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You are here: Home / Netherlands / 14 aruba restaurants that’ll rock your taste buds

14 aruba restaurants that’ll rock your taste buds

July 13, 2018

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I'd never expected Aruba to be a foodie destination. I knew the country organizes an Eat Local restaurant event every year, but that was about all I'd ever heard about its foodie scene. Until I traveled there and got to try out some of the best places to eat in Aruba.

Whether it was for breakfast, lunch or dinner, our guide Jasmine from the Aruban tourism board always knew to find the best restaurants. I'm not even exaggerating here.

Chocolate knows I love to eat and I love to eat well, something I could do in abundance on the island. Hence the extra 2+ kilos I took home with me after having spent a mere week there.

It would be a crime not to share the restaurants in Aruba I stuffed my face at, so here you go:

14 Aruba restaurants that serve some of the best food in Aruba

1. MooMba Beach Aruba

aruba restaurants moomba
MooMba Beach Bar & Restaurant is an open-air beach bar and a fun spot for a casual lunch. On the Moomba Aruba menu, you'll find several lighter dishes as well as a large choice of drinks.

Breakfast is offered too, as is dinner, a good option if you want to attend one of MooMba's Tuesday night parties.

We kept it calm with a simple main course and some refreshing drinks after having cruised around the island an entire morning. I chose the fish chowder which was nice and creamy and came with some bread. Sorry, no picture this time. I think I was so hungry I just dug right in!

MooMba Beach
Berea di Pescado, Palm Beach

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

2. Papiamento Restaurant Aruba

restaurants in aruba
When Eduardo and Lenie Ellis family needed a bigger place for their restaurant, they moved it to a 126-years old cunucu house. Their four sons helped dug a pool in the garden, which was planted following the instructions of mother Lenie.

Today, son Edward is the head chef of the restaurant which welcomes its guests around the pool, underneath the artfully painted lanterns hanging from the trees.

Dining happens outside unless the weather is really bad. In that case, guests can move inside the house, which also acts as a small museum with antique furniture and utensils from Europe.

papiamento aruba

As for the food, that was amazing. We – Jasmine, author Elise De Rijck and her partner Jens – ordered three appetizers to share, followed by individual main courses.

I'm sorry to say I didn't write down the names of all dishes, but we had some sort of tomato-mozzarella salad, a typical Aruban dish with fish, pork and melted cheese and a lovely tuna tartare to start with.

For the main course, I had grouper – a fish typical for Aruba – covered in almonds. The portion was more than double what I'd have at home, so I skipped dessert and just ordered a green tea.

Service was great all through the evening and because the tables were scattered across the large garden, we hardly noticed any of the other guests. The tone was set for a week of pure food joy.

papiamento restaurant aruba

Papiamento Restaurant
Washington 61, Noord

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

3. Azia Restaurant and Lounge Aruba

best places to eat aruba
Azia Restaurant and Lounge is a rather new place in Palm Beach and part of the Gianni Group which owns several good Aruba restaurants. For us, it was the first stop of our restaurant hopping evening where we indulged in some delicious sushi, other Asian-style tapas and cocktails (the others, I ordered sparkling water).

Among the four of us, we shared some shrimp and pork shumai, salmon rolls with cream cheese, avocado and spicy mayo, and TNT rolls made from Crab roll topped with shrimp, avocado, asparagus, garlic, and spicy mayo.

We devoured these sitting in the comfortable lounge chairs on the large terrace, which had a “ceiling” of little lightbulbs that added tons to the ambiance once the sun had set.

Azia
Piazza, J.E. Irausquin Blvd 348 (across from Hilton), Palm Beach

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

4. Gianni's Ristorante Italiano Aruba

gianni restaurant aruba
Clear from the name, Gianni's is also part of the Gianni Group Aruba and it was the second stop on our restaurant hopping evening. This Italian restaurant has a huge outdoor seating area, but what impressed me even more was the size of the lobsters in the water tank by the entrance. They were the biggest I'd ever seen.

We didn't order lobster that night, though. Instead, we all had a different dish (I chose spaghetti vongole) and then shared the suggestion of the day: crab ravioli.

The ravioli was so good I'm pretty sure we all regretted not ordering a full plate of it, but having it as an extra to share meant we could try out different things. It's a strategy we often used that week.

Gianni's
J.E. Irausquin Blvd 348 (across from Hilton), Palm Beach

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

5. Gelatissimo Aruba

gelatissimo aruba
It was a Gianni night because our last stop was at the group's Gelatissimo ice cream bar. The menu full of coupes and other ice cream sweets was pretty impressive – there's even have an ice cream cocktail bar – but I was so full from the appetizers and dinner that I just ordered a scoop of lemon and a scoop of raspberry ice cream.

It was good, but standard. I wasn't blown away like I had been at the other places we'd eaten at.

Gelatissimo
J.E. Irausquin Blvd. 345 (across from Hilton), Palm Beach

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

6. Barefoot Restaurant Aruba

barefoot aruba reviews
Enjoying the best food while your toes fizzle in the sand and you're looking at the sunset over the ocean. Sounds like a dream? Well, it's exactly what Barefoot Restaurant offers: tables right on the beach at one of the best places to watch the sunset on Aruba.

Their tagline isn't “Elegant dining in flip flops” for nothing!

And then I haven't even mentioned the food. My chocolate, the food. It must be some of the best food in Aruba.

I had salmon rolls as an appetizer followed the “shellfish trio”, a combination of lobster, shrimp, and scallops in lobster sauce. I'm starting to drool just thinking about it again.

And then there was the chocolate mousse. Not just any kind of chocolate mousse. Oh no, a duo of light yet creamy white and dark chocolate mousse. Accompanied by a cup of tea, of course.

The service was exquisite. Not only was our waitress super friendly, she also informed us when her shift had ended and someone else was going to take over.

Honestly, this might have been my favorite Aruba restaurant. I highly recommend it for some romantic fine dining.

barefoot on the beach aruba

barefoot aruba

barefoot cafe palm beach

Barefoot Restaurant
L.G. Smith Boulevard 1, Oranjestad (across the Talk of the Town hotel)

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

7. Taste of Belgium Aruba

taste of belgium aruba
We couldn't be three Belgians visiting Aruba without having breakfast at Taste of Belgium, right? This place offers various Belgian dishes and drinks (beer!) for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but there are plenty of international things on the menu as well.

I didn't have a Belgian pancake, but instead went for the “Healthy Taste” breakfast with scrambled egg white, fruit, yogurt, muesli, smoked salmon, whole wheat toast, butter and jelly. Nothing to complain about here.

I do need to warn you if you want to order a smoothie, though. If you don't ask to have it made all-natural, they'll add a ton of sugar and you'll get something that tastes more like a slurpee than like a healthy smoothie.

Another thing we noticed, was how Jasmine's Brussels waffle was made out of different dough than it would be in Belgium. She assured us it was good, but I found it a bit disappointing that it wasn't the real deal.

Later I read on the website that the owners of Taste of Belgium are actually Dutch, which might have something to do with it.

Taste of Belgium
Palm Beach Plaza, L.G. Smith Blvd. 95, Palm Beach

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

8. Hollywood Smokehouse Aruba

hollywood smokehouse aruba
The Hollywood Smokehouse is a must for meat lovers – all meats are smoked in a slow fashion – and cocktail fans. Cocktail fans? Yes, because you simply have to try their aloe vera cocktail. I usually don't drink alcohol and most cocktails taste too strong for me, but this one was divine and super refreshing. Make sure to ask for the “new recipe” with aloe vera caviar!

lunch aruba

During the week, the Hollywood Smokehouse is only open for dinner, but we went there on a Sunday to have lunch. I ordered the Smokehouse Salad with pulled pork and wasn't disappointed.

ATTENTION
Unfortunately, Hollywood Smokehouse has closed its doors and the owner now runs a food truck.

 

9. The West Deck Aruba

the west deck aruba
The West Deck probably comes second place on the “cozy ambiance” ranking, after Barefoot Restaurant. It's located along the Linear Park, on a large wooden deck that overlooks the water and great both for a casual lunch and dinner.

The menu consists of hot and cold Caribbean appetizers that are best ordered to share family-style as we did.

For dessert, I can highly recommend both the cheesecake and the dark and white chocolate mousse cake (it's more cake than mousse, though, just so you know). I got lucky: we were so full that we couldn't finish the cakes and I got to take these two with me for breakfast! Yes, breakfast. Stop looking at me like that.

good restaurants in aruba

We'd also ordered tres leches cake. I wasn't a huge fan of it, but more because it wasn't my thing than because it wasn't well made. The others absolutely loved it, so I recommend ordering it if tres leches is your thing.

The West Deck
L.G. Smith Blvd at the Governor's Bay on the Beach, Lloyd G. Smith Blvd

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

10. The Old Cunucu House Aruba

iguana soup aruba
The Old Cunucu House is a great place if you want to try some typical Aruban dishes, rich with colonial influences. We had iguana soup (yes!) as an appetizer and it was truly delicious. The meat tastes a bit like chicken but has more flavor.

local restaurants aruba

As the main course, I had lobster, fish, shrimps, scallops, and squid with an “Aruban style” (red) sauce and accompanied by rice, vegetables, polenta, and a slice of plantain. Yum! It might have been the best lunch in Aruba I had.

The Old Cunucu House
Palm Beach 150, Noord

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

11. Aqua Grill Aruba

aqua grill restaurant aruba
Aqua Grill was definitely the fanciest of all Aruba restaurants we visited. Unfortunately, I was completely exhausted that night, which made me enjoy the fine dining experience a little less than I would have normally.

This had nothing to do with the restaurant, but I need to mention it because I chose a rather basic dish (shrimp linguine) because I was so tired, whereas I otherwise would have definitely chosen something a little more special. Aqua Grill is, after all, an Aruba fish restaurant where you can get huge lobsters and the like.

best places to eat in aruba
As a starter, I had spicy salmon tartar seasoned with panca peppers and presented with malanga chips, avocado puree, wakame salad and a sesame-ginger dressing.

What you really need to know about, though, were two of the main courses my travel companions ordered: a one and one-quarter pounds lobster stuffed with seasoned lump crab meat and croutons, and Alaskan king crab legs. They kept talking about their meals for days after, so if you go to Aqua Grill when you're in Aruba – which you should, you might want to give one of these a try!

Service was exquisite throughout the evening and I loved that they asked me if I wanted a tea refill when my cup was empty. Because, of course, I did :-)

Aqua Grill
Rte 3 374

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

12. Huchada NV Aruba

huchada nv aruba
From fancy seafood to casual breakfast at Huchada NV, a small local bakery where you can also get deep-fried things. We had a sandwich there after we'd hiked up the Hooiberg and while the sandwich was good but nothing special, I do think this is a fun place to come if you're looking for something really local and low-key.

Huchada Bakery
Rte 4 328, Santa Cruz

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

13. Garden Fresh Café Aruba

garden fresh cafe aruba
The Garden Fresh Café – part of the Gianni Group – is another casual spot, but in the much more touristy Palm Beach area. It's a healthy “order at the counter” type of place where you can get wraps, salads, smoothies, and paninis.

I chose a chicken burrito which was exactly the right size, but I have to admit I was a bit jealous of the huge salads two of the others had ordered.

Garden Fresh Café
J.E. Irausquin Boulevard 87, Palm Beach

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

14. Zeerover Aruba

aruba restaurant zeerover
Last but definitely not least: Zeerover. If you want to have fresh seafood at low prices, this is the place. At the counter, you tell them how much you want of everything: shrimp, the fish of the day, plantain, fries, tartar sauce, and onions.

You then move on to the bar to order your drink, which you take with you to your table. When your food is ready, everything is brought to you in one big basket, fast food style, but so much better.

aruba zeerover restaurant

Right next to the deck with the basic tables, you can see fishermen prepare the freshly caught fish and if you take a seat on the terrace hovering over the beach, you'll get a great view over the water.

Zeerover is run by an Aruban family and attracts both locals, Dutch people living on Aruba and tourists. I had the feeling it's more local than anything else, though, as I almost only heard Papiamento.

Good to know: you can only pay cash here.

Zeerover
Savaneta 270, Savaneta

Read the reviews on TripAdvisor.

 

Practical information on eating out in Aruba

Dress code

While some Aruba restaurants we visited were fancier than others, the dress code seemed overall casual. I like to look at least a bit “clean” for dinner, but saw plenty of people in flip flops and shorts.

Payment

Credit cards are widely accepted, as are American dollars, next to the local Florin.

Free tap water

We always got free tap water when we went to have a proper lunch or dinner and never even had to ask for refills. When we went somewhere casual, like Fresh Garden Café or Zeerover, we only got the drinks we ordered.

Reservations

We had reservations for most of our lunches and dinners and I do think that was necessary for a lot of places, especially for Barefoot Restaurant, The West Deck and Papiamento. Aruba is a small island, so you can always try without a reservation and simply drive to another restaurant if there's no table available, but if you want to have dinner or lunch at the places I went to (which I highly recommend!) I'd reserve a spot.
 

Where to stay on Aruba

While I was on Aruba, I stayed at two completely different hotels.

The Renaissance Aruba Resort & Casino is a high-end hotel that has its own harbor, food plaza, private island and casino. The poolside is a great place to chill during the day and listen to DJ sets and live performances in the evenings.

Check availability, prices and review.
 

The Boardwalk Hotel Aruba is a small, family-run hotel made up out of different casitas that have their own kitchen, living room and balcony with barbecue. It's perfect for those who like having a home-away-from-home in a more intimate setting.

Check availability, prices and reviews.
 

How to get to Aruba

I flew from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Oranjestad in Aruba with KLM. Click here to find the best flights for your trip.

 

Don't forget travel insurance

No matter how well you plan your trip to Aruba, there's always something that can happen that's beyond your control. A pre-paid reservation can get canceled, you can get ill or your new camera might break. In all of these cases, good travel insurance has you covered.

I've had ongoing travel insurance ever since I started traveling to make sure I'm covered for every trip I go on but if you travel just a few times a year, you can get insured for each trip separately too.

Don't have travel insurance yet? Check out World Nomads. They cover a wide range of activities for people from 140 countries.
 

Stay connected while visiting Aruba

Want to stay connected so you can share photos, call loved ones over WiFi and easily use apps like Google Maps when visiting Aruba? Then check out Skyroam mobile WiFi.

They offer both day passes and monthly subscriptions providing you with 4G throughout your trips. I've been using their daily passes not just when I travel outside the EU (no roaming charges for me in the EU) but also as a backup for when I think I'll go over my phone's data plan.
 

Pin for later

aruba restaurants
 

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

  • Unique on Aruba: Having fun with flamingos on a private island
  • 7 active things to do on Aruba
  • The Boardwalk Hotel Aruba: colorful casitas and my own barbecue
  • Snorkeling with Jolly Pirates Aruba
  • What to pack for a week on Aruba

 

I was invited by Aruba Tourism to travel to the island so that I could share my experiences with you. As always, I only write what I want.

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    Posted in: Netherlands

    Your Thoughts

    1. Valeria says

      All very nice food and the best kept secret for dinner is Divi’s Windows! Just savor the exquisite menu by chef Matt! A must do for gourmets-nutrition-conscious visitors of Aruba.

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Thanks for the tip Valeria! I’ll have to come back to try it:-)

        Reply
    2. Maggi Wun says

      You didn’t mention our favorite: Madame Janette’s. We ate there three times, each one was sublime.

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Thanks for the tip! I haven’t been there, which is why I couldn’t include it:)

        Reply
    3. JOELLE says

      Tips for places to try next time:
      Madame Jeanette’s, El Gaucho, The Paddock and Swiss Chalet!!
      Aruba is my favorite place on earth!
      So happy you had a great experience!

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Ooooh that’s a good list, thanks so much for the tips! I’ll need to go back:D

        Reply
    4. Kacey says

      You need to check out Screaming Eagle, Madame Jeannette’s, Suisse Calet, and 2 Fools and a Bull

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Thanks for the tips!

        Reply
    5. Lou says

      One of our favorite beside the ones mention above is Passions on Eagle Beach.

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Thanks for the tip!

        Reply
    6. Andrea Rozek says

      The Red Fish and Pam Pam are awesome places to eat low key laid back not fancy at all

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Thanks for the tip!

        Reply
    7. Mary Anne says

      You forgot Hopi Bon Grill!

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        I didn’t forget any place, I only listed the places I’ve actually been to as those are the ones I can comment on:)
        I’ll definitely take note of Hopi Bon Grill for a next visit!

        Reply
    8. Lauren says

      Wow! What a huge selection of restaurants to choose from. I love that you included the restaurant’s websites so future visitors could easily find your recommendations.

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Glad you like it, Lauren!

        Reply
    9. Sherry Pence says

      Agree these are all good choices but left out one of our favorites, Ricardo’s in the Aruba Beach Club. Wide variety and even has an Italian to take care of that part of the menu. The view at sunset is to die for either from the restaurant or can set up dining on the beach!! The service is exquisite! Pampered but not overbearing!

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Hey Sherry,
        That sounds like an amazing place! I didn’t leave it out, though. Like I explained, I only included places I had the chance of visiting. I’m sure that if I get the chance to go back to Aruba, I’ll have to write a whole new list! :-) And I’ll definitely make note of your recommendation, thanks!

        Reply
    10. Aggy says

      Looks like Aruba spoilt you with their food! And Iguana soup?? Wow! I don’t know if I’d try that but definitely interesting :D

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        It definitely did!
        It was a tiny bowl but delicious, actually. I was sorry when I’d finished it :D

        Reply
    11. GJRR says

      Two of my favorites are not on the listbut one week is too shorts time to enjoy the gastronomic variety of this tiny piece of land. I love White Modern Cuisine in Palm Beach Plaza and Pincho’s bar & grill at the end of the boulevard (near Cas di Cultura). Just my two cents

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        Thanks for the tips! Duly noted for next time :-)

        Reply
    12. Jennifer McCallum says

      Add Flying Fishbones to your list for the next trip. It’s a little south of Oranjestad but it’s worth the drive. Like Barefoot you dine on the beach, and some tables are actually in the water. Reservations are recommended, I can’t wait to go back again.

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        That sounds lovely! Thanks for the tip, Jennifer :)

        Reply
    13. Deloris Barbre says

      My brother suggested I might like this website. He used to be totally right. This post truly made my day. You cann’t imagine just how a lot time I had spent for this information! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Sofie says

        You’re very welcome :)

        Reply

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