Aruba Restaurants

Aruba restaurants are fantastic! Without a doubt, dinner was one of the best parts of our Aruba vacation. The food, the service, and the atmosphere were always perfect.

But if you are planning your first trip to Aruba, a few words of caution: First, since nearly all food products have to be imported from other countries, prices may be slightly higher than you expect. Coming from Northern New Jersey (just outside of New York City), the prices are about what I'm used to. But if you are from an area in which prices are significantly lower, you may be in for a mild case of sticker-shock. For what its worth, the food is worth the price!

Second, the pace of dinner was a bit of an adjustment for me. Again, coming from the NYC area we are used to the go-go-go attitude and waiters hurrying you through your meal so they can sit someone else. But in Aruba, dinner is the evening event. The waitstaff take their time and make you feel so at home you don't want to leave. I found it refreshing.

Our Favorite Restaurants in Aruba

Now, I can only tell you about the Aruba restaurants where we actually dined, since it wouldn't be fair to discuss something I didn't experience for myself. And there were several more that I would have tried if our stay had been longer. So this is a list of the best Aruba restaurants that we enjoyed personally:

Flying Fishbone - Best atmosphere by far. Our table was right on the beach at sunset and as the tide came in we even got our feet wet! What a great romantic setting for honeymooners.

I had the grilled duck breast, which was out of this world. My wife still raves about the sea bass. For dessert I chose the creme brulee, while my wife enjoyed chocolate mousse. Dessert was made extra special because they didn't charge us for it. Not sure if they do that for all honeymooners, but it was certainly nice of them.

Madam Janette - Voted the 'Best restaurant of the Caribbean" in 2005, Madam Janette was where I enjoyed my favorite meal. The Pork Cordon Bleu (a grilled pork loin stuffed with ham and cheese) is quite honestly the best piece of pork I have ever had...anywhere! My wife was also very impressed with the Almond Grouper.

Papiamento Restaurant - The restaurant is actually a 175 year old Aruban manor, filled with history and charm. There are tables set up throughout the air-conditioned manor, but we chose to dine outside next to the in-ground pool. I enjoyed the Surf and Turf while my wife tried the Mahi Mahi.

My best memory of this fine Aruba restaurant: when the Maitre D' learned that we were on our honeymoon, he brought over another couple from a nearby table. They were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary in Aruba. They congratulated us and wished us as much happiness as they had enjoyed. It was a nice moment, and we thanked them by sending a few drinks to their table.

Amazonia is an authentic Brazilian rodizio steakhouse. If you're not sure what that means, this is how it works. When you sit down they give you a card that's green on one side and red on the other. Throughout the night, the waitstaff walks around with giant shish-kebabs with all sorts of delicious meats including sirloin, filet mignon, rack of lamb, Brazilian sausage, parmesan crusted pork loin, and much more.

As long as you have your card with the green side up, they will keep bringing you food. When you are done or just need a break, flip it over to red-side up and they'll know to skip over you. The food is so good, you will eat until you burst!

PS - while you're there, be sure to taste the Brazilian cocktail 'caipirinha'. It's delicious!

El Gaucho - Another great steakhouse, you'll leave this Argentine grill stuffed. I had the Parilla Argentine, a sampling of 5 different meats: tenderloin, pork sausage, ribs, pork loin, and beef short ribs. I did enjoy it, but I wish that I had just gotten the same as my wife. The Gaucho Steak is their signature steak, 16oz of tender and juicy meat.

Casual Aruba Restaurants

While you are about town or lounging around the resorts during the day you'll need to stop by for a bite to eat at these two casual Aruba restaurants:

Salt and Pepper - A cute little place within walking distance of the resorts, Salt and Pepper gets its name from the hundreds of salt and pepper shakers that line the walls. From the simplest of shakers to the most creative, you'll be amazed at how many different kinds there are.

Salt and Pepper specializes in small, inexpensive meals called Tapas. The small portions mean you can try out several different selections. We ate their several times and I enjoyed everything we tried.

Gilligan's - This beachfront bar and restaurant is on the grounds of the Raddisson, which is where we stayed. I can not tell you how much I loved this place! With the beach on one side, and the hotel pool on the other side, the location was perfect. We could just just out of the pool and stroll over to the bar for a drink. They served Balashi, the local Aruba beer, and all sorts of tropical and frozen cocktails. You can even order a frozen drink right on the beach!

For lunch, we often stopped for a burger or some grilled chicken. And we made it part of our nightly ritual too as we stopped for a nightcap before turning in.

Of course there are plenty of other places we wanted to try but just didn't have the time. They'll have to wait until our next Aruba vacation. But try a few of our suggestions and I'll promise they will be some of your favorite Aruba restaurants too.