5 Best Aruba Restaurants

Flying Fishbone goes beachfront one better by planting a half-dozen tables right in the water for an immersive dining experience. The restaurant in the tiny town of Savaneta also serves some of the island's most intriguing entrées, such as a casserole of shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and blue cheese. While seafood is the focus (locally caught lobster, barracuda, mahi-mahi and tuna are good bets), don't overlook the succulent sirloin with truffle sauce. If you're still stressed out after a meal at Flying Fishbone, you need more pacification than any Aruba restaurant can provide. Flying Fishbone Savaneta 344, Savaneta 011-297-584-2506 flyingfishbone.com Average dinner entrée: $33

Hadicurari has been transformed from a humble seaside shack into a comfy outdoor seafood restaurant overlooking famed Palm Beach. The menu offers Asian touches such as tuna tataki on a bed of tangy seafood salad, as well as specials such as creamy, cognac-spiked lobster bisque and Fisherman's Hut, a flavorful seafood stew. Aruban cuisine makes an appearance in such sides as funchi (similar to polenta) and pancake-like pan bati. Paired with calamari or shrimp tempura, it's the United Nations of Flavor. Hadicurari J.E. Irausquin Blvd 230, Palm Beach 011-297-586-2288 hadicurari.com Average dinner entrée: $30

An island success story, Madame Janette opened in 1999 with 15 tables. Now there are more than 80 tables scattered across a backyard illuminated by hurricane lights and glowing wicker-shaded pendants. Madame's formula is simple: good food, huge portions, a romantic setting and gracious staff. Start with a casserole of shrimp swathed in spicy tomato sauce and topped with Gouda and Parmesan. Live large with almond-crusted grouper in creamed spinach sauce, or scale back with a simple marinated grilled fish. For dessert, the pièce de résistance is the Austrian chef's delectable warm apple strudel. Madame Janette Cunucu Abao 37 (near Eagle Beach) 011-297-587-0184 madamejanette.info Average dinner entrée: $27

You can't help but be captivated by the décor at Screaming Eagle, where floor-length, gauzy curtains separate rows of tables, a curvaceous bar casts a reddish glow and the lounge features beds draped in yet more gauze. Dine on the patio or order "dinner in bed;" either way, the food is beautifully presented, and the flavors really shine through. Sample the artichoke carpaccio or duck liver crème brûlée followed by grilled lobster or tenderloin with a shiitake-and-pine-nut sauce. Bold tastes and décor make it easy to appreciate why it's become the island's hippest Aruba restaurants. Screaming Eagle J.E. Irausquin Blvd. 228, Eagle Beach 011-297-587-8021 screaming-eagle.net Average dinner entrée $35

Yemanja has become one of the island's premiere restaurants since opening in 2007. Its moniker refers to a sea goddess, but the draw is purely terrestrial: prime cuts of meat seared to perfection over a mesquite-fired grill. The tenderloin lives up to its name: two melt-in-your-mouth pieces of beef accompanied by a mashed-potato basket cradling grilled asparagus tied with bacon. Orange- and teriyaki-glazed chicken gets a similar treatment, infused with a smoky mesquite flavor.Yemanja Woodfired Grill Wilhelminastraat 2, Oranjestad 011-297-588-4711. yemanja-aruba.com Average dinner entrée: $24