CHEFS Bonaire — Restaurant in Bonaire

We had been put on a waiting list in hopes of being able to come here for dinner, and on the morning of our last full day, we got a call asking if we had availability. We quickly said yes, and we’re excited at the opportunity for the chance for dinner here.

We were immediately greeted by the chef and escorted through the door and to the back. They asked our names and offered us something bubbly to drink from the beginning.

We were the first to arrive so we had seats that were already assigned to us, which was at one of the two back tables. We didn’t get the chef’s counter, but that was OK because it meant for a more intimate experience. The counter provides a more social atmosphere by contrast.

Once everyone had arrived, they started promptly on time. There is limited seating, and they only serve dinner, but we were excited at all the potential options we had to look forward to. We both decide upon the wine pairing to complement dinner. Even before dinner started, they decided to come back around again and verify our dietary limitations. Since I have a corn allergy, they were more than willing to accommodate.

There is no menu so it is a surprise as to what you are offered each of the five courses. There is also a drink surprise that we had, and we loved as it was a Japanese take on a mojito made with sake. We’ve been to Japan, so this was a beautiful surprise.

Each course was fun and unique. We enjoyed the pork, and the beef, but our favorite was the fish course, which will happen to be the third course of the evening. Dessert was just as light and delicious. The wine paired very well with the options we had, and were complementary to the different flavors. They’re very kind to go back around if you want a little bit more for your glass, as they’re worried about the wine getting too warm during the meal. This is something I very much appreciated as they were congress and of that temperature differential for taste.

Once we were done with all the courses , we went up to pay. It was a steep meal or compared to all of the other dinners we had out on the island, but we felt it was well worth the experience and time we had there.

The chef truly take care of you during the time that you’re there, and it’s very fun to watch them prepare the meal in front of you. I do recommend trying to get reservations ahead of time; when we looked on the day of our meal, there was already a three month wait. Even if you do not get a reservation, do what we did and get put on the waitlist. My husband ended up calling early in the week to see if there was any cancellations that we could jump into, and we personally felt that helped our ability to get in, even being on the waitlist.

I’m so glad this was recommended to us by a local friend. While I understand not everybody can afford to do this meal, if you can afford the splurge, I recommend you doing so. We hope to come back to Bonaire and enjoy another meal here. We think the chef’s for their time and expertise and we’re pleased...

To craft a cohesive menu is difficult, to do so with an ever fluxing number of ingredients is near impossible —- queue these guys. Our experience was extraordinary and one that I won’t forget. Chefs we’re personable and irrefutably masters of their craft. I took rough notes through the meal (so please forgive my shorthand):

Pumpkin seed bread Cocktail : ginger beer, shoal leaf, sake, ginger syrup, lime Amuse-bouche: chicken confit, beetroot, radish, cracker. Very fragrant, lots of green flavor from shiso leaf? Textures are synchronized. The beet is cooked well and it absorbs the chicken flavor well. Overall not ultra spectacular, but balanced. First course: wine pairing: Korrell Riesling 2021 Black fin tuna sashimi, sour cream with caramelized yellow chili, cucumber shreds, cruton, pea sprouts. A lot of kick to it. Pea sprouts tasted like fresh peas. The tuna was quite mild. Not crazy flavor, but strong texture. Again, mild, but good. Hoping this is the upswing of the courses

Second course: wine pairing: Gerard Bertrand Chardonnay Green onion soup with red snapper, Aleppo pepper, rice flour crumble, scallion, dried prosciutto from beef. Broth was phenomenal, long finish of scallion. The fish was mellow, but had a fresh texture, and I couldn’t believe how well the beef prosciutto worked the dish. Third course: wine pairing: Hermanos Lurton toro Spain 2019 Chicken with basil and ham under the skin Tomato, onion, garlic, and balsamic vinegar, oyster and shimei mushrooms Skin was crispy and it beautifully painted an image of a chicken in the woods. Perfectly cooked. Fourth course: wine pairing: marinus Tuscany. Beef stew. Carrot purée, shoulder blade beef marinated with basil, olive oil, garlic and cloves. Pearl onions and cruton from polenta, Didn’t need the knife. It was perfectly marinated and seasoned. Pearl onions were delightfully crispy, and the polenta cruton added a wonderfully deceptive heartiness to the dish. 5th course: wine: sperone Moscato Cheesecake with caramel cookie crust Poached pineapple with star anise, passion fruit purée Perfect finish to the meal. The passion fruit purée sliced through any lingering heaviness...

I truly cannot say enough good things about CHEFS Bonaire. We stayed at Bamboo Bali (where the restaurant is located) in June and were lucky enough to eat at CHEFS, which had opened just a couple weeks earlier. Unlike many other restaurants, CHEFS did not seem to have any of the issues that often plague new establishments--our evening there was perfect. The restaurant has a single seating each evening at 7:00 p.m. and the eponymous chefs, Han and Mark, are there to greet you with a glass of champagne. The restaurant is quite intimate and seats guests surrounding the open air kitchen. The seating layout provides guests with the opportunity to observe and converse with Han and Mark as well as close interaction with the other diners. The food is spectacular, even for an island with a number of fine dining establishments. Mark and Han serve a lovely 5 course meal (with an exceptional wine pairing) that is curated based on availability of ingredients and embraces a wide range of cuisines and cooking techniques. Particular favorites from our dinner were lightly smoked Wahoo with a seaweed salad and Scotch Bonnet mayo, Asian-style pork belly with plantain chips and pika, and Canadian beef with chimichurri. In addition to having dinner at CHEFS, we also had a couple breakfasts prepared and served by Han and Mark (available to guests at Bamboo Bali). This was a lovely (and generous) European-style breakfast with charcuterie, a variety of baked goods, yogurt, fruit, hard boiled eggs, coffee, and fresh-squeezed juice. Definitely a great way to...