Aruba Restaurants: The 20 Worth Booking

Aruba restaurants are a long list and most of it is fine. This is the short list: the twenty Ghislaine books for guests, friends and her own birthday, sorted by area, with a price band and whether you need to reserve. She lives in Noord, which is the island’s kitchen, and she has eaten at every one of these more than once. Prices are approximate and menus change, so check before you go.

Price bands for two people with a drink each: $ under $60, $$ $60 to $120, $$$ $120 to $200, $$$$ above $200.

Which Aruba restaurants are worth booking on Palm Beach?

The strip has forty restaurants and the rents to match. These four earn the price.

1. Atardi, at the Marriott. Tables in the sand, torches, the sunset. Fish and steak done well, nothing clever. $$$$. Book two weeks ahead in high season; this is the one guests ask about most.
2. Azia. Pan Asian in a cool room off the strip, a good bar, the best sushi on the island. $$$. Reserve.
3. Hadicurari. The fishermen’s huts at the top of the beach, catch of the day, tables on the sand, locals at lunch. $$. Walk in for lunch, reserve for dinner.
4. Pure Ocean, at the Divi Phoenix. Quieter than Atardi, same idea, a bit easier to book. $$$.

The rest of the strip is fine for a night you did not plan: Gianni’s for pasta, Que Pasa for a colorful room and a decent kitchen, the pier bars for a burger with your feet in the water. For breakfast on the strip, our breakfast guide has the full list.

Eagle Beach and the low rise strip

5. Passions on the Beach, at Amsterdam Manor. The Eagle Beach sand dinner, feet in the sand, the fofoti trees down the beach. $$$$. Book early, ask for a front row table.
6. Elements, at Bucuti. Healthy, quiet, candlelit, adults only like the hotel. $$$. Reserve; non guests are welcome with a booking.
7. Ike’s Bistro, at Manchebo. Mediterranean with a local hand, a fine wine list, the kind of place you go twice. $$$. Reserve.
8. Screaming Eagle. Theatrical, with beds instead of chairs in the lounge and a serious kitchen. $$$$. Reserve.
9. The Dutch Pancakehouse, by the Alhambra. Breakfast or lunch, pancakes the size of a wheel, no booking. $.

The cunucu houses of Noord

Cunucu means countryside, and the old farmhouses around Noord and Paradera are where Arubans go for a proper dinner. Ten minutes from every one of our homes.

10. Papiamento. A 19th century cunucu house with tables around a pool, run by the same family for decades. Fish on a hot stone, local wine list. $$$$. The special occasion restaurant on the island; book a week ahead.
11. The Old Cunucu House. The full Aruban menu: keshi yena, stoba, fresh fish with creole sauce, funchi. $$. Reserve on weekends.
12. Gasparito. Same food, slightly more polished, local art on the walls. $$$. Reserve.
13. Madame Janette. Not a cunucu house but in the same neighborhood, with a garden, big portions and a reputation for the Dutch schnitzel and the fish. $$$. Reserve; it fills every night.
14. Wacky Wahoo’s. A tiny fish restaurant on the Noord road with a chalkboard menu of whatever the boats brought in. $$. Reserve the day before; it is small.

Oranjestad and the harbor

15. The West Deck. On the water near the cruise terminal, Caribbean tapas and cold beer at sunset. $$. Walk in early or reserve.
16. Cuba’s Cookin’. Cuban food in the Renaissance marketplace, live music most nights, loud and fun. $$. Reserve on weekends.
17. Driftwood. A fishing family’s restaurant in a wooden house in town. The owner’s boat catches the menu; ask what came in. $$$. Reserve.

Savaneta and San Nicolas: the south

18. Zeerovers, Savaneta. The pier where the boats land. Fried fish and shrimp sold by weight at the window, funchi and plantain on the side, cash only, no reservations, closed Mondays. $. Lunch here is the best meal on the island for the money, and we say that in every welcome message.
19. Flying Fishbone, Savaneta. Tables in the water at sunset, a few yards from Zeerovers and a different universe. $$$$. Book well ahead; the waterline tables go first.
20. O’Niel Caribbean Kitchen, San Nicolas. Trinidadian and Aruban on the main street: oxtail, curry goat, roti. $. Pair it with the street art.

Honest notes from the host

• Service charge. Many restaurants add 10 to 15 percent. Look at the bill before tipping on top. See our currency and tipping guide.
• Sunday. Several local kitchens close. Book Sunday dinner on Friday.
• Cash. Zeerovers, the food trucks and some snack bars do not take cards. Dollars and florins both work.
• Dress. Nobody wears a jacket. Nice shorts and a shirt are fine at Papiamento; sandy feet are not.
• Kids. The cunucu houses, Hadicurari, Zeerovers and The West Deck are easy with children. The sand dinners are not, after about 8 pm.
• The cheap list. If this list looks expensive, it is because the island is. For the places locals eat for $10 a plate, read where locals eat in Aruba.

How to book a week

Night one: Hadicurari or The West Deck, no stress. One sand dinner, Atardi or Passions, booked before you fly. One cunucu night, Papiamento or The Old Cunucu House. One south coast day ending at Zeerovers for a late lunch. One night cooking at the home with fish from the morning trucks on L.G. Smith Boulevard. That leaves two nights for whatever you walked past and liked.

Stay nearby

Ocean View 2BR on the Palm Beach strip has Atardi, Azia and Hadicurari on foot. Hideout Dream Big Suite and Hideout Happiness Suite are a short walk from Passions, Elements and Ike’s on the Eagle Beach strip, and adults only. Oasis Hideaway in Gold Coast is ten minutes from the Noord cunucu houses with a kitchen and grill for the nights in. See them at /stays/.

Questions people ask

Do you need reservations for restaurants in Aruba?

For dinner on the sand, the cunucu houses and anywhere on Palm Beach from December to March, yes, often a week or more ahead. Lunch, the snack bars, Zeerovers and the food trucks are walk in.

How much does dinner cost in Aruba?

A casual dinner for two with a drink each runs $60 to $90. A good restaurant with wine is $120 to $200. The sand dinners and tasting menus go past $250. Lunch at a local place is $25 to $40 for two.

Is there a service charge in Aruba restaurants?

Often, 10 to 15 percent added to the bill. Check the receipt before adding a tip. If service was included, a few dollars extra for good service is normal; 15 to 20 percent on top is not expected.

What is the local food in Aruba?

Keshi yena (stuffed cheese), stoba (goat or beef stew), fresh fish with creole sauce, funchi and pan bati on the side, and pastechi for breakfast. The cunucu houses in Noord and Zeerovers in Savaneta are the places to try it.