If you’re trying to figure out the best restaurants in Curaçao, this ended up being one of the easiest parts of planning—and one of the highlights of the trip.
I didn’t expect the food to be this good, but it ended up being one of my favorite things about the island.
You get a mix of:
This guide is exactly where I ate, what stood out, what I’d go back to—and what I wouldn’t.
If you’re planning your trip overall, check out my full Curaçao Travel Guide for First-Time Visitors to map everything out alongside your meals.
Before getting into specific spots, a few things that made a difference:
We drove all over the island, and trying to bounce between far-apart restaurants would’ve gotten old fast.
Renting a car makes this much easier—this is what we used to get around the island and it gave us full flexibility for beach hopping and meals.
Hofi Cas Cora was my favorite breakfast of the trip.
It’s set on a farm, and everything feels fresh. The food was really good, and the setting makes it feel like more of an experience than just grabbing breakfast.
If you only do one breakfast, I’d pick this.
This one is set in a garden with shaded seating tucked into greenery.
It feels calm and a little hidden, and the whole setup makes it easy to slow down for a bit. The food was great, but the setting is what stands out.
If you want more details, see my full review of Number Ten Curaçao (what to order + what it’s like).
We stopped here on a morning we were already near Jan Thiel, and it worked perfectly.
Good food, cute setup, and easy to fit into your morning before heading out for the day.
This was my favorite lunch.
It’s quick, fresh, and different from most of the heavier food you’ll be eating on the island. We liked it so much we went twice.
If you’re bouncing between beaches and want something lighter, this is a solid stop.
You’re sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean while people are jumping into the water right next to you.
That’s the main draw here—and it’s worth it.
The food is local and simple, but the experience is what makes this one memorable. It’s the kind of place you plan your route around.
You can also pair this with nearby beaches—check out my Best Beaches in Curaçao (with Map + Tips) to plan that out.
This is an open-air restaurant with a relaxed setup—nothing fancy.
It’s the kind of place where you sit for a bit, take a break from driving, and try something more traditional. The food leans local, which made it a good change from typical beach lunches.
This was the best meal of the trip.
Everything—from the food to the overall experience—was just done well. This is the one I’d prioritize if you’re deciding where to go for dinner.
Make a reservation.
The menu rotates, so it keeps things interesting.
Everything we had was good, and the space feels more like a planned dinner than something casual. It leans more toward a fine dining experience, but it still feels approachable.
You’re going here for the view.
It sits up above Willemstad, and you get a full overlook of the city—especially at sunset when everything starts lighting up.
The food was good, and I’d recommend trying the cocktails (I went with mocktails), but the view is what makes this one worth planning around.
This is an Asian-influenced restaurant with a shared dining concept.
You’re ordering multiple small plates and sharing everything, which makes it easy to try a lot in one meal. Everything we had was full of flavor and well presented.
It felt more like a fun night out than a traditional dinner.
Right by the water near the bridge in Willemstad.
This is one of those easy dinner spots when you’re already exploring the area. Good mix of food and location, and it fits well into a Willemstad evening.
This is your splurge dinner.
You’re dining right on the beach, and everything feels elevated—from the setting to the service. It’s more of a full experience than just going out to eat.
If you’re deciding if it’s worth it, learn more in my post about Baoase Luxury Resort Curaçao Review.
We went here for breakfast, and it just wasn’t our favorite.
The food felt bland, and there weren’t many options we were excited about. I mostly ended up just eating bread (which I love but is not ideal with a full day of activities).
With so many better spots on the island, this is one I’d skip.
We stopped here because it worked for where we were that day.
The food was fine, but nothing stood out. If it’s convenient, it works—but I wouldn’t go out of your way for it.
The biggest thing that helped was grouping restaurants by area.
You don’t want to finish a beach day on the west side and then drive all the way back across the island for dinner unless it’s something you’re set on.
A simple approach:
It keeps things simple and avoids unnecessary driving.
Pin this for later — it’ll make planning easier.
The food in Curaçao ended up being one of the highlights of the trip.
If I had to narrow it down:
That’s a solid starting point.
Make a few reservations, plan around your beach days, and you’ll be set.
If you’re still planning out your days, check out my Curaçao 7 Day Itinerary: How to Spend One Week in Curaçao so you can line everything up with where you’ll already be.
I ate chilaquiles while a Cessna taxied past the window, and that’s just a normal Tuesday breakfast in Sedona.
@mesa_grill_sedona sits right beside the Sedona Airport Scenic Lookout, so along with your food you get red rock views stretching in every direction and a front-row seat to tiny planes lifting off. Chef Mercer Mohr runs the kitchen, serving up Southwestern comfort food from breakfast through dinner, chilaquiles, elevated diner classics, burgers, steaks, seafood, all of it.
The view is what pulls people in the door, but the food actually holds its own. Good enough that this place stays packed with locals, not just tourists passing through on their way to the lookout. It also picked up the 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice and OpenTable Diners’ Choice awards, so it’s not just me saying it.
Indoor seating if you want the AC, a pet-friendly patio if your dog’s along for the trip. Either way, get there before plane-spotting turns into a wait for a table.
Link in bio for the full Sedona breakfast roundup ✈️🌵
Confession: my newsletter is where the good stuff lives. Not the polished, edited-for-the-grid stuff, the “here’s the hole-in-the-wall I almost skipped” stuff, the packing lists I actually use, the “don’t book this hotel” warnings before you waste your money on them.
The newsletter is basically me texting you before a trip instead of after one. Sign up and you’ll be the first to know where I’m headed next, plus a few things I’ll never post here.
Link in bio if you want in. ✈️
Yes, it’s only July. Start planning anyway. Fall books faster than people expect, and a few of these destinations are worth getting ahead of. Here are five places worth putting on your radar right now.
Ireland: Cooler temps, moody skies, dramatic coastline fall was made for it. Tourist crowds drop, the green stays, and the whole country feels a little more like itself.
Great Smoky Mountains, TN/NC: Fall foliage in the Smokies is the real thing. The color peaks mid-October and the views from the ridgelines are hard to argue with. It’s also one of the most visited national parks in the country, so going on a weekday makes a real difference.
New York City: Fall is NYC at its best comfortable temps, the energy of the city shifting into a new season, and every neighborhood doing something worth showing up for. It’s also just a great walking city when it’s not brutally hot.
Japan: Fall foliage season is as good as spring cherry blossoms and somehow less talked about. The colors are dramatic, the temples and gardens are stunning, and it’s worth planning around peak dates by region.
Mystic, Connecticut: Small, walkable, genuinely charming Mystic in fall feels like exactly what a New England autumn is supposed to look like. Easy to pair with a broader New England road trip if you want to extend it.
Full guides linked in bio 🍂
There are two kinds of travelers: people who plan a trip and then figure out where to eat, and people who book a restaurant and then build the rest of the itinerary around it.I am the second kind. I will not apologize for this.
The reservation gets locked in first. The hotel search happens within the same 24 hours. The flights get compared around the restaurant’s hours of operation. The rest of the trip exists to fill the days before and after the table I actually came for.
If this sounds unhinged, I completely understand. It has also resulted in some of the best meals of my life, so I’m going to keep doing it.
Drop a 🍽️ if you plan your trips around food too.
Let’s talk about when to actually book that Dubai trip you’ve been pinning for two years. I get asked this constantly, so here’s the honest breakdown: October through April is your window. Anything outside that and you’re basically touring in a sauna!
October and November give you warm days and cooler nights, which is basically the sweet spot for wandering around without melting. December through February is peak season: gorgeous weather. March and April are the quiet insider pick, right before summer heat shows up and ruins everyone’s plans.
Saving this for later? That’s what it’s here for. Full breakdown linked in bio.
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
