3 Best Restaurants in Vanuatu

Patrons of this all-day restaurant particularly love to come at night when the fish, attracted by the lights, swim out to play. By day the water views across to Iririki Island are just as enticing. Situated next door to the Port Vila market, this is always a popular spot, but the lunch deals are especially favorable—a meal (such as pizza or pasta) and a wine or beer is just 1,200 Vata. Highlights from the extensive menu include roast pork with sage and apple, excellent steaks, barramundi, and huge crab dishes. Children are well supplied with coloring pencils to doodle away with, and they love the sweet treats on offer, such as rocky road (chocolate with peanuts and marshmallow) and peanut brittle.

Sitting atop a hill on the Erakor Island side of town, this long-established restaurant is French, fun, and little bit quirky. All the island's favorites, from the flying fox to the wild pigeon, are on the menu along with yummy omelets stuffed with lobster. There's escargot with hot garlic butter for the Francophiles, and three big lobster tails in mornay sauce for seafood fans. If you want to attract attention, go for the chevrettes flambés (flaming prawns), or sit quietly with an excellent steak, and round off with delectable éclairs. Prices are reasonable and a carafe of wine is just 500 vatu.

This is the place to go for a view with your cocktail or ice-cold Tusker (the local beer). Perched on the harbor, La Tentation is open for breakfast-brunch, lunch, and dinner and delivers the goods from great corn fritters and bacon in the morning to fantastic seafood in the afternoon and evening. Try the Vanuatuan specialty of coconut crab—a species of crab that feeds on coconuts, hence the lovely taste. Lobster is also popular here, served as a main dish or on top of a choice steak, while seafood lasagna and curries are quite good, too. The place is always buzzing when a cruise ship is in port, as passengers drop in for sustenance as a break from shopping. Evenings are a better bet as the ships have (usually) sailed and the setting sun is a lovely backdrop.