Dinner on the Town (Oranjestad) – Learning a lesson about reservations

Dinner on the Town – Learning a Lesson about Reservations.

We spent the afternoon at the Renaissance Island and came back to our room for a shower and a rest. We had stopped at the Navigator Desk in the lobby of our hotel (Renaissance Marina) and asked about dinner recommendations. She mentioned the Driftwood Restaurant and then attempted to set up a reservation. The phone just rang and rang and after about 5 minutes we decided to just take the address and walk over once we were ready. A huge rainstorm came through right as we were headed up to our room, clearing the pool and sending people for cover. Once we were showered and dressed about an hour later it was dark and the rain had just stopped. We had a short walk (about 1.5 blocks) to the restaurant. As we approached we were getting hungry and the smell of garlic, butter and other goodies in the air was making us ready to have a great dinner.

Of course you know what’s next! We walked in to Driftwood and there were several empty tables so we thought oh boy – what yummy thing are we going to order. The host approached us and we asked for a table for 2. It was then we got the bad news that Driftwood was totally booked with reservations for the night and would not be able to seat us for dinner. We were BUMMED! We heard later that this family owns the restaurant – but also several fishing boats. They take people out on deep sea fishing tours and then the fish that is caught is prepared for them at the restaurant. It’s a great idea and we heard nothing but good things about Driftwood for the rest of our trip. Next time we visit we will go – but we will make a reservation first!

We continued walking through the downtown area and decided to stop for a cocktail and figure out where we would like to have dinner. We came across a restaurant called Que Pasa. We walked in and found the bar and a very nice bartender named Jerome. He introduced hubby to a special brew by Balashi (the island beer) called Hoppistout – a dark and delicious brew for the winter season. We decided to order an appetizer while we enjoyed our drinks and it tasted so good we ordered dinner as well. We both had fish and it was fresh, prepared perfectly and tasted amazing. We ate at the bar and continued to talk to Jerome about how he came to the island, his Dutch heritage and where I could find some “Banket” a Dutch pastry that my mother has made at Christmas for my whole life. He was very helpful and interesting and we really enjoyed spending the evening at his bar. Once we finished we headed out for a walk and then back to our hotel.

The streets were quiet and peaceful, with an occasional bar where music was loud and lively. But there was no one “hanging around” outside the bars. We walked for about 8 blocks and then turned toward the waterfront and our hotel. We headed to bed ready for the next adventure in the morning.