Faro Blanco Restaurant — Restaurant in Noord overig

I saw Faro Blanco Restaurant while on an excursion during a Royal Caribbean cruise in October 2022. It is by the California Lighthouse, north of the Palm Beach of Aruba. The views from the lighthouse area were just stunning, because the lighthouse is at one of the higher elevations on the island with its ocean views and so I thought that a sunset dinner at Faro Blanco would nice during my April 2023 trip to Aruba.

We had reservation for Faro Blanco for Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 6PM, with an expected sunset at between 6:50 and 6:55PM. The restaurant has both indoor, and outdoor terrace seating. I am not sure how often the indoor seating is used because there is covered and uncovered outdoor seating at the restaurant. The average rainfall on Aruba is about eighteen inches annually and most of that is reported to be between October through January. Also, the average low temperature on Aruba is between 76 and 80 degrees, year round.

We arrived on time and were immediately seated on the uncovered part of the outdoor terrace with views of the ocean. The lighthouse and restaurant are on the northwest corner of the island so we might get to see the sun dip into the ocean, if the scattered clouds receded. Though we were able to see the sun go down, and it was beautiful, we did not see the sun dip below the horizon into the water because of some clouds.

For an appetizer, I ordered and shared Arinci di Riso. For dinner I ordered Filetto Ai Funghi Porcini E Funghi which is a filet mignon wrapped in bacon with a mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, asparagus and carrots. One person ordered Linguine Allo Scoglio. The third in the group ordered Lombata Di Vitello Alla Piemontese which included a mushroom sauce, vegetables and mashed potatoes. We ordered a bottle of Mosel Valley Riesling to go with dinner. No one was disappointed with dinner. My filet was perfectly cooked and very tender and everything is better with bacon.

For dessert, I ordered flan and one person ordered Tiramisu. We were not disappointed with dessert either. I am a lover of flan but it is not easy to prepare properly so most places do not serve it.

The waitstaff was quite good and attentive, very important to me. The menu has a good selection of options including fish and seafood, pasta, red meat and chicken entrees. It has a pretty extensive wine list too. Desserts were limited but very good. The location and atmosphere are just amazing. There was also live music on our Thursday evening. Faro Blanco supposedly serves lunch, as well as dinner. Pricing was actually better than Ruth’s Chris. Would I eat there again? Absolutely and without hesitation,...

We have been traveling to Aruba for more than 20 years and for whatever reason have never made it over to Faro Blanco at the Lighthouse for dinner.  This year our group of 15 made reservations a month in adavace to be certain we could get in.  We were seated at 2 tables by request so we could more easily visit and take photos.  Upon being seated each table was assigned to seperate waiters.  One unfortunately tainted the experience for the entire group.  The manner in which the owner handled the entire situation only compounded it.

Eric during the course of taking orders if people needed explanation of anything on the menu or asked anything of him he would roll his eyes and get very nasty.  When our other table received all their salads and main meal and we had not even received bread we realized Eric was a larger problem.  A person at our table pointed out to Eric that she had asked if we could get bread more than a half hour prior which clearly irritated him.  Now make no mind she chased him down to ask.  When he brought the bread someone asked for a drink and he rolled his eyes mumbled under his breath that was the final straw.  We asked to see the manager.  Manager / Owner arrives at the table he starts the conversation with "what is the problem".  We explain the situation he treats us as if we are looking for something "free"  which is absolutely the worst thing he could have done for this group.  We had to ask for a new waiter.  This manager / owner never provided his name.

The entire experience to that point was terrible they could have served us food on gold plates it would not have made a difference because what they didn't understand is we were there after many years of anticipation of hearing about such a great establishment.  Folks when you are paying an average of $50 a plate without drinks, salads or apps they should certainly be able to manage the front and back of the house better.  The owner who comes out to resolve a problem who doesn't introduce himself has set the stage for such a terrible establishment.

Go for the view take a few pictures dont waste your money or time.  There are so many wonderful places on the island to eat this unfortunately is NOT one of them.  The food here is nothing to write home about so many better...

We had a group of 6 people and there was some disagreement among our party about how many stars to rate the restaurant (ranging from 1 to 4). The average was 2 stars hence this rating.

The positive: This atmosphere of this restaurant, and specifically the view at sunset, is stunning. You can see the sun set into the ocean, while looking south down the shoreline to the large high rise hotels in the distance.

About the food: the food was plated/presented nicely (see attached pictures). One member in our group had veal (Scaloppine al vitello), and said the sauce on it was fantastic (although the meat was not as tender as he expected). The two members of our group who had the veggies (instead of pasta as our side option) were impressed and believed they were the highlight of the food for dinner.

The 4 members who had pasta (or variants thereof) said it was average food, but nothing special.

Several members had salad as a starter and all were impressed by the freshness and quality of the lettuce.

One member of our group who ordered fish found it inedible. It came cold and tasted bad. She took two small bites and ate no more of it. It took more effort than it should to have it removed from the bill (after a somewhat tense back-and-forth argument with the waiter)

The restaurant was also out of pizza! That seemed surprising given it was a major menu item.

The main course took an hour and a half to come out. There was no explanation why it took so long.

About the drinks: the restaurant was out of sangria, which was somewhat surprising as well as another drink one member in our group tried to order. It is unclear if the lack of availability is a common thing or not (also considering they were out of pizza).

The pina coladas were slightly below average as was the wine, California crazy, and mojito. The "you and I" drink was above average (it was the best drink anyone ordered).

Reservations: you will want reservations if you are dining at busy times (eg sunset). We made a reservation and it was honored, but we also nearly missed the sunset because there was an unexplained 15 minute delay in getting us seated) despite our table being open/available.

Overall: this is a great spot to dine and watch the sunset, but I otherwise would...