Opus Ocean & Grill Aruba — Restaurant in Oranjestad (city)

The Atmosphere:

This tucked away cozy restaurant is ideal for couples looking to experience an intimate romantic dinner. Although my table-mate and I were not a couple, it was a lovely atmosphere to experience. We observed the restaurant create some truly special moments for couples celebrating anniversaries and the like. The ambiance truly left a lasting impression.

The Service:

Attentive, friendly, and prompt. The hostess inquired if my guest and I were there for a special occasion. Once informed we were not he escorted us to our table and then engaged in welcomed conversation about the island.

The waiter orientated us to the menu and then reviewed the specials. All items arrived well timed and at the desired temperature.

The Food:

Appetizer

I ordered the Greek salad which was excellent. The house made dressing was tasty and didn’t overpower the dish.

Main Course:

I ordered the special of the day consisting of grilled grouper, shrimp, mixed vegetables and mashed potatoes. The fish (focal point) was overcooked and under seasoned requiring salt and pepper. The three shrimp were cooked perfectly, well seasoned and drizzled with a delicious sauce. The mixed vegetables had my desired texture and flavor; the mashed potatoes were smooth and seasoned well.

My tablemate ordered the Chef’s special consisting of mixed seafood over linguine cooked in a lemon and herb sauce; table side fresh grated Parmesan was added. My tablemate commented their entree was delicious noting the freshness of the seafood and savory sauce.

The Value:

From my perspective, if you’re seeking a romantic experience capturing moments to remember~ book the reservation. If you’re seeking a casual budget friendly dinner, this restaurant would fall outside that category.

I was very pleased with the excellent service, great vibes, and overall freshness of the food. As such, I didn’t feel...

We had dinner here tonight and cannot get over telling each other what a fabulous meal it was. We consider ourselves a bit of a foodie couple and are always on the lookout for good food. Tonight we were trying not to go too far from our hotel, but wanted something that looked promising. The website boasts seafood that is served within 24 hours of being received and I knew we had to try it. We were greeted by the host who directed us to another host who seated us. They got us set up with water, sparkling or tap, and then our waiter Marlon came over. He guides us to our drink orders after very accurately guessing exactly what we would like. And we ordered the melon and prosciutto crudo. Simple ingredients just done exceptionally well. Drinks came out, looking and tasting fabulous. Marlon asked if we'd like a picture together and if this man didn't go out of his way, I don't know what he did. We got multiple angles, he helped clear up the table for a better shot, and the prompts were both funny and made for great pictures. The food came out divine. Hubby got the red snapper filet special with shrimp and I had the filet mignon. Steak was cooked perfectly, he said the fish was absolutely delicious. By the time dessert rolled around, Marlon had been sat a few more tables, but the two hosts I mentioned earlier were on top of things checking on us, asking if everything was good, topping up waters, clearing dishes. Dessert for us was cheesecake, his favorite dessert, and the chocolate lava cake. While the gelato was down he managed to scrounge me up a hazelnut frosted brownie to go with it and that was delicious as well. The atmosphere, and teamwork this place has going on is great and I can honestly say I am not sure I have ever had a better meal, or better service. Thank you to Marlon and the rest...

Would not recommend!!

We had reservations for dinner and walked in around 6 PM — we were literally the only people there, which already felt strange. The hostess seemed completely confused, like she had never seen a customer before, even though the restaurant had supposedly been open since noon. Despite having a reservation, she didn’t ask for our name or check anything — just sat us at the worst table in the restaurant right next to the kitchen doors.

I asked to move, and she eventually put us in the back (mind you, we were the only people in the restaurant and we had a reservation which I told her after being seated at the worst spot. Then, about 10 minutes later (after we already had our appetizer), she came over asking for our reservation, which made no sense — shouldn’t that have been the first thing she did? The whole vibe was off. You had workers all huddled up, laughing , hitting eachother on the back as they were tending our table as a joke * one of the most unprofessional establishments I have ever been in for a restraunt that is classified as a “nice steak house”.

Thankfully, our server was very kind and professional and nothing but helpfull to us, but overall, it honestly felt like we were in a live episode of White Lotus with the vibes and energy. The food was totally mid — nothing special at all — and for the atmosphere and experience, it just was no where near worth it. Super disappointing. There are at least 100 other restaurants we’d choose before ever coming back here. Overall bad experience and had my family canceled reservations to go...