Bonaire may be off the beaten sea lanes – 389 nautical miles west of Grenada to be exact – but visiting allows you to complete the A-B-C by ticking off the islands of Aruba and Curaçao as well. For the gastronaut, another lure has just opened at Delfins Beach Resort on the island – Brass Boer.
It’s the Caribbean outpost of one of Europe’s most remarkable restaurants, the three-starred De Librije in Zwolle, east of Amsterdam. Husband-and-wife team Jonnie and Thérèse Boer have been pioneers of the northern European restaurant scene, applying hyper-modern techniques and idiosyncratic concepts to local ingredients. The choice of Bonaire as location was simple. “We have been coming here on holiday for 20 years,” says Jonnie. “We love diving and in Bonaire you will find one of the most beautiful, quiet and authentic Caribbean islands.” Not to mention some of the best dives sites too.
Some De Librije favourites – langoustine ceviche marinated in kombucha and flambéed, oysters with goats’ cheese and seaweed, or crab with chicken liver and veal heart – are served. But Jonnie has developed locally influenced dishes too: “I’ve even learned to cook with cactus, which grows all over the island.” Be sure to book Table 14 (after the late Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff ’s shirt number – a percentage of the bill goes to his Foundation). It is a secluded cabana over water that seats up to six people, with lights drawing in barracuda and tarpon.
Need to Know: Delfins Beach Resort, 44 Punt Vierkant, Kralendijk, Bonaire, +599 715 5050. Bonaire has anchorages off the capital, Kralendijk; from the quay, it’s a 10-minute drive to Brass Boer.
Image courtesy of Brass Boer.