Once a house boat in an Amsterdam canal, Bali, Aruba’s floating restaurant, was a landmark in the Oranjestad harbor. The restaurant was moored at the short pier just across from the Harbor Office.

The ‘old’ Bali was established in 1955 by Willem ‘Bill’ Strijland, a Dutch-Indonesian who had gained ample experience with Indonesian cuisine on the island of Java, Indonesia. He did the interior design himself, using typical Javanese decorations and intriguing objects. The chef was from Java as well, that figures! The restaurant could seat 25 people.

Bali’s most popular and main dish was the ‘Indonesian Rice Table’ – it made Bali famous. A menu was not necessary, just enough space on the table to put the large number of trays and small bowls, filled with delicious Indonesian dishes, all to be eaten with rice, of course. Four years after the opening, the Caribbean Tourist Association awarded Bali the title of ‘Best restaurant in the Caribbean’. 

In 1964 Bali got a new owner: Karel ‘Carl’ Schmand, who worked tirelessly to make sure that Bali restaurant remained the best restaurant of Aruba. And the competition in the 60’s and 70’s was fierce with establishments such as Talk of the Town, Trocadero and Papiamento restaurants and the Aruba Caribbean Hotel.

The question most often heard inside the Bali floating restaurant was: “Excuse me, waiter, is this restaurant moving?” The reply always came back the same “No Madam, the pier is!”

In 1965 the government gave a face lift to the pier, putting a new deck in place so Bali could add a terrace and a bar. Through the years several renovations to Bali were necessary as the boat continued to make water. This was due to electrical current in the seawater, which punctured the metal pontoon upon which the restaurant was built, under the water level.

The biggest transformation took place in 1970, when the ‘old’ Bali restaurant was replaced by a new one, constructed on 4 pontoons. ‘The New Bali’ became even more of a landmark with its characteristic Far East-style roof. With its new size, four times larger than the old one, the restaurant could seat 85 guests inside. The investment amounted to 450.000 Aruban florins.

Around 1972, Ronny Schmand took over the management of the restaurant. The Bali pier was extended with a long, covered bar, a dance floor and 80 seats; every night guests could enjoy live music by Toti Arends. And of course the splendid view of the fishing boats and the setting sun over the Bay of Horses.

In the 1970’s and 80’s the pesky problems with the boat making water continued and several plans were made for a new building, this time on shore (Swain Wharf) or on poles in the water, but none of those plans was realized. In 1986 Bali restaurant changed hands. In 1991 the restaurant reopened under the name of ‘New Bali Sea Palace’, serving Indonesian and Chinese dishes. On the pier itself, there even was a modest discotheque.

But in the mid-nineties, as the aquatic problems grew insurmountable, the restaurant fell into decay and closed down. The pier however is still there, now taken over by fishing boats and yachts.