Location: Aruba
Order: Hummus, Falafel (5 piece), Zaatar bread, chicken shawarma platter, Turkish coffee, Coconut mocha chino
Price: $43
Positives: They have the best coffee (and best barista) on Aruba it’s worth going here just for the coffee, some of the best chicken shawarma I’ve ever seen, nice atmosphere
Negatives: The wait is long, like sometimes REALLY long
tldr: If want good coffee or you like middle eastern food you should absolutely stop in here, you won’t regret it, but you might need 2 hours.
Thoughts: We found out about Marahaba from the owner’s nephew (I think). We met him while standing in line at Zeerovers and he told us we really needed two try his family’s restaurant if we liked middle eastern food. We love middle eastern, so we made plans to visit the next day. Funnily enough we ran into him there as well.
Marahaba is a bit small and hard to find if you aren’t looking. And, as I found out later while talking to the owner, they initially started as a coffee shop. Which would also explain why their coffee is so good. The interior decor is light and bright and makes the place seem warm and welcoming. It also helps that the staff there is mostly all related and are all actually warm and welcoming.
Once we were settled in, we ordered a lot, as in hummus, a five-piece falafel, zaatar bread, a chicken shawarma platter, Turkish coffee and a coconut mocha chino (don’t judge me ok, remarkably we ate it all). The coffee was AMAZING! At this point I’d pretty much given up finding good coffee in Aruba and realized I would just have to settle for “ok” coffee. Marhaba would be where I found good coffee for the rest of the trip. Even if you don’t love Turkish coffee (you should), we got several drinks over the course of the next few days and all of them were the best we had the chance to drink on the island. The best cappuccino, the best espresso, the best coffee overall, the barista here was a wizard I’m pretty sure. While we were talking one night, she told us she learned in Columbia and this chick could 100% hold her own in any upscale coffee I’ve been to. She was an absolute pro and worked her crafter with expertise.
Ok, I’ll try really hard not to rant too much about the coffee going forward. The hummus was smooth and creamy, it had a hint of lemon and was drizzled in delicious olive oil. The zaatar bread was crunchy and slathered in seasoning, sesame seed, and lemon. Both of them were absolutely delicious and had just the right amount of seasoning. The falafel was very good but had a little bit too much salt for my preferences and was fried just a little long. The exterior had changed from the light golden brown to a darker color. It hadn’t started to affect the taste though so not too bad. This is really my only critique of the food itself.
We had really wanted to lamb shawarma, but they were out of lamb (both times we went) so we instead went with the chicken. The chicken shawarma came out in a wrap even though we ordered the platter, we came to understand that a “platter” just meant you got French fries, and some lettuce with the grilled wrap. My advice, skip the platter and just get the “sandwich” itself. It was the best chicken shawarma I’ve had in a long time, maybe even all time. The chicken was moist and succulent but the thing that brought it all together was the seasoning. I honestly don’t know all the spices they used in this, but they were magical. There was a depth of flavor in this crispy wrap that I haven’t tasted before in a shawarma wrap. I could easily eat one every day for weeks (and now I desperately wish they had lamb).
That’s the good news, and there’s is a lot of it, and it’s really good. Now for the bad news, eating here can take a while. As in the second time we can it took almost three hours to dine and we were seated immediately. I realize that the food is cooked fresh when you order it but that’s a long time. It wouldn’t stop me from eating here but I’d probably order take out a lot more often.
Marhaba has some killer good food and hands down the best coffee on the island. If I had the time, I would come here in the morning just for coffee, that’s how good the coffee, and their barista is. The food is also definitely good enough to come for on a regular basis but if you’re in a hurry you might do better to call in advance and pick it up.
Food and Coffee 