International Cuisine

I think I’ve mentioned a time or two before that I like to eat. I like appetizers, entrees and dessert with most meals. So months before our honeymoon in Aruba, my groom was researching the best-of-the-best places to eat and taking recommendations from dear friends. And boy, did he deliver! The food was TO DIE FOR.

My favorite appetizer was the ceviche at Bugaloe bar (at the De Palm Pier). Okay, so this wasn’t somewhere that we researched as much as stumbled upon, but it was fabulously placed on a pier over turquoise water and with stunning sunset views. What more could you ask for?
The Hot Shrimp Diablo was my favorite dinner entree. Amadeus is a must when visiting Aruba – especially if you’re looking for a cozy, romantic spot with delicious food. I would forego the appetizer and add dessert to the bill.
Another favorite entree was the lobster/grouper/shrimp combo at The Blue Lobster. Serious heaven in your mouth. The outside is a little deceiving but once you’re in, you can tell it’s going to be good. The menu appears a tad pricey, but they offer a surprising special menu for $36.99 per person for a wide selection of appetizers, entrees and desserts and a bottle of wine for the table.
Dinner at Passions was also completely wonderful. Dining on the beach? Who doesn’t enjoy that experience?

We had lots of sunset dinners. The picture above is from The Pelican’s Nest in the high rise district. Food and service were good but it didn’t make our “best” list.

Barefoot was another darling restaurant on the beach. They had beach front seating or a deck (with sand) if you didn’t actually want to walk through sand to your table (or be out in the sun). My favorite part of our meal at Barefoot was the mousse duo – white chocolate + milk chocolate. (Hi, my name is Ashleigh and I’m a chocolate addict).
Passions surprised us with a sweet dessert to celebrate our honeymoon (below).
And our FAVORITE dessert came from Madame Janette, which is another MUST GO if you’re visiting Aruba. The atmosphere was wonderful and they had live music. The food was perfection. And the souffle was heavenly.
We also enjoyed quite a few Balashi beers while on the island. Balashi is Aruba’s own beer and competes with Heineken and Amstel. The Balashi Chill was similar to a Corona Light and was served with a lime.

Pina Coladas just seem like the perfect island drink, so I consumed those more than anything else. Mojitos were also a favorite (they put 15-20 mint leaves in each one and hand muddled!!). Plus, happy hour was 2 for 1, so it was easy to get a mojita + a pina colada for each of us to enjoy!

I cannot say enough about the delicious delicacies that we consumed on this trip. We loved just about everything. I’m disappointed that I didn’t take a picture of the meal I had almost daily for lunch. A spicy thai chili shrimp quesadilla served with sour cream and fries. I loved it!! My husband likes to try new things each time he eats somewhere so he had various things from the Passions Beach Bar menu.

We will definitely revisit some of these place upon our return to Aruba but we also look forward to trying some new ones as well. What’s your favorite island food? Any MUST GO restaurant recommendations for other island travelers (doesn’t have to be Aruba!)? I would love to hear them!