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The Cabarete area in particular—where all-inclusive resorts don't yet totally dominate the scene—has some fun, original restaurants, but these are often small places, so it's important that you make reservations in advance. Expat residents complain that the prices in this town have moved past the good-value-for-money mark. Also, more and more restaurants are insisting on cash only, be it pesos, dollars, or euros. The area has lovely fine-dining options .
With a setting as artistic as a gallery—befitting its location within Casa Colonial, a refined boutique hotel—and an ambitious Caribbean-fusion menu, Lucía is successful on all fronts. In a room with orchids galore, crisp white linens, and waiters in white guayabera shirts giving impeccable service, guests love the delicious appetizers and signature dessert, the molten chocolate volcano. When the digestif cart is rolled over, be daring with a Brunello grappa or the local Brugal Unico rum.
