Travel & Hotspots

CHILLING IN THE ANTILLES

5x super fine hotspots in Curaçao

Trust me, if you cruise around a Caribbean island for seventeen days, you'll know the nice spots by heart at some point. The best cocktail, the best seaview, fine dining, oh honey, I got it all for you. So here they are: the coolest hotspots for a top vacation in Curaçao.

BijBlauw

Starting with this super fun family business in the Pietermaai District. At BijBlauw (that's a tongue twister, huh) you’ll find a boutique hotel, a concept store, but the restaurant definitely needs to be on your list when visiting the island. This is what we mean by fine dining 2.0. The menu is anything but standard. Well-known dishes like the cheese platter are transformed into a ‘gorgonfroza’ parfait and the tuna tartare looks like a star dish on your plate. To complete the experience, you also eat right by the sea. I'm telling you: you want this.

Address: 82-84 Kaya Wilson Godett, Willemstad.

View here the menu.

Kome

Life doesn’t always have to be difficult. You take the word ‘food’ in Papiamento and the name ‘Kome’ is born. The award for the coolest bar on the island definitely goes to this restaurant, also located in the Pietermaai District. Have you figured out that this is the coolest neighborhood in Curaçao? Chefs David and Susan throw a party in the kitchen and you can taste it on your plate. Oh, and if you go, can you call me? Because for that sautéed shrimp & tasso ham pasta, I’ll take the plane. No problem.

Address: Johan van Walbeeckplein 6, Willemstad.

View here the menu.

Landhuis Brakkeput Mei Mei

This is what I find the coolest about Curaçao. Just that name alone. Near Jan Thiel, you’ll find this amazing outdoor restaurant on the hills by the Spanish water. Salsa night on Mondays, fresh lobster on Thursdays, people, what more do we want? No complicated high-end dishes but really good pieces of meat and fish. Stop by the salad bar first (divine) and definitely don’t take fries with your main course, but yucca. Fried cassava is the bomb, just so you know. Want to eat more among the locals? Then don’t sit outside on the terrace, but inside. Also an experience!

Address: Jan Sofat, Spanish Water.

View here the menu.

Fishalicious

Stop searching. This is the BEST fish restaurant in the Antilles. And if you’re not going for the fish, you’re going for the fun owners Auke and Michelle. For an evening of enjoyment with a good glass of wine, you’re in the right place. Every Thursday, Fishalicious imports fresh fish from the Netherlands (there’s a good chance that there was a huge pile of fish stored in the cargo hold of the KLM plane I was on) and you can taste it. For the brave among us: try the skate wing. A lot of restaurants are afraid to put this fish on the menu because it’s only good when it’s really fresh. But also for the lobster, a nice drink, and Instagram-worthy fish, you shouldn’t skip this hotspot.

Address: Loostraat (by the way, they are moving to Penstraat 57 around September 2017).

View here the menu.

Blues Bar & Restaurant

Blues, where the food is ‘hot’ & the music ‘cool’. Says enough, I think. At the restaurant of the Avila Beach Hotel, you eat on the pier by the sea. Do you love a lazy, relaxed atmosphere? Then you’ll have lunch here. Or a little later in the day, have drinks because people, the sunset you experience here is unbeatable. Want more action? Then definitely have dinner on Thursdays, because then you’ll land in a real concert. Upstairs is a mini stage where locals go all out with jazz music. Through the glass lookout window, it feels like you’re right in the middle of the sea. Totally the best.

Address: Penstraat 130 Willemstad, Curaçao

View here the menu.

And, since this post will otherwise explode again, tomorrow you’ll get part 2 from me. Be prepared.