Bonaire dining question

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Alvida

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Messages
35
Reaction score
7
Location
mid-Missouri
# of dives
200 - 499
Seven weeks and counting until our first trip to Bonaire! Not that I'm excited or anything. I have a non-diving question. I have noticed in several trip reports and comments references to making restaurant reservations before even arriving on the island. We thought we would have breakfast at Buddy's (as part of our package), lunch either in our room or picnic between dives, and either eat dinner in our room, at Buddy's or go out for dinner, depending on what we feel like doing at the moment. In the opinion of those who have been on the island, is this not a workable plan? Does one need to make restaurant reservations ahead of time or are the posters on the forum uber-planners? At all restaurants or just certain popular places?
 
September? Another issue might be which restaurants are open.

Some used to close for the whole month - IDK if they still do. It's pretty much the low of the low season.

There might be details on bonairetalk.com - they have a dining section.
 
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We never bother with reservations besides the thurs BBQ at Buddies (it tends to fill up and getting a seat can be hard). It has been rare we have not gotten a seat at a restuarant due to no space. If you have a large group it may be an issue but otherwise I would not worry about it....there is always another restuarant near by.
 
At almost all of the restaurants we visited in town, the first thing they wanted to know was if we had a reservation. At the places we didn't, they made a small production (sighing, dirty look, etc.) and then seated us at one of the many open tables. It was very easy to get the front desk at our hotel to make the reservations for us though, because they knew which days of the week which restaurants were closed.
 
At a small establishment like Wil's Grill, reservations are a good idea if there's several of you; say, over 4 I'd guess. I like Wil's and enjoy eating there; this happened once in the past few years. I don't recall how many of us there were at the time. Your other option is to plan loosely, so if you go to Wil's and they can't take you all at once, move on down to another restaurant. Kralendijk isn't huge.

Richard.
 
We never make reservatiosn before on island but do make reservations once we are there at the few places that seem to frequently book up. In my experience those places are At Sea, Mona Lisa and the new place at the Yacht Club that was the previous location for At Sea (forget the name). possibly It Rains Fishes too but i am not too fond of that place.
 
I was on Bonaire two years ago, ate out lots. IMO the best food and pricing was Captain Dons Habitat. We never made a reservation and got seated quickly. The outdoor restaurant was nice, great views out to the ocean while eating. If you like Gelato, there is a good Gelato shop downtown. I used Buddy dive for my diving/tank rental, they were nice.
 
Wil's will be closed early Sept. for three weeks. I just had lekker Barracuda there last night. On the the only Caribbean islands I know you cannot get Ciguetarra from eating this lovely fish...I am pretty sure it's sustainable. At Sea and Capriccio's are two places I do recommend a res. Also, Rum Runners has the Lover's Table which would be best reserved. Happy Eating!
 
We were at Richard's the year before it closed (2011 I think) and had a lengthy conversation with him over drinks.

My wife had called in about 1.5 hrs before we were going there for dinner, and she asked him if he cared about reservations, especially at that late hour.

He said he absolutely appreciated anyone who called because it helped him with staff-planning and prep, and that he believed anyone who ran a restaurant would feel the same way. He said as important as making sure the customer is seated promptly (and that really is rarely a problem) is ensuring adequate staff and supplies for prompt service.

I'd never thought about reservations from the pov of the restaurant, but it makes sense. And since then we always try to call in advance.
 
I just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in the Dutch Antilles, mostly on Bonaire. The only times I went out to eat were with groups that made reservations ahead of time (they were good sized groups). gbf's point about restaurant staffing and prep certainly makes sense.
 

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