Red Fish Aruba — Restaurant in Oranjestad (city)

Order: Fried polenta with cheese, Mochi style fried grouper (bone in, cut through the spine), grilled Mahi-mahi, Creme Brûlée, Coffee Price: $53 Pros: Mochi grouper was amazing, cheese on the polenta was fantastic Cons: Mahi was a little dry tldr: Pretty good, get the mocha style fish of the day

Thoughts: First restaurant stop in Aruba and I don’t think much on Aruba is going to fall on the “cheap” side of things. I would definitely recommend Red Fish, but you should be willing to spend a little money. However, the plates did come with plenty of sides, so we certainly didn’t leave with empty stomachs.

I was a little skeptical when I first walked in as the restaurant was a little empty but by the time we left it was packed. The atmosphere of the restaurant was also very nice, it was mostly open air and when the sun went down someone went around and lit several tiki lamps lending a nice warm glow to everything. The servers were also very friendly and made sure we had everything we needed.

We ordered fried polenta with cheese as an appetizer and it didn’t disappoint. The exterior was perfectly crunchy while the interior was still moist, and the cheese covering it was absolutely amazing. One of the things I don’t like about America is how awful so much of the cheese is (thanks pasteurization laws).

About the time we finished the appetizer the two entrees came out. We had ordered mochi style fried grouper and a filet of mahi-mahi. Each plate came with fries, rice, fried plantains, and slaw. The mahi-mahi was definitely too dry; it wasn’t quite chewy, but I definitely wouldn’t get it again. We had ordered it blackened and it probably sat on the grill a few minutes too long. The mochi grouper on the other hand was fantastic. I’ve eaten fish this way before but never heard it referenced as a specific style. Rather than cut the filet off the fish the chop it straight through the spine so you end up with “slices” of fish. Then they lightly deep fry the fish and when it’s done right (it was at Red Fish) you end up with all the moisture still in the meet of the fish with a crunchy exterior skin. They didn’t fry the grouper too much leaving it with that heavy, oily consistency. I would highly recommend this dish to anyone coming.

The desert was good but nothing outstanding. We had creme brûlée and the size was perfect for sharing with two people. The cream itself was more like a vanilla pudding and the top could have used a bit more crystalized sugar but was good overall. The coffee was also surprisingly good; I don’t normally expect reasonable coffee from a restaurant (and to be far I am incredibly picky with my coffee), but Red Fish delivered a good cup of coffee without any need to add extra creme or sugar.

We had a calm, pleasant experience at Red Fish with good food at slightly expensive prices. I would recommend going if you aren’t trying to do Aruba on a budget and would highly recommend the mochi fried grouper...

We came here pretty late our first night on the island. The reviews looked promising but perhaps we caught them at an "off time". The staff seemed very helpful. We were seated quickly. They were pretty empty at the time. Our food arrived to the table quickly but it was very unappetizing.

Oyster Soup - this was their soup of the day and the first thing that threw me off was it's color. I expected something similar to clam chowder but it was pea soup green. Very odd. It was also very salty and had a skin forming on top. I couldn't finish it.

Fried Shrimp - I decided to play it safe for my main. Everything was bland. There was no seasoning on the shrimp or the fries.

Kid's Pasta - we ordered the pasta in red sauce and it was very overpowering with whatever dry herbs they used. It smelled and tasted like they dumped half a container of dry basil in the dish. Again, bland - no salt.

Shrimp Pasta - hubby ordered this and it was abysmal. Bland, again, but also VERY oily. It was sitting on a lake of oil. No lie, Red Lobster's shrimp linguine tastes better than this dish did.

Hubby ordered a cocktail that he enjoyed but I can't recall the name. When it was time for the bill, they presented it to us but I noticed we were charged twice for hubby's meal. When I brought it to their attention, another server took it up to the counter, they all looked at us and then laughed, brought back a new bill, we paid and got out of there. Never again. There are plenty of other places to eat on the island that have better views, better food, and you don't have to worry about...

We tried this restaurant a couple of weeks ago based on a recommendation from someone at the Marriott claiming it was fresh local fish. I wanted to support a local business instead of one of the larger touristy restaurants, so we went. We're a low key group (2 couples) and we do NOT need anything fancy, but the atmosphere here was awful. It is on the side of the main road, next to some construction. I realize they have no control over that but the restaurant is open air, so it feels like you're getting waves of dust coming in from the street as the cars drive by. Additionally, there were flies EVERYWHERE. We asked the waiter to turn the overhead fans on to blow them away and of course the two fans near us were broken. So the flies literally swarmed our food. And speaking of the food, it was mediocre at best. You get whatever fish they were able to catch that day, which was flounder. I had mine grilled and it came to me somewhat soft and greasy. Others in my party had pan fried and it was a bit better. There is a fair amount of food on the plate so it you're looking for quantity not quality, I guess this place is ok. But compared to other places we dined in on the island, I would NOT...