Fiji’s best restaurants and bars

With nearly 40 per cent of its population made up of those of Indian heritage, Fiji has one of the most diverse of all South Pacific cuisines.

Combined with its indigenous cooking techniques and abundance of fresh produce and seafood, dining in Fiji is a big part of the reason for visiting.

From fine dining beside the ocean to eating traditional dishes in rustic, inexpensive cafes, the dining choices in Fiji are out of this world.

MAMANUCA ISLANDS

Malamala Beach Club

For a dining experience completely different to everything else in Fiji
You’d come for the novelty factor alone: Malamala Beach Club is the world’s first beach club on its very own island and it’s only half an hour by ferry from Port Denarau. Buy a day pass and hit the spa, and the island’s pools and stunning beaches. Its food offerings have been overshadowed; but this is a heck of a venue for a meal. There’s a choice between restaurants – dine pool-side or opt for the adult’s only area. The chicken curry is one of the best you’ll find in a country famous for them; though the loaded fries (with bacon and beef brisket) are legendary too.
Malamala Island, Mamanuca Islands. Phone +679 999 5512. See malamalabeachclub.com/eat-drink

Cloud 9

Wood-fired pizza and drinks in the middle of the ocean
Cloud 9 is one of Fiji’s most iconic dining and drinking options. It’s a floating two-level platform in the middle of the lagoons around the Mamanuca Islands, close to Fiji’s most legendary surf break, Cloudbreak. Take a boat transfer (or arrive by jet-ski or seaplane) from Port Denarau and enjoy a lunch of hand-made Italian pizza cooked in a wood-fired on-site oven. Eat on the sundeck or grab a day bed, and listen to DJs as you order cocktails from the bar and swim straight off the platform in some of the most pristine waters of Fiji.
Mamanuca Islands. Phone: +679 869 7947. See cloud9.com.fj

VITI LEVU

Broady’s Bar & Cafe

Well-priced no-frills meals served for locals
It’s simple, inexpensive and it quickly became one of Fiji’s hottest eating venues – there’s live music here at nights and some of the best cocktails you’ll find in Melanesia. But owner Michael Broadridge wanted to make his bar/café a one-stop shop for everything from a hearty breakfast with Fiji’s best coffee, to dinners and nighttime entertainment. Situated just off the Queen’s Road in the Nadi suburb, Martintar, eating here is a great way to mix with Fijian locals away from the resorts. Don’t go past the grilled catch of the day with creamy ota (a local fern that is a Fijian delicacy).
Cnr Queens Road and Zahoor St, Nadi, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 672 2193. See facebook.com/BroadysBC

Tiko’s Floating Restaurant & Bar

Where else should you eat seafood but on a boat?
This place has built itself a solid reputation among locals and more experimental tourists alike. Located on Suva Harbour, the nation’s capital is often overlooked. But getting here for a famous Tiko’s seafood feast as the sun sets over the harbour will make your holiday extra-special. Located on a two-storey boat whose lower deck is a bar and upper deck is a restaurant, the atmosphere is always charged. Try its iconic curried mud crab (qari) in coconut cream; not before a Margarita below.
Stinson Parade Road, Suva Harbour, Viti Levu. Phone +679 450 2959. See facebook.com/tikosfloatingrestaurant

Wicked Walu

Seafood delicacies on a private islet
Located within a resort (outside diners are welcome) easily accessible on Viti Levu’s Coral Coast, here’s another Fijian restaurant you can’t beat for location. Built on a tiny islet off the mainland, guests walk along a causeway lit up with flaming tiki torches to a restaurant on its own island. You can choose to dine by candlelight on the beach, or within an open-sided traditional Fijian-style pavilion. Seafood is the specialty here – the restaurant is Trip Advisor’s Top-Rated seafood restaurant in Fiji. Order a seafood platter for two – though children are welcome if you prefer to share the intimate experience.
Queens Road, Warwick, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 653 0555. See warwickhotels.com

Kanavata (Nunuku Resort)

Personalised meals for couples in the treetops
There’s a thousand romantic dining options across Fiji in its five-star resorts and hotels. But there’s one option that really stands out – simply for its location. Travel to Pacific Harbour on Viti Levu’s south coast and enjoy a romantic meal for two on a viewing platform built right up amongst the canopy of a local dilo tree overlooking a beach. A dedicated chef will cook for your tastes, with seafood caught in Beqa lagoon a specialty (with everything from lobster, octopus to snapper available). Consider a spa treatment on the platform after your meal. You don’t have to be a guest.
11 Nanuku Drive, Pacific Harbour, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 345 2100. See nanukuresort.com

Baka Blues Cafe

Celebrating USA’s Southern barbecue… in Melanesia
There’s always been something quirky about Pacific Harbour, the lesser-known tourist hub past the Coral Coast on Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. Home to a collection of bars, restaurants and cafes that break the mould of what you’d expect to find in Fiji – Baka Blues Cafe is a New Orleans inspired blues bar which celebrates the American Deep South. You’ll find local musicians, photos from the South and a menu celebrating Southern barbecue, Creole and Cajun food (don’t go without trying the sizzling baby back ribs or Texas T-bone). It’s a sports bar too – though families are encouraged to sit where kids can play the giant Jenga blocks.
1342 Hibiscus Drive, Port Harbour, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 992 7453. See restaurantsnapshot.com/BakaBluesCafe

Ocean Terrace (Bedarra Beach Inn)

Wholesome Fijian fare served in a cosy setting
Centrally located on the Coral Coast, you won’t find better curries anywhere in Fiji (all are served with various home-made chutneys). And yet Ocean Terrace Restaurant is most famous for its local lobster – cooked in a bisque and laced with brandy. Sit outside on the veranda overlooking the pool to the lagoon beyond for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dinner includes candlelight and live music. Don’t go past their coconut pancake rolls with local fish, though their kokoda (raw local fish marinated with coconut milk and lime) shouldn’t be missed.
Sunset Strip, Korotogo, Sigatoka, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 6500 476. See bedarrafiji.com

Bulaccino

A casual farm-to-table cafe and restaurant
This was the café that kicked off Fiji’s café culture when it opened in 2006, making the country a genuinely legitimate destination for coffee aficionados. Though coffee’s just part of what you’ll get. Run by a local family, most ingredients come straight off the owners’ 12 hectare organic farm just outside Nadi (you can take a farm tour), making this a bona fide farm-to-table eatery. The setting’s casual but chic – art deco with an open-air bar set in a garden outside. Locals love it, so it’s a great way to immerse yourself into the Nadi community away from the resorts of Denarau Island. There’s also an outpost in Suva.
Queens Road, Namaka, Nadi, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 672 8638. See bulaccino.com

Geckos Resort Restaurant

Great seafood and curries served with a weekend dance show
Geckos Resort Restaurant is a Coral Coast dining institution – home to one of the most lively Polynesian dance and fire shows in Fiji. Located within a low-key 28-room resort set in an historic village, it’s only 500 metres from the Shangri La Resort, and a few minutes from Sigatoka Town. Visit on a Friday and Saturday night for an hour-long dance and fire show. Turn up early for happy hour from 5-7pm, and order local mud crab and lobster delivered fresh that morning, or curry cooked by a local Indo-Fijian chef.
Queens Highway, Sigatoka, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 652 0200. See facebook.com/GeckosResort

Waitui Bar & Grill (Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa)

Seafood and meat chargrilled at a beachside setting
Denarau Island has multiple dining options. One of the best options amongst an array of offerings at five-star resorts is Sofitel Resort & Spa’s exclusive adults-only restaurant, Waitui Bar & Grill. There’s a colonial feel to the open-air, multi-level restaurant beside the beach, with its weatherboard slats and big timber bar (the perfect spot for sunset drinks). Meat and seafood is cooked on a house-built charcoal grill – most ingredients are sourced locally. The lobster’s a house specialty, and the cocktail list is overwhelming. Dishes are designed with sharing in mind.
Denarau Island, off Viti Levu. Phone: +679 675 1111. See sofitel-fiji.com

Indigo Indian Asian Restaurant

The best Indian food on Viti Levu
With nearly 40 per cent of Fiji’s population having Indian heritage – Indo-Fijian flavours are almost as big a part of the diet as indigenous flavours. And some of the best Indo-Fijian flavours are available at centrally located Indigo Indian Asian Resort on the waterfront at Port Denarau. Try the local masala crab or the musallam of lamb with chillies and spices grown at the restaurant’s own organic farm. There are two separate menus – Indian and South-East Asian – so it’s like having two restaurants in one. Get there early for a sunset over the ocean.
Port Denarau, Denarau Island, Viti Levu. Phone: +679 675 0026. See www.indigofiji.com

VANUA LEVU

Namale Resort & Spa

Romantic fine dining on another level
You’re going to have to stay to eat here – and kids aren’t welcome – but Namale Resort & Spa offer foodies the ultimate Fijian dining experience. There are two restaurants on-site, but you can dine out where you like – from a candlelit cave, to a table on the beach, or a table set beside a private waterfall. All produce comes from the resort’s own organic farm and a local market. Located on Fiji’s second-largest island, Vanua Levu, the resort is built along its stunning northern coastline, called Hibiscus Highway. There’s a weekly Indian and lovo (underground oven) night.
1 Hibiscus Highway, Savusavu, Vanua Levu. Phone: +679 885 0435. See namalefiji.com