Maraca is one of my favorite restaurants in the capital. Love their mofongo with chicharrón!
Also try La Cassina, Peperoni SDQ, Lila, and of course Sophia’s (there’s the main one in Piantini, and their cafe, Cafe SBG, in BlueMall).
Ate at Maraca last night. As recommended, we had reservations at 7 pm. Arrived a few minutes early, told the maitre'd that we had reservations. She opened a book and I saw 2 -3 pages of reservations! You who recommended that was not kidding.
When they took us in, they asked whether we wanted to sit inside, outside, or in the bar. Some tables were occupied, so the choice was ours. It looked like they were set up for some large groups outside and we liked the ambiance of the bar looking out through the windows to the outside terraza, so we chose an intimate table in the corner there.
Our waiter arrived at the table to ask what kind of water we wanted and if we would like to order drinks. I had to ask him 3 times what he was saying, even though I understand Spanish. Problem was, he not only spoke rapidly, but he was Haitian and spoke Spanish with a think Creole accent. My Spanish is not THAT good!
Eventually, he got someone else to the table and we ordered our beverages - a vodka and soda and a bottle of wine.
The wine steward opened our wine with class of a fine restaurant. He swirled it himself before putting a sip in my husband's wine glass.
The problem came when our waiter returned to take our order.
First, let me explain the menu. There are actually 3 menu's - fish, campo, fire ( meats). And three sections of items for each, small, medium, and large. Being from North American and accustomed to appetizers, salads, and mains, I asked for an explanation. I was told the small was food enough for one. The medium and large were enough to share. It was not until I saw others eating that I understood that this was more or less a sharing menu. We ordered otherwise. One item from "small" which we requested they bring as an appetizer, from the medium menu we chose a salad to share, and my husband chose a salmon dish. From the large, I chose lamb pappardelle with mint.
We had a bit if a disagreement with the Haitian water who insisted that the fried okra appetizer was olives. Finally, he brought another waiter to the table who explained to him what okra was. Apparently, although we were using the English menu, he spoke only Spanish and even when we pointed, did not understand. After that, the other waiter took our order.
The okra was not like they do in southern US. It was more like tiny croquettes with a sauce and they were delicious. The salad we ordered was tangerine and goat cheese. It was huge, certainly enough to share and it was delicious. The dressing had a little kick to it, just enough to counter the smooth, warm taste of the goat cheese.
My husband loved the salmon and ate every bite. It was served on a bed of creamed corn. My lamb and pasta was good, but way too much, even though my husband shared it with me. The mint in it was a little overwhelming for the sauce. I picked most of it and put it aside.
One half hour into our stay, the restaurant was packed , every table taken, with people waiting in the lobby area as well as outside. We were the only gringos in the place. All other clientele appeared to be very wealthy, sophisticated Dominicans in their 20's and 30"s. It was the first time since I moved here 16 years ago that I saw classy Dominican women, obviously NOT prostitutes sitting at the bar alone. The woman in front of us sat down, ordered her own bottle of wine, chatted with the bartender, then later ordered her dinner, all dressed as if she just had come from work, but walked. She was wearing tennis shoes.
I understand why this restaurant draws this clientele. It has a sexy, sophisticated atmosphere that is also a little New Age. Outside, in the terraza area there was one wall facing the bar and rest of the restaurant. When darkness fell, the entire wall showed projections, changing every 10 minutes or so from tropical environments, to the skies full of stars, to a river and waterfall, to a wall of buildings in the Colonial Zone, to flamingos. It was so realistic that it appeared that you were actually there!
After dinner, we let the waiter order our dessert to share. I have no idea what they call it, but wow! It was like a flan with chocolate cream oozing from inside, served hot with a ball of ice cream. I could have eaten the entire dessert myself.
If we had another waiter, I would have ranked this restaurant 5 stars. It appeared he was the weakest among all waiters. Our dishes came with nothing to serve the items only our plates. I noticed other waiters with special tongs serving at their tables. We mucked through, using forks as spoons. We did not want to try to communicate to the water what was missing. Since the clientele are mostly Dominicans, perhaps they don't have a problem understanding rapidly spoken Spanish with a thick Creole accent. No discrimination intended. So the problem would be purely ours.
Our bill totaled around 10,000 pesos. The wine was 3,000.
I must add one other comment. North Coast tourists often ask us, don't we miss eating at a fine restaurant. Their implication is that on the North Coast they have not found one restaurant that would qualify as fine. Maybe I would agree with them. But the North Coast is not the entire Dominican Republic, and although so far I have only visited 3 of the restaurants recommended here on dr1, I would say that Naca'n, Maraca, and La Cassina could equal or surpass most of the best restaurants I have eaten at around the world.
I have a few great photos, will post them in a bit.
Thanks for reading.
