7 Best Restaurants in Tuamotu Archipelago, French Polynesia

Guests dine under white canvas umbrellas on a terrace on the edge of the lagoon by day, or at tables set with white linen and sparkling glassware by night. This restaurant is casual chic and is the most elegant on the island. Start with foie gras or mussels and move on to grilled salmon or whatever fresh lagoon fish has come in with the catch. Desserts include coconut and papaya tarts served with vanilla ice cream. Stop by the Kiri Kiri bar for a pre-dinner cocktail.

When you dine at this outdoor restaurant you'll feel like you're dining in a home, not a restaurant. Located on a terrace overlooking Tiputa Pass, there are just five tables for diners and a large table where the hostess, Josephine, often entertains her guests. The three-course set menu may include tuna tartare, fish soup, grilled scampi, or mahimahi with ginger and Chinese spices, while a coconut or chocolate and rum tart are often on the menu for dessert.

This restaurant attracts quite a crowd of locals on weekends and a few guests from the nearby Hotel Maitai Rangiroa. As one of only a handful of independent restaurants on the island it gets busy during the high season. Dine indoors or out under a thatched roof on a mainly French menu with a long list of pizzas (all 1,600 CFP) as well. You might start with homemade foie gras, followed by shrimp sautéed with orange and ginger, and then end with a classic French treat such as profiteroles.

Nonguests dining at this little pension and pearl farm will be offered a two-course set menu. Dishes will vary depending on what the chef has made that evening, but may include mahimahi with honey sauce, oysters with coconut sauce, tuna sashimi, or even barbecued steak imported from New Zealand. Phone first to ask about transfers.

Situated in a lovely garden with fabulous lagoon views, this restaurant is the big night out on the island. Highlights of a three-course meal may be the half-cooked tuna with ginger and mango sauce, grilled parrot fish with Marquesas butter sauce, and a warm papaya pie with coconut ice cream. If you want to splurge, there's the grilled lobster with vanilla cream at 5,500 CFP. As this is the only restaurant on the atoll, it's smart to call ahead for reservations.

You'll really know you're in the South Seas when you dining at this open-air restaurant. The gentle breezes waft in and the views—across the lagoon and out to the overwater bungalows—are fantastic. The menu has some new twists on old island favorites such as the appetizer of potted mince of mahimahi served with local potato chips and confit tomatoes, and the main course of fillet of lamb on a bed of fafa (taro leaves) with Marquesas Islands honey and ginger sauce. The decadent banana-and-rum cake smothered in coconut milk mousse is a great way to end the meal. It's wise to book ahead if you want to dine here, because a boat transfer, which may be an additional cost, is required.

This is a very pleasant spot for lunch if you're cycling along the main road; you can also check your e-mail here but the Internet connection is rather slow. As there are free transfers from the hotels, you can enjoy a few drinks over dinner. There's a three-course set menu (4,500 CFP) with two to three choices per course, and an á la carte menu featuring mussels in white wine; grilled tuna steak with soy sauce, garlic and ginger; and coffee ice cream with Kahlua for dessert.