Kokoa Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Oranjestad (city)

This restaurant is a gold mine with the oceanside views and the beautiful beach wirh waves crashing. Unfortunately. they serve lackluster food. We ordered two starter. The tuna duo.... while the overall dish was good. I have issues with the searred tuna...it was watery...mushy...similar to tuna that was frozen. The real diaster was the escargot. The poor snails that gave their lives for this dishes should be allowed to get a refund on the sacrifice they made. I really want the chef to answer the questions of 'what did the snails do to you" and why they needed to be burned to death. The sauce accompanying them was essentially tasteless oil and lacked that garlickys/herby punch you expect.

We ordered two entrees of fish. Both portions (Grouper/Mahi) were a snack sized portion at best. Asking someone to pay 36 dollars is dreadful. The overall cook was over and the sauces were needed to rehydrate them after the cooking experience.

Desserts were good...creme brulee had a nice texture but could have used a bit more coffee flavor. The cheesecake was pleasant and the white chocolate ice cream was a very good accouterment.

Service: incredibly poor. Okay we understand this is island time. But it took over an hour to get our starters and mains. The dessert was 20 minutes. The best part was that I needed to ask for the check at the 2 and a half hour point. This a Saturday night....the night new people show up to one happy island...the staffing needs to match that demand

Overall: Diappointed/Sad/Underwhelmed. I remember the brisk service..quality preparation..the good sized portions of Ricardos. This is the Anti-Ricardos. We had another couple, with 35 years of Aruba Beach Club history, express the same concerns. They sent their escargot back it was so inedible. This meal was NOT the perfect meal on the first Aruba night. I for one will not be revisiting this restaurant for any other meal. . Maybe the next time we will give it a shot but I will need a few very good reviews on something other...

To preface this review we have been coming to Aruba and enjoying the cuisine on the island for the past 15 years. The 4 of us were seated right away, we did have reservation's. We ordered the white Sangria for the table, when it arrived it was in a carafe that looked like orange juice, no fruit, straight up orange liquid. When I asked why it was orange the bar server said there was plenty of wine in there, I was dismissed immediately, did not care about our inquiries. Not only did it look like orange juice it tasted like peachy flavored orange juice. Food was less than average, I had a salad with grilled chicken, my husband had the catch of the day and our friends had the ABC Seafood Pasta. Our friends said to us upon leaving that they cross this place off the list. The reasons why was because our table located in the sand, was down a slope, food was mediocre and overpriced, what else can I say about the $45 sangria that was orange juice, then to top it off, after explaining to our waiter that the sangria was terrible he went home and we just sat there waiting for our bill forever, to find out that he just left, they did not even know at the restaurant that we had already eaten. Lastly, when we asked the waiter about the size of the salad he said, its a decent size, when asked about the fish size, again he said it’s a decent size, he knew nothing about the portion sizes or food items. We loved this place when it was Ricardo’s, we won’t be back. There are so many places to eat that serve excellent food and quality drinks, and listen and care...

Sadly, not ready for prime time. Had a party of 5. Sat us at first table on the way in when the restaurant was 3/4 empty, many nicer tables available. One person was running late. Waiter (after being told numerous times we were waiting for another person) kept asking if we were ready to order.Last guest arrived. Finally ordered. Brought rolls to the table. 4 rolls for 5 people. One person wanted chicken Caesar salad as his entree along with soup as an appetizer. Brought them together. Then entrees came. Well, all but mine, and the one that was brought with apps. Waiter looked confused and asked me what I ordered. By the time it arrived, the rest of the party had finished eating. Mine came with the wrong side and wrong sauce. Actually, every ones came with wrong sauce. As far as the food? Meh. Boring presentation. Dishes were over priced for what you get. $46 for pan fried grouper? $36 next door at Mathew’s. Get it there. Skirt steak $56? Short menu, pizza dominates the back of the menu. You have Pizza Bobs across the street. Don’t get it. Many other options close by that are way better food, value and service. I belong to the resort where it’s at so I see this as being a short...