Ettore's Wood Fire Pizza Kitchen
Neapolitan-style wood-fired pies from a real Italian chef, tucked inside the Courtyard by Marriott Paramaribo
Why Go
You don't fly to Suriname expecting the best pizza of your trip ΓÇö which is exactly why walking into Ettore's, watching Chef Ettore Maiorana slide a bubbling pie out of the wood-fired oven, and biting through that leopard-spotted crust feels like a small, delicious plot twist on the Anton Drachtenweg.
The Experience
Ettore's sits on the ground floor of the Courtyard by Marriott Paramaribo, but shakes off the hotel-restaurant vibe the moment you're inside. The room is relaxed and family-friendly ΓÇö polished wood, warm lighting, and an open kitchen where the wood-fired oven is the obvious star. Chef Ettore, an Italian transplant, bakes the pizzas live in front of guests, and there's a quiet theatre to it: dough stretched by hand, San Marzano-style sauce ladled thin, a scatter of basil, then thirty seconds against the flame. Service is unhurried in the best Surinamese way ΓÇö order a glass of wine, let the kids build their own pizza combo from the ingredient list, and settle in. It's the kind of place where a two-course dinner slides easily into a three-hour one.
What to Try
The menu runs to more than twenty pizzas, but the classics are where Ettore shines ΓÇö a properly restrained Margherita to gauge the crust, a Diavola if you want heat, and a Prosciutto e Rucola that leans on the quality of the cured meat. Vegetarians are well looked after, and the kitchen happily builds custom combinations from whatever's on the ingredient board. Save room for tiramis├╣ or an affogato and a glass of Italian red to close the loop.
Insider Tip
Book ahead for Friday or Saturday night ΓÇö this is one of the few spots in Paramaribo doing genuinely authentic wood-fired pizza, so word has travelled and tables fill fast. Ask to sit within sightline of the oven if you can; watching Ettore work is half the value. And keep the menu traditional ΓÇö the kitchen's strength is classic Italian executed properly, not experiments.
The Practical Stuff
Address: Anton Drachtenweg 52-54, Paramaribo, Suriname (inside the Courtyard by Marriott). Cuisine: Italian, wood-fired pizza. Price range: mid-range by Paramaribo standards ΓÇö expect hotel-restaurant pricing but portions and quality justify it. Reservations recommended on weekends. Card and cash accepted; USD and SRD both fine. Free hotel parking on-site, and the Anton Drachtenweg strip is walkable from most central hotels or a short taxi from downtown Paramaribo.
Pair It With
- Courtyard by Marriott Paramaribo Guide — Ettore's is inside the hotel, so it's the natural pre- or post-dinner base ΓÇö grab a cocktail at the lobby bar before your table, or roll straight upstairs after.
- Sakura Nikkei Cuisine — Another Marriott-managed restaurant on the same property ΓÇö pair a night of Italian with a night of Japanese-Peruvian for a quick tour of Paramaribo's more polished dining scene.
- Waterkant riverside stroll — After dinner, take a taxi to the Suriname River waterfront for a walk past the wooden colonial architecture ΓÇö a proper Paramaribo end to an Italian meal.
- Readytex Art Gallery — Pair lunch at Ettore's with an afternoon browsing the largest contemporary Surinamese art collection in the city, a ten-minute drive away.