Aruba is among the best-known spots on Bournemouth's seafront: a big restaurant and bar at Pier Approach, right where the promenade meets the entrance to Bournemouth Pier. In daylight it's a relaxed place for a meal with the sea filling the windows; after dark it becomes one of the town's most familiar party venues, with resident DJs and a cocktail list to suit.
What's on the menu
The cooking is international and pitched at pleasing a crowd rather than fine dining. Seafood is a strong suit, with mussels, calamari and paella, and there are burgers, chicken wings and hand-stretched pizzas made on the premises. Breakfast and a bottomless brunch cover the mornings, a roast is added on Sundays, and a run of desserts rounds things off. The breadth is deliberate, so groups with mixed tastes usually find something to suit everyone. Because menus shift with the seasons, check the restaurant's current menu before visiting.
The mood
Drinks matter as much as food at Aruba. The bar is known for a long cocktail list and one of the biggest rum ranges in the country outside London, fitting the tropical island theme of the name, with international beers, wines and champagne alongside. The atmosphere follows the clock: relaxed and family-friendly at lunchtime, livelier as evening arrives. On Friday and Saturday nights resident DJs take charge and the room turns into a club, with VIP booths and themed events across the year. Cosmopolitan magazine once listed it among the best places to party in Bournemouth.
Location
The location is the main story. Aruba sits at Pier Approach, BH2 5AA, arguably the single most central point on the seafront, where the pier, the beach and the town-centre gardens converge. Big windows and that prime spot give wide views over the bay, from the pier out along the coast. The town centre and the Lower Gardens are an easy walk away, so it fits neatly into a beach day or a walk along the prom.
Practical details
Turning up unannounced usually works for daytime meals, but the tables with the best views, along with weekend evenings, bottomless brunch and large-group bookings, are worth reserving in advance through the venue's website. Hours run late into the night at weekends and are shorter early in the week, so confirm current times before you set off. There's no dedicated car park, though several seafront and town-centre car parks are within a short walk, and in summer arriving on foot is often the simplest choice.
Aruba suits a lunch with a view, a long unhurried brunch or a night out equally well, a genuinely versatile fixture on the front. For more places to eat and drink close by, see our food & drink guide, and combine a visit with the rest of Bournemouth's seafront using our things to do guide.