Curaçao food - what to eat on your day ashore

The smell of slow-cooked stoba fills Willemstad’s Plasa Bieu, where pots of goat and beef stew draw visitors in. Curaçao cuisine draws from African, Dutch, Latin American and Indigenous Arawak traditions, with many dishes known by their Papiamento names. Guests on cruises to Curaçao typically have roughly six to eight hours ashore, and many traditional foods are available within walking distance of the cruise pier. For a first taste of Curaçao, you can try staples like keshi yena, stoba and fresh seafood in just a few hours.

Keshi yena - Curaçao's national dish

If you only try one traditional Curaçao dish during your day ashore, make it keshi yena. Its name means “stuffed cheese” in Papiamento, which is a fairly literal description: a shell of Edam or Gouda is filled with spiced chicken or beef, olives, raisins and capers, then baked until the cheese softens around the filling.

The dish dates to Curaçao’s colonial period. Dutch settlers imported wheels of Edam and Gouda, and enslaved Africans repurposed the hollowed cheese shells, filling them with available meat, vegetables and other ingredients before baking or steaming them. Over generations, keshi yena became a primary dish of Curaçaoan cooking.

It’s also one of the easier traditional dishes for cruise guests to work into a day in Willemstad. Look for it at local harborside restaurants near the pier and traditional food stalls, including Plasa Bieu. Some Curaçao shore excursions also include stops focused on local food and culture, so you can try this signature dish as part of a streamlined introduction to the island.

Stoba - the slow-cooked stew at the heart of island cooking

Stoba is a slow-cooked stew found in Curaçaoan homes and local kitchens, with kabritu stoba made from goat and karni stoba made from beef. The meat simmers for hours with vegetables and spices to produce a rich gravy, typically served with rice or funchi. Goats have been raised on Curaçao for centuries, so kabritu stoba is a longstanding part of the island’s cooking and not a novelty you’ll have to hunt down.

Plasa Bieu, Willemstad’s old market, is one of the best-known places to try stoba. Vendors prepare traditional dishes in open kitchens and serve them at communal tables, often with pika, a sharp pickled onion condiment, on the side. You may also see kadushi, a soup made with local cactus, meat and vegetables, on traditional menus here.

From the cruise terminal area, Plasa Bieu is considered a walkable destination by most guests, with a 15 to 20 minute 1-mile walk.

Funchi and pan bati - the island's essential sides

Funchi is Curaçao’s answer to polenta: cornmeal cooked with water and salt until thick, then shaped into a firm mound or sliced for serving alongside stoba, fish and other meats. It can also be fried until crisp on the outside — the version pictured here. A heartier cousin, tutu, cooks funchi together with black-eyed peas. Funchi's mild corn flavor makes it a natural match for the sauces and gravies that accompany many Curaçaoan dishes.

Pan bati is softer, slightly sweet and thinner than funchi, with a texture somewhere between a pancake and cornbread. Made from cornmeal and flour, it’s commonly served with fish, stews or other savory dishes and can also appear at breakfast.

Both reflect African influences in Curaçao’s food traditions. Funchi in particular is common on traditional menus throughout Willemstad, so guests are likely to encounter it alongside another dish rather than needing to seek it out separately.

Fresh seafood - red snapper, conch and what the water provides

Fresh fish in Curaçao is often prepared simply, letting the catch take the lead. Red snapper, or piska kora in Papiamento, may arrive whole, fried or grilled and topped with a Creole-style sauce of tomatoes, peppers and onions. Funchi or rice typically rounds out the plate.

Conch, known locally as karko, is another traditional seafood choice. Its firm, slightly chewy meat can be stewed until tender, grilled or chopped into ceviche-style preparations with citrus, peppers and onions. This is a dish that connects Curaçao’s cuisine with nearby Venezuela and the wider Latin American Caribbean.

Seafood and produce have also long been part of the scene around Willemstad’s Floating Market along the waterfront. The market area falls within the historic center guests can explore on foot, while the A Taste of Curaçao excursion incorporates this part of Willemstad into a guided look at the island’s food culture.

Blue Curaçao and local drinks - the island in a glass

Blue Curaçao begins with the laraha, a bitter citrus fruit descended from Valencia oranges brought to Curaçao by Spanish settlers in the 16th century. The island’s dry climate and soil proved poorly suited to the sweet oranges, and the fruit became smaller and bitter. Its dried peel, however, contained fragrant oils that Dutch distillers began using to make Curaçao liqueur. The familiar blue color comes later in production — the liqueur is made from the same laraha peel whether it’s blue, orange, clear or another color.

Landhuis Chobolobo, a 19th-century country house outside central Willemstad, is home to Senior & Co., which has produced its Curaçao liqueur since 1896. Because Chobolobo is outside the easy walking distance of the cruise pier, it makes more sense as an excursion stop than part of a walking food tour. Princess® excursions such as Scenic Drive, Distillery & Aloe Vera Farm include a stop at Chobolobo and are a good introduction to the island's drinks.

Beyond the namesake liqueur, local options include rum, rom berde (green rum) and fresh coconut water — or guests can sample a wider mix of the island's drinks on the Curaçao Cocktails with Amazing Views excursion, a guided stop at three local bars.

Where to find authentic Curaçao food on your day ashore

Many of the dishes covered here, including keshi yena, stoba, funchi and fresh seafood, can be found within walking distance of the cruise pier in Willemstad’s historic center. Plasa Bieu is a great first stop, with vendors serving traditional dishes from open kitchens around long communal tables. Chobolobo, by contrast, requires transportation from Willemstad's UNESCO-listed waterfront district.

With six to eight hours ashore, guests can walk into Willemstad for lunch at Plasa Bieu, explore the waterfront and still have time for an afternoon excursion. A Taste of Curaçao combines the Floating Market and Marshe Biew with a visit to Chobolobo and a meal at Mambo Beach Boulevard, so you can fit several food stops into one itinerary. A Taste of Culture pairs local flavors with Papiamento, music and dance for a more extensive look at Curaçaoan culture.

While exploring Willemstad, guests may also come across sneks, casual local bars where snacks can include pastechi — fried pastries filled with cheese, chicken or tuna — and bitterballen.

Explore Curaçao's food culture with Princess Cruises

Frequently asked questions about Curaçao food