City Lounge, or CILO, is a new restaurant located at the Seaport Mall in Oranjestaad, Aruba, DWI. There is both indoor and outdoor seating as well as a bar inside with WIFI service. Here’s a first look.
And that bar I mentioned:
We enjoyed an early lunch here, with a view of the nearby marina where fisherman take tourists out for a day on the Caribbean Sea. As for the meal, it was quite good. I started with the tomato soup and here’s a look at the presentation.
Then my wife enjoyed smoked salmon and herbed cream cheese wrap that she found delicious. See below.
I went with the CILO club, which contains parma ham, brie cheese, and the usual lettuce tomato and such. Check it out.
Fries were crispy, too.
You’ll find a crowd of local business people here and a few island visitors salted in. Prices are fair for the quality and good service. Guests of the nearby Renaissance Hotel and Timeshare may want to put this on their list for a convenient snack or meal.
Bon dia.
We arrived without reservations but with a hankering for some reliable Italian dishes. We were greeted by a friendly hostess who found us a nice table. There is a bar and seating outside, as well as a nice fellow playing the piano. I ordered a mixed salad, which arrived promptly and was well presented. Take a look:
The greens, tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers were garden-fresh, crunchy, and delicious. I appreciate a good salad to start, especially in Aruba, where vegetables (for some reason) are too often an afterthought. My wife likes a Caprese salad and here’s a view:
Again, a very pleasant presentation. Moving on to the entrees, my wife ordered grouper in puttanesca sauce. She thought it was great and here is what it looked like.
Don’t miss that little shaving of ginger on the bottom there. I went with the tried and true spaghetti bolognese and this meat sauce was a bit sweet but very good indeed. Here it is:
To think that this was the appetizer portion! I didn’t finish it until the second half was consumed for lunch the next day.
Most of the seating is outside, however, there are a few small tables inside. I prefer to eat inside but this time I took a seat outside, which turned out to be okay as the breeze was gentle and cool. There were three of us, each with different tastes. Escargot is a favorite, and upon finding it on the menu, it was ordered by one of our group. Here’s the presentation.
That was different and the flavor was very good. I ordered a salad, which was full of delicious bits including shaved cheeze, walnuts, and such. Here it is.
Then came the entrées. The salmon was ordered and reported to be delicious, and it can be seen below.
Then there was the duck in a nice sauce as seen here.
Those little potato croquettes served with the duck were a fresh touch. I went with a tried and true filet, which was cooked exactly right.
Service at Papillon was professional and attentive. Wines were had by the glass and they were worthy of the prices. The cost of eating here is at the very upper limit of my budget. For a special night out, it was worth it.
Painted those colors, it’s hard to miss. I should also mention that this place hosts a mix of visitors going to and from the Arikok National Park as well as a local people who live in the area. So you’re sure to have a more diverse experience than other places.
Couldn’t pass up the chance to photograph the Coca-Cola sign. Anyway, since the sign higher up talks about the best pizza, I decided to give it a try. I ordered the “meat lovers” version and here is what it looked like.
This was the 14″ medium which is more than enough for two people. The crust was excellent by the way and the only thing this pizza needed was a little more sauce. Still, it was very good and I highly recommend it if you’re on the island and need a pizza fix. While waiting for the meal, I checked out the scenery and discovered this sign on the wall:
No one from the club was around at the time of my visit, probably because I was there on Sunday and these are the Terrible Tuesday Riders. There are a number of motorcycle clubs on Aruba these days. Sometimes you’ll see as many as one hundred of them touring around together or parked at a place like this.