Azar Aruba — Restaurant in Aruba

Great restaurant all in all. Upon arrival we didn’t have a reservation and was told that it was about 2 hours until there was an open reservation. So we were put on a “we will call you if there are any cancellations” list. I made sure that they were able to text me about it since I don’t answer phone calls I don’t know especially out of the country. We never got a phone call or text but an hour later I noticed there were multiple open reservations available on open table and I was a little annoyed that I didn’t receive a call about them, but fine- it’s busy I get it. We get there, got seated, waiter was super nice…we ordered a round of drinks and food… I got the weird tequila drink with the blue curaçao and toasted marshmallow on top. Surprisingly it had a decent flavor but as soon as the topping was gone after a few sips it wasn’t as well balanced… so I only drank 1/3 of it. Shrimp yuzu corn appetizer was delicious. Great combo with the corn and yuzu and the shrimp were juicy and cooked perfectly.

We talked ourselves into splitting a cowboy cut steak ($170) and asked for it medium. It was medium but more on the medium well side… (I prefer medium rare so it was too cooked for my liking… but it was still good.) Personally you might as well pay 100 less for the regular ribeye. Our very close neighbors regular ribeyes looked larger actually… which was kind of disappointing.

I was super excited for mashed potatoes but they had so much butter it was visibly separating in the bowl and I couldn’t keep it on my fork it kept falling through the prongs. I know you can never have enough butter but this was too much. Great flavor though. Truffle Parmesan fries were good also.

I really appreciated seeing the owner Mingling with guests. It’s important to see that he really cares about connecting with his guests and making them feel welcome. Even giving them desserts and drinks on the house. I love when I get those special treatments from establishments, it definitely makes one want to return and recommend the place to others.

I also really appreciated seeing the manager going around and filling in the gaps where it was needed. He was prebussing tables and bussing dirty tables and making sure he was being a solid support system for his staff. That to me speaks volumes about his work ethic and his care about making sure the restaurant is ran as smoothly as possible. He was also helping out the hostess as well. Everyone was super friendly and made sure we were happy upon leaving. We were… and everyone made a point to bid us a goodnight… except the hostess…. She didn’t even look up as we walked out. Maybe she was having an off night or was short staffed but that really was the only part of the experience that didn’t sit great with me.

We will definitely be back to try some other dishes… Thankyou for a...

One of the highlight food experiences of our trip happened here last night.

Upon walking in you’re welcomed to a gorgeous beautifully detailed decor and dim lights. The music is a vibe.

We sat down and, with the help of our lovely waitress Maria, selected three appertizers and two main dishes. Maria took her time with us to ensure we had the best experience, explaining any dish we had questions for, suggesting and describing what she’s suggesting and why… honestly I have never had a waitress provide so much care to ensure we are the best meals.

She even explained the story behind the sourdough bread that came with the order. It made me enjoy it so much more.

The main compliment I give to Azar is the dishes have TEXTURE. No matter what you order, each dish is crafted to be a roller coaster for your mouth, with some soft, crunchy and creamy bits. From the starters to the desert… texture and FLAVOUR.

Flavour. For example the Watashi Rice meal. Maria also explained to us that Watashi was the name of the chefs boat so he named a meal after it. Love that. The paella comes in hot in a black cast iron pan and the ingredients are carefully layed out. Chopped pickled onion in the middle to compliment every bite, and alternated 1 to 1 are the shrimps and chorizos. What is incredibly special is that (I THINK.) the ingredients are LAYED DOWN on assembly, not mixed even until served to you. What this does is that the rice surrounding the chorizo has a meaty flavour, the the rice surrounding the shrimp bits are complimented by a seafood-y hint. Making for a meal where every bite comes in hot, and each is different than the last. Honestly incredible and compliments to the chef and cooks that made this dish enter my MOUTH.

The desert, my lord, I don’t want to go back home and not taste this again for years. It’s so sad. The brownie was crunchy, soft, beautifully complimented by the cherry sauce on top, the ice cream and the bread crumbs ensure every bite was hot, cold, crunchy, sweet, a little salty, everything a chocolaty desert needs.

I would come back here.

All this, again let me remind you, on top of amazing service from Maria and the rest of the team.

All night I was shazaming the songs in the background, in fact at one point a waiter brought the speaker close to my phone so I could capture the song.

Azar exceeded my expectations and I recommend you give this place a shot on the last night of your trip, like we did, to put a memorable bow on your recalling of the culinary experience Aruba...

We dined at Azar last week. Simply put it was the best meal I have ever had. I've had splendid meals at fancy over priced pretentious restaurants, but this was none of that. We had a reservation and were greeted promptly by the receptionist who wisked us off to our table. I ordered a rum, old-fashioned sort of assuming that it was some cheesy house drink that I would not like, but give it a shot nonetheless. It was actually phenomenal. Simply phenomenal! It came with a proper single, solitary cube as it should. It was the only time on the island that I had a single cube in any beverage. The smoked reveal was at the table and smelled divine. The smell lasted until the last delicious drop.

The restaurant is visually stunning. I will try to upload some pictures and video. We sat in what essentially was a quasi-outdoor section with beautiful walls made of glass and open areas with plants skirting the gaps. The actual indoor section is a masterpiece of texture, finish and lighting. It is not big, it is not complicated, but just very tastefully done. From A-to-Z, they hit it out of the park with the architecture and design.

I tend to be pretty critical of house breads, but the house bread was a delicious sourdough with wonderful olive oil. We ordered the “Roasted Feta” appetizer with goat cheese that came with toasted sourdough. Simply perfection. Most restaurants just serve over-processed white bread that is forgettable at best, embarrassing at the least. This was actually exceptional.

For my entrée I chose the “Mar Y Tierra” lobster and fillet combination. In Cincinnati, Ohio, we have a phenomenal restaurant group that was started by a gentleman named Jeff Ruby. If you have had Flemings, Ruth's Chris or Mortons then you know average high end steak. All of those pale in comparison to a Ruby Restaurant. The dry aged steak however at Azar was damn near perfection and comparable. Every portion of the meal was prepared perfectly and it arrived spot on time.

For dessert we had the Coconut Creme Caramel which was amazing.

Overall, I cannot speak highly enough of this restaurant. I know that they are a new entry into the market, but literally was so bummed out that we discovered it on our last night there, as I clearly would have gone back over and over and over again. I run a small business and I understand the challenges. What they have created here and what they execute on is simply...