Pappardelle bolognese with homemade pappardelle and San Marzano meat sauce at Gianni’s in Palm Beach, Aruba

5 Best Palm Beach Aruba Restaurants: From Beach Shacks to Upscale Dining 

Last updated Feb 5, 2023 | Aruba, Best Food Caribbean

Most can agree that Aruba lives up to its motto as “One Happy Island.” You can easily see why. Plenty of sunshine, cooling breezes, world-class beaches, truly friendly locals  … and surprisingly good food if you know where to look. Here are our 5 favorite Palm Beach Aruba Restaurants and what to order.

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Overview of Aruba Restaurants

Most tourists will be staying in either Palm Beach or Eagle Beach. When comparing the two, there’s a much larger concentration of restaurants within easy walking distance of most hotels in the Palm Beach area. If you do not have a car, then you may want to take this into consideration. Being able to walk to dinner, dine and have a few drinks, and walk back to your hotel is incredibly convenient. 

We stayed at the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel in Palm Beach. It was slightly off the main strip but still within 20 minutes’ walking distance of most restaurants.   

Aruba boasts a wide range of international cuisine including Dutch, Italian, Asian fusion, South American, and local cuisine. It truly is multicultural. 

The more touristy places seem to have similar menus, so my husband and I purposely sought out restaurants in Palm Beach that offered some kind of unique house specialty. 

Here are our top 5 in no particular order! 

Map of Palm Beach Aruba Restaurants

Trip map created using Wanderlog.
Number 1 Icon

Eduardo's Beach Shack

Eduardo's Beach Shack at the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel in Aruba

Eduardo’s Beach Shack at the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel in Aruba

I could eat at this incredibly delicious family-owned beach shack every day, and I did!  

Eduardo’s started as a smoothie shack in 2007. Now many years later it has evolved into much more offering healthy fruit bowls, juices, gourmet breakfast dishes, fruity cocktails, and delicious plant-based lunch and dinner items at three different locations.

Wait, what? 3 locations?

You may have only seen two options on GoogleMaps: Eduardo’s Beach Shack near Playa Linda Beach Resort and Eduardo’s Hideaway near the Noord Supermarket.

Where’s the 3rd location?

The Boardwalk Boutique Hotel!

INSIDER TIP: Eduardo’s partnered with the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel to offer their guests delicious savory and healthy breakfast packages, grab & go items, their famous acai bowls, and daily poolside bar service.

They actually have a physical location at the hotel. You can order your meal through the hotel’s app and have it delivered to the patio of your casita.

So, yes you can enjoy the food at one of the TOP RATED RESTAURANTS at one of the TOP RATED HOTELS in Aruba!

Brain coral at Buck Island St Croix

Have your order from Eduardo’s Beach Shack delivered right to your casita’s patio at the Boardwalk Boutique Hotel. Now, that’s incredible service!

Here is an example of the quality of food you can expect from one of my favorite Palm Beach Aruba Restaurants: 

Lake Bohinj in Slovenia

Nourish Benny: two poached eggs served with asparagus, spinach & hollandaise sauce on sourdough toast 

Lake Bohinj in Slovenia

Acai bowl: Brazilian acai berry & banana bowl served with granola & fresh seasonal fruits  

WHAT TO ORDER: Everything is amazing, but you have to try the acai bowl!

Number 2 Icon

Marhaba Lebanese Cuisine

Lake Bohinj in Slovenia

Takeout: Beef and chicken kebabs, lamb rack, tabbouleh, babaganoush, hummus lahme basin from Marhaba Lebanese Cuisine in Palm Beach, Aruba

A fantastic casual dining option is getting takeout at Marhaba Lebanese Cuisine. It’s a little off the tourist path but still in the Palm Beach area. We ordered online and had it delivered to our casita at the Boardwalk.

This little gem serves delicious authentic Lebanese food. The menu is pretty extensive and serves all the classics like hummus, babaganoush, lamb rack, kebabs, cabbage leaves, falafel, lahme basin (thin meat pie), and kibbeh (beef croquette).

We got a little bit of everything. They have platters that serve an assortment of the most popular dishes, so you can sample it all.

I love going out, but it’s sometimes nice to enjoy a great meal and your own cocktails at your place. If you’re feeling like it’s one of those nights, order from Marhaba!  

WHAT TO ORDER: Order the assortment platter so you can try a little bit of everything.

Number 3 Icon

Lola Taqueria

Turtle Beach at Buck Island in St Croix USVI

One of the best Palm Beach Aruba restaurants: Lola Taqueria

This vibrant place was easy to love. Lola’s makes their own corn tortillas fresh daily and offers a great selection of gourmet tacos including baja fish, carnitas, lobster, al pastor, carne asada, shrimp, and several more. Go there on Taco Tuesday if you can. All tacos are $1.

Buck Island St Croix Sign

Korean Chicken Taco at Lola Taqueria in Palm Beach, Aruba: fried chicken, soy chili glaze, sriracha mayo, dill pickle, pickled onion, flour tortilla 

Lake Bohinj in Slovenia

Carnitas Taco at Lola Taqueria in Palm Beach Aruba: pulled pork, pickled onion, cotija cheese, cilantro, flour tortilla 

No Cheesecake Factory menu here. I love that there’s a one-page menu, and all they serve is tacos (and just a few appetizers). They are delicious and quite filling. As we usually do, we ordered more than we could eat because they all looked so good. 

Lola’s is right next to their sister establishment called Craft. Craft serves coffee and breakfast by day and then turns into a cocktail bar at night. Bottomless mimosas are served on Sundays for brunch

We ordered a few pitchers of their delicious “Craft Sangria,” made of Absolut pear, peach liqueur, triple sec, oj, red wine, apples, and blueberries. 

The ambiance was fun and lively and all outdoors. Love those Aruba breezes. 

WHAT TO ORDER: Hands down, the best taco on the menu is the Korean chicken. Order two of these and a sangria and you have a perfect end to another day in paradise. 

Number 4 Icon

Gianni's Ristorante Italiano

Spaghetti Al Formaggio Parmigiano at Giannis in Palm Beach Aruba

Spaghetti Al Formaggio Parmigiano at Gianni’s in Palm Beach, Aruba

Gianni’s has been on the island for decades (since 1984!), and there’s a reason why. Fantastic authentic Italian food! Restaurants don’t last this long unless they are superb.

The restaurant is owned by the Ferrara family, who came from a small Italian city on the Napoli coast.

Almost all the ingredients they use are imported from Italy, which includes items like flour from Molino Caputo, wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano, Pomodoro San Marzano PDO (high-quality tomatoes only grown in Agro Nocerino-Sarnese in southern Italy), and Grana Padano PDO (Italian cheese made from raw cow’s milk).

Remember, Aruba is a little island in the Caribbean. To be able to get all these specific authentic ingredients can be difficult and expensive. But Gianni’s focus is to deliver the best for their customers and that means sourcing high-quality products.  

Waiter making the famous Spaghetti Al Formaggio Parmigiano at Giannis in Palm Beach Aruba

Waiter making the famous Spaghetti Al Formaggio Parmigiano at Giannis in Palm Beach Aruba

Gianni’s also owns the Gelatissimo next door, which offers some mouthwatering gelato flavors.

Ziggy's Famous Cubano in St Croix

Gelatissimo at Palm Beach, Aruba

We loved the Black Hawaii flavor, which is dark chocolate with coconut. Yes, it’s really that black in color, and it’s SO delicious! 

Eating Black Hawaii gelato at Palm Beach Aruba

Black Hawaii gelato

Great food is just one part of the formula to having a great dining experience. The second part is the service. 

From the front of the house to the back end, the staff members at Gianni’s were incredible and very attentive to our needs without being obtrusive.

I later found out the Ferrara family takes the staff members to Italy every year to attend the top food fairs. Pretty remarkable and it shows the dedication of this team to deliver the best dining experience possible. 

WHAT TO ORDER: Spaghetti Al Formaggio Parmigiano! First, the waiter brings out a huge wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano. Next, the cheese is scraped inside the wheel. A little whisky is poured over it before lighting it on fire. The freshly cooked spaghetti is then tossed into this beautiful cheesy mixture before rolling it up onto your plate. Bon Appétit!

Number 5 Icon

Poffertjes van Pofferdorie Food Truck

Lake Bohinj in Slovenia

Poffertjes van Pofferdorie Food Truck making mini Dutch pancakes fresh to order

Poffertjes are mini Dutch pancakes made with yeast and buckwheat flour. They are a MUST-TRY food when in Aruba, and the Poffertjes van Pofferdorie Food Truck serves the island’s best.

These delicious bite-sized treats are fluffy and spongy on the inside and just a little crispy on the edges. They can be topped with anything sweet such as Nutella, strawberries, whipped cream, powdered sugar, salted caramel, cinnamon … you name it!

The very friendly staff will make them fresh to order right in front of you. Eat them while they are hot.

You get 10 for $4.50-$6.50 depending on your toppings. 10 may sound like a lot, but they are small. Trust me, they go down quickly. If I was 20 again, I would have placed 2 orders.  They are that good. 

Poffertjes at Palm Beach Aruba Food Truck

Poffertjes. Sorry for my fuzzy photo. 

WHAT TO ORDER: We can wholeheartedly vouch for the “Stroop,” which is topped with butter, powdered sugar, and special Dutch pancake syrup. The “French” was also a solid favorite, which is topped with butter, powdered sugar, and Grand Marnier Liqueur. 

Dress Code for Palm Beach Aruba Restaurants

Aruba is casual. I mean, don’t wear a bathing suit to dinner, but I felt very comfortable wearing white shorts and a nice sleeveless top to both Lolas and Gianni’s. Some ladies wore sundresses, and some men wore shorts and polo shirts or a button-down. 

I would say the range is casual to smart casual. 

Now if I was dining at some of the 5-8 course tasting menu restaurants like the Fred or The Kitchen Table, I would have definitely worn a sundress. 

Dinner Reservations 

I would strongly advise making dinner reservations for any of the sit-down restaurants on the main strip. We did not make reservations for the first evening we arrived. We waited in front of Gianni’s for about an hour before being seated. 

We learned from our mistake and made reservations for Lola’s later that week. The restaurants on the main strip are packed during the dinner rush. 

I would strongly make reservations a few WEEKS in advance for most sit-down dining establishments. For some of the more exclusive restaurants, you will likely have to make dinner reservations MONTHS in advance.

Final Thoughts 

Caribbean islands usually are not known for spectacular food (except St. Martin). I would say Aruba was an exception and offered many delicious choices in a variety of dining settings. From the food trucks to the beach shacks to the sit-down dining, you are bound to find something you like. Enjoy!  

Questions about our dining experiences at our favorite Palm Beach, Aruba restaurants?

Let me know in the comments below!

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