Fiji’s best restaurants and bars

Floating restaurant Cloud 9 is one of Fiji's most iconic dining and drinking options.

With nearly 40 per cent of its population made up of those of Indian heritage, Fiji has one of the most diverse of all South Pacific cuisines.

Combined with its indigenous cooking techniques and abundance of fresh produce and seafood, dining in Fiji is a big part of the reason for visiting.

From fine dining beside the ocean to eating traditional dishes in rustic, inexpensive cafes, the dining choices in Fiji are out of this world.

Broady's Bar & Café

Well-priced no-frills meals served for locals

It’s simple, inexpensive and it quickly became one of Fiji’s hottest eating venues – there’s live music here at nights and some of the best cocktails you’ll find in Melanesia. But owner Michael Broadridge wanted to make his bar/café a one-stop shop for everything from a hearty breakfast with Fiji’s best coffee, to dinners and nighttime entertainment. Situated just off the Queen’s Road in the Nadi suburb, Martintar, eating here is a great way to mix with Fijian locals away from the resorts. Don’t go past the grilled catch of the day with creamy ota (a local fern that is a Fijian delicacy).

Cnr Queens Road and Zahoor St, Nadi. Phone: [phone]. See facebook.com/BroadysBC

Cloud 9

Wood-fired pizza and drinks in the middle of the ocean

Cloud 9 is one of Fiji's most iconic dining and drinking options. It's a floating two-level platform in the middle of the lagoons around the Mamanuca Islands, close to Fiji's most legendary surf break, Cloud Break. Take a boat transfer (or arrive by jet-ski or seaplane) from Port Denarau and enjoy a lunch of hand-made Italian pizza cooked in a wood-fired on-site oven. Eat on the sundeck or grab a day bed, and listen to DJs as you order cocktails from the bar and swim straight off the platform in some of the most pristine waters of Fiji.

Mamanuca Islands. Phone: [phone]. See cloud9.com.fj

Wicked Walu

Seafood delicacies on a private islet

Located within a resort (outside diners are welcome) easily accessible on Viti Levu’s Coral Coast, here’s another Fijian restaurant you can’t beat for location. Built on a tiny islet off the mainland, guests walk along a causeway lit up with flaming tiki torches to a restaurant on its own island. You can choose to dine by candlelight on the beach, or within an open-sided traditional Fijian-style pavilion. Seafood is the specialty here – the restaurant is Trip Advisor’s Top-Rated seafood restaurant in Fiji. Order a seafood platter for two – though children are welcome if you prefer to share the intimate experience.

Queens Road, Warwick. Phone: [phone]. See warwickhotels.com

Kanavata (Nunuku Resort)

Personalised meals for couples in the treetops

There's a thousand romantic dining options across Fiji in its five-star resorts and hotels. But there's one option that really stands out – simply for its location. Travel to Pacific Harbour on Viti Levu's south coast and enjoy a romantic meal for two on a viewing platform built right up amongst the canopy of a local dilo tree overlooking a beach. A dedicated chef will cook for your tastes, with seafood caught in Beqa lagoon a specialty (with everything from lobster, octopus to snapper available). Consider a spa treatment on the platform after your meal. You don't have to be a guest.

11 Nanuku Drive, Pacific Harbour. Phone: [phone]. See nanukuresort.com

Baka Blues Café

Celebrating USA's Southern BBQ… in Melanesia

There's always been something quirky about Pacific Harbour, the lesser-known tourist hub past the Coral Coast on Fiji's main island, Viti Levu. Home to a collection of bars, restaurants and cafes that break the mould of what you'd expect to find in Fiji – Baka Blues Café is a New Orleans inspired blues bar which celebrates the American Deep South. You'll find local musicians, photos from the South and a menu celebrating Southern barbeque, Creole and Cajun food (don't go without trying the sizzling baby back ribs or Texas T-bone). It's a sports bar too – though families are encouraged where kids can play the giant Jenga blocks.

1342 Hibiscus Drive, Port Harbour. Phone: [phone]. See restaurantsnapshot.com/BakaBluesCafe

Ocean Terrace (Bedarra Beach Inn)

Wholesome Fijian fare served in a cosy setting

Centrally located on the Coral Coast, you won’t find better curries anywhere in Fiji (all are served with a variety of home-made chutneys). And yet Ocean Terrace Restaurant is most famous for its local lobster – cooked in a bisque and laced with brandy. Sit outside on the veranda overlooking the pool to the lagoon beyond for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Dinner includes candle light and live music. Don’t go past the Coconut Wahoo Curry, though their kokoda (raw local fish marinated with coconut milk and lime) shouldn’t be missed.

Sunset Strip, Korotogo, Sigatoka. Phone: [phone]. See bedarrafiji.com

Namale Resort & Spa

Romantic fine dining on another level

You're going to have to stay to eat here – and kids aren't welcome – but Namale Resort & Spa offer foodies the ultimate Fijian dining experience. There's two restaurants on-site, but you can dine out where you like – from a candlelit cave, to a table on the beach, or a table set beside a private waterfall. All produce comes from the resort's own organic farm and a local market. Located on Fiji's second largest island, Vanua Levu, the resort is built along its stunning northern coastline, called Hibiscus Highway. There's a weekly Indian and lovo (underground oven) night.

1 Hibiscus Highway, Savusavu. Phone: [phone]. See namalefiji.com

KANU Fiji

A fusion of traditional cuisine by Fiji's most celebrated chef

They call Australian-born, Fiji-local chef Lance Seeto the Gordon Ramsay of the South Pacific. A long-time resident, he fuses indigenous, Fijian-Indian and Chinese flavours into his menu, offering travellers a unique taste of Fiji. With two restaurants to choose from (Suva and Nadi), eating here is the best way to understand the history of Fiji's cuisine. Consider booking his Chef's Table: a part story-telling, part cooking class, part lunch or dinner experience with local dishes such as kokoda (raw fish marinated in lime and coconut milk), waitoni (charred fish fillet with turmeric-marinated breadfruit) and sui (bone broth and spinach soup).

333 Queens Road, Marinta, Nadi. Phone: [phone]. See kanufiji.com

Bulaccino

A casual farm-to-table café and restaurant

This was the café that kicked off Fiji's café culture when it opened in 2006, making the country a genuinely legitimate destination for coffee aficionados. Though coffee's just part of what you'll get. Run by a local family, most ingredients come straight off the owners' 12 hectare organic farm just outside Nadi (you can take a farm tour), making this a bona fide farm-to-table eatery. The setting's casual but chic – art deco with an open-air bar set in a garden outside. Locals love it, so it's a great way to immerse yourself into the Nadi community away from the resorts of Denarau Island.

Queens Road, Namaka, Nadi. Phone: [phone]. See bulaccino.com

Waitui Bar & Grill (Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa)

Seafood and meat chargrilled at a beachside setting

Denarau Island has multiple dining options. One of the best options amongst an array of offerings at five-star resorts is Sofitel Resort & Spa's exclusive adults-only restaurant, Waitui Bar & Grill (TripAdvisor rates it the number one restaurant on Denarau Island). There's a colonial feel to the open-air, multi-level restaurant beside the beach, with its weatherboard slats and big timber bar (the perfect spot for sunset drinks). Meat and seafood is cooked on a house-built charcoal grill – most ingredients are sourced locally. The lobster's a house specialty, and the cocktail list is overwhelming.

Denarau Island. Phone: [phone]. See sofitel-fiji.com

Geckos Resort Restaurant

Great seafood and curries served with a weekend dance show

Geckos Resort Restaurant is a Coral Coast dining institution – home to one of the most lively Polynesian dance and fire shows in Fiji. Located within a low-key 28-room resort set in an historic village, it's only 500 metres from the Shangri La Resort, and a few minutes from Sigatoka Town. Visit on a Friday and Saturday night for an hour-long dance and fire show. Turn up early for happy hour from 5-7pm, and order local mud crab and lobster delivered fresh that morning, or curry cooked by a local Indo-Fijian chef.

Queens Highway, Sigatoka. Phone: [phone]. See geckosresort.com

Indigo Indian Asian Resort

The best Indian food on Viti Levu

With nearly 40 percent of Fiji's population having Indian heritage – Indo-Fijian flavours are almost as big a part of the diet as indigenous flavours. And some of the best Indo-Fijian flavours are available at centrally-located Indigo Indian Asian Resort on the waterfront at Port Denarau. Try the local masala crab or the mussalam of lamb with chills and spices grown at the restaurant's own organic farm. There's two separate menus – Indian and South-East Asian – so it's like having two restaurants in one. Get there early for sunset over the ocean.

Port Denarau, Denarau Island. Phone: [phone]. See indigofiji.com