YOU MUST DO GIANNI'S. They have a great outdoor patio with nice table settings and food is great. (make reservations as it is very busy)

we tried hostarios. food was medicore at best. we walked in and asked for a table outside and they at first said no and when my husband looked at me and i said i wanted outside they all of a sudden had an outside table. the outside never filled up while we were there. from about 8 to 9:30. we went there because the manager at sopranos piano bar recommend it over the gianni's. both kind of pricey. (we are bostonians) our area is famous for italian. i truly don't mind paying 25 for chicken parm if i get pasta with it but 2 drops of cauliflower doesn't do it. i have been to aruba 12 times and still can't find a good italian restaurant. i'm fine to wait until i get home but my husband misses it and i'm the italian not him.

Try the Italian Garden, locted near the French Steak House, it's a couple of months old and the food is very good. You will see several waiters and staff that use to work at Hostaria.

Try Gianni's - very nice atmosphere. Inside & outside seating. Same owner as Sole Mare & Azzurro's. It opened 1/12/07. Here's the menu. http://dinearuba.com/Documents/Gianni%20Menu.pdf

I would NOT recommend the Italian restaurant in the Hyatt-Cafe Piccolo. The service is very good but the food is horribly overpriced and the quality is not very good at all.

Wow - what a shock report about Hostarios. We have not been to Aruba in over a year and that was always our favorite place to dine. We never had a bad meal nor bad service. We have never been refused an outside table, so that was interesting. I will be anxious to try them when we get in to Aruba May 15th. Anyone else have a favorite besides the more familiar ones?(Madamme Jeanettes, Flying Fishbone, etc)

Gianni's at must. Yummmmmmmmmmmm

Point me in the direction of Gianni's - the menu looks awesome!

I agree with jmarocco - Italian Garden at Manchebo was a pleasant surprise for us. Last visit we were planning to eat at Marina Pirata but the other couple we were with were under the weather so we decided to try Italian Garden. My husband is 1/2 italian and I was taught Italian cooking by his mom and grandmother. We felt the food was really good, sauce was as good as the one I learned to make, waiters were great and it was not expensive. That was almost a year ago but we return to Aruba in 2 weeks and that is on my list of restaurants to visit again.

We like Sole Mare. The veal parm is excellent as is the pasta dish mixed in a cheese wheel.

Don't bother with the desserts, though. They are not wonderful.

Aruba Trip Reports