Madame Janette

It saddens me to write such a poor review for Madame Janette. This was our third time to the island and we had yet to make it here. We never had time to fit it in, but after hearing friends and others on the island rave about it, we decided to give it a go this time. Unfortunately, we held them to a pretty high standard because of the places we had already been to that week (Amazonia, Screaming Eagle, Mirandi, Barefoot, Flying Fishbone)and all the reviews we read and heard. Our experience was awful from the time we were seated.

We had an 8:30 reservation, assuming that was plenty late. Every other restaurant we had been to that week around that time was pretty dead. Now we understood why--everyone was at Madame Janette! The place was PACKED!! We were seated at a two-top table under the covered area close to the kitchen because people were constantly running by our table which eliminated the chance to have any romantic feel to the experience. In addition, I found it very poor taste to allow people to smoke beneath the COVERED area as our neighbors were doing in chain-fashion. It was SO HOT (and smoky) that I almost passed out and had to go to the restroom where it was air conditioned to cool down and breathe fresh air and I had on a linen skirt and halter top! It wasn't like I was dressed for winter! The attendant in the restroom probably thought I was nuts when I stumbled through the door and plopped down on the bench wiping sweat off my neck and face. I was miserable!!
There was live music, which could have been nice except it was in the 'garden area' which looked MUCH cooler (temp-wise) and more quiet/romantic, but it was so loud in the restaurant part where we were seated, we couldn't even carry on a conversation with each other.
We decided to order a bottle of wine instead of a glass since we had a cab and didn't have to drive, which was a mistake because it just prolonged our visit as we sat there to finish it.
Our server was terrible..well, one of them. I think we had a total of 7 different servers the whole time. Whoever passed our table would either set something down or take something away--including the check, bill, credit card, etc..not personal at all!! Very disappointing! Our waitress (well the main one, anyways I think)took our wine order and then disappeared for like 15-20 minutes before coming back with it and then it was another 15 before she came back to take our order. She acted like we were more of a problem than her table. The bread was sub-par--hard dry stale tasting garlic bread and what was up with the plate of onions they give you??? Who eats raw onions as an appetizer????
I can't even remember what we ordered as an appetizer, so it must not have been that good. For dinner, my husband ordered the skirt steak and I got the seafood pasta. Nothing spectacular about either one of the dishes. Slightly higher caliber than Red Lobster other than the fact it was a ridiculous amount of food--like 6 servings of pasta to one dish. I tasted my husbands meal--the steak was tough and the potatoes were bland. At this point we just wanted to leave because it was so uncomfortably hot. We didn't even stay for dessert--anything to get us out of there quicker!
It wasn't too far from our hotel, but was stupid that it cost us $20 in cab fares in addition to our $150 bill for dinner! It is really off the beaten path, down a VERY DARK road and kind of hard to find.

I rate the toilets a 10 because they were air conditioned and offered me 2 minutes of a pleasant experience--kudos on that one Madam Janette!

I can imagine that once this place was probably a quaint little local gem, but has since grown past the capacity that any of the staff can handle and continue to offer great service, quality, and tasty food. I understand the concept of having 'something for everyone, every age' on the menu, but who wants to pay $30 for fried chicken or pork tenderloin? I can eat that crap back home! We never found 'american' food like that on any of the menus at the other places we ate that were better!! We were extremely disappointed in our experience and will not be returning. Thank god for Que Pasa for picking up the sad little pieces the next evening and blowing Madam Janette out of the water. This was definitely our worst dining experience yet on the island in 3 visits!!

What a wonderful experience! My husband and I recently celebrated our anniversary at Madame Janette's and it was truly wonderful. The food was superb. We had pork and beef and both were delicious. Our waiter, Thomas, was the best. The entire staff could not have been more accomodating. There was a glass of champagne waiting for us as we were seated at our table in celebration of our anniversary....what a nice touch. Madame Janette's really knows how to treat their customers well. We will continue to return to MJ's each time we visit Aruba. Thanks for everything MJ's and keep up the great work !!!

Year after year we are guest at Madame Janette. We always have a great time in this restaurant and were always looking forward to eating here.
But this time was such a disappointment.
We visited MJ on Saturday and were seated terribly, near the kitchen with constant traffic from personnel right next to us. Our waitress was a very rude Asian looking girl that clearly did not know what she was doing.
We also tasted that they had a different chef this time around. Our appetizer was so-so.Our steak was overcooked, and when we requested to change it we got a very inappropriate attitude from our waitress and then had to wait for 25 min for a new one. Our sides were either burned or TOO salty! And to top it all off we ordered the fried oreo's. These were simply horrible. They were fatty and the ice-cream was reduced to a puddle.
The surroundings, setting and music were still great and the bartender was a great Canadian guy who knew how to give people a good time. It was a shame our waitress didn't.
Next time we go for drinks only.

We have been to Aruba many times and this was our first time dining at Madame Janette. We enjoyed our food and the live music sounded great. Our server brought a bootle of bug spray to our table and said "use this now, you will need it when the mosquitoes come out." The server was right, the mosquitoes definately came out at sunset. Fortunately for us after dousing in a 1/2 bottle of bug spray, not one bite. I highly recommend this restaurant, just make sure to go prepared.

Ten + years and going strong. We have been enjoying MJs since they first opened and had dinner there on each of our three visits this year. Each one was excellent! We never tire of MJs and this year were very pleased to try some of the new specials on the menu. From cocktails to dessert - from the ambiance and setting and live music - MJs knows how to create an evening that is memorable. Madam Janette's is one of kind and shouldn't be missed when visiting Aruba.

We always eat here every trip to Aruba. As usual I had the Shrimp Casserole which was good. I wasn't crazy about the side of augrat.potatoes...kinda on the hard side. Also the creamed spinach was very salty. My husband was looking forward to the ButcherBlock Cut Steak but its not on the menu anymore. They will make it for you but you must tell them in advance/couple of days because the steak needs to me marinated. The menu has been changed some since last year. We enjoyed the couple singing and the little black kitty that laid near our table listening to the music.

Terrific. From food to service to ambience, everything was outstanding. I really can not see how some reviewed this restaurant poorly. My only gripe is that since it is outside, it got extremely HOT outside. Besides that, couldnt ask for much more.

Well, we had ANOTHER amazing night at MJ. Due to a a reservation mix-up, we thought we weren't going to get to one of our favorite restaurants on the island. Well, I was wrong! Chris gave us a call at our resort and made sure we got to eat at our favorite island spot. He went above and beyond and we are very grateful for his efforts!

We were seated in a cozy little table near the live music (which is fantastic!). Our server(s) were so attentive and brought us a special champagne drink for our anniversary! We ordered the Caesar Salad and BANG! BANG! Shrimp for our appetizers! WOW - they were amazing. Such nice large portions and the flavors were amazing. I still cannot believe we ate it all - but when something is so good, it is hard to put down the fork.

For dinner we both ordered the Almond Crusted Grouper; we have had it before and really enjoyed it. Tonight was no different. The almonds were nicely coated around the moist fish. YUM! The creamed spinach and potatoes were delicious too.

We never felt rushed and were able to enjoy the music.

It was a perfect way to spend our anniversary and we thank the entire staff for a great night! We cannot wait to come back again next year!

WOW! Another fantastic meal at Mme J's! We had another couple with us this year and they were quite impressed with the whole experience. We sat in the garden and enjoyed the music. The only negatives: 1. The waiter tried too hard to upsell us from the regular menu-we knew what we came for! 2. My brother-in-law ordered a couple of bottle of wine and they were 3.75 ml and not 7.50 ml... he didn't like that. Personnally.. I wouldn't change anything... keep up the good work Chef Kasi and crew! See you again next year!

We’ve been back from Aruba for two weeks now and are still talking about the two great nights that we had at Madame Janette. The first was the night we arrived, and we were definitely travel-weary. Our flight had been diverted to Curacao because of a private plane accident on the Reina Beatrix runway, then the ground crew managed to misplace all of our baggage for the night. The staff at Madame Janette was very gracious in getting us in early, and our meals were as tasty as they had been in previous years. All four of us ordered off of the Specials menu and every entree was excellent - the yellowtail snapper delight, the macadamia encrusted mahi mahi, the bang bang shrimp. Madame Janette has one of the best wine menus on the island, and after the day we had we definitely took advantage of it. Our only complaints were the coffee was a little funky, and because of the change in reservation time we were seated next to the fence, where there was no breeze and we needed some Off for mosquitoes.

On our way out, we met the owner, Kasi and his new chef, Chad, in the bar. They were both great guys, gregarious and fun, and we were soon joined by the rest of the crew as the restaurant wound down. It was one of the best, most fun times we’ve had at a bar in Aruba, and by the time we left we had cut a deal with Chad to do a tasting menu for us on the next Wednesday night. That turned out to be one of the finest dining experiences we have had in Aruba. We picked out three wines – a chardonnay, a pinot noir, and a Chateauneuf du Pape - and Chad built an excellent menu of tasty fish morsels, duck, filet, and lamb chops around them. He even tailored the amuse bouche to each person after having talked to each of us – a Carolina BBQ slider for my wife Melissa, Buffalo wings for John, fish and chips for Leah, and a shrimp quesadilla for me, since I am originally from San Diego. The presentation was like photos out of Gourmet magazine. I know that with the number of diners they serve there each night (it is a large restaurant) the tasting menu was probably a rare treat, but it was certainly indicative of the quality of Madame Janette – great food and a fine group of folks serving you.