CabareteBars & RestaurantsLa Calamar en Folie I'd walked past La Calamear en Folie quite often. I'd been greeted by Milton on other occasions when I've been in Cabarete. He's friendly and chatty, you don't want to eat there that night? No problem, he'll have a chat with you anyway. On my last trip (Jan '08) he recognised me from September '07 like a long lost friend. I'd not spent that long talking with him in the past! In short, he's able to make you feel special just for walking along Cabarete beach. And on a nice, warm evening, you're entitled to feel special just for walking along Cabarete beach. 
The reason I'd always walked past is because this is perhaps the most expensive restaurant on the front. They don't go in for 'specials' or 'happy hours', they've simply got their menu.And the menu looks expensive when you know you can eat well elsewhere for less. So apart from the warm welcome, what else makes this place special enough to eat at? Well, that would be the food! I'll freely admit that this is another place that I ate at simply to have something to write about. It was my last evening in Cabarete so I decided to push the boat out and take Milton up on his offer to dine there. I had the set meal which, having banged on about the prices here, was actually remarkably good value. Somehow, I'd not eaten any shell-fish this trip, something I normally manage on day one, so I over-dosed on crustaceans this night. Shrimp starter, shrimp & pineapple main course. I'd have happily had shrimp for sweet too but they insisted on bringing me fruit instead. And it was very nice thank you very much. The starter was like a prawn cocktail from 1974 but with four large, succulent prawns clinging to the glass. I can't help but think of 'marie rose' sauce as being anything more special than a dollop of mayonnaise and a dollop of Heinz tomato ketchup, mixed together, so I normally avoid prawn cocktail, but this was nice. The main course was a sort of prawn & pineapple risotto, served in the half pineapple. The people at the table next to me had a paella, with baby lobsters and prawns, it looked excellent and the murmurs of appreciation coming from the table, suggested it tasted as good as it looked. I paid about RD$900 (£15/US$30 give or take) which is probably what I'd pay in a UK restaurant of a similar standard, so for 'value for money' it wouldn't rate highly but for quality of food, it's up there with the best. UPDATE January ‘09 The restaurant appears to be very similar to how it was when I was last there, although I didn’t see Milton. At least, it appears to be like that until bout 10:30pm when it changes into a night club. The only difference is that here they become a Dominican night club, playing Dominican music. If you want Salsa, Merengue or Bachata in Cabarete that is easy for a tourist to access, then here is the place to come. Non-beach places review menu below. Some images required. Click on text for links.
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