I Ate My Way Through Aruba—and Discovered a Culinary Revolution

The Saturday market at STR Agriculture, a farm in the town of Nord, Aruba, doesn’t look like much at first. A few tables were set up on the concrete patio, while a metal awning adorned with miniature Aruban flags deflected the hot Caribbean sun from a modest produce selection – pumpkins, bananas and cucumbers grown in STR’s greenhouses. But as I walked between the vendors,
It all came to life.

I met a German man who advertised layered cheesecakes with black cherry jam and a woman from the Canary Islands who sold me a jar. Mojo RojoA spicy, oily red pepper sauce. A stand labeled “Dr. Green” served fresh lemonade and Pufferts, Small pancake puffs from the Netherlands. Next to it was an unorganized cooler filled with chicken curry roti rolls.

Such a medley should come as no surprise, given that Aruba is one of the Caribbean’s most ethnically diverse islands. Many people there speak several languages: Dutch, as Aruba is a self-governing part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; English, the language spoken by 1.4 million overnight visitors each year to Franca and many who stop for the day as part of a cruise. Spanish, the language of the colonists of Aruba before Dutch and a bridge to nearby Venezuela. and Papinito, the indigenous African Portuguese Creole.

One of Aruba’s most prominent chefs and culinary advocates, Irwin Kruse, brings this cultural diversity to his cooking. “My mother has Venezuelan and German ancestry,” he told me. “On my father’s side, my grandmother is Chinese and my grandfather is traditionally Aruban.”

After studying in Italy, Kroos, like many young Arubans, moved to the Netherlands, where he worked in a Michelin-starred restaurant for seven years. “But somehow the island always calls to me,” he said. He moved home and soon opened his own restaurants, which now include Kiafor , for , for , . A Latin-Caribbean place, and infinityfor , for , for , . A chef’s table concept. The eight-course menu includes dishes such as crispy peking quail and beef with Caribbean Creole sauce. About 60 percent of the ingredients used at Infini are local, a significant achievement given Aruba’s dry climate and poor soils. “Aruba has a lot to offer,” Cruz said. “We can change the perception that people come here for the beach, and make it a culinary destination.”

Throughout my stay, I experienced firsthand just how dense the 70-square-mile island is with restaurants—around 540, by Kroos’ count. Many of them draw inspiration from elsewhere. In San Nicolas, on the southeastern tip of Aruba, Jamaican chef Vinale Williams cooks jerk chicken and curry goat at ONL Caribbean Kitchen. Initially developed by Afro-Caribbean immigrants who worked in the oil industry, it went through a difficult period after the nearby refinery ceased operations, but it is now home to art galleries and hosts the annual Aruba Art Fair.

In the mid-island town of Santa Cruz, I visited a colorful bakery, Hichada Conoco, A traditional country house. Empanadas and arepas were featured along with local bites such as spicy fritters made with black-eyed peas and pistachios, Deep-fried turnovers that make for a deliciously Aruban breakfast. Elsewhere, Cafe 080 serves Dutch fried treats Caassoufflé (cheese-filled pastries), Frekendale (a type of sausage), and Betterball (Study Matt Crocketts). Another holdover from the Dutch Empire: restaurants like Noosa Harbor that serve registafel, a small-plates feast with its origins in the Dutch colonial era in Indonesia.

The food at the other restaurants, though, is unclassifiable as anything other than Aruban, which can best be described as a distinct blend of indigenous Arawakan, Iberian and West African influences. “Karni Stoba A very traditional arubin is, like a braised Portuguese beef stew, explains Croce. Pan Batti. It is like a pancake made from joram ya Finchi, Our version of polenta. “The best places to try Aruban classics are where the locals go – where you pay in Florence, at the corner of Picca.for , for , for , . For example, a menu might include Blachi Pisca (fish cake), Cobbler Jump (Flash Fried Gripper Steaks), or Calco a la Perilla (inquiry conch)

My visit coincided with Autentico, an annual festival launched in 2024 to celebrate Aruban cuisine. It was a pleasant evening as I strolled around the restaurant stands and pop-up bars populating a pastel-hued section of Oranjestad, the island’s capital. Locals and tourists mingled in long queues for open-fire mealsfor , for , for , . where an apron team turned out skirt steak and guava-glazed pork belly. . It was like a breeze, and the perfect coda to the night.

My favorite meal of the trip, though, was in a small seaside town called Savinetta. It was also one of the simplest: red snapper with a squeeze of lime at Zerover, where you pay cash for fresh fish by the pound and a handful of crab cuts. I waited on the covered pier, watching the bobbing boats and teal seagulls, while the staff in the open-fry kitchen prepared seafood, seared it in oil, fried it in plastic baskets, and placed pickled onions and their signature tart, creamy white sauce on the plate. Digging into cold balashi, local pilsner, and multiple shakes of Aruban papaya hot sauce, I couldn’t be anywhere else in the world.

A version of this story first appeared in the December 2025 issue Travel + Leisure Under the heading “Island Bites”..