2 Best Restaurants in Cook Islands

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We've compiled the best of the best in Cook Islands - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.

Sands Restaurant and Bar

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New Zealand–born celebrity chef Tony Bullivant, who has created meals for the likes of Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, and opera star Kiri Te Kanawa, delights patrons at the Moana Sands Beachfront Hotel & Villas. The newly named Sands Restaurant and Bar serves a "Pacific fusion" menu, where classic international dishes get a new twist, and the island's freshest seafood is prepared to perfection. Start with the blue cheese, apple, and vegetable spring rolls, or the seafood Caesar Salad with smoked marlin and prawn tails. Mains include parmesan-crumbled parrot fish served with maniota fries (made from the root vegetable cassava), and baked pork loin rubbed with garlic and wrapped in bacon. If there's room, finish off with coconut cashew pie with vanilla ice cream and berry sauce. There's a good wine list featuring mostly Australian and New Zealand bottles, and a live band plays several nights a week.

Trader Jack's

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A veritable Cook Islands institution, this beloved restaurant and bar is nothing if not a survivor. Opened by New Zealander Jack Cooper in 1986, it has been wiped out by three cyclones but is still trading strong on Avarua's harbor. Patrons go for the fresh seafood—consider starting with fish chowder, the sushi and sashimi, or a delicious stir-fried dish called "Wok the Line," with noodles and a medley of seafood. Main courses feature line-caught fish of the day cooked in a variety of styles, from pan-fried and crumbed to the exotic Bombay dish, a parrotfish steamed in a banana leaf with coconut, peanuts, coriander, and chili. Non-seafood eaters enjoy the pizzas, char-grilled beef loin strip, and roast chicken. Try to get a seat on the terrace to watch the sunset, cocktail in hand, to the strains of a ukulele band.