Sole Mare

Our family are repeat visitors to Aruba, some of us over 20+ years. After numerous recommendations to visit Sole Mare, this was our first year trying this restaurant. I'm sorry we waited so long. By far, it was the best authentic italian food on this island. It was a splendid way to end our two week vacation by making this meal the last one. The chicken parm was tender and delicious, the pasta fagioli soup was flavorful and the seafood outstanding. The kid portion was fantastic.

No doubt...we will be return visitors every visit to Aruba. Thank you for making us feel like we were having a home cooked italian dinner.

Sole Mare once again pleased all of us. The Pasta Frommagio was outstanding. 6 of us had this. The service was also very good, as usual.

This is our 6th time in Aruba and 5th time to Sole mare.

We'll be returning next year.

This was my first visit to Sole Mare and I will be returning next year. This was my 5th visit to Aruba but did not know about Sole Mare until a friend recommend I go and try it so we did and the food was very good along with the service and the prices. I highly recommend eating here.

This year we went to Sole mare with a group of 8, and most of us were disappointed. We have been eating at Sole Mare for several years now, but this year the service was worse than ever and the food has gone downhill. its has turned into a tourist trap, one that we probably wont be going back to.

The service is BAD! Island service is slow, and to be expected, but service the night we were there was ridiculous. To place and order, even for a drink, is virtually impossible. And after your meal order is placed, forget about getting their attention for anything else.

In terms of the food, appetizer salads and soups were good, as was the pasta bolognese. Entrees this year were disappointing. the veal pizzaiola consisted of a few small pieces of veal in a very raw tomato sauce with a few peppers and onions. It was boring and tasteless.

The real problem then was the chicken francese. 2 in our party ordered it and it was served with a lemon caper sauce...piccata. When we complained that francese was ordered they said that is francese. we explained that we never saw francese with capers and we were told "that is how our chef makes it." Neither person who ordered it like capers so it was sent back and they asked for chicken with just white wine and lemon. In less time that it takes to walk to the kitchen both plates were brought back, without capers and we were told that the chef cooked 2 new dishes. When we complained that it was the same dish with the capers scraped off, and we could taste the caper brine in the sauce, the manager came over, insisting that we were wrong, and a new dish was made......that was until we showed her the caper underneat her the chicken that they missed talking off. Eventually the dinners were taken off the menu and 2 people didn't eat anything else.

Now we do understand that mistakes are made, and sometimes dishes are not as we expect, but dont repeatedly lie to us telling us a new dish was made, when we all know the truth. So sad that this is what has happened to a once very good italian restaurant....bad food and even worse service.

We love the pasta in the cheese wheel our favorite restaurant to dine in Aruba ! We always come here yearly... Pasta al dente perfection....staff amazing my husband spilt wine all over himself & table ...staff immediately helped him & gave him a tee shirt to go home in!

Having enjoyed Sole Mare last year after waiting many years to even go to the place, we were pleasantly surprised to have an even more satisfying experience this year (2014). Our initial aversion to the place was that we had heard rumors that it was an older establishment on the decline. Last year disproved those rumors but we still were not sure if that experience was an exception. This year proved that it was not an exception. Though the setting and atmosphere might leave a bit to be desired, the food and service here more than make up for that. We tend to eat early in order to take in all that a restaurant has to offer and to not get caught up on any issues that may accompany a full restaurant. Last year we did an early dinner, had the pleasure of doing the Early Bird Specials, and were joined by a few other diners at that time (though it was reasonably crowded by the time we left). This year we ate at about the same time and were surprised to see, during the early part of our meal, the restaurant filling up. there was clearly a large return traffic and that was quite reassuring. We also did only one Early Bird to see if it was consistent (it was) and a more exotic dish off the regular menu (which is quite complete in its offerings). The Early Bird dish lived up to expectations and was as good this year as last. The dish off of the regular menu was exceptional. It was a dish that we had had a few times elsewhere but here it exceeded any prior presentation of it and the portion was quite generous. About half way through our meals the restaurant had become quite crowded and we were pleased to see that - service suffered a little, given the volume of business but that would have been the case anyplace else too. Diminished service, still and all, was not bad and was more than adequate, sincere, and caring. Though we tend to be critical of the entire ITALIAN DINING scene in Aruba, we came to find that this restaurant is a very credible venue for such fare. The restaurant clearly has regained much of its appeal and is a pleasant alternative to traditional Aruban meals. We highly recommend dining here and, if the popularity continues, we also suggest making reservations. GO and ENJOY.

Visited February 2014

We went to Sole Marie for a second time in Feb 2014. Our first visit 2 years ago was wonderful. This time not so much.. Unfortunately we did not make reservations and upon arrival we were told there was no room in the dinning room. We were seated by the bar in the main entry area. We were seated next to a long table of adults and a few children. Before long we were tempted to get up and leave as we could not carry on a normal conversation due to the children making a great deal of noise and some of the adults yelling at the children. Our meal was wonderful but the evening was certainly spoiled due to this. When you go to dinner to a lovely place like this you certainly do not expect to be subject to that atmosphere. When we put our comments on the comment card we were told it was the owners and their family. OMG
You would think the owners would be more considerate of thier dinning guests. For that reason we will not return on our next visit to Aruba.

My husband and I traveled to Aruba for the first time in February 2014. Sole Mare was one of the restaurants that everyone we met recommended. They were right. Our meal there was the best one we had during the entire vacation (and we went to other great restaurants.) My husband had the pasta and white clam sauce and said it was the best he's ever had. My pasta bolognese was rich, hearty and delicious. The staff couldn't have been more caring and attentive. We're returning to Aruba next year and Sole Mare is definitely on our "to do" list!

Sole Mare' is an outstanding Italian gem amongst its peers. My wife and i have dined here for over 20 years. With all the new eateries close to the High rises one would think it not worth the short taxi ride but you would be wrong. This is a wonderful old school Italian restaurant worthy of a visit. Try the risoto prescatore. simply the best..

This was some of the worst food we've had in Aruba. Terrible ambiance, sub-par service, and awful food. We will never go back.