Delicious cuisine is a huge part of French Polynesian culture, and the dining options on the island won’t let you down.
You can find all kinds of food on the island, with a good mixture of cuisine influences like French, Tahitian, and Asian. Whether you’re looking to eat out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you can find many options throughout the island. Similarly, you can go for some fine dining or grab a quick snack or try some delicious local foods.
Vaitape and Matira are two of the most popular areas in Bora Bora, so most of these restaurants can be found there.
These are some of the best restaurants you can find in Bora Bora, which compete against those in all of French Polynesia.
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Saint James Bora Bora
Saint James Restaurant can be found on the lagoon side, almost opposite Toa Amok (supermarket). The lagoon restaurant occupies the waterfront section of a small shopping center. It’s a pleasant open layout with a great bar in the sand at the water level.
Chef Make has plenty of flairs, seen in the plats de jour, which change daily to reflect the drive for quality, freshness & new taste sensations. French Mediterranean cuisine focussing on fresh seafood backed up by a good selection of alternatives is the restaurant’s forte. There’s something on the menu to please every palate. The food is well presented, with good service in an eye-catching setting.Needless to say, it’s very popular with locals.
Open for lunch and dinner except for Sundays. You can expect lunch for around $20 and dinner for around $30. There’s a free pick-up service for dinner, or you can moor your boat alongside the restaurant!
Le Panda d’Or
Almost straight opposite Saint James Restaurant, you can find the Le Panda d’Or, a Chinese restaurant specializing in Cantonese food.
The Panda d‘Or is easily the best Chinese food in Bora Bora. It has prompt and efficient service with an extensive range of dishes. The reasonable prices make this a popular venue with locals, especially those dining in groups. It has easy parking, and the restaurant also operates a good takeaway facility.
Bora Bora Yacht Club
A kilometer or so further on from the Mai Kai but still on the waterfront is the Bora Bora Yacht Club. Despite being hammered by Cyclone Oli, the BBYC has taken on a new lease of life. It always had that wow factor in terms of position, traditional building styles & relaxed ambiance.
In keeping with being a yacht club, it’s more a bistro than a restaurant, but the flexible hours and an easygoing menu give it a certain appeal. You can expect to pay around $25 – $30 to see you happily fed.
The BBYC is a great place to throw back a beer or ten while watching a Bora Bora sunset. For mine, it’s the best afternoon watering hole in Vaitape. It’s an unbeatable place to revive if you’ve just climbed to the nearby cannons!
Villa Mahana Restaurant
Villa Mahana is arguably one of the most exclusive restaurants in Bora Bora and all the other Society Islands. The seating limited to 25. It features truly gourmet french cuisine and an extensive wine list.
The food can be excellent, blending an interesting and successful combination of taste sensations. The menu covers the full gambit of meat, poultry, and seafood in a setting that offers the total dining experience.
Dishes are usually superbly executed & attention to a detailed presentation can lift the cuisine above the rest. There is friendly, well-trainedstaff that’s knowledgeable about the dishesbeing served. You can also expect anoutstandingwine list to make for an exceptionaldining experience.
It’s a little difficult to find it. It’s around a kilometer south oftheTeariimaevarua Sports Complex (Pago Pago). When you see the sign for Garrick Yrondi, turn left here, and the restaurant is around 50m up the hillside on your right.
Prices range from the doable to the unbearable!Set dinners from $100-120 with main courses a la carte from $35-60. I recommend their King Rock Lobster, which is absolutely delicious but pricey.
Open for dinner only between 6 pm and 11 pm, Villa Mahana is closed on Sundays. It’s often booked out weeks in advance in high season, so reserve in advance if you’re visiting Bora Bora soon.
Bloody Mary’s Restaurant
Bloody Mary’s offers plenty of local ambiance with pandanus roofing, a great bar, and a large dining area. It’s all made from coconut and set on the white sands of Bora Bora. It makes fora greatplace to eat or to simply enjoy a few drinks with an extensive range of excellent bar snacks.
Lunch is very reasonably priced with a good selection of easygoing meals, including a wide range of burgers and sandwiches, caesar salads, sashimi, quesadillas, and even local fish from Bora Bora.
Dinner offers a more sophisticated menu with fresh local seafood complimented by some great spare ribs. Consider their catch of the day since it’s always a good choice.
The food & servings reflect the fact that the restaurant has been under American management for many years. Vegetarians are catered for.
Lunch main coursescost $10-15. Dinner mains range from $30-$35 (with lobster $78). Bloody Mary’s is open for lunch & dinner 7 days a week. Free transfers for dinner from certain locations are available, just contact the restaurant.
The bar is one of the best on the island, with an extensive range of co*cktails that includes their famous Bloody Mary! They have beer on tap and great bar snacks like buffalo wings, kababs, and sashimi.
There’s plenty of interesting memorabilia,so you might be surprised at the ‘who’s who’ who has dined here before you. There is even a souvenir shop.
Snack Matira
Well situated on the waterfront overlooking magnificent Matira Beach with parking alongside, Snack Matira is a good choice to kick back.
The establishment serves a good range of snacks from burgers to casse-croutes, from omelets to pizzas, fish, steak, and chicken dishes to salads. There’s a goodrange of desserts and drinks.
The place is popular with locals on weekends and public holidays. It’s aided by the fact that the Snack is open for a broad range of hours from 10 am to 8 pm most days to cater for early as well as late lunches.
This can be important tomany of those traveling in these parts where time has no meaning. The chefs at most establishments take last orders for lunch around 2:30 pm before taking a break before dinner.
If you are looking for a late lunch, there is little open, so dive into Snack Matira. Main courses range from $15-25.
Restaurant Matira Beach
A couple of hundred meters south of Snack Matira, on the way to Point Matira, you can find Matira Beach Restaurant. It’s in a stunning position overlooking the best of what Matira has to offer.
The feeling of comfort that only wood can provide, the warmth of the red Japanese-themed decoration, the wooden doors that swing wide open straight into the lagoon & the cozy open-air terrace add up to a tantalizing choice of options.
The restaurant’s comprehensive menu reflects the venue’s decoration with a mixture of Tahitian, French & Japanese influences. The sushi, sashimi & teppanyaki are particularly good. Fresh local seafood is the staple menu but backed up by a good selection of alternatives.
The wine list is comprehensive whilst staffis warm & engaging, ready to assist,and clearly proud of what this restaurant has achieved. The owner-chef is readily on hand to discuss the finer details with diners.
Looking more closely at the menu, you’ll find:
- Excellent Nigiri, Maki, Temaki & Tempura are available for $12-20
- The full ambit of quality entrees from $15-20
- Well-thought-out combinations for mains deliver a great taste sensationfrom $24-38
- Tastybruschettas anda goodmix of freshsalads from $12-15
- Agreat variety of burgers & accompaniments from $12-22 to ensure everyone’s palates are satisfied
- A small but quality list of desserts adds to a wonderful dining experience.
To pull up here in your jet-ski & dine on the restaurant terrace overlooking the mesmerizing waters of Matira Beach is unforgettable!
Cover over the outside deck &teppanyaki in the main restaurant area was recently added. This is a place where great attention is paid to detail. Great food, warm & friendly staff, and the best spot on Matira Beach.
Restaurant Matira Beach is open for lunch and dinner and closed Mondays & Tuesdays. Reflecting the fact the owner/operators has 3 young children, the restaurant thoughtfullyincludes a kid’s room.
Moi Here
Situated in a sensational position with the best outdoor bar in Bora Bora, Moi Here offers a range of local favorites. This includes poison cru, maa tinito, chao mein, steak, and grilled chickenand chips.
The bar is unbeatable when it comes to quenching one’s thirst overlooking the dazzling waters of Matira’s lagoon. It’s open most of the time. It’s easy to grab a morning coffee, a late breakfast, a quiet lunch, or a beer at sunset.
Restaurant Otemanu
Otomana is beachside, right alongside Moi Here. With a range of easygoing snacks like burgers & paninis plus local favorites like poisson cru, good food, pricing & service, Otomanu fills quickly for lunch with a great take-away service for those wishing to stay beachside. It’s closed on Saturdays.
Roulette Matira (Sams’s)
This is a smaller operation somewhat hidden from the roadside. Located directly opposite Hotel Matira, it gives the impression of a business renting bicycles. It does, but it’s also a good place to know, especially if you are looking for take-away.
It’s a regular choice amongst locals and as you can see from the photo, there is also a nice area for those wishing to dine in.
A good variety of Club Sandwiches are available for 600xpf & a good range of burgers start at 6ooxpf also. Very much home cooking, the Poulet Legume (Chicken Vegetable) is great value at 1700xpf packed with chicken & fresh vegetables, and the Boeuf Massala at 2000 xpf is another good takeaway option.
Roulotte Matira is open for breakfast from 7:30 and 9:30 am, lunch at 11:30 am – 3:00 pm, and dinner from 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm. It’s good to know for those who can easily lose the sense of time in Bora Bora and might find other dining options closed.
Fare Manuia
The owner/operator here has many years of experience in the industry and has the formula for a successful operation pretty much right.
This is a multi-facet operation with a pizzeria that booms and leads to a more formal dining area offering a wide range of assorted dishes, a relaxing bar & a small swimming pool for those BIG nights!
The food is well prepared and of good value, given the size of the servings. The wood-fired pizzas around the menu are the best in the area, and the burgers are excellent. There’s a comprehensive choice of courses from meat to fish through salads, a set menu, and a kid’s menu, so nothing is overlooked.
The eating area flows off the bar, and the small swimming pooladds charm& ambiance. At the same time, the menu was completely revamped upwards, taking the restaurant more towards finer dining than bistro. The cuisine is a combination of French and local.
There’s an extensive list of entrees and an equally extensive array of saladsranging from $15-30. The main courses concern themselves with a good range oftraditional fish and meat dishesto which a local touch has been added.Alarge numberof desserts in the $14-15 bracket adds up to an overall exceptional offer.The set, 3 courses with a choiceTourist Menu for $44 is a great value.
The takeaway pizza operation is the best on the island,and the very large range and options for pizzas and burgers deliver an excellent offer, all for under $20.
It’s located near the turn-off for Matira Point with easy parking opposite. The restaurant and bar has an easy-going ambiance and is very popular with locals for any major televised event.
Main courses range from $21-45. Restaurant Fare Manuia is open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.
Restaurant Noa Noa
Eating out at one of Bora Bora’s major resorts can be a fulfilling experience. The Bora Bora hotels can be an excellent choice to celebrate a special occasion, especially for travelers. They offer exceptional positions, architect-designed facilities, and qualified chefs and are mostly open for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.
Noa Noa is the spot. The restaurant features French, International & Tahitian dishes. Prices can vary depending on what entertainment is being provided by the resort.
These are excellent places to witness traditional Tahitian dancing on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Thursdays are reserved for local Tahitian specialties with set main courses or 3-course options.
The best approach is to check directly with the resort & slot yourself into the scenario that best suits you.
The Hotel Maitai
The Hotel Maitai has recently realigned its restaurant offer to better meet the desires of its clientele. The hotel now has a range of offers.
The Tamaa Mataiis nicely situated on the waterfront with beautiful views. The restaurant specializes in French & Italian food. It has a very extensive menu from wholesome salads ($12-21), suitable entrees ($8-11), or a savory assortment of cheese ($12) through to a very comprehensive offer of French beef & seafood dishes ($12-24).
It also has Bora Bora’s most extensive Italian menu ($11-18). For those on the run, there are chicken wings, burgers & ribs ($9-20), kid’s menus, plat de jour, tourist menu ($35), and various other mealformulae ranging from $21-24.
It’s open every day from 11 am to 9 pm.
The Salad/Sandwich/Patisserie sits directly opposite the Tamaa Maitai &offers a good option for those in a rush. It’s especially helpful if you’re looking for a quick snack or want to take something to the beach.
There’s plenty ofvariety, plus other tip-bits that can be added as a matter of choice.
Alternatively, there’s a sandwich of the day ($7 with varying fillings), tuna or currywraps ($8), smoked turkey or tuna club sandwiches ($12), and several different paninis ($9).
Salads can be made as directed by you, or pre-prepared fresh fruit salads are also available, as well as a range of cakes & tarts. To top it all off, there are locally made ice creams & sorbets.
The house special is a sandwich, a packet of chips & a drink,allfor just $10.
Casual but comfortable seating arrangements are available both inside & out. SSP is open daily from 8 am to 3 pm, with percolated coffee available.
The Maitai Restaurant is the hotel’s largest restaurant and operates uniquely at night. It offers lavish buffets accompanied by spectacular Tahitian Dance Shows and local Tahitian orchestras or quieter, entertainment-free nights.
Sofitel Marara
Situated in another of Bora Bora’s sumptuous overwater bungalow beach resorts, Sofitel’s water-side restaurantis an option worthy of consideration. It has a great bar separated from a wonderful outdoor eating area by an expansive eternity pool. The lotoverlooking Bora Bora’s world-famous lagoon makes for astunning setting.
The Sofitel Marara has a very active events manager, John Menezes, who always has something happening at the Sofitel. be it bands from overseas, leading local singers, island beauty pageants, and fabulous Tahitian Dance Shows, the list goes on.
Prices and the fare on offer vary according to the entertainment undertaken. The best way to proceed, therefore, is to contact the hotel & make your choices. As a leading resort, the kitchen is staffed by qualified French chefs.
It’s open for breakfast, lunch& dinner.
The Roulottes
The best way to end this restaurant’s guide is surely with the roulottes. These mobile kitchens make up such a central part of current-day Polynesian casual dining at the water’s edge and offer fast food if you’re hungry and want something quick.
Although roulottes are sparsely scattered throughout the island, there are 4 or 5 who regularly service a loyal clientele in central Vaitape. The idea is to stroll around to check what it is that takes your fancy. Each roulette has its own specialty ranging from local favorites like Poisson Cru or Maa Tinito to crepes, pizzas, or a simple steak & chips. Take your choice at one roulette & eat with friends at another. You can have a main at one and dessert at another since everything is very casual.
It’s clean, popular with locals, inexpensive & great fun. No better place to have a meal & a night out for just $10!
