Eat Your Heart Out in Aruba

Main dining room at Marandi

We were gobsmacked to learn that the Caribbean island of Aruba, all 75 square miles of it (and a fifth of those uninhabited by humans), is home to over 150 fine restaurants.

On our recent trip there, we were able to visit only a handful…but there, now I’m hungry again.

Marandi. Pictured here, this was my favorite restaurant in Aruba for both service and food. The fact that it’s simply lovely didn’t hurt matters.

Just a few minutes from the airport, you enter through a desert garden (with some pretty steep steps, so watch your heel height) and a fairy-lit archway; its two almost-outdoor rooms with soaring thatched ceilings seem to float on a turquoise slice of the Caribbean. The entire staff are kind and friendly Dutchmen who really know their menu and wine list.

The cuisine focus here is Caribbean with a little European flavor. Before we even tucked in properly, we were happy with starfruit-studded mango mojitos in champagne flutes and an inspired goat cheese salad with honey dressing. I swooned (swooned, I tell you) over the Grouper Marandi, an elegant seafood-within-seafood-mit-boursin concoction, and Adam was rendered happily speechless by the Black Angus steak with…truffle gravy. Wow.

Every day, new desserts pop up on the menu (and in the brilliant Chocolate Trio), but be sure to try the kletskoppen, an oval plate of rich vanilla ice cream spiked with crispy, coulis-drizzled Dutch waffle cookies. A fitting end, since the staff here are quick to point out:

“If it ain’t Dutch, it ain’t much.”

Reservations suggested. You can make them through the website, call +(297) 582-0157 or email to info@marandi-aruba.com.

The pool scene at Papiamento

Papiamento. Before we’d even entered the front wall, this was one of the most unabashedly romantic restaurants we’d ever seen.

Vine-wrapped banyan trees drape gracefully around the courtyard of a 19th-century Caribbean manor, and small tables cluster around a candlelit pool.  I wandered into the house and discovered a warren of quiet corners and private party rooms, but to sit outside in a lush garden under the stars? Done.

Go ahead and have the Caprese salad and anything prepared “on the stone.” I’m not normally a Caprese fan, but with small rounds of bufala, sundried tomatoes and basil oil, Papiamento’s version is stunning. Adam and I finished the (mixed seafood grill) Neptune’s Catch down to the skillet surface, and in a touching display of devotion, he let me have the whole lobster tail.

Their wine list is huge and full of amazing choices, presenting a perfect opportunity to try wines that don’t often leave Chile, Argentina or Spain; for great seafood-pairing reds, I’d recommend the list’s #477 or #606.

Reservations are strongly recommended. Call +(297) 586-4544 (Papiamento has no website).

The view of Eagle Beach from Matthew's

Matthew’s. Right on Eagle Beach at the Casa del Mar resort, you’re beckoned in from the sand with tiki torches, fairy lights and and a warm greeting. Skip a meal to prepare or simply come hungry — you’ll want to eat.

Specifically, you’ll want to eat the tangy Caribbean seafood soup; the rich tomato soup, their house specialty; the piña colada shrimp with pineapple and rum; and the near-ridonkulous mashed potatoes that come with their rosemary-speared kebab plates. If you can still move by dessert, try at least one of their delicate profiteroles.

Reservations for two people aren’t a must, but they can still be made through the website or at +(297) 588-7300.

*In most museums and resorts on Aruba, you can pick up a free copy of Island Gourmet & Lifestyle Magazine.  It’s a comprehensive guide to most of the dining options on the island.  This affiliated web page has a small listing of restaurant links, but the print magazine has more helpful content and Caribbean/Aruban recipes.

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