11 Best Restaurants in Moorea, French Polynesia

If you like thin-crusted, wood-fired pizzas then this is definitely the place to come for lunch or dinner. You can eat in or take away. The only concession to the Tahitian palate is the pizza topped with fresh tuna, garlic, and cheese, while there's French influence behind the "five cheese" pizza with Parmesan, mozzarella, goat cheese, Roquefort, and cheddar. There is also a range of salads and a limited dessert menu, including the great chocolate mousse. Wonderful baguettes straight out of the oven cost 200 CFP each.

This hotel has two restaurants. Breakfast and lunch are served on the lagoon (where the bar is open until 7 pm daily), and the main restaurant is in a cute thatched bungalow at the hotel's entrance. Lunch choices include pizzas, burgers, salads, and fish, while in the evening it's an a la carte menu where Italian and French dishes dominate and may include the classic entrecôte (steak) with béarnaise sauce. The poisson du jour (fish of the day) is one of the less expensive options.

Named after the Kahaia tree from which the restaurant's roof and beams are made, this lovely venue is part of the Sofitel Moorea Ia Ora Beach Resort. Just 28 diners sit at chunky tree trunk tables on groovy chairs and wiggle their toes in the sand. Bohemian candelabras grace every table. The fare is a modern take on French cuisine; there are no heavy sauces and the emphasis is on fresh ingredients prepared in a simple way. The prawns are marinated with tandoori spices and the blue fin tuna steak is marinated with soy sauce, honey, and sesame and cooked to taste. Desserts are light with the exception of chocolate dacquoise (a nut meringue) cookie with coconut cream.

Breakfast and lunch at "the Blue Pineapple," within the three-star time-share Bali Hai Club, is popular with guests and visitors. The views over Cook's Bay are superb and breakfast treats such as Tahitian donuts (on weekends) and crêpes are legendary. Lunchtime offerings include steak with fries, salads, hamburgers, and poisson cru. On Wednesday nights the restaurant puts on a lavish seafood barbecue (dishes from 1,800 to 3,890 CFP) and a dance performance beginning at 6 pm.

"The Golden Unicorn" is a charming little spot that wouldn't be out of place in a French village. The tables are immaculately set for dinner with fine glassware and apricot colored tablecloths, while lunch is more casual. The specialty dish is an intriguing mixture of tempura tuna, shrimps, rice, and ginger sauce, while lighter fare includes smoked salmon and crème fraiche and poisson cru "a la Chinois" (Chinese style).

Dine on French and Cajun food while listening to a jazz or soul band at this restaurant near Le Petit Village. A favorite dish is slipper lobster (a small relative of the crayfish) served with a vanilla sauce. Crab cakes and Cajun gazpacho spice things up. The decor of all white is plantation style with white cane chairs and tables. The best deals are the two set menus—the discovery (4,500 CFP) and the Cajun (5,100 CFP). There are regular party nights with a DJ and dancing into the late hours.

This lovely restaurant at the Moorea Pearl Resort is considered one of the best on the island and it's also the most expensive. Chef Pascal Bionaz, who was previously with the Relais & Chateaux Taha'a Island Resort (also in French Polynesia) is said to create "gastromonic delights" and "dream creations." The menu is a three-course degustation, at 9,000 CFP, with five choices of appetizer, seven of main course, and four of dessert. Three of the dishes, including the lobster tournedos, attract an extra supplement (from 600 to 1,000 CFP). You can start with crab tartar on hibiscus and honey jelly, move on to the roasted mahimahi stuffed with lobster with a side of pasta with cuttlefish ink, and finish with Morello cherries soufflé. The resort offers "reduced taxi fares," which you should inquire about when booking.

Lobster ravioli is the specialty dish at this restaurant, considered one the best on the island, right next to the Hotel Hibiscus. Other seafood dishes with a twist are raw tuna sashimi with ginger and garlic sauce and scallops with Calvados, an apple brandy. Traditional French fare such as beef fillet with foie gras is a hearty choice and might best be followed with a light dessert such as lemon sorbet with vodka, or the local innovation—a half-frozen coconut!

Try the legendary parrot fish stuffed with crabmeat, the mussels or ask the owner, Rudy, who's often tending the bar, for his suggestions. Steak lovers have plenty of choices too or they might prefer the stuffed boneless duck with port wine sauce or the lamb. It's a happy place with music. You can't miss it—it's an all-white adobe style building on the mountainside of the main road, not far from the Pearl Resort. It offers free hotel transfers.

Location and reasonably priced meals are the attraction at this casual restaurant right on the beach at Hauru Point. Lunch dishes include fish burgers, omelets, and toasted sandwiches while pizzas and pastas (all around 1,700 CFP) are served at dinner. There's a menu for kids, too. Try the mahimahi with coconut sauce or the beef tenderloin with green pepper sauce and finish off with flambé bananas or baked coconut tart.

"The Little Turtle" is one of the best restaurants on the island. Some people call it Chez Roger as that's the chef's name. There are great views of Cook's Bay and the shark-toothed mountain. The menu is classic French with dishes such as frogs' legs sautéed in garlic and beef tenderloin with brandy sauce. The chef will flambé your lobster or crêpes suzette at your table. This is an expensive night out (the lobster is 4,700 CFP) but it will be a night to remember, and there's a free shuttle to and from your hotel.