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Aruba Dining Guide, Your Menu For Fine Dining Out , Best Restaurants, Authentic Aruban Food, Best Places To Eat while on Vacation!

Aruba, not just the most Beautiful Island in the Caribbean…you’ll love the food here.

If you travel often and have visited different countries or Caribbean islands, you know all to well as you try different restaurants claiming to be “Italian, Japanese, French, or Steak Houses and how many times the meals served are much to be desired as it is only their rendition of the traditional meals. With disappointment as you finish your dinner and are thinking the meal you just had tasted nothing like you expected and realize that’s how they prepare that dish in that locale. From our dining experiences in Aruba we have found the quality of dinners to be quite different and if you have ever vacationed here you have a good idea of what I am talking about. From our first visit to Aruba we were pleasantly surprised at the authenticity in traditional taste of most specialties served in the restaurants. Being from the New York City area and surrounded by some of the best restaurants in the world, I can tell you that most of the Italian restaurants in Aruba are as authentic as those in Little Italy, or Italy itself.  I am all Italian, my mothers family is from Northern Italy and my fathers family from Sicily, so I am accustomed to great authentic Italian dishes. In Aruba, the restaurant owners treat you like you are an invited family guest at their home for dinner. The wait staff is always courteous & friendly striving to assure you enjoy the food and are comfortable. Similar to Italian chefs, the Arubans chefs are perfectionists, using the freshest of ingredients and adding flair to give every meal an appetizing appeal. Most everyone we have met working in the restaurants are genuinely friendly, polite and love to host the visitors.

Be sure to include some of the many authentic Aruban restaurants in your dinner plans during your vacation stay. Authentic Aruban cuisine is a fusion of many tastes from the Dutch, Brazilian, Native Aruban Indian, South American, European and Caribbean cultures creating one of a kind tastes and flavors.

Aruba has a large assortment of world class gourmet restaurants featuring many menu choices like; fresh ocean seafood, shellfish, conch, lobster, tapas, beef, pasta, churrasco, tempura, ribs and enchiladas. You will discover specialty restaurants serving traditional dishes like goat, keshi yena and wahoo.

AGA – The Aruba Gastronomic Association. Don’t let the name fool you. This association started over 10 years ago and is basically a restaurant association committed to culinary and restaurant service excellence. The AGA represents over 35 of Aruba’s top notch ethnic and international cuisine restaurants on the island. They assure you of safety, quality and they perform unannounced inspections and visits to the restaurants. AGA sponsors a Dine-Around Program that lets you select a sampling dinner menu from each of the vendors dishes.

   Aruba style restaurants are among the best you will find anywhere in the world.! Without a doubt, eating in Aruban Restaurants is one of the best experiences during your vacation. The food prep, the service, and the atmosphere are most always perfect. If this is your first vacation to Aruba, expect  prices to be about the same as dinner prices in any U.S. metro city. Dinners in the better Aruban restaurants in will be an evening event and you are not rushed thru the courses for another seating.

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Aruba Restaurants

Ratings and Dinner Recommendations

Every tourist and visitor has different tastes and expectations of good service and the quality of prepared food when dining out. It is our option to praise restaurant owners who go above and beyond in assuring that their customers enjoy their meal, have a good time and recommend to others. We return regularly to many of the restaurants because we enjoy eating there and for this reason we pay for our meals when we dine out and we do not accept complimentary meals or services in exchange for a  review or rating. Karen and I visit Aruba regularly and have been to most of the restaurants listed several times. When we discover an exceptional restaurant we recommend it to our friends, family and other visitors. We write a review from our personal dining experience as a tourist, just like anyone else on vacation. We only report and write reviews on restaurants where we have had meals at. Our recommendations are determined from over 30 years of vacation & travel experiences around the world. We do not introduce ourselves to restaurant staff or restaurant owners upon our arrival so they are not aware that we maybe rating their service, quality, or recommendations. The rating begins from the time we enter the restaurant of how we are greeted by staff, waiters, waitresses, and bar attendants, until the time we pay our bill and leave the restaurant. We have found Aruba restaurants to have by far, some of the best meals, courteous staff and friendliest restaurant owners of anywhere we have traveled.

Aqua Grill

Has a great selection of fresh fish dishes. Chilean Sea bass, Blackened Grouper, Red Snapper are some of my favorites. The service was very friendly.We went to the bar and were greeted by bartender Keith. The margarita’s were great. The waiter we had was very knowledgeable and recommended a few dishes and some he suggested over another one, since we didn’t know all the different types of fish.

Gasparito  Authentic Aruban Restaurant

 The restaurant is located in Noord, minutes from Palm Beach  and resort areas  The second you enter Gasparito Restaurant you know you are at a very special intimate place to enjoy dinner. You may be greeted by the Reimundo or Utahna the owners of Gasparito. Utahna will walk you through the art gallery showing and identifying the works of art on display throughout the restaurant that make it very interesting. Utahna makes jewelry and the selection is on display. Most all of the art is signed originals from local artists along with dated artifacts are on display. In front of the restaurant, outside is an original water well, which was dug by hand many years ago and it supplied drinking water to the area. The restaurant which is 120 years old, is filled with culture and history of Aruba’s past. There is seating inside in the art gallery or outside on the veranda.

When dining at Gasparito plan on some extra time as all of the meals are individually made fresh just for you. Rei explains the the different items on the menu and offers his suggestions. The cuisine is authentic Aruban featuring  fresh local seafood, premium filet mignon, Gasparito specialty chicken with sauce made from a traditional family recipe, traditional dishes like stoba di bestia chiquito, keshi yena, and many more. This particular night we had dinner inside the gallery. We had questions about some of the authentic dishes on the menu and Rei  gave us small samples of the different Arabian sauces. We tried the goat stew, it was tasty. Coconut Shrimp- great. The onion soup was very good. Rei and Utahna believe in operating their restaurant on how they would like to be treated. We felt like we were part of their family for the evening. There is also gourmet vegetarian meals served.

Shrimp Delight, Fresh Mushroom Pasta, Alicia's Fish Soup, Barracuda Stuffed Ravioli, Fisherman's Loot, Shrimp in Coco, Calco Stoba, Vegetarian Crioyo, Aruban Sand & Sea Combo A star among Aruba's finest restaurants, Gasparito Restaurant and Art Gallery is renowned for authentic Aruban dishes, historic Aruban architecture and inspiring Aruban art. Gasparito's creative cuisine, including seafood and international specialties, has been honored with several prestigious international awards.The team of chefs holds many awards including a total of seven gold, silver and bronze medals for outstanding performance during the Aruba Culinary and Caribbean Culinary Competitions

Madame Jeanette

This is a popular favorite restaurant in Aruba. We have gone here every year for the past 6 years, This restaurant serves quality food in a beautiful presentation. My choice of entrée  is usually fish. In the past we have had the Lobster Ravioli, salads, Chilean sea bass, and coconut shrimp. Madame Jeanette is in a secluded area off of the main road. You must make reservations for this restaurant. 

Gianni’s Italian Restaurant

Gianni’s is located directly across the street from the Radisson. We have dined here many times. The hostess was able to seat us fairly quickly as we didn’t have reservations. We decided to dine outdoors instead of waiting for a table inside. Our server was Caesar, who had an Italian accent. We had a Caesar salad, Linguini,  Fruit de mar with spaghetti with olive oil.

Ruth’s Chris Steak House

If you are a steak lover than this is the place for you. Finally in Aruba, one of the best American Steak Houses is open. From our experiences we have always had a great meal at Ruth’s, The food is great and the wait staff is excellent. The prices are a little high, but after you taste the steak you know it’s worth it. Located at the Marriott Hotel

Flying Fishbone

Romantic Sunset dining on the beach

Located in Savanetta off of the main highway

Sunset Grille

Great steaks and sushi

 Located at the Radisson Hotel

El Gaucho

El Gaucho is one of Aruba’s most famous dining restaurant for Argentinean steaks.

The Gaucho steak is an 18 oz sirloin steak charo grilled.

Located in downtown Orangestad

Yemanja Woodfired Grill

The French Steakhouse

Texas de Brazil

The Texas de Brazil is the first classic Brazilian Churrascaria (steakhouse) in Aruba.  At Texas de Brazil diners will be tempted by an extravagant 40-item salad bar complete with sumptuous salads, seasonal vegetables and appetizers.  A troop of carvers roams the restaurant with choice cuts of sizzling beef, pork, lamb, sausage and chicken - flame-grilled to perfection. Diners can keep sampling the generous servings until they beg for mercy. services were average and the service was good

Located across the street from the Radisson Hotel

Smokey Joe’s

This is a very casual outdoor restaurant and is known for its bbq rib’s. I would suggest trying the sampler of bbq ribs which consists of four different bbq flavors, the portions are large.

Located in the high rise section across from the Hyatt Hotel.

       Things to know about meals & dining. Restaurant owners in Aruba take pride in their presentation of their foods and prepared meals. They are very friendly and want you to be relaxed and comfortable when dining out. Arubans  treat you as a guest in their own home and appreciate any compliments you have to share, likewise if you are not satisfied with your dinner or preparation you owe it to them to be honest and let the manager know, they truly want you to be happy and to return and recommend their restaurant to others. Most restaurants require only casual attire, shorts, sundresses, shirts, sandals, sneakers, making it very comfortable for enjoying your meal. Of course, bathing suits should not be worn into restaurants unless it is at an outdoor pool area or along the beach and it is suggested to wear a cover up over revealing swimsuits or bikinis. The more expensive restaurants will usually require long pants & jacket for men, particularly for dinner or in the high season. If you are unsure about the dress requirements, feel free to call ahead and ask, we have always found the staff to be very helpful.

Restaurants on the island get extremely busy at dinner time, 6:00pm - 8:00pm, particularly during the peak winter season. I would advise that you make reservations well in advance to ensure that tables are available for your party. Reserving a table in advance is very easy and you can make your reservations online or fax your requests to the restaurants before you leave for vacation. Most hotels with concierge on staff should be able to give you recommendations and make reservations for you and your guests.

Travelers & Tourists may find that your dinner check may have already included a service charge of 15 percent. This is a gratuity fee for your waiters, waitresses and the staff who prepared your meal, if so there is no need for an additional tip unless the service was above your expectations. If this charge is not in your bill, the tipping standard there is around 15 to 20 percent, the same as in an American restaurant. Arubans take pride in their services and do appreciate the tips you leave.