My husband and I are Aruba fanatics. After our 2-3 weeks yearly visits we can't wait to go back to everything fabulous that Aruba has to offer, including great restaurants. Anna Maria Restaurant is certainly not one of them. In fact, I can give a dozen raving reviews to deserving restaurants in Aruba, but this review is a warning on many accounts to save your hard earned money and do not go here.
Located on a dark desolate street (but in very safe Noord), it is a private home behind a locked gate-no sign, just a number 25. The property is very pretty,(but not as beautiful a backyard as Papiamento Restaurant) and although very difficult to find, this is the only positive.
Four of us arrived on time for our 7:30 reservation. This small restaurant was only half full at this point, but with only two waiters, we didn't get the menu until 20 minutes later. Our order, appetizers and main course, was taken at 8:10. From 8:10 until 9:40, when our appetizers arrived, the restaurant filled up- and with large tables of 8-12 persons. Our main courses arrived at 10:30. We finished our coffee and dessert at 11:30. Absurd!! This sounds like an exaggeration of time schedule, but it is not!!! I kept track because I wanted to discuss with Anna-Maria, although I never got a chance. My husband and I later agreed that had we been just the two of us, we would have left (hungry) by 9:00PM and sought out another restaurant. However, we were with friends who raved about this restaurant from their wonderful experience from the year before, so were giving it a chance. We had, in fact, made these reservations a full year ahead.
Now a review of the food: Very expensive-for what you are getting. We actually don't mind paying for terrific food, and find that the cost of food in Aruba has risen over the years-both in the supermarket and definitely in the restaurants. Starting with the most positive things I can say about the food: the brownie/nut dessert was delicious, although very very small with a half scoop of melted ice cream for $9. My husband and two friends had shrimp and pasta dishes that were very good, but for $43 and $44 dollars each they should have been extraordinary! I ordered their signature dish, lasagna. It tasted sour, and discovering it was totally burnt on the bottom, left is uneaten. The waiter came over and took the burnt sour lasagna back to the kitchen. He came back to explain that the kitchen can handle 30 persons for dinner each evening and tonight their had been 52. He said that the person who was suppose to watch the lasagna didn't, and if it overcooks it can become acidic (sour). So, at 11:45, starving, I was settling for spagetti and meatballs, which, by the way, was just ok.
Appetizers: My friends had an eggplant appetizer and what the menu said were spinach crepes-actually one crepe for $15. My husband and I split calamari- totally tastless, although not chewy. But the biggest rip off of all was the $15 Ceasar salad! It was literally a half full SMALL (dessert bowl size) of warm wilted romaine lettuce, a couple of croutons and a sprinkling of grated cheese with mediocre dressing on the side.
By 10:45, when the party of 12 not far from our table still hadn't gotten their food either, two of the men at that table came over to us to share how they felt with ones that could understand. They explained that they arrived at Anna-Maria's at 8:30 and were also very disappointed and hungry!We think that the right thing would have been Anna-Maria coming out of the kitchen to apologize for perhaps an "off night", as she knew/saw what was going on, to make us feel more positive upon leaving. Maybe this happens often in busy season. The waiter told us that 6:00-7:00 is a better time to come before it gets overcrowded. No apology, no offer to adjust the bill (although we didn't ask) or treat us to a glass of wine- just a miserable experience in our beloved Aruba.
We paid our outragous bill, knowing that we will never be back, nor recommend this fiasco for a restaurant.
