Local VIPS and members of the media were introduced to the much-anticipated Windows on Aruba which opened this week. Restaurant Manager Olivier de Paepe, a Frenchman imported from the south of Spain, reports the restaurant will have a soft opening period, before the big splashy introduction. The eatery, located just above Mulligan's Golf Bar & Grill enjoys a panoramic view of the emerald green golf course and the blue ocean. Developer Alex Nieumeyer first started taking about a super-stylish contemporary restaurant about two years ago. He gave himself a challenging opening date and commenced the construction of the clubhouse complex.

Things in Aruba, however, rarely work on tight schedule. Brick by brick the pro-shop and the adjacent Mulligan's Golf Bar & Grill were built, then inaugurated and Mulligan's debuted with surprisingly beautiful presentations of a tasty eclectic all-day menu.

Herdy ten Lohuis, a recognized food & wine expert moved from Divi Resort across the street to exclusively nurture and care for the golf course food operations and escort the creation of Windows on Aruba.

Preparations at Window continued, with two chefs coming on board hired away from fancy starred European establishments. Then in December we heard Window on Aruba was opening. False alarm, not yet.

Alex & Herdy say they wanted to make it right. They had fine dining in mind and wished to recruit the right service staff. Which brings us back to the headline above: The much-anticipated Windows on Aruba just opened quietly this week. Inside, the concept of floor to ceiling wine-vault and exhibition kitchen have been given new, daring interpretations.

As you walk into the tastefully lit second floor restaurant, the kitchen sparkles through huge glass panes, with white-clad chefs inside as busy as NASA scientists at a space flight control center. The restaurant is indeed contemporary with beautiful cream and earth-tone linens.

The color scheme is also reflected in the unusual, playful dishes. The chairs are nicely padded and wrap around backsides, the floor is richly carpeted, in short the acoustics of Windows on Aruba are perfect. The place is quiet, cool and elegant. Classical guitarist Ivan Janssen strums his guitar discreetly, allowing easy conversation over the music.

Each table is illuminated by a ceiling needle light, making menus easy to read, yet leaving faces romantically in the shadow. The menus, beautifully bound in copper coats, Alex calls them "an investment," must have cost an arm and a leg. They deserve a university dissertation. And the wine menu is a doctorate, an informed and scientific document, categorizing wines by kind, then listing them by style from light to full-bodied, across continents, and wine makers. Which brings us back to the menu. It is obvious that this kind of food concept was worked on for a long time. You simply do not come up with dishes like that in your sleep.

Windows offers a surprising, fresh and funny menu. The food is tasty, filled with contrasts, sweet and salty, crisp and creamy, tart and bland and it is served in blissfully manageable potions with is responsible for the fact that patrons may have three, perhaps four course meals and get up from the table feeling pleasantly satiated, not about to explode, AND a touch light-headed, naturally, from the wine.

We haven't been excited like that about a restaurant, in a long time. The food is just very good. Incidentally, Sunday brunch at Mulligan's is especially nice, with the music of pianist Eddy Samson, in combination with a jazz combo.