Best Locals Bar

[J&Ahappycouple]

My wife and I stayed in Mangel Halto earlier this year and visited the bar several times. It is locals, but they took us in as one of their own. They also serve pretty good Chinese food. We are looking forward to seeing our new friends again in November.

[act1966]

Oops... I thought the Dutch were considered local...I'm so confused

Be careful who you say that to! Heh.

There's "local" and then there's "native": in my mind, Arubans are natives while everyone else can be local(ish) over time IF they make the attempt to integrate with Aruban culture. Over the years, we've seen more and more Arubans at eateries that were previously considered "touristy" but I haven't seen the same in the opposite direction. It might just be that we're living here full-time now and see more of the non-tourist areas of the island (and businesses).

[schexc]

Be careful who you say that to! Heh.

There's "local" and then there's "native": in my mind, Arubans are natives while everyone else can be local(ish) over time IF they make the attempt to integrate with Aruban culture. Over the years, we've seen more and more Arubans at eateries that were previously considered "touristy" but I haven't seen the same in the opposite direction. It might just be that we're living here full-time now and see more of the non-tourist areas of the island (and businesses).

Does that make you and Jeff local...Eh

[act1966]

Does that make you and Jeff local...Eh

We're trying! Pasa bon dia...eh!

[Suds-R-Us]

While not strictly ' local ' we have discovered The Old Dutch Cafe close to where we're staying and it's a great approximation of a Dutch brown bar.
Not quite in the tourist strip but it attracts locals and expats.
It's a chilled sort of place but it's on the route of the party buses - so immediately they arrive the music is cranked up to loud rap, the shots are machine-gunned out and then it's over as fast as it started until the next bus arrives.
The music is turned down and the first track played after the bus has left is ...the Sound of Silence
There's also a great Venezuelan food truck nearby.
We like the place a lot.

[Andrea J.]

here is the Old Dutch Cafe on a map.
it is near the Citgo station and is on rte 4
real close to the bowling alley

While not strictly ' local ' we have discovered The Old Dutch Cafe close to where we're staying and it's a great approximation of a Dutch brown bar.
Not quite in the tourist strip but it attracts locals and expats.
It's a chilled sort of place but it's on the route of the party buses - so immediately they arrive the music is cranked up to loud rap, the shots are machine-gunned out and then it's over as fast as it started until the next bus arrives.
The music is turned down and the first track played after the bus has left is ...the Sound of Silence
There's also a great Venezuelan food truck nearby.
We like the place a lot.

[WaltVB]

I think we went by there once, but they were closed.

[act1966]

While not strictly ' local ' we have discovered The Old Dutch Cafe

website: https://www.cafeolddutch.com/

Location: http://The Old Dutch Cafe +297 568 7...AtreM7YauLNEs6

[schexc]

While not strictly ' local ' we have discovered The Old Dutch Cafe close to where we're staying and it's a great approximation of a Dutch brown bar.
Not quite in the tourist strip but it attracts locals and expats.
It's a chilled sort of place but it's on the route of the party buses - so immediately they arrive the music is cranked up to loud rap, the shots are machine-gunned out and then it's over as fast as it started until the next bus arrives.
The music is turned down and the first track played after the bus has left is ...the Sound of Silence
There's also a great Venezuelan food truck nearby.
We like the place a lot.

We've often thought of stopping there, but have not yet. Maybe next trip.

[SusieLovesAruba]

While not strictly ' local ' we have discovered The Old Dutch Cafe close to where we're staying and it's a great approximation of a Dutch brown bar.
Not quite in the tourist strip but it attracts locals and expats.
It's a chilled sort of place but it's on the route of the party buses - so immediately they arrive the music is cranked up to loud rap, the shots are machine-gunned out and then it's over as fast as it started until the next bus arrives.
The music is turned down and the first track played after the bus has left is ...the Sound of Silence
There's also a great Venezuelan food truck nearby.
We like the place a lot.

This place sounds pretty cool, I might have to check it out. Love "Sound of Silence". A band called Disturbed (I know, I know) has done this song and it's amazingly beautiful too. Check it out on Spotify.