Travel Bae Jay

I recently came back from a trip to Aruba and I’m honestly still thinking about the food and drinks. I’m a big foodie, I thoroughly enjoy food and I’m always looking for restaurants to try, so when I go on vacation I make sure to research and try out whatever I can. Now, this isn’t like your typical Aruba restaurants list, I wanted to try different places instead of the same 5 places that are always mentioned (but don’t worry, they’re still on my list to try next time I go). Fun fact: Aruba has over 90 nationalities living there which makes for an incredibly diverse food scene.

The main thing about Aruba is that its economy heavily relies on tourism so in this “post” Covid era I found that the service was amazing everywhere I went because that’s what keeps the island going. I also want to mention that Aruba is a beautifully hospitable island and you literally can’t help but be happy there.

1. Brutto

Rating: 7.5/10

Located in Palm Beach, Brutto Beach House features international cuisine. The beautiful aesthetic lured us in and once we saw the menu we knew we have to give it a try. We sat on the patio to enjoy the warm and breezy Aruban air, there’s a lot of cute areas to take photos here. We came on Monday so it was very relaxed but there was still a good amount of people there. The idea of the restaurant is to be able to share small dishes so most of the portions are on the lighter end (imagine tapas-style). I ordered the salmon tacos, cookie dough fondant, and the apple mule, and my friends ordered the Don Julio tacos and the lobster rolls. The food and drinks were delicious but I would say you can pass on dessert (which I ended up waiting 40 minutes for).

2. Azia Restaurant/ Lounge

Rating: 9/10

Azia was definitely one of my favourites, even though is a list of all my favourites lol. First off Azia is located in Palm Beach, which has so many amazing restaurants. This restaurant is gorgeous, again there’s amazing service, drinks and food. We sat inside which was gorgeous but a little chilly so I wish we sat outside instead. The sushi looked amazing but for once I didn’t order from the sushi menu. I ordered the Pork Bao Bun, Korean BBQ Ribs, Moscow Mule, and 5 specialty shots… Lol. I’m definitely still dreaming about those ribs and plan to recreate them soon!

3. Elements

Rating: 8/10

Through my research, I came across Elements at Bucuti and Tara hotel. I figured it’d be a cute fancy place to have my pre-birthday dinner and this place did not disappoint. It was even more beautiful than I expected it to be and even though it was filled with uppity looking white people we felt very welcomed by all the staff and had the most amazing server who even moved all the tables so we could take photos. This restaurant definitely has a $$$ price tag but I personally think it was worth it, there was live music, we sat outside near the beach, the service was wonderful, the aesthetic was so calm, and of course the food and drinks were great.

4. Old Dutch Cafe

Rating: 9/10

We ended up coming here out of convenience since it was literally a 30-second walk from us. And we ended up coming back here several times because we always had so much fun. It was so much fun I don’t even have any pictures of the food! The Old Dutch is a local pub, perfect for a laid-back vibe, casual pub food and awesome (and strong) drinks. The staff here made us feel so welcome from the moment we arrived and when I say welcome I mean like your older brothers picking on you and not a fake welcome. I hope that the next time I visit they’re all still there!

5. Craft

Rating: 9.5/10

Craft is a super cute spot right on the strip that’s right beside its sister restaurant Lola (we tried to go here on a different night but it was packed so I suggest making a reso). Our brunch here absolutely did not disappoint! I literally could’ve come here every day. I got the Fried Chicken and Waffle and the Blueberry Cooler (these are a must-try) and I also got to try the Nice Staxxx pancakes which were heavenly. The service could’ve been better but it was super busy so it was understandable and the food completely made up for it.

6. Eduardo’s Beach Shack

Rating: 10/10

Eduardo’s is a vegan/ vegetarian restaurant on Palm Beach and this place absolutely did not disappoint, the portion sizes were well worth the money and the ingredients tasted so fresh. I had the hardest time picking one thing to order from here because everything looked amazing but I decided on the Aloha Poke Bowl. Every ingredient in this bowl was incredible on its own and together it was the perfect combination. I could’ve easily eaten here every day too if we were staying closer to the beach. I would highly recommend coming here even if it’s out of your way!

7. Hanasaki Fusión

Rating: 8/10

Hanasaki Fusión is a beautiful Japanese, Peruvian fusion restaurant in Palm Beach by the Mill Resort. This restaurant is so beautiful and aesthetic, perfect for photoshoots and content but they also delivered on the food and drinks and gave a wideee variety of options to choose from. I honestly can’t remember exactly what I ordered but the drinks were amazing the food was really good, as I said they have a ton of options so if you’re not a fan of sushi there’s a whole Peruvian menu to choose from. The one thing I didn’t like was that a lot of the sushi rolls had cream cheese which I’m not a fan of as I find it makes the sushi feel so heavy.

Notable mentions:

I didn’t get to eat at the following locations this time but the locals highly recommended these places. If you’re looking for food inspo I would also check out Aruba Eats on IG for suggestions. P.S. Don’t sleep on local underrated restaurants, they’re local favourites for a reason.

Red Fish

Kamini’s Kitchen

Zeerovers