cabarete Resturants

mystiqkal said:

Hi Guys,
I will be visiting Cabarete in two weeks (SOOOO EXCITED!!!) with my bf and his sister (the girls are in our late 20's and the bf is 31). I was hoping you guys could tell me some good reasonably priced resturants we could eat at. I've tried doing a search for "cabarete resturants" and also just "resturants" but couldnt come up with much information (maybe i'm just searching the wrong phrase?). I've heard good things about o'shays. I LOVE seafood so a good seafood resturant recommendations would be nice. We're pretty open to trying all types of food.

also do you guys have any beach bar recommendations where we could just go and chill and have a good time?

My last question has to do with paying in US cash vs in pesos. I've read mixed reviews on this. Our preference would be to pay in cash, but would it make it easier for them to take advantage of us or are most resturants pretty reputable when it comes to getting us the correct change? we're not planning on using anything larger than a 20.

Thanks for reading!!!!! i cant wait to visit!

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You just got lucky, Jose's is a must and when your in your 20"s, It's a no brainer

Cabarete has only one street and there are nice and expensive seafood joints nearby........

Cash is your best method for payment, Convert $US to pesos at a Local bank.......

For the Local's deal for Fresh Fish at a totally funky place.......well thats DAKINE

Avoid Jose O'Shays... too expensive & too gringo.

On the beach:
Voy Voy, for a nice calm environment with latin music & a laid back style.
It's easternmost on the beach, a little past Onno's.

Onno's for lunch or a light dinner. Lasagna is very good & reasonably priced.

Lax, for pizza or 2 for 1 specials 5-6pm.

CasaNova, okay, but I think the food quality is decreasing. Watch out for the house liquors. Rum & vodka taste like gasoline.

Marabu (white tent toward the center of the bay) has very good food and higher class ambiance. Worth an evening for a little more personal/romantic touch.

Bliss, first restaurant on the left on the road into Callejon across from the Ocean Dream Plaza on the western end of town (dirt road, about 50 feet down on the left). Excellent French chef and wonderful ambiance. Prices reasonable for Cabarete.

2nd restaurant into Callejon, just past Bliss on the left, a steak house, not sure of name, but good/simple food at an okay price.

La Campagna in Ocean Dream Plaza. Good sandwiches, though not on the beach.

La Casita for great shrimp or lobster.

Friends, (out on the street) closed until end of month for vacation has great breakfasts/sandwiches.
Dicks for pastries or eggs/bacon in the mornings. Claro, at the eastern end just past Janet's supermarket is also good for breakfast, as is the restaurant at Club Nathalie Simon - between Palm Beach Condos and Villa Taina hotels on the beach.

Onnos/Bambu/Casa Nova/Lax/Voy Voy for nightlife. Consider a trip out to the casino dance floor after the bars close (12a.m. weekdays/2a.m. Fri/Sat). Casino's open until late (note my 4:50 a.m. post time :\) Casino dance floor closed Sunday/Monday nights I believe.

Explore a little, ask questions, you might find some other gems. Good luck. With the smallest of efforts you can have a great time!

Search on restaurants not resturants.

You are better off to pay in pesos. Keep it straightforward and simple. There are too many ways to lose if you pay in dollars.

If you pay in dollars your change will be in pesos and you can lose on an abusive exchange rate or a confused cashier. Too many people here with poor math skills.

Some people here will deliberately short change you. It's easier to spot if you pay in pesos.

A lot of people in here have a downer on O'Shays for being too 'gringo'. Of course, some people actually like the 'gringo' bit! It's an American/Irish type bar. It's no more expensive than anywhere else, in fact a bottle of Presidente is cheaper there than at Onno's. If you add to that some really good 'happy hour' deals and it can be reasonably priced.

I'd advise you try it and see what you think. The food is excellent there. Personally, I tend to have one night in there or go along if there is a football match I want to see (I was there a lot during the World Cup last year!). Friendly staff too.

I prefer Onno's generally though and aside from the O'Shays comment, I agree with the rest of CFA123's comments.

The restaurant on the front that has the lobster tank out front, is excellent. The surf & turf I had there in September was stunning! Don't let the naff plastic seats and tables put you off, it's better than it looks!

I keep meaning to do a web site with reviews of restaurants in Cabarete but the real world keeps intruding... as does spending too much time on here in the first place!

The torista places are on the beach. O"Shey's is ok. Sports bar. Mitz's next to Janet's is cheaper. Bliss is great. There is a Sussi (sp) bar in the OD plaza that is great. The Steak Rest. across from OD is laid back, worh the trip, small but good. Use paso's.

Just wanted to point out that a presidente at O'shays is 126 pesos with the ITBIS and service added on... Onno's prices, and most other places now, include ITBIS. With Oshay's, besides their happy hour beer special (which is still kind of expensive unless you drink alot...and fast!), they are definitely one of the most expensive places on the beach, but also the only "American style" place, so, if thats what you like, go for it... you're on vacation!

CFA's restaurant list is a great reference!! And the Sushi Bar at Ocean Dream, while not on the beach is great - same with the Steak house next to Bliss mentioned (called Los Locos al Frente)... The seafood place with the lobster tank is Cas del Pescador, Ive had a few excellent meals there..the place next to it, Cabarete Blu, not so much...there's also Miro on the beach for sushi.. a little pricey but good.

as for tipping, I usually tip 15-20% based on service... or 5-10% if service has been added to the bill...

Blu is strange. I've eaten there three times. First time was FANTASTIC! No really fantastic. Next time in Cabarete we went there first night and it was 'ok' but nothing special (although the service was good and it is a nice surroundings). Third time was very average and expensive for what we got.

Apologies re the price differences comment, I hadn't noticed it was a 'pre-tax' price in O'Shays and probably had too many by the time I paid the bill to care!

DavidZ said:

Just wanted to point out that a presidente at O'shays is 126 pesos with the ITBIS and service added on...

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Are you serious? USD $4.00 for a presidente?

MotorCity Mike said:

Are you serious? USD $4.00 for a presidente?

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Yep. In two years living in the area Ive only been to O'shays twice... once about a year ago... we stopped at the bar they used to operate on the street side, got 2 cuba libres and were charged around 200 pesos....at a time when most places charged about 50 pesos or less each.

The last time was for the De Lahoya-Mayweather fight...was walking back to the car after eating at Lax and realized they had the fight on. Not only were the beers 100 pesos before tax and "service" (although the menu said 95 pesos), I witnessed an American order a presidente...the bartender said 126 pesos...when the American gave the guy a US $20, the bartender said... "that's about $5 US"!! (that's a 25 to 1 exchange rate) and gave him change accordingly. The American took the change, turned to his friends and said "WOW, this place is expensive!" the ensuing conversation referred to the country, not the bar...apparently they had just arrived... These were a group of guys in their 40's or 50's... not a good image for them to take away...

...and do the math for their "great" happy hour special...

199 pesos + 26% = 251 pesos at 32 pesos/dollar = $7.84 to drink draft beer for up to 2 hours, if you get there at 4pm...

Honestly, I have nothing against Jose Oshay's, and they are clearly one of the more popular places on the beach...

Try Ho la la on the beach, their paella and fish soup is excellent