Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
Curaçao’s culinary scene has become seriously cosmopolitan in the past few years. Though you can still find places to get traditional, local dishes like iguana soup, keshi yena (seasoned meat wrapped in cheese and baked), and goat stew, the emerging generation of chefs has really raised the bar. Caribbean meets international with a side of nouvelle cuisine or farm-to-fork organic offerings. All combine for a cornucopia of tastes and flavors that meet world-class standards. And the range of locations where you can enjoy these creations is as eclectic as the fare. You’ll find romantic toes-in-the-sand surf-side spots, family-friendly air-conditioned emporiums, lush countryside gardens, and unique historic sites like forts and plantation houses all hosting diners. For authentic local-style lunches drop by the Old Market in Punda; or after the nightclubs, seek out one of the late-night snack trucks (truki pan) for cheap, yet satisfying, eats. Many beach bars also have fabulous fare for less than you’d expect to pay. But for the most part, fine dining will cost you what it’s typically worth, especially since almost every kind of food on this island needs to be imported from elsewhere.
What to Wear. Dress in restaurants is almost always casual (though beachwear isn't acceptable). Some of the resort dining rooms and more elegant restaurants require that men wear jackets, especially in high season; ask when you make reservations.
The owner of BBQ Express, one of the island’s most wildly popular food trucks, had the idea of gathering an entire slew of popular food truck operators and putting them all in one spot. Made from old shipping containers and decorated by the island’s most talented mural artists, Pasawa Box Eatery offers many different types of food to sample beyond local, including Asian, Mexican, and Italian---there’s even an ice-cream stand on-site. A huge island bar in the middle invites patrons to gather around and watch sports on big screen TVs. The music is always loud, but tasteful and sometimes live.
This urban street food complex and bar is a perfect fit for the new creative vibe overtaking this historic neighborhood (bario) with all its new outdoor art and cultural attractions. Part of the Bario Boutique Hotel, it's a destination in its own right for trendy fusions of local and international eats served from kiosks made out of old shipping containers. Each kiosk has its own specialty and the barkeeps craft killer cocktails using as many local ingredients as they can---try an Otrobanda Colada! There is always live or DJ-driven music to snack by, and it's become the Friday Happy Hour hot spot for locals.
This little gem tucked away in the hip district of Pietermaai specializes in creative fusion shareables, small plates, and killer craft cocktails. Themed around the culinary melting pot that is Brooklyn, New York, it provides an excellent beginning to a night out.
This cheery, lively alfresco eatery takes up a good swath of Mambo Beach Boulevard’s first level of offerings, attracting visitors and locals alike for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The evening menu surprises in its vast range of cuisines: Choose from many Mediterranean, Latin American, and Mexican specialties, as well as big steaks and hearty burgers, fresh seafood, pasta, pizza, and even sushi. Though it’s often a challenge to be everything to everybody, The Green House manage to serve it all up consistently well.
