I have been in Dominican Republic for a few days now. Enjoying the relative warmth and for some reason relative lack of humidity compared to where I have been living for the past 10 years in Thailand. I don't understand what is happening here but it must have something to do with currents.
Anyway, this is about a wonderful restaurant that I went to tonight called Ali's Surf Camp Restaurant. Some people just call it Ali's Camp.
I think the first thing that people notice about Ali's Surf Camp Restaurant is that they cant find it. There is only one main road in Cabarete and well, Ali's is not on it. You have to pass through a guard gate to even enter the community that the restaurant is in but trust the google map as it is correct and honestly, this place is worth looking for.
Once you arrive, you will notice they don't even have a sign on the street, but get out of the car anyway. They stay busy without attracting massive crowds of "lookey-loos" and that is part of the reason why they stay amazing. Plus, you have the added bonus of knowing that you actually had to look for this place, it wasn't just shown to you.
horrible photo from a horrible camera phone
The staff are a bit slow because there are not many of them, however, once you get your patience about you and read the menus that are on the walls (none will be delivered to the table) you realize that the prices are extremely low. We ordered a full rack of ribs, some thin-sliced Argentinian beef (my friends will kill me for not remembering what it is called,) 2 large beers, and two glasses of white wine.
I didn't take pictures of everything but I got a picture of the meat, which was the main attraction of the dinner anyway. Oh, the dinner came with potatoes, salad, and roasted veg also.
This meat, was cooked perfectly. Gordon Ramsey would have been pleased and we loved every single bite. There was no chance that any of this awesome food was going to be in a take-away box.
This might be one of the best values that I have ever experienced in my life. I have had cheaper food, but not cheaper AND of this caliber.
We had
- a full rack of ribs
- a full set of whatever that thin-sliced Argentinian beef is called
- 4 starter salads
- roasted potatoes
- steamed veggies
- 2 large bottles of beer (4 glasses)
- 2 glasses of white wine
All of this, served properly and with a smile by super-friendly people chimed in at below $40 TOTAL. I am in awe. Less than it costs for us to all go to 5 Guys and get average burgers we got to have this.
Basically, if you are in Cabarete, Dominican Republic (and really, if you can get down there you should) find a way to get to Ali's Surf Camp Restaurant. You will NOT regret this decision.