Yemanja Woodfired Grill

EXCELLENT...everything was delicious and beautiful. The staff was so attentive and made great suggestions. We really really liked this restaurant and will return. Do not miss this experience!

Food was the best we had relative to the 5 other establishments we visited during the week. These included Madame J & Cheif's Table.
Food was unique , high quality, and great presntation. Atmosphere & décor very nice. Recommend outside seating, very relaxing. The staff was simply the best-----so upbeat & positive.

We really enjoyed this restaurant. The tuna tartar is excellent and should not be missed. The fish chowder was very good and the entrees were excellent. I has the rib eye and my wife had a grilled scallop salad. The kids had tenderloin and fries and loved it.

This restaurant could succeed in any city in the US.

We recently visited Yemanja for the second time in two years. Our first experience in 2008 was positive. Our recent experience was not good. The fish special was not tasty and we thought the prices were high for what you got. They served 4 rolls for a party of four. When I asked for more rolls they served them, but did not mention that there would be an additional charge of $3.50. When I received the bill, I questioned the waitress and told her I thought it was pretty cheesey at a restaurant that was not inexpensive to charge for additional rolls. Her response was "I know", but it still remained on the bill. It may seem trival, but I would not go back to this restaurant for that reason. Want a great meal at responible prices try Rumba across the street.

Last night was our first time at Yemanja and it won't be our last. The food was fresh and delicious. You must try the shrimp in puff pastry as an appetizer - simply exquisite. The Yemanja salad is also quite good but then everything we had was terrific. I think you would be hard pressed to find a bad meal on the menu. The food is made to order and the prices are reasonable compared to most Arubian restaurants. My only complaint and it is a small one, is that they charge for extra bread. I'm thrilled we found this gem.

We had a mixed review on this one. I had the rack of Lamb and it was middle of the road at best. My wife had the Salad Entre with shrimp and said it was the best meal she had on the Island. I would highly suggest sitting outside as it is very nice there.

I dined here with my parents last night, Yemanja had great food, service, and decor.

Food
We ordered the Belgian mussels to start with were cooked with dark beer, accompanied with 3 tasty dipping sauces. They were not the best mussels I've had, but close. I think they overcooked it a bit as some mussels had fallen out of their shells

For our entrees, I had the seafood stew, their special of the day. My folks had the surf and turf and tenderloin steak. The many flavor layers and complexity made the stew delicious, similar to a gumbo.
All their meats are grilled over a wood fire, making the steaks and shrimp bursting with flavor; they were served with unique dipping sauces and butters. All dishes are served with family style sides.

Dessert and Wine were overall great. I ordered a Chilean white wine, perfect with the stew. We ordered two desserts: a yogurt berry dish and creme brule. Yogurt was perfect, the creme was a little differnt than your average creme, a little bitter with oranges, if you're a creme traditionalist, you won't like this, but I did. Yogurt was better though.

Staff had pleasant demeanor and service conducted themselves well. I had to ask a few times about the seafood stew before they could really describe it, but that's probably because of a small language barrier as most of the staff was european, Dutch maybe?

If you're still reading this far, I'll tell you my favorite part of the restaurant, the layout. Yemanja kitchen is open air, allowing you to see into the kitchen. Some people often forget it takes a lot of work to prepare dishes and chefs rarely get the thanks they deserve, Yamanja's layout allows privacy while dining, but allows patrons to see into the kitchen if they'd like.

Our favorite restaurant on the island! Ate there twice last year - this year they were even better. I had a mussels appetizer that was outstanding - probably 2 dozen mussels in a wine broth served with 3 dipping sauces and bread for dipping in the broth. My Italian grouper was fantastic. My wife had an excellent Greek salad and tuna for her entree - also great. My daughter had a rib eye steak that was very tender and tasty. Side dishes were served family style and included garlic mashed potatoes, basmati rice, stir fried veggies and black beans. Desserts were chocolate mousse and mango ice cream with coconut cream. Service was outstanding. Would go there every night for a week if I could - there were so many great choices on the menu - would love to try them all!

Bad communication amongst the staff left me wandering the city for 45 minutes looking for my 4 kids and in-laws. Ultimately they were found seated at our assigned table. Table service was the worst coordinated that we experienced and nearly walked out.

Fortunately for them, the kitchen is where the skill is. Best overall food we had on our trip.

We had a wonderful dinner at Yemanja last night! The ambiance, service and food were all outstanding! We sat outside under the palm trees and you never would have guessed we were downtown. We found the waitstaff attentive and friendly. Their timing was spot on. We were very impressed with the mussel appetizer special that came with crustini and 3 dipping sauces. A unique and tasty dish. For entrees we had another special of the day: fresh grouper grilled and then baked with cheese and other carefully chosen toppings. I wish I could figure this recipe out and make it at home! We also had shrimp and steak skewers with 5 dipping sauces. All the sauces were delicious and added interest to our meal. For dessert, creme brulee with Grand Marnier made for a great finish. You simply must make this restaurant part of your plans in Aruba! We won't miss it next year.