Happy 2025! Wow, I can’t believe I’m going into year 2 of blogging. I never thought that my experiences would resonate with readers around the world, and I’m so happy to start another year of blogging. I’m excited to keep sharing my experiences in Curacao and around the world.
Speaking of sharing my experiences, I recently dined at a brand new fine dining restaurant in Curacao called The Lemon Tree. I had been keeping my eye on this restaurant opening for months, especially because it’s part of the new Art Hotel in Pietermaai. My husband and I are not snobby Michelin-star chasing foodies, but we love good food and we couldn’t pass up the chance to try one of the buzziest new restaurants on the island. Keep reading to find out what we thought of the experience!
About The Lemon Tree
The Lemon Tree is originally from Deventer, Netherlands and operates a “Chef’s Menu” style fine dining. That means no menus! It’s whatever the chef has prepared. There is a monthly menu that changes based on seasonality and ingredient availability.
The menu concept is actually really cool! When we sat down at The Lemon Tree Curacao, we were given a mini book cover titled “Chapter 1 From Roots to Horizons”. Each course served was accompanied by another page of the “book” detailing why the chef has chosen to create that dish. At the end of the night, we ended up with a full book telling the story of The Lemon Tree Curacao’s first chapter/menu. Very unique concept!
Location
The Lemon Tree is situated in front of the new (not yet opened) Art Hotel in Pietermaai, a boutique hotel nestled between The Scuba Lodge and BijBlauw. The building wasn’t quite finished when we arrived for dinner, but I could see the makings of a very chic boutique property. If I could describe the design in one word: contemporary. Also, it’s important to note that this hotel plans to be adults-only!
You can actually (and should as we learned from the hostess) enter The Lemon Tree through their sister dining concept, Lamunchi. This is their casual foodbar dining concept that’s directly connected to the back of The Lemon Tree.
Parking in Pietermaai can be a bit tough on Fridays and weekends, so it’s not a bad idea to go early and get a drink before dinner so you can snag a good parking spot. The options are mainly street parking. Even though it can be difficult to find a parking spot, we managed to find one after driving around on a busy Friday evening.
Style and Vibe
I think I was going “wowowow” as I walked toward the check-in stand. The design of the restaurant is bold, artsy, and modern. Take this wavy concrete bench as an example with neutral tones playing with varying textures and accented with a pop of greenery. Well done!
The outdoor patio of the restaurant looks out of a beach club in Mykonos. Chic plush seating and ambient lighting can be found at the tables. There are also outdoor fans (thank goodness) keeping the air moving outside. Indoors is much the same, though you’ll find more contemporary artwork (like a human-sized vase) inside. There is air conditioning inside, a life saver for those hot Curacao days!
It’s important to note that the website lists The Lemon Tree as “adult only” so the vibe of the restaurant is reminiscent of elevated fine dining restaurants. Ambient jazzy music was playing in the background juxtaposed with the rush of kitchen staff firing up dishes in the open-air kitchen. The vibe was neat, new, novel, and I’m not used to that on the island!
Amuse Bouches
We began our dining journey at The Lemon Tree with an amuse bouche titled “The Start of the Journey: Deventer to Curacao”. This amuse was a consommé of spring onion, vinegar, and cactus oil in a cute coral-inspired sipping cup. In the center was a sphere containing a punchy broth. We threw it back in one shot and commented how delightful it was.
The second amuse was a tart of conch, lime foam, and coffee. I never would’ve thought to put those ingredients together, but it worked. This course was called “Arrival at the Beach”.
A third amuse bouche? Yes, they spoil you here. 3 amuse bouches before the first course is even sent out. This one was a bread course and it took the dough of the pastechi (local pastry) and transformed it into a flatbread with an avocado dip. As the dish is meant to inspire the feeling of stepping into a warm home with pastries in the oven, this course was called “Coming Home”.
First Course
Three amuses in and we’re feeling good! It’s time for the first course: “Hofi Cas Cora”. This dish is an ode to hofis, or farms, on the island and not just their importance for generating food, but the connection to the community as well.
We’ve dined at Hofi Cas Cora and always loved their farm-to-table dishes. This first course takes their veggies to a new level highlighting the brightness and textures of zucchini with the help of a tangy farmers cheese. This was one of my favorites for the night!
Second Course
For the second course we took a dive (pun intended) into the underwater world of Curacao with a dish titled, “World Underwater”. For this course, the lionfish was presented in two different ways: Japanese yakitori style and as a carpaccio. There was a delicious lime sauce in the center which went well with both forms.
I had mentioned previously that I learned about the dangers of lionfish during my cooking class with Helmi Smeulders. Lionfish are an invasive species feasting on the local fauna, and there are several divers passionately hunting lionfish to help the environment. I’m glad The Lemon Tree is bringing conscious dining to the forefront.
Third Course
Our next course was a bit of a palate cleanser focusing on the glorious papaya. There aren’t a lot of things that grow on Curacao, but boy do papayas like to grow here. This course presented the papaya in several ways.
At the bottom was papaya similarly prepared like a tartare. A papaya foam was dolloped on the top. Dried papaya seeds sprinkled on top added a peppery punch. And the green blots of oil were from the papaya leaves. It feels like I’ve said papaya a lot just now.
I appreciated the artistic take on this fruit more so than the flavor if I’m honest, but I’ve never been a papaya fan either.
Fourth Course
The penultimate course was the heartiest of them all. If you’ve been keeping count, we’ve now eaten 3 amuse bouches and 3 courses with two more to go. We were reaching maximum capacity at this point. That didn’t stop my excitement though as I read the title of the next course: “Kaminda di Kabritu” or road of goats.
Now, I don’t eat goat cheese or goat meat but for the experience I wanted to immerse myself as much as possible. This course was an elevated version of goat stew or “kabritu stoba” with a sweet potato puree, dollops of roasted bananas, and wild cucumbers. It was hearty and bursting with flavor.
For those that don’t eat goat, you have the option to swap it out with heart of palm or an entirely different fish dish. The stoba is a classic though, so I would recommend it!
Fifth Course
We finally made it to dessert! My favorite course! The last course did not disappoint. Leaving diners with a glimmer of hope and optimism, the final dish was titled “Brilliant Future” and celebrated the collaboration of Dutch and Curacaoan cultures.
The dessert itself was a mango ice cream sitting in a lychee coulis and dotted with popcorn and soursop oil. The flavors were more complex than I was expecting and I appreciated that it wasn’t too sweet.
How Much Did it Cost?
I would say The Lemon Tree is priced similarly to other fine dining restaurants. We paid $149 USD (262.50 ANG) per person for the 5-course Chef’s Menu.
For cocktails, my husband had an Old Fashioned and paid around $14 (USD) for it, which isn’t bad at all! He always finishes his dinner with a coffee, and that was a humble $3 bucks. Our two glasses of pinot grigio were about $10 (USD) per glass, and they were delicious.
Was it worth it? I’d say so. The food is on another level, especially for the island. The ambiance is great and there’s no young kids running around. The open kitchen is exciting and fast paced. The only thing is that this dinner took us close to 4 hours, but then again we went just days after the grand opening.
Who Would I Send Here?
I would certainly send people who love fine dining (think Michelin Star dining) here. Locals who want to experience an elevated take on local ingredients, especially for special occasions would appreciate this restaurant. Visitors looking for a fine dining option with beautiful ocean views. Couples and friends looking to splurge and be fancy for dinner. And of course, foodies.
Final Thoughts
I was pleasantly surprised with my dining experience at The Lemon Tree. 4 hour dining time notwithstanding, everyone was so friendly and energized. I had conversations with waiters about Deventer and dishes they were excited to try.
I’m so used to throwing on a wrinkly sundress and going for barbeque that this was a welcome change, not just for me but for the island. I’m looking forward to the next “chapters” or menus they’ll put out in the coming months. I would even venture to say The Lemon Tree rivals the quality and experience at Baoase Culinary Restaurant.
If you’re looking for a gorgeous fine dining restaurant for date night, give The Lemon Tree a try and let me know what you think!
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