Best Restaurants in Bora Bora
Mai te Pora, the island created by the gods, has a very intimate and close connection with gastronomy. The story goes that incredible feasts with the finest and rarest products from the sea, crops, and farms were organized.
What is the tastier food of Bora Bora, the Pearl of the Pacific? International cooking techniques with the finest local products from the lagoon and the islands. As for trusted recommendations of restaurants, with our partner Tama'a magazine, we offer you this selection highlighting tasty and original local products. Follow the guide for a perfect dining experience.
Bora Bora’s Best Restaurants for Your Vacation
Turn your vacation into a culinary experience! You’re sure to find something to your liking in Bora Bora, whether at the island’s food trucks, snack bars, bars, or restaurants, or at the hotels and on the motus. Here are a few of the island’s must-visit spots.
Bloody Mary’s Bar & restaurant
Near Matira Beach, this is the perfect place to enjoy a delicious meal in a friendly atmosphere. Bora Bora's most renowned bar & restaurant, is located south of the main island, at the exit of Pofai Bay.
You can choose fresh products from a refrigerated display; meat, fish - shimmering ones - and all kinds of vegetables. They will be cooked for you and served. You will eat while having your feet in the sand, with a Polynesian musical background. Good cuisine, good cocktails and a good atmosphere typical of French Polynesia: what more could you ask for when dining in Bora Bora?
Saint James Restaurant
This is Vaitape's (Bora Bora's main city) "bistronomic" restaurant, near the city center, close to the marina, and right by the sea. Savoring the exquisite experience of refined cuisine with local products and French culinary know-how in a romantic and peaceful atmosphere. Fine wine cellar. Its waterfront terrace offers breathtaking views of the lagoon: a dream setting to share a sophisticated lunch with friends or a romantic dinner by the water.
Villa Mahana
This is the only restaurant on Bora Bora island planted high up on the mountainside in Pofai Bay. With only a few tables and limited place settings, the chef of Villa Mahana welcomes the guests and prepares dishes making your meal a unique and gourmet experience. He proposes gastronomic meals with fresh local and imported products. This Bora Bora restaurant offers one of the most exceptional and welcoming experiences for honeymooners.
Bora Bora Yacht Club
In Vaitape, this is an ideal restaurant to drink a cocktail from the bar at sunset and to have dinner in a romantic setting: facing the lagoon, you can taste a cuisine inspired by France and Polynesia. Dining in this restaurant is a true experience: don’t miss the Bora Bora Yacht Club for the best sunset of your life!
Five-star hotels' gourmet restaurant: our selection
Located on Bora Bora Reef's motu, the resorts offer innovative and sophisticated cooking. Products of the Fenua are often highlighted with the best-imported food. Perfect for a honeymoon or a romantic dining experience in one of Bora Bora's most exclusive restaurants.
Whether or not you have booked an overwater bungalow or a room at these hotels, we recommend the following among other restaurants:
- The Lagoon Restaurant by Jean-Georges at St-Régis Resort & Spa Hotel to enjoy its terrace on stilts with a view of Mount Otemanu, and its menu inspired by traditional Polynesian cuisine.
- The Corail at the Intercontinental Thalasso Resort to sip cocktails on the terrace and sample unique dishes. Contact the establishments directly to make a reservation.
In October 2024, this very hotel welcomed chef Thierry Marx to create the first signature dish of Tahiti: sautéed blue shrimp with Tahitian re’a, coconut foam, and taro risotto.
Local dining: food trucks and snack bars
Same with the other islands, you can’t go to Bora Bora without eating raw fish at the food trucks (called “roulottes”) and snack bars. This is the best way to experience the Polynesian way of life. All over The Islands of Tahiti, food trucks and snack bars offer a variety of lunch options. From Polynesian seafood dishes to world-famous dishes, there’s something for everyone: traditional raw fish in coconut milk, grilled meats, fresh salads, Asian-inspired specialties, pizzas, smoothies made with local fruits, and other delicious lunch options are on the menu!
You’ll find this kind of tasty, local, and quick dining all around the island, including on Matira beach, home to the iconic Matira snack. It is open throughout the day. You can enjoy their daytime service to grab a bite to eat or sip on a cold drink between diving in the crystal-clear water and relaxing on the beach. As for the food truck, I particularly recommend the Crêperie Bretonne. They had the great idea of cooking waffles and galettes with local products.
You’ll also find excellent food trucks and snacks among the best restaurants in Tahiti.
The Origins of Bora Bora's Cuisine
When "Bora Bora i te fanau tahi the firstborn" - in other words, the oldest island of Eastern Polynesia - was called Vavau; three great tribes of warriors were often fighting to dominate the island and to become Ari'i rahi, the equivalent of king. After each conflict, peace was always celebrated with incredible feasts. After the sacrifices performed by the tahu’a (priests), pigs, fish from the lagoon and the sea, tubers, and vegetables from the cultivated lands of Anau districts, Nunue and Faanui were eaten together.
Protestant influence
The English Protestant missionaries, who arrived on the island in 1820, did not revolutionize the local gastronomy by bringing new products. They did it by introducing new practices. They imposed a life of deprivation based on constant biblical moderation. At that time, the inhabitants of Bora had periods of abundance and scarcity, depending on the climate, harvests, wars, and the provisions they could make.
The arrival of processed products
After the annexation of Bora Bora in 1898, French domination did not change any habits except for the imports of very few processed products. After the First World War, more commercial ships brought to the inhabitants preserves and exotic foodstuffs (English, French, and German mainly). The Polynesian diet stayed based on fresh products from the fa'a'apu (various tubers, fafa, watercress, fruits, etc.), fish from the sea on the moana side (offshore fishing), from the lagoon (tairoto), and seafood from a'au (reef), and from parare (falling).
Bobcat Operation
The food revolution of the Raromatai (Bora Bora and the Leeward Islands' name) happened during the Second World War through a code name: Bobcat Operation. Indeed, in its fight against the Japanese Empire, Bora Bora was chosen by the American general military staff to become a rear base for its army in the Pacific. Supply, boat maintenance, house of resting soldiers... Within 3 years, Bora welcomed more than 5000 GIs.
Corned Beef success story
How long ago it was since Captain Cook arrived in Bora Bora (1769), and when King Puni of Faanui offered him a banquet worthy of a king.
Americans brought their eating habits, their stores, and their products. The inhabitants of Bora - especially young people - were fascinated with their lifestyle. The "monkey" was the nickname given to corned beef in French-speaking countries. This product was already widely eaten in the South Pacific. It became popular with a heavier, saltier, and fattier American version: the Ham and Egg. It was followed - in 1943 - by the bottles of coke, distributed in military bases all over the world.
The day after the Armistice agreement, the GIs left Bora Bora. Only remained an airport runway, their influence on customs and gastronomy, and the beginnings of international tourism. The airport of Tahiti only opened its commercial lines in October 1961.
Back to basics
You know the rest of the story; hotels settled in French Polynesia and on the island, with restaurants as international as their customers from all over the world, welcomed in these magnificent floating palaces.
But over the last fifteen years, the awareness that a more local and healthier diet was necessary, led Bora Bora chefs to gradually shift towards cooking products from the island, the lagoon, and the whole French Polynesia. It is now your turn to enjoy it!