If your goal is sunset views with dinner, Fort Nassau Curaçao is very hard to beat. This is the dinner I’d pick when I want something nicer with a full city view. The setting carries the experience, and the food holds up enough to match it.
I drove up to Fort Nassau right before dinner and immediately understood why people talk about the view so much. The road winds up Sablica Hill, and then you’re suddenly at this old fort sitting above Willemstad with the harbor, bridges, Punda, and Otrobanda all laid out below you.
This isn’t close to the main tourist areas, so having a car makes a big difference. I rented a car and used it the whole trip, including getting up here without dealing with taxis.
If you’re still figuring out how to structure your trip, check out my Curaçao Travel Guide for First-Time Visitors—it helps map out where this fits in your plans.
The building dates back to the late 1700s and has been used as a restaurant since 1959. You can tell it’s not just a viewpoint they turned into a restaurant—it actually feels like a historic spot that happens to serve dinner.
I walked in and it felt like that middle ground between dressed up and relaxed. They describe it as casual fine dining, and that’s exactly how it came across. People were dressed nicely, but it didn’t feel stiff or formal.
I went straight to the terrace near the bar since that’s where the best sunset angle is. The dining room is semi-open, so even inside you still get a view, but outside puts you right in it.
The whole setup is very views-first, which I love. Once the sun starts dropping and the city lights come on, everything looks even better.
I started with a virgin apple-tini, which fit the whole “sunset dinner with a view” moment really well. Brad got a virgin mojito.
For dinner, we mixed it up instead of sticking to one thing (as if we ever do). We did the chef's tasting menu which had an interesting appetizer a steak entrée, a pork entrée, and dessert.
The menu itself covers a lot. You’ll see beef carpaccio, mushroom ravioli, Dijon mustard soup, blackened red snapper, bacon wrapped tenderloin, lamb rack, and salmon with lemongrass and star anise. The chef’s menu could have things like an appetizer trio, a choice between ribeye or golden corvina, and a white chocolate-vanilla bombe dessert.
The steak came out looking really polished, but once I started eating it, it still had that rich, comforting feel. The beef had a clean, savory flavor, and the sauce added a buttery, smooth finish without taking over. I kept pulling a little bit of everything into each bite so I didn’t miss any of it.
The pork dish from the chef’s menu went in a completely different direction. It looked lighter on the plate, but once you cut into it, it was still rich. The meat was tender and juicy, and everything around it leaned more creamy and soft. It was more balanced than bold.
Dessert was the most fun part of the meal. The white chocolate-vanilla bombe came with mango compote, honeycomb brittle, sour mango gel, and passion fruit sorbet. It sounds like a lot, but it worked. You get the creamy and sweet first, then the fruit cuts through it so it doesn’t feel heavy.
If I were going back, I’d stick with what fits this place best—a nicer entrée, a drink, and dessert with the view.
Looking through the menu, I’d try the carpaccio of beef tenderloin, the Dijon mustard soup with smoked duck breast, the blackened red snapper, the bacon wrapped tenderloin, the lamb rack, the crème brûlée limoncello, and the coconut chia seed panna cotta.
From what I saw, steak and seafood come up the most here. The bigger pattern is still the same—people come for the view first, then the food (even though the food stands on its own).
This is a great pick if you want one of the best sunset views in Curaçao, a nicer dinner that feels formal but not too formal, and a night out in Willemstad that feels like something more than just a meal.
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I’d come back here when I want dinner to feel like an occasion. The view is the reason you book it, and the food keeps it from feeling like you only showed up for the scenery.
If you’re building out your dinner list, see my Best Dinner Restaurants in Curaçao (Date Night + Special Occasions) for a few more places like this.
If you’re deciding where to stay, I booked my hotel here so I could stay closer to Willemstad and still drive up here easily.
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.
If you’re chasing energy, beaches, nightlife, and nonstop luxury, Dubai takes the crown. If you’re craving culture, iconic architecture, and meaningful landmarks at a slower pace, Abu Dhabi shines.🤍
My advice? Base yourself in Dubai and do Abu Dhabi as a day trip! The perfect balance of excitement and culture in the UAE.
Want the full breakdown? Check out my Dubai and Abu Dhabi guide for tips, itineraries, and must-sees!
I do not like seafood. 🐟 So when I booked a tasting menu at a restaurant built around aquarium walls at Atlantis The Palm, I was nervous.
Ossiano sits underwater fish gliding past the whole meal, moody lighting, the kind of room that makes you lower your voice without meaning to. It’s not cheap, and it’s not trying to be. You’re paying for the entire experience.
Here’s the honest part: they have a vegetarian tasting menu, and I assumed it would be an afterthought. It ended up in my top five meals of all time. Course after course, the same care and precision as the seafood-forward menu everyone comes for. They even swapped in a steak for the main and it still felt cohesive with everything around it.
By course four you’re full. They bring out three more breads anyway. I ate all of it. No regrets.
Small detail that stuck with me my dress was black, so they swapped my napkin from white to black without me asking. That’s the kind of thing that tells you everything about a place.
Full breakdown of the menu, the vegetarian option, and what to expect linked in bio.
Dubai is all skyline until you drive an hour into the dunes and it goes completely silent. Bab Al Shams was that shift for us: slower, quieter, more intentional than anything we did in the city.
If you want nightlife or walkable everything, this isn’t your stop. But if you want a night that feels like a reset, it delivers, polished service, food I’m still thinking about, and a setting that never tries too hard.
Full review (and whether it’s worth adding to your Dubai itinerary) is linked in bio. 🏜️
I flew @emirates economy to Dubai fully expecting to just survive the flight. We booked seats by the exit row — @bradplummer1 got the legroom (he’s 6’7”), I got a normal seat right next to him, and it saved us money over booking two extra-legroom seats. Smart trick if you’re traveling with someone who needs the extra space and you don’t.
The food alone earned this post. Warm chicken, a Waldorf salad that actually tasted fresh, real butter on the roll, and a breakfast spread that put most airport brunches to shame. Add in the twinkling-star cabin lighting once dinner wrapped, and it felt less like a flight and more like the trip had already started.
Not everything was perfect — the wifi didn’t work for me at all, so if you’re planning to get work done in the air, download what you need beforehand. But that was the only miss in an otherwise excellent long haul.
If you’ve got Emirates lounge access in Dubai, use it. Showers, buffets, quiet corners to nap it makes the layover feel like a reset instead of a slog.
Full review seats, food, lounge, and the wifi situation is on the blog. Link in bio. ✈️
Follow @travelwithwendyplummer for Beautiful Beach Destinations, City Guides, Foodie Spots, and Luxury Hotel Recommendations.
