomato, and béarnaise red wine sauces, or the generous U.S. beef rib eye served with a roasted garlic butter and steak fries that is spectacularly simple and satisfying. Other carnivorous choices include Moroccan lamb with cous cous and mint, and a suckling pig marinated in Provencal herbs and lentils.

Matilde’s menu is rounded out by several poultry and vegetarian entrée choices as well.

The menu is competitively priced, and portions generous. Several prix fixe menu specials and multi-course dinners are also offered.

Dessert…ahhh, well that is a whole other story in and of itself, but here’s a hint: chocolate adventure!

The Sunset Grille at the Radisson Aruba Resort & Casino needs no introduction. The award winning American steakhouse with its chic, cosmopolitan atmosphere headlines Prime Beef, the highest grade U.S.D.A. Only 2% of all beef is graded prime, aged a minimum of 4 weeks. Also on the menu Certified Angus Beef, specialty selected highly marbled U.S.D.A.

While steak and chops make up the heart of the menu, Executive Chef Matt Boland and Executive Sous Chef Hector Espinoza innovated unparalleled appetizers and extraordinary desserts, which helped the restaurant achieve the Triple AAA's elite four-diamond status - a rare feat for steakhouses.

Recently, Chef Boland helped usher in a new era in modern cuisine. He spearheaded the evolution from traditional old world steakhouse cooking into new low cal, low fat spa cuisine.

The new dishes are balanced by enhancing flavors with citrus, spice and herbs and taste is elevated by marinating, smoking and grilling, he states.

"We now use many more herbs, vegetables, grains and fibers," says Boland, "all designed to sustain a healthier life style; and we stay away from saturated fats and refined sugars, as well as use salt sparingly," he informs.

"The Sunset Grille kitchen," he adds, "uses no trans fats, and our guests," he banters, "stay healthy, wealthy and wise with our new and exciting spa cuisine."

Among new dishes just introduced are Maine Lobster Cocktail, with Mango, Black Bean, Cilantro Corn, Salsa, Purple Potatoes and Citrus Chili Vinaigrette; Fresh Local Fish "Catch of the Day," Mahi Mahi, Snapper or Grouper fresh from the dock; Chilean Sea Bass, Seared Fillet of Sea Bass with Fennel and Blood Orange Salad, Red Pepper Polenta and Almond Aioli; and an instant hit, ordered many times each night Asian Scallop Stir-fry, Jumbo Scallops with Cucumber Sesame and Wakame served over Soba Noodles.

The Sunset Grille always endeavors to exceed guests expectations by purchasing the very best products available and preparing them in accordance with a combination of "tried and true" as well as cutting edge contemporary methods, Boland explains.

Simply put, the Sunset Grille culinary team buys the best products, and cooks them the best way they know, refusing to cut corners, especially when it comes to buying, aging and cutting meat. No wonder the readers of Caribbean Travel & Life named it the top restaurant in the Caribbean.