Anna-Maria's Autentico Ristorante Italiano

This restaurant has it all! From the moment you're greeted warmly at the front gate to the moment the restaurant staff calls you a cab at nights end, you are guaranteed an experience that you will treasure & never forget... and you'll be counting the days until you return! Ambiance is an understatement, and the owner, Christian, welcomed each guest personally. It was such a pleasure to be in his company and in the company of his pleasant, smiling staff!
Our meals were to die for! I had the 'Linguini AL Pesto Di Basilico' with shrimp' & my husband had the 'Gnocchi Con Suggo El Pomodoro'... absolutely scrumptious! The lush basil plants are grown right on the gorgeous grounds and smell heavenly!
When you're in Aruba, do yourself a favor, put this restaurant at the top of your 'must do' list and make a reservation!

We ate here before the Anna Maria had left. Service was poor. Owner angry if you politely asked a question. Just went to Agriento last night. Soothing atmosphere. Like eating at your mothers kitchen table. Felt like home. Food was unbelievable. Going back for a second time this week! Salmon carpaccio for breakfast!

Our family had a wonderful meal! The service was impeccable and the food delicious as always.

Highly overrated restaurant. Someone said: It’s the best kept secret on the island. Hopefully it stays this way. Even though the service and ambiance were fine, the food was a disaster. My grouper filet was not a grouper at all. The side of pasta was swimming in pasta water, at least a half of a cup. The pasta entrees for the rest of our party was drowning in sauce. Looked like soup with spaghetti. Calamari appetizer had no flavor. I don’t mind paying premium prices for good food, but this was blatant ripoff.

We just got back from this restaurant. We loved that it was in the middle of nowhere. It was cozy and private. The owner kept making sure that we were ok, We left our all inclusive hotel and tried this restaurant from a friend who recommended it. We left full and happy. Yes, it was a little pricey.. but the food was fresh and they cared what you thought of your experience. I would definitely come back! I don’t mind paying a little more for fresh and authentic Italian cuisine.

Very expensive, small portions and a very long wait.

I placed my review on Trip Advisor giving this place a 3 out of 5. I praised the place for its cozy and tuscany feel. I enjoyed the unique experience of going inland to their beautiful home to dine. Why I gave it a 3 is because of the portion size of a bowl of pasta and meat sauce for 29.00. My opinion is it is not worth the price. The items on the menu are not always available and you only find out after you order and now you have to order again. I can not see how you are running out of food at 6:30 but it is what it is. The nasty owner of this place blasted me back on Trip Advisor and said that my comment about being over priced was childish and foolish. I then started to read other reviews on his trip advisor page and he blasted so many customers for not praising his place, he is nasty and unproffessional. I live near Little Italy home of top of the top Italian Chefs where a plate of authentic pasta would never cost you more than 20.00 and you would not even be able to finish the plate. If this guy Christian keeps talking trash to his customers the way that he does then it is only a matter of time that Anna Maria's will be out of business.

We waited an hour for a salad. 2 hours for the dinner. Service was so slow and then the food was just average. When the owner finally arrived we complained. He said he had a meeting and could not be there to help. It was just terrible. No discount and then they had the nerve to add a gratuity on our bill. We and our group will never go there again. When you see other people complain on this site do yourself a favor and don't go. The owner is not even nice or friendly. Just bad manners.

My husband and I are Aruba fanatics. After our 2-3 weeks yearly visits we can't wait to go back to everything fabulous that Aruba has to offer, including great restaurants. Anna Maria Restaurant is certainly not one of them. In fact, I can give a dozen raving reviews to deserving restaurants in Aruba, but this review is a warning on many accounts to save your hard earned money and do not go here.

Located on a dark desolate street (but in very safe Noord), it is a private home behind a locked gate-no sign, just a number 25. The property is very pretty,(but not as beautiful a backyard as Papiamento Restaurant) and although very difficult to find, this is the only positive.

Four of us arrived on time for our 7:30 reservation. This small restaurant was only half full at this point, but with only two waiters, we didn't get the menu until 20 minutes later. Our order, appetizers and main course, was taken at 8:10. From 8:10 until 9:40, when our appetizers arrived, the restaurant filled up- and with large tables of 8-12 persons. Our main courses arrived at 10:30. We finished our coffee and dessert at 11:30. Absurd!! This sounds like an exaggeration of time schedule, but it is not!!! I kept track because I wanted to discuss with Anna-Maria, although I never got a chance. My husband and I later agreed that had we been just the two of us, we would have left (hungry) by 9:00PM and sought out another restaurant. However, we were with friends who raved about this restaurant from their wonderful experience from the year before, so were giving it a chance. We had, in fact, made these reservations a full year ahead.

Now a review of the food: Very expensive-for what you are getting. We actually don't mind paying for terrific food, and find that the cost of food in Aruba has risen over the years-both in the supermarket and definitely in the restaurants. Starting with the most positive things I can say about the food: the brownie/nut dessert was delicious, although very very small with a half scoop of melted ice cream for $9. My husband and two friends had shrimp and pasta dishes that were very good, but for $43 and $44 dollars each they should have been extraordinary! I ordered their signature dish, lasagna. It tasted sour, and discovering it was totally burnt on the bottom, left is uneaten. The waiter came over and took the burnt sour lasagna back to the kitchen. He came back to explain that the kitchen can handle 30 persons for dinner each evening and tonight their had been 52. He said that the person who was suppose to watch the lasagna didn't, and if it overcooks it can become acidic (sour). So, at 11:45, starving, I was settling for spagetti and meatballs, which, by the way, was just ok.

Appetizers: My friends had an eggplant appetizer and what the menu said were spinach crepes-actually one crepe for $15. My husband and I split calamari- totally tastless, although not chewy. But the biggest rip off of all was the $15 Ceasar salad! It was literally a half full SMALL (dessert bowl size) of warm wilted romaine lettuce, a couple of croutons and a sprinkling of grated cheese with mediocre dressing on the side.

By 10:45, when the party of 12 not far from our table still hadn't gotten their food either, two of the men at that table came over to us to share how they felt with ones that could understand. They explained that they arrived at Anna-Maria's at 8:30 and were also very disappointed and hungry!We think that the right thing would have been Anna-Maria coming out of the kitchen to apologize for perhaps an "off night", as she knew/saw what was going on, to make us feel more positive upon leaving. Maybe this happens often in busy season. The waiter told us that 6:00-7:00 is a better time to come before it gets overcrowded. No apology, no offer to adjust the bill (although we didn't ask) or treat us to a glass of wine- just a miserable experience in our beloved Aruba.
We paid our outragous bill, knowing that we will never be back, nor recommend this fiasco for a restaurant.

Are family have been coming to Arubafor the last five years weeks 2/3 and my daughter got married last year we always try to go restaurant 2/3 times with 8-14 people who love Aruba. The food is always the best,and the owners and waiters are so friendly they come out to talk with you and make sure that the meals were perfect. We will be coming Jan9 thru the 25 and we will be see you again. My father inlaw and his wife who are in there 70s from Arizonia can't wait to go to the restaurant again.