Restaurants in Willemstad

Willemstad is a city for eating – from the old market hall where locals get their daily food, to chic mansions overlooking the harbor. These are our favorite addresses, per neighborhood.

One of the city’s most recognizable restaurants: a striking red building, housed in a restored 18th-century mansion with a breathtaking view over the Sint Anna Bay and the Handelskade. The cuisine combines international and local dishes with a Caribbean twist – be sure to try the keshi yena (Curaçao’s national dish: spicy seasoned chicken meat, olives, pickles and prunes, wrapped in cheese) or the karni stoba (marinated beef, slowly stewed with onion, garlic, curry, nutmeg, bell pepper and tomato). In the evening, live music can be heard here in the Motown Soul Bar – think Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder.

The old market hall of Willemstad, where you really eat local. Several stalls offer authentic dishes such as kabritu stoba (stewed goat) and funchi (corn porridge) – affordable, crowded, and right where the locals themselves come for lunch.

For affordable daily specials in a relaxed atmosphere, just off Wilhelminaplein – ideal if you want to take a break while walking between Handelskade and Wilhelminaplein.

“Kome” simply means “to eat” in Papiamento, and that’s exactly what this restaurant is all about. Kome is the only restaurant on Curaçao with its own in-house pastry chef, and you can taste it: the signature dessert Kome Bolo (puff-free chocolate cake with passion fruit mousse and local fruit) is a must. The Caribbean-inspired menu also includes fusion dishes such as chicken & waffles and Thai chicken. On Wednesday it’s Tapas & Copas, on Saturday brunch.

Close to Kome, right on the water, with perhaps the most beautiful sea view in the entire district. The atmosphere is beachy boho chic – white painted structures, rattan furniture – and feels more like a beach restaurant in Saint-Barthélemy than in the middle of the city.

Open-air, with colonial flair, and a menu that blends Asian and Caribbean flavors — think shrimp with lemon tequila sauce and coconut rice, or squid carpaccio with wakame. Order one of their chilled ginger cocktails with crushed ice, perfect against the Caribbean heat.

Caribbean dishes with a sophisticated, slightly more sophisticated approach – a good choice if you want something traditional, but just a little more chic.

Trendy ambiance with a wide range of drinks, and as the name suggests: right on the water.

Colorful, eclectic, with a bohemian vibe and Caribbean flair – find out more in our guide to Scharloo, Fleur de Marie and Pietermaai.